Relf v. Shatayeva

2013 IL 114925

IN THE

SUPREME COURT

OF

THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

(Docket No. 114925)

SANDRA RELF, Appellee, v. NATASHA SHATAYEVA, as Special

Adm’r of the Estate of Joseph Grand Pre, Jr., Appellant.

Opinion filed October 18, 2013.

JUSTICE KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with

opinion.

Justices Freeman, Thomas, Garman, Burke, and Theis concurred

in the judgment and opinion.

Chief Justice Kilbride dissented, with opinion.

OPINION

¶1 Plaintiff, Sandra Relf, brought an action against Joseph Grand

Pre, Jr., in the circuit court of Cook County to recover damages for

personal injuries she sustained in a motor vehicle accident. At the

time plaintiff filed her action, Mr. Grand Pre was deceased, his will

had been admitted to probate, and letters of office had been issued to

his son to serve as independent administrator of his estate. Claiming

she was not aware of Mr. Grand Pre’s death when she filed suit, and

without notice to the estate, the independent administrator, or Grand

Pre’s heirs and legatees, plaintiff subsequently sought and was

granted permission to have a secretary in her attorney’s office

appointed as “special administrator” to defend Mr. Grand Pre’s estate

against her claims.

¶2 Substitution of the “special administrator” did not occur until

after the two-year limitations period for personal injury actions had

expired. The “special administrator” therefore moved to dismiss

plaintiff’s cause of action as time-barred under section 2-619 of the

Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-619 (West 2010)). The circuit

court found the “special administrator’s” motion to be meritorious

and dismissed, rejecting plaintiff’s arguments that the action should

be deemed timely under the provisions of section 13-209 of the Code

of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-209 (West 2010)) which govern

the procedures to be followed where a person against whom a cause

of action may be brought is deceased. The appellate court reversed

and remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings. 2012 IL

App (1st) 112071. We granted defendant leave to appeal (Ill. S. Ct.

R. 315 (eff. May 1, 2013)) and allowed the Illinois Trial Lawyers

Association to file a brief amicus curiae pursuant to Illinois Supreme

Court Rule 345 (Ill. S. Ct. R. 345 (eff. Sept. 20, 2010)). For the

reasons that follow, we now reverse the appellate court’s judgment

and affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

¶3 BACKGROUND

¶4 The motor vehicle accident which gave rise to this litigation

occurred in February of 2008. In February of 2010, just as the two-

year statute of limitations for personal injury actions (735 ILCS 5/13-

202 (West 2010)) was about to expire, plaintiff filed this action

against Mr. Grand Pre in the circuit court of Cook County to recover

damages for the injuries she sustained in the accident.

¶5 Mr. Grand Pre was the sole defendant named in the complaint. At

the time the complaint was filed, however, Mr. Grand Pre was

actually deceased. He had passed away on April 25, 2008, shortly

after the accident.

¶6 The record shows that a paid death notice giving the

circumstances of Mr. Grand Pre’s death was published in the Chicago

Tribune on April 30, 2008. The record further shows that probate

proceedings involving his estate were initiated in the circuit court of

Cook County in August of 2008. Mr. Grand Pre’s will was admitted

to probate in September of 2008 and, at the same time, letters of

office were issued to his son, Gary, to serve as independent

administrator of Mr. Grand Pre’s estate. These were all matters of

public record.

¶7 The sheriff failed to effectuate service of process on Mr. Grand

Pre, who, as we have just noted, was dead. Still not realizing that Mr.

Grand Pre was deceased, plaintiff then sought and was granted leave

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to have a special process server appointed to attempt service on him.

The special process server quickly discovered that Mr. Grand Pre was

no longer living and conveyed that information to plaintiff on May

17, 2010. Plaintiff took no immediate corrective action in response to

the special process server’s news, and on May 24, 2010, the circuit

court dismissed plaintiff’s cause of action for lack of diligence in

attempting to effectuate service.1 Because plaintiff’s failure to

exercise diligence occurred after the governing limitations period had

expired, the dismissal was with prejudice. Ill. S. Ct. R. 103(b) (eff.

