Smith v. Jewel Food Stores, Inc.

              No. 1-05-3254 FIRST DIVISION
Filed: 6/18/07
CINDY SMITH, as Independent Administrator ) Appeal from the
of the Estate of Shannon Orr, Deceased, ) Circuit Court of
) Cook County.
Plaintiff-Appellant, )
)
v. ) No. 04 L 12887
)
JEWEL FOOD STORES, INC., )
ALBERTSON’S, INC., AMERICAN )
PROCUREMENT AND LOGISTICS )
COMPANY, and PETER DeSUNO, ) Honorable
) Jeffrey Lawrence,
Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE ROBERT E. GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:
Plaintiff Cindy Smith, as the administrator of the estate of Shannon Orr, brought a
wrongful death action and an action under the Survival Act (755 ILCS 5/27-6 (West 2004)).
Shannon Orr died as the result of a motor vehicle accident on April 23, 2004, in Kendall County,
Illinois, when her vehicle was struck from behind by a truck driven by defendant Peter DeSuno,
an employee of defendants Jewel Food Stores, Inc., Albertson’s Inc., and American Procurement
and Logistics Company. Plaintiff filed her suit in Cook County, Illinois, and defendants moved
to transfer the suit to Kendall County under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. The circuit
court of Cook County granted the motion. We affirm for the reasons set forth below.
BACKGROUND
On April 23, 2004, Shannon Orr was driving westbound on Route 126 in Kendall County,
Illinois, when her vehicle was struck from behind by a Jewel Food Store truck driven by