Kirkpatrick v. Baxter Healthcare, 2023 IL App (2d) 230088 reminds practitioners that the practice of law can be a minefield where “the devil is usually in the details”.
by Melinda S. Kollross
Plaintiff’s counsel e-filed a complaint on the last day of the statute of limitations but used the wrong ARDC registration number. The Clerk rejected the complaint for filing. Plaintiff’s counsel then cured the error using the right ARDC number and the complaint was accepted for filing but beyond the statute of limitations. Defendant moved to dismiss, and in response, plaintiff asked the court to accept the late filing under Rule 9 which allows trial courts to allow late filings because of e-filing issues upon “good cause shown”. The trial court denied relief and dismissed the complaint as late, and the Appellate Court affirmed. The Appellate Court held that it could not find that the trial court abused its discretion in denying relief because the case did not involve any e-filing issue. According to the Appellate Court, this was avoidable attorney error in not inserting the right registration number and demonstrated the perils of waiting until the last day to do things.
Melinda S. Kollross