July 1, 2007).

¶8 On September 24, 2010, plaintiff asked the circuit court to set

aside its order dismissing the case for lack of diligence. In a separate

motion filed the same day, plaintiff also asked the court to take notice

of Mr. Grand Pre’s death, to appoint a “special administrator” for the

purposes of defending plaintiff’s action against him, and to grant

plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint.

¶9 In support of her request for a “special administrator,” plaintiff

asserted that she had not learned of Mr. Grand Pre’s death until

receiving notice of it from the special process server and that she was

unaware as to whether “any personal representative has been

appointed by the Estate of [Mr. Grand Pre].” Plaintiff proposed that

Natasha Shatayeva, an employee/legal assistant of her lawyer, be

appointed to serve “as the Special Administrator of the Estate of [Mr.

Grand Pre], deceased.” Shatayeva was the attorney’s secretary.

¶ 10 Following a hearing, the circuit court granted all of plaintiff’s

requests. It vacated the dismissal and reinstated the action, “spread

[Mr. Grand Pre’s] death of record, appointed Natasha Shatayeva “as

the Special Administrator of the Estate of [Mr. Grand Pre],

deceased,” and granted plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint,

which plaintiff promptly did. The circuit court’s order appointing

Shatayeva as “special administrator” gave no statutory basis for that

action and none was set forth in plaintiff’s motion.

¶ 11 Once Shatayeva was designated by the court to represent Mr.

Grand Pre’s estate, she moved to dismiss plaintiff’s cause of action

pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 103(b) (Ill. S. Ct. R. 103(b) (eff. July

1, 2007)) on the grounds that plaintiff had “failed to take substantive

1

At this point in the proceedings, it appears that the circuit court did not

know the reason Grand Pre had not been served, only that service had not

been accomplished.

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efforts to serve Defendant with the lawsuit timely [sic]” and that she,

Shatayeva, was not served “until on or about October 7, 2010, over

seven months after the statute of limitation [had run].” That motion

was denied by the court in February of 2011. Thereafter, plaintiff was

allowed to file a second amended complaint correcting an error in her

previous pleadings regarding Mr. Grand Pre’s name.

¶ 12 Plaintiff’s second amended complaint was filed in March of 2011.

Shatayeva responded by filing a motion to dismiss pursuant to section

2-619 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-619 (West

2010)), on the grounds that plaintiff’s cause of action was not

commenced within the time limited by law. Although plaintiff’s

original complaint was filed in the circuit court just within the two-

year limitation period for actions for damages for an injury to the

person (735 ILCS 5/13-202 (West 2010)), that complaint, as we have

discussed, was directed against Mr. Grand Pre himself even though

he had already been dead for approximately a year and 10 months.

Shatayeva argued that under Illinois law, a dead person is a

nonexistent entity and cannot be a party to a lawsuit.

Correspondingly, a lawsuit instituted against a person who is already

dead at the time the suit is filed is a nullity and void ab initio.

Shatayeva asserted that the complaint naming Mr. Grand Pre

therefore could not operate to preserve plaintiff’s claims arising from

the February 2008 accident.

¶ 13 Shatayeva further argued that the General Assembly has provided

litigants with a mechanism for bringing a cause of action where, as

here, a person against whom an action may be brought dies before

expiration of the time limit for commencement of that action, and the

cause of action survives and is not otherwise barred. Shatayeva

asserted, however, that plaintiff failed to follow the statutory

requirements in this case.

