Mandatory Arbitration for Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims in Illinois

If you have an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim in Illinois, your claim is subject to mandatory arbitration.
See 735 ILCS 5/2-1001A et seq. The same is true if you have an automobile accident and the value is less than
$50,000. Id. Illinois has taken steps to try to put efficiency in resolution of underinsured, uninsured, and
smaller personal injury cases. However, injured parties give up their right to a jury trial in these claims.

The seventh amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees that Americans have the right to have their civil
suits tried before a jury of their peers. Legislators and Courts have placed certain types of claims outside this and
have tried to remove from the right to a jury trial by classifying them as administrative types of claims, or given
companies the right to contractually mandate arbitration, or lastly they do this by creating a sub docket or lower
docket of cases. So, if you file a case in Illinois, you have to certify that a case is over $50,000 or it will be sent
to an arbitration docket, where a judge will more quickly resolve the claim. Luckily, many judges are fair and that is
not a bad thing. However, if you have a case where a jury would get very angry, you sometimes don’t get as high of a
result.

For claims that are under $50,000, Illinois Supreme Court Rule 86 sets for the eligibility requirements. 155 Ill 2d
R. 86.  A party who reasonably believes he or she has a reasonable basis for removing the matter from
arbitration may move the court for such relief prior to the hearing. 155 Ill 2d R 86(d), Committee Comments. 
Since the hearing is evidentiary, parties may compel the appearance of witnesses and other parties pursuant to Rule
237(b) notice. 134 Ill 2d R 237(b). Promptly after the hearing, the arbitrators shall make a written award that
disposes of all claims for relief. 155 Ill 2d R 92(b). A party who challenges the validity of an arbitration
award must provide it improper by clear and convincing evidence. Thomas v. Leyva, 276 Ill App. 3d 652, 654, 659
NE 2d 24, 26 (1^st D 1995).

Illinois has permitted insurance companies to put mandatory arbitration claims in their policies for uninsured and
underinsured claims. So, uninsured and underinsured claims in Illinois typically have mandatory arbitration provisions
in the policies and they typically will be arbitrated. This can prove to be an efficient resolution, sometimes not.

We recently tried an uninsured case for Christopher Smith and Sheronica Washington in Illinois before an arbitrator. We
litigated the case for 2 years, and made a demand on the insurance company to pay the full $40,000 two uninsured claims
of $20,000 each. Unique Insurance Company would not answer our letter or respond to our claims at all. So, we tried the
case. The lawyer for the defendant walked in the hearing saying he didn’t know why he was there because there was no
defense to the claim.  We won the case and got the full recovery. However, this was a long delay and justice was not
served. Justice delayed is justice denied. We have now filed a separate suit for bad faith refusal to settle against
Unique Insurance Company which is current pending. We will let you know how that goes.

Another area where mandatory arbitration provisions are provided is in employment agreements or contracts with big
companies. Employees are forced to sign mandatory arbitration agreements which get rid of their right for a jury trial.
Credit card companies, schools, student loan companies, and other big powerful companies and also tuck arbitration
provisions into their contracts. These are often enforced. To get around them, people have to prove that they are
procedurally or substantively unconscionable-and it is hard to do. However, the Court and Bowers v. Fee Asbury
St. Louis Lex, LLC ED 102229 (Mo App ED. July 7, 2015) found that a mandatory binding arbitration
clause was invalid and unenforceable. This was because it was so one sided-the employer got to change the arbitration
rules and it was to one-sided. So, if there are two owners or to one-sided, the court might find them invalid.  This
harkens back to a requirement that if the premises are only by the employee and not the employer, and the employer can
change its mind, the promised arbitrator is really allusory because the one party retrains the unilateral right to
change it.  Baker v. Bristol Care, Inc. 45 S.W. 3^rd 770, 776 (Mo Banc 2014).

Gary Burger

Founder | Injury Attorney
Gary Burger has dedicated his career to standing up against bullies. The founder and principal attorney of Burger Law | St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer has helped hundreds of Missouri and Illinois individuals and families recover th …
Years of experience: 30 years
Location: St. Louis, MO

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