Clark et al v. River Metals Recycling, LLC, et al

Filing 229

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER. Signed by Judge J. Phil Gilbert on 4/27/2018. (jdh)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
RICHARD A. CLARK and JENNIFER
CLARK,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No. 3:15-cv-00447-JPG-RJD

RIVER METALS RECYCLING, LLC and
SIERRA INTERNATIONAL MACHINERY,
LLC,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM & ORDER
J. PHIL GILBERT, DISTRICT JUDGE
In this products liability case, one of the two remaining defendants—River Metals
Recycling, LLC (“River Metals”)—has filed an affidavit for Certification of Manufacturer
pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/2-621. (Doc. 143.) That statute states:
In any product liability action based on any theory or doctrine commenced or
maintained against a defendant or defendants other than the manufacturer, that
party shall upon answering or otherwise pleading file an affidavit certifying the
correct identity of the manufacturer of the product allegedly causing injury, death
or damage . . . Once the plaintiff has filed a complaint against the manufacturer or
manufacturers, and the manufacturer or manufacturers have or are required to
have answered or otherwise pleaded, the court shall order the dismissal of a
product liability action based on any theory or doctrine against the certifying
defendant or defendants . . . .
735 ILCS 5/2-621(a) & (b). Specifically, River Metals argues that developments in supplemental
discovery have pointed to co-defendant Sierra International Machinery, LLC (“Sierra”) as the
manufacturer of the product in question, so the Court should now dismiss River Metals from this
case.

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The Court will not dismiss River Metals pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/2-621. The statute states
that a party should file the requisite affidavit “upon answering or otherwise pleading . . . .” 735
ILCS 5/2-621(a). But here, River Metals filed the affidavit over two years after they filed their
answer and several months after their second motion for summary judgment. (See Docs. 17, 98,
143.) This case will continue to proceed as instructed in the Court’s previous order: once the
supplemental discovery period has ended, the Court will address both River Metals’s and
Sierra’s motions for summary judgment in one order. (See Doc. 219.)
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: APRIL 27, 2018
s/ J. Phil Gilbert
J. PHIL GILBERT
DISTRICT JUDGE

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