Mellon v. Coffelt

This appeal arises out of the trial court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs complaint challenging the constitutionality of section 2 — 1009A of the Code of Civil Procedure, which imposes a surcharge on the filing fee in civil litigation to fund court-annexed mandatory arbitration. 735 ILCS 5/2 — 1009A (West 1998). On appeal, the plaintiff argues that section 2 — 1009A violates the following clauses of the 1970 Illinois Constitution: the uniformity clause (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IX, § 2), the free access clause (Ill. Const. 1970, art. II, § 12), the due process clause (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §…