Heck v. Cilcorp, Inc.

Defendants, Central Illinois Light Company (CILCO) and Donald Koch, d/b/a Koch Trucking, and Randy Koch, appeal from the granting of the motion of plaintiffs, Richard Heck and Dennis Roberts, to voluntarily dismiss this case. The issue we address is whether a defendant’s filing of a counterclaim for contribution precludes a plaintiff from voluntarily dismissing his cause of action. We conclude that it does and therefore reverse and remand.

I. Facts

This case arises from a multivehicle accident that occurred on Interstate 55 near Bloomington, Illinois. A Koch trucking vehicle driven by Randy…