Gemini Consulting Group, Inc. v. Horan Keogan Ryan, Ltd. (N.D. Ill. Doc. No. 06 C 3032)
Here's an interesting case about the award of attorney's fees in a dispute between an Irish architectural firm and an Illinois builder of medical care facilities for work done on projects in Ireland.
The architect brought an action under the contract's arbitration provision and subsequently prevailed on a good portion of its claims in front of an Irish arbitrator. The builder brought a suit in federal court in Illinois seeking a declaratory judgment ordering that the arbitration awards were invalid; that the architect had repudiated the contract and waived its right to arbitration; and that the architect had to initiate any legal proceedings against the builder in Illinois. The district court found that it lacked jurisdiction to award the builder the relief and also affirmed a portion of the arbitration award. The architect then sought attorney's fees and costs.
The opinion will be of interest to anyone faced with the issue of attorney's fees both in federal court under diversity jurisdiction and in state court. The court held that attorney's fees in Illinois are a procedural matter and not a substantive matter under Illinois law, consequently, because no provision existed in the contract shifting attorney's fees and because the law of Illinois applied, attorney's fees were not available to the architect for prevailing in the district court matter.