¶ 14 Under section 13-209(b)(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735

ILCS 5/13-209(b)(1) (West 2010)), if an estate has been opened for

the decedent and a personal representative has been appointed by the

court, the “action may be commenced against his or her personal

representative after the expiration of the time limited for the

commencement of the action, and within 6 months after the person’s

death.” If, on the other hand, “no petition has been filed for letters of

office for the deceased’s estate,” then under section 13-209(b)(2) of

the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-209(b)(2) (West 2010)),

“the court, upon the motion of a person entitled to bring an action and

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after the notice to the party’s heirs or legatees as the court directs and

without opening an estate, may appoint a special representative for

the deceased party for the purposes of defending the action.”

¶ 15 In this case, a petition for letters of office for Mr. Grand Pre’s

estate had been filed and a personal representative, Mr. Grand Pre’s

son, Gary, had been appointed by the circuit. As between the

foregoing provisions, section 13-209(b)(1) rather than section 13-

209(b)(2) was therefore the relevant provision. Under that statute,

plaintiff could have preserved her claims arising from the collision

involving Mr. Grand Pre, had she known of Grand Pre’s death, by

bringing the action against the personal representative appointed by

the court in the probate proceeding and doing so within six months of

Mr. Grand Pre’s death. But plaintiff did neither of those things.

Shatayeva therefore asserted that section 13-209(b)(1) could not be

applied here.

¶ 16 Shatayeva further argued that the legislature has provided an

additional safe harbor to aid plaintiffs where, as is claimed by

plaintiff’s counsel to be the situation here, the action is brought

directly against the deceased person and the plaintiff does not learn

that the defendant is actually dead until the limitations period has

expired. In such circumstances, and assuming the cause of action

survives and is not otherwise barred, section 13-209(c) of the Code

of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-209(c) (West 2010)) allows the

plaintiff to proceed directly against the personal representative,

notwithstanding the fact that the claims would otherwise be untimely.

That option, however, is subject to four conditions. The plaintiff must

proceed “with reasonable diligence to move the court for leave to file

an amended complaint, substituting the personal representative as

defendant.” 735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(1) (West 2010). The plaintiff must

also proceed “with reasonable diligence to serve process upon the

personal representative.” 735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(2) (West 2010). If

process is served more than six months after issuance of letters of

office to the personal representative, the “liability of the estate is

limited as to recovery to the extent the estate is protected by liability

insurance.” 735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(3) (West 2010). Finally, “[i]n no

event can a party commence an action under this subsection (c) unless

a personal representative is appointed and an amended complaint is

filed within 2 years of the time limited for the commencement of the

original action.” 735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(4) (West 2010).

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¶ 17 Although a personal representative had been appointed in the

matter before us in September of 2008, plaintiff never moved the

court to have that personal representative substituted as a defendant

and never attempted service on that personal representative. Instead,

the plaintiff arranged to have one of her attorney’s employees, his

secretary, appointed “special administrator.” Shatayeva asserted that

where, as here, a personal representative has already been appointed

in probate proceedings, appointment of a separate special

representative for the deceased party is improper. Accordingly,

Shatayeva asserted, the pleadings naming her as a party are

impermissible and should be stricken and the case should be

dismissed as time-barred.

¶ 18 The circuit court found Shatayeva’s arguments to be meritorious

and granted her motion to dismiss. The appellate court reversed and

remanded. 2012 IL App (1st) 112071. It held that because plaintiff

was unaware of Mr. Grand Pre’s death at the time she filed her

complaint, section 13-209(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure was the

governing provision in this case and that section 13-209(b) was

inapplicable. 2012 IL App (1st) 112071, ¶¶ 23-25. It further held that

plaintiff’s actions in securing the appointment of Shatayeva as

“special administrator” when and how she did satisfied the

requirements of section 13-209(c) (2012 IL App (1st) 112071, ¶ 26)

and were sufficient to preserve the viability of plaintiff’s otherwise

untimely cause of action. It therefore reversed and remanded for

further proceedings. This appeal followed.

