The First Judicial District of the Appellate Court of Illinois has issued a ruling that the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) is not immune from paying attorney fees and costs under the Mental Health and Development Disabilities Confidentiality Act, contrary to the Department’s assertions of sovereign immunity in such matters.
The DFPR had argued they were exempt from such costs due to the principle of sovereign immunity – a legal doctrine that often protects state departments from litigation. However, the court disagreed, affirming an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs.
The decisive factor in this matter was the nature of the underlying case. The plaintiffs sought primarily to enjoin the Department from engaging in certain prohibited conduct. As such, the First District Appellate Court found that because the primary relief sought was not monetary, but rather, to halt the Department’s contentious conduct, the fee awards were merely ancillary to the injunctive relief.
In the words of the court, “An award of fees and costs that is ancillary to an action seeking injunctive relief under the prospective injunctive relief exception does not transform the nature of the suit.” This ruling is significant as it provides clarification on the limits of sovereign immunity when it relates to fee awards in cases seeking injunctive relief.
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