124671

: Reaffirming its own precedent (the Barber rule), the court held that an effective tender made before a class-certification motion is filed satisfies the individual claim and moots the interest in the litigation.

The central question was whether a defendant could "pick off" a class-action lawsuit by paying only the individual plaintiff's claim before the class was officially certified. 124671

The Illinois Supreme Court ultimately affirmed the dismissal of the case, but with a significant clarification of Illinois law: : Reaffirming its own precedent (the Barber rule),

: The court explicitly declined to follow the federal Campbell-Ewald standard, asserting its role as the final arbiter of Illinois state law. In this case, plaintiffs Chandra Joiner and William

In this case, plaintiffs Chandra Joiner and William Blackmond sued their landlord, SVM Management, for failing to pay interest on their security deposits as required by the Illinois Security Deposit Interest Act .

: SVM Management argued that because they offered the plaintiffs everything they personally asked for, there was no longer a "controversy," making the case moot .