¶ 19 ANALYSIS

¶ 20 This case was decided by the circuit court on a motion to dismiss

pursuant to section 2-619 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS

5/2-619 (West 2010)). A motion to dismiss under section 2-619

admits the legal sufficiency of the plaintiff’s complaint, but asserts an

affirmative defense or other matter that avoids or defeats the

plaintiff’s claim. DeLuna v. Burciaga, 223 Ill. 2d 49, 59 (2006). Here,

the contention was that the action was not commenced within the

time limited by law. 735 ILCS 5/2-619(a)(5) (West 2010).

¶ 21 In reviewing whether a cause of action is untimely, we are not

bound by the conclusions of either the circuit or the appellate court.

Whether a cause of action was properly dismissed under section

2-619(a)(5) of the Code of Civil Procedure based on the statute of

limitations is a matter we review de novo. Ferguson v. City of

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Chicago, 213 Ill. 2d 94, 99 (2004). In addition, whether plaintiff’s

cause of action was timely in this case turns on how the provisions of

section 13-209 should be interpreted. Statutory construction presents

a question of law. Our review is de novo for this reason as well.

Township of Jubilee v. State of Illinois, 2011 IL 111447, ¶ 23.

¶ 22 We begin our review with the obvious and unfortunate reality that

the actual alleged tortfeasor, Mr. Grand Pre, is no longer with us. He

died shortly after the motor vehicle accident which gave rise to this

case, and was long dead by the time plaintiff filed her initial

complaint in February of 2010. Under the common law of Illinois, a

dead person is a nonexistent entity and cannot be a party to a suit.

Volkmar v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 104 Ill.

App. 3d 149, 151 (1982). If a person is already dead when an action

is asserted against him or her, the proceedings will not invoke the trial

court’s jurisdiction, and any judgment entered in the case will be a

nullity. Danforth v. Danforth, 111 Ill. 236, 240 (1884); Bricker v.

Borah, 127 Ill. App. 3d 722, 724 (1984). For these reasons, plaintiff’s

initial complaint naming Mr. Grand Pre as the defendant did not

operate to preserve plaintiff’s claims arising from her collision with

Mr. Grand Pre’s vehicle in February of 2008. Those claims remain

viable if and only if plaintiff’s subsequent action in substituting

Shatayeva as the defendant, which did not occur until the normal two-

year limitations period for personal injury actions had already

expired, operated to preserve plaintiff’s otherwise untimely cause of

action.

¶ 23 The parties agree that resolution of this question rests squarely on

the construction and application of section 13-209 of the Code of

Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-209 (West 2010)). The principles

governing our construction of statutes are well established. The

primary goal in construing a statute is to ascertain and give effect to

the legislature’s intent. The best indication of that intent is the

language of the statute. Wilkins v. Williams, 2013 IL 114310, ¶ 14. In

construing that language, words and phrases should not be considered

in isolation. Rather, the language in each section of the statute must

be examined in light of the statute as a whole, which is construed in

conjunction with other statutes touching on the same or related

subjects. Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Co., 2012 IL 113204, ¶ 37.

¶ 24 Section 13-209 appears in article XIII of the Code of Civil

Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-101 et seq. (West 2010)), which deals with

limitations on actions. Statutes of limitation, like other statutes, must

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be construed in the light of their objectives. The basic policy of such

statutes is to afford a defendant a fair opportunity to investigate the

circumstances upon which liability against him is predicated while

the facts are accessible. Geneva Construction Co. v. Martin Transfer

& Storage Co., 4 Ill. 2d 273, 289-90 (1954). The General Assembly

has recognized, however, that injustice might result when a party by

or against whom a cause of action might be brought dies before the

otherwise applicable limitations period has expired. It is that problem

to which section 13-209 is addressed.

