Illinois Private Cause of Action Factors

In Farrell et al. v. State 52. Ill. Ct. Cl. 275 (1997), the Court adopted the four factors first articulated in Sawyer Realty Group, Inc. v. Jarvis Corp., 89 Ill. 2d 379, 432 N.E.2d 849, 59 Ill. Dec. 905 (1982), necessary to establish an implied private cause of action: (1) the plaintiff is a member of the class for whose benefit the statute was enacted; (2) the private right of action is consistent with the statute in question; (3) the injury to the plaintiff is of the type the statute was enacted to prevent; (4) an implied private right of action is necessary to remedy a violation of the act. See also, Rodgers v. St. Mary's Hospital of Decatur, 149 Ill. 2d 302, 597 N.E.2d 616, 173 Ill. Dec. 642 (1992). The Court has held that an implied right of action can only be found based upon "necessity," and is done so reluctantly. Farrell, 52 Ill. Ct. Cl. 275.