Kankakee County Circuit Judge Lindsay Parkhurst ruled Concerned Citizens of Manteno, Illinois, and Manteno resident Brian Kovaka can file a fourth amended complaint against the Village of Manteno, 333 South Spruce LLC, Gotion, Inc., and Gotion Illinois New Energy Inc.

Parkhurst listened Wednesday to arguments from attorneys for both sides.

Attorney Bailey Stubbe of Eckland and Blando and Manteno attorney David Bergdahl representing Concerned Citizens of Manteno and Kovaka argued Parkhurst should add Margaret and Joel Shaykin and Brent Kleinfelder, who reside near the Gotion plant.

Gotion’s attorneys, David Streicker and Daria Porta, of Polsinelli PC, argued that the Shaykins and Kleinfelder do not live within the required 1,200 feet of the plant to be part of the lawsuit.

Shaykins and Kleinfelder also have not alleged a special injury different from that suffered by the community at large, according to the response, and their claims do not relate to the original complaint.

Bailey Stubbe, an attorney representing Concerned Citizens of Manteno and Brian Kovaka, argued that Gotion’s figures were inaccurate.

The distances came from Kankakee GIS Mapping, according to court documents.

“The appropriate procedure to challenge whether the proposed new plaintiffs actually reside within 1,200 feet is through discovery and a motion for summary judgement - not through judicial notice at the pleading stage,” Parkhurst said in her decision.

“Defendants may present evidence such as surveys, property records, or other documentation establishing the actual distances, but this factual dispute must be resolved through the normal evidentiary rather than by taking judicial notice that contradicts the complaint’s allegations,“ she said.

The lawsuit was originally filed in December 2023 regarding Manteno’s rezoning of the then-proposed lithium battery factory at the former Kmart distribution center at 333 S. Spruce St. in Manteno for Gotion, a Chinese manufacturer.

The next court date in the case is July 8.