Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Illinois

There are missing important facts here -- like what is really going on and how the matter wound up at the point of a summary judgment. But as a general rule.....

1. Court of Appeals: An appellate court won't rewrite the complaint. All it can do is say whether the lower court's ruling was proper. But sometimes in appellate argument or opinion the court can "hint" at what should have been in the complaint, and if it is "reversed and remanded" to the lower court then the opportunity may exist. A reverse and remand order could mean that the judge in the lower court was wrong about entering an order for summary judgment -- see below.

2. Summary Judgment: The idea of summary judgment is that (a) the facts are pretty clear ("no dispute of material fact...") and (b) as a result NO legal theory can support a judgment for the complainant. It is the pleader's job to set out as many legal theories as possible in the complaint. A judge might deny a motion for summary judgment if a theory could be pleaded. But once the judge enters an order granting the motion for the movant, the only question is whether the judge made a mistake that an appellate court could reverse, or reverse and remand. Courts generally don't like entering motions for summary judgment because they normally terminate litigation if entered and some consider it a "drastic" result. So if summary judgment was entered, it is highly possible there is no legal theory to support a finding for the complainant.