This suit was filed against the Village of Libertyville (IL) and DPR Investments LLC shortly after a business-scale wind turbine was erected and became operational within 600 feet of residential properties. The Entegrity 50 kilowatt, 120-foot turbine is owned by DPR Investments doing business as Aldridge Electric Company. Complaints of noise, shadow flicker and blade flicker were heard right after the turbine started turning. On July 24, 2009, the Court issued a compromise ruling stating that the turbine was affecting neighboring residents and restricted the turbine hours of operation to weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (see: http://www.windaction.org/news/22373 )

State of Illinois
in the Circuit Court of the 19th Judicial Court
County of Lake

Verified Complaint

Now comes the Plaintiffs, by and through their attorneys, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, and as their Complaint against Defendants, herein identified, respectfully state and allege as follows:

General Allegations

1. Plaintiffs bring this Complaint pursuant to the Illinois Municipal Code, 65 ILCS 5/11-13-25, to review the decision o the Board of Trustees of the Village of Libertyville ("Board"), in regard to a petition ("Petition") by DPR Investments, LLC d/b/a Aldridge Electric Company (the "Petitioner"), said decision on the Petition encompassing Ordinance Nos. 09-O-07, 09-O-08, and 09-O-09 (enacted January 13) and Ordinance No. 09-O-14 (enacted February 24) (hereinafter collectively "the Decision"), allowing a text amendment and special use for a "Business Wind Turbine" on 844 E. Rockland Road, Libertyville, Illinois (the "Subject Property").

2. The Board's final decision with respect to the Application was made on February 24, 2009, when it passed Ordinance No. 09-O-14, which, without notice to adjacent landowners and without a hearing in front of the Plan Commission, amended a Site Plan Permit previously approved in Ordinance No. 09-O-09, to relocate the Business Wind Turbine substantially closer to the Plaintiff's residences.

3. The Decision and Petitioner's construction and operation of the Business Wind Turbine have effectively prevented adjoining landowners from using and enjoying their property in compliance with other permitted uses, have otherwise unreasonably interfered with Plaintiffs' use and enjoyment of their property, and have caused harm to Plaintiffs' health and safety.

4. The process leading to the Decision and the Decision itself violated and continues to violate the procedural and substantive due process rights of the Plaintiffs, constitutes an arbitrary and capricious determination arising from clear error, and constitutes an abuse of discretion that proceeded in direct contravention of the "LaSalle-Sinclair Factors" set forth in LaSalle National Bank of Chicago v County of Cook, 12 Ill.2d 40, 46-47; 145 N.E.2d 65, 69 (1957) and Sinclair Pipe Line Co. v. Village of Richton Park, 19 Ill.2d 370 (1960), as well as various sections of the Libertyville Zoning Code, including Sections 16-9, 16-10, and 16-14, and the manifest weight of the evidence.

5. Plaintiffs seek a reversal of the Decision in Ordinance Nos. 09-O-07, 09-O-08, 09-O-09, and 09-O-14, as against the manifest weight of the evidence, as well as a declaration that the Decision in Ordinance Nos. 09-O-07, 09-O-08, 09-O-09, and 09-O-14 is unconstitutional as arbitrarily and capriciously granted, violative of substantive and procedural due process, and contract to Sections 2 and 15 of Article One of the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and the Fifty and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States.

6. Plaintiffs also seek injunctive relief based upon the unreasonable interference with Plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their properties and based upon the harm to the Plaintiffs’ health and safety that is being and will continue to be caused by the use of the Business Wind Turbine.

The complete filing can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.

Download File(s):
Libertyville Court Case.pdf (1.58 MB)