On October 7, 2024, the NAM filed an amicus brief urging the Illinois Supreme Court to maintain the doctrine of intrastate forum non conveniens. That doctrine allows an Illinois trial court to transfer a case to another court in the state that would be more convenient for the parties or to better serve the ends of justice. In this case, a store in Madison County sued the Illinois Attorney General challenging the constitutionality of a new state consumer protection law. The AG sought to transfer the case pursuant to a state law that requires constitutional challenges to state laws be filed in Cook County (Chicago) or Sangamon County (Springfield). However, relying in part on the forum non conveniens doctrine, a Madison County Circuit Court Judge struck down the state law as unconstitutional citing concerns over plaintiffs’ due process rights. The AG appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.
On appeal, the AG and Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, as amicus curiae, invite the court to use the case as a vehicle for abandoning the longstanding doctrine of intrastate forum non conveniens even though doing so is not necessary to deciding the constitutionality of the law at issue. We argue that the doctrine is still needed to curtail plaintiffs from forum shopping to courts where they expect a more favorable outcome.