# Paris v. Feder

> Illinois Supreme Court · October 23, 1997 · 179 Ill. 2d 173

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9521233

## Case

- **Full name:** JOHN PARIS Et Al., Appellants, v. SAMUEL FEDER Et Al. (The Department of Professional Regulation, Appellee)
- **Court:** Illinois Supreme Court
- **Decided:** October 23, 1997
- **Citations:** 179 Ill. 2d 173; 227 Ill. Dec. 800; 688 N.E.2d 137; 1997 Ill. LEXIS 457
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Heiple
- **Judges:** Bilandic, Heiple, Harrison
- **Cited by:** 227 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9521233

## Opinion text

JUSTICE HEIPLE, dissenting:
This case presents a narrow question of statutory interpretation: Does the $10,000 damage cap on claims paid out of the Real Estate Recovery Fund apply per claimant or per transaction? The majority holds that the $10,000 cap applies per transaction, so that the two plaintiffs — who were defrauded when their real estate broker absconded with $20,750 in earnest money — may recover only $10,000 for the two of them.
The statute provides, however, that any person aggrieved by the fraudulent act of a real estate broker may recover from the Fund an amount of not more than $10,000 and that the Fund’s maximum liability arising out of the activities of any single broker is limited to $50,000. Thé word "transaction” in the Act is not a word of limitation upon a claimant’s right to recover.
As Justice Holmes once observed, "we do not inquire what the legislature meant; we ask only what the statute means.” O. Holmes, The Theory of Legal Interpretation, 12 Harv. L. Rev. 417 , 419 (1898). The statute’s plain language provides for a $10,000 cap which applies per claimant — not per transaction; the majority opinion creates the latter limitation out of thin air.
Each plaintiff should be allowed $10,000 for a total claim on the Fund of $20,000 plus attorney fees. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
JUSTICE HARRISON joins in this dissent.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9521233. Public record. Not legal advice.