Burns v. Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc.

              NO. 4-06-0296 Filed 1/9/07
IN THE APPELLATE COURT
OF ILLINOIS
FOURTH DISTRICT
JAMES BURNS, Jr., ) Appeal from
Plaintiff-Appellant, ) Circuit Court of
v. ) Macon County
MASTERBRAND CABINETS, INC., ) No. 04L173
a Delaware Corporation; GALLAGHER )
BASSETT SERVICES, INC.; a Delaware )
Corporation; METRO PRIVATE )
INVESTIGATIONS, INC., an Alabama ) Honorable
Corporation; and JOHN T. KENNEDY III, ) Katherine M. McCarthy,
Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE MYERSCOUGH delivered the opinion of the court:
On March 9, 2006, the trial court granted the section
2-615 (735 ILCS 5/2-615 (West 2004)) motion of defendant
Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc. (Masterbrand), to dismiss plaintiff
James Burns, Jr.’s complaint alleging Masterbrand committed the
tort of intrusion upon seclusion of another. Earlier, on November
18, 2005, the court had already granted section 2-615 motions to
dismiss the counts against defendants Gallagher Bassett Services,
Inc. (Gallagher); Metro Private Investigations, Inc. (Metro); and
John T. Kennedy alleging intrusion upon seclusion. Plaintiff
appeals the court’s orders dismissing his allegations of intrusion
upon seclusion for failure to state a claim. Plaintiff argues
that, although this court has yet to expressly recognize the tort
of intrusion upon seclusion, the tort constitutes a cause of
action in Illinois. We agree with plaintiff and reverse and