¶ 25 Section 13-209 is divided into three sections. Subsection (a) (735

ILCS 5/13-209(a) (West 2010)) governs when and how a case may

proceed where the party who dies prior to expiration of the limitations

period is the plaintiff, a situation not present here. Where the

deceased party is the defendant, subsections (b) (735 ILCS 5/13-

209(b) (West 2010)) or (c) (735 ILCS 5/13-209(c) (West 2010)) come

into play.

¶ 26 Subsection (b) sets forth the basic procedures and time

requirements that must be followed in situations where a person

against whom an action may be filed dies before the limitations

period runs out, the action survives the person’s death, and it is not

otherwise barred. If no petition has been filed for letters of office for

the decedent’s estate, the court may appoint a “special representative”

for the deceased party for the purposes of defending the action. 735

ILCS 5/13-209(b)(2) (West 2010). Otherwise, i.e., if a petition has

been filed for letters of office for the decedent’s estate, an action may

be commenced against the “personal representative” appointed by the

court. 735 ILCS 5/13-209(b)(1) (West 2010).

¶ 27 The provisions of section 13-209(b) presuppose that the plaintiff

is aware of the defendant’s death at the time he or she commences the

action. A separate set of requirements apply where, as in this case, the

defendant’s death is not known to plaintiff before expiration of the

limitations period and, unaware of the death, the plaintiff commences

the action against the deceased defendant directly. This scenario is

governed by section 13-209(c) (735 ILCS 5/13-209(c) (West 2010)).

Assuming that the cause of action survives the defendant’s death and

is not otherwise barred, section 13-209(c) permits a plaintiff to

preserve his or her cause of action by substituting the deceased

person’s “personal representative” as the defendant. As set forth

earlier in this opinion, however, that option is subject to certain

conditions. The plaintiff must proceed with reasonable diligence in

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both “mov[ing] the court for leave to file an amended complaint,

substituting the personal representative as defendant” (735 ILCS

5/13-209(c)(1) (West 2010)) and “serv[ing] process upon the personal

representative” (735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(2) (West 2010)). If process is

served more than six months after issuance of letters of office to the

personal representative, “the liability of the estate is limited as to

recovery to the extent the estate is protected by liability insurance.”

735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(3) (West 2010). Moreover, “[i]n no event can

a party commence an action under this subsection (c) unless a

personal representative is appointed and an amended complaint is

filed within 2 years of the time limited for the commencement of the

original action.” 735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(4) (West 2010).

¶ 28 The appellate court here concluded that section 13-209(c) (735

ILCS 5/13-209(c) (West 2010)) governs this case. We believe this

conclusion is well founded. Section 13-209(c) deals specifically and

unambiguously with the situation where a party has commenced an

action against a deceased person and that person’s death is unknown

to the party before the statute of limitations expires. Augustus v.

Estate of Somers, 278 Ill. App. 3d 90, 98 (1996). That is precisely the

situation before us here. Plaintiff sued Mr. Grand Pre before the two-

year limitations period for personal injury actions had run out, though

just barely, and proceeded against him directly because she did not

yet know that he had died a year and 10 months earlier. It was not

until several months after the statute of limitations had expired that

she became aware of his death. Section 13-209(c) therefore controls.

See Walker v. Ware, 2013 IL App (1st) 122364, ¶ 20.

¶ 29 Why plaintiff was not yet aware of Mr. Grand Pre’s death when

she filed suit is unclear. The record shows that a paid death notice had

been published in the newspaper, that probate proceedings had

commenced, and that information regarding Mr. Grand Pre’s death

and the related probate proceedings was readily available through the

circuit clerk’s office and online. But whether plaintiff should have

known of Mr. Grand Pre’s death is not the question. Under the

express terms of section 13-209(c), the issue is simply whether Mr.

Grand Pre’s death was unknown to plaintiff. The reasonable diligence

expressly required by the legislature with respect to some actions

under section 13-209(c) is notably absent with respect to knowledge

of a defendant’s death. That being so, we cannot rewrite the statute to

add such a provision. Where a statutory enactment is clear and

unambiguous, a court is not at liberty to depart from the plain

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language and meaning of the statute by reading into it exceptions,

limitations or conditions that the legislature did not express. Solich v.

