2026 IL App (1^st) 252082

In 4310-4322 N. Clarendon Condominium Association v. Klein, a condominium association sued unit owner David Klein for violations of the condominium declaration and bylaws and the Illinois Condominium Property Act. The circuit court granted summary judgment to the Association and awarded $23,897.23 in attorney fees and costs. Klein, who had received a statutory waiver of court fees because of his limited income, argued that the waiver also protected him from paying the Association’s attorney fees.

The First District Appellate Court affirmed. It held that the fee-waiver statute covers fees and costs associated with accessing and using the court system—not attorney fees or other liabilities owed to an opposing party. Because Klein’s obligation to pay the Association’s attorney fees arose under the Condominium Property Act and the condominium declaration, his indigency and court-fee waiver did not eliminate that obligation.

Takeaways:

• The fee-waiver statute is designed to remove court-system costs that might prevent an indigent person from prosecuting or defending a case. It does not waive the opposing party’s attorney fees.
• Where the Condominium Property Act and condominium declaration require the owner to pay the Association’s attorney fees, a previously granted court-fee waiver does not defeat that liability. Condominium associations can still obtain a judgement to recover attorney fees from an indigent unit owner.
• The court made the distinction between the “cost of accessing the courts” versus “liability to another party.” Items such as filing/service fees, mandatory court processes, and qualifying transcript expenses can fall within the waiver. An attorney-fee award to an opponent is fundamentally different. The court expressly rejected Klein’s policy argument that indigency should shield him from a roughly $24,000 fee award after his ordinary court fees had been waived.