Prejudgment Interest Statute Withstands Constitutional Challenges in the Appellate Court

The Illinois Prejudgment Interest Statute has withstood its first round of constitutional challenges in the appellate
court in Cotton v. Coccaro, 2023 IL App (1st) 220788 and in First Midwest Bank v. Rossi, 2023 IL App (4th) 22064.

In 2021, the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure was amended to add 735 ILCS 5/2-1303(c) (the “PJI statute”), providing for prejudgment interest at a 6 percent per annum rate to be awarded in all personal injury or wrongful death cases. Since the enactment of the PJI statute, it has been repeatedly challenged by defendants.

At the trial court level, the PJI statute was the subject of innumerable prejudgment affirmative defenses filings and dozens of post-judgment trial court filings. Trial courts across the state were forced to weigh-in on the constitutionality of the PJI statute, spawning mixed results.

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