George & Anna Portes Cancer Prevention Center of Chicago, Inc.,

158 Ill. 2d 76, 83 (1994).

¶ 30 We turn then to the central issue in this case: whether plaintiff’s

actions once she did learn of Mr. Grand Pre’s death complied with the

conditions required by section 13-209(c). If those conditions were not

satisfied, the circuit court was correct to conclude that section 13-

209(c) could not be invoked by plaintiff in aid of her otherwise

invalid and untimely cause of action. If the statute’s conditions were

met, as the appellate court believed, plaintiff’s cause of action

remains viable and the circuit court should not have dismissed it.

¶ 31 There is no dispute that plaintiff’s cause of action falls within the

category of cases covered by section 13-209(c) in that it was

commenced “against a deceased person whose death [was] unknown

to [the plaintiff] before the expiration of the time limited for the

commencement thereof, and the cause of action survive[d], and is not

otherwise barred.” 735 ILCS 5/13-209(c) (West 2010). Nor is there

any dispute that plaintiff therefore had the right to commence an

action against Mr. Grand Pre’s “personal representative,” subject to

the various specific conditions set forth in section 13-209(c),

including that she proceed with reasonable diligence “to move the

court for leave to file an amended complaint, substituting the personal

representative as defendant” (735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(1) (West 2010))

and “to serve process upon the personal representative” (735 ILCS

5/13-209(c)(2) (West 2010)). The real question in this case is whether

Shatayeva qualifies as a “personal representative” within the meaning

of the statute. We believe that she does not.

¶ 32 The Code of Civil Procedure does not define the term “personal

representative” for purposes of section 13-209. It is therefore

appropriate for us to consult a dictionary to determine its plain

meaning. People v. Perry, 224 Ill. 2d 312, 330 (2007). In its most

general sense, “personal representative” refers to any “[a] person who

manages the legal affairs of another because of incapacity or death.”

Black’s Law Dictionary 1416 (9th ed. 2009). In the particular case of

persons who have died leaving estates which must be settled and

distributed, the situation before us here, “personal representative”

encompasses both of two basic categories of individuals: executors,

who are named in the decedent’s will, and administrators, who are

appointed where the decedent is intestate or else left a will but has no

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executor. Id. at 1416-17; 33 C.J.S. Executors and Administrators § 3

(2009); Hayden v. Wheeler, 33 Ill. 2d 110, 112 (1965); Johnson v.

Van Epps, 110 Ill. 551, 559-60 (1884).

¶ 33 The rules governing executors and administrators are set forth in

the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/1-1 et seq. (West 2010)). Under

the Act, executors and administrators share a common trait. They are

both officers of the court to whom letters of office are issued. In the

case of executors, these are letters testamentary. 755 ILCS 5/6-8

(West 2010). In the case of administrators, they are letters of

administration. 755 ILCS 5/9-2 (West 2010). The Probate Act also

recognizes “administrator to collect” as a type of representative in

addition to executors and administrators. 755 ILCS 5/1-2.15 (West

2010) . These differ from regular administrators (see 755 ILCS 5/10-1

et seq. (West 2010)), but also require issuance of letters of office. See

755 ILCS 5/10-1 (West 2010). Issuance of letters of office would

therefore appear to be a hallmark of “personal representatives” as that

term is commonly understood when applied to situations involving

estates which must be settled and distributed following a person’s

death.

¶ 34 The terminology employed by the General Assembly in section

13-209 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-209 (West

2010)) is consistent with this usage. In setting forth the requirements

which must be followed in order to preserve a cause of action when

a party by or against whom the action might be brought dies before

the otherwise applicable limitations period has expired, section 13-

209 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-209 (West 2010))

distinguishes between “