Braun v. Aspide Medical

Summary

The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the denial of BG Medical, LLC’s motions to transfer four product-liability cases from Cook County to Lake County. The court held that venue was proper under the transactional pathway because BG Medical’s marketing and promotional activities concerning Surgimesh were conducted from Cook County when the plaintiffs were implanted with the product. The court did not resolve how an Illinois limited liability company should be treated for venue-residency purposes because the transactional basis independently supported venue.

Holdings

1. Venue was proper in Cook County because part of the transaction from which the plaintiffs' claims arose occurred there. The plaintiffs' allegations concerning BG Medical's marketing, promotion, and failure to warn could have originated from BG Medical's Cook County office while the plaintiffs were implanted with Surgimesh.
2. The court declined to resolve the open question of which statutory residency definition applies to an Illinois limited liability company because the transactional pathway independently established proper venue in Cook County.
3. The circuit court properly denied the motions to transfer venue because BG Medical failed to establish a clear right to transfer and the record supported venue in Cook County.

Questions Presented

1. Whether venue in Cook County was proper under the Illinois transactional venue provision because part of the transaction from which the plaintiffs' product-liability claims arose occurred in Cook County.
2. Whether BG Medical was a resident of Cook County for venue purposes when the plaintiffs filed their actions.
3. Whether the circuit court properly denied BG Medical's motions to transfer venue to Lake County.

Disposition

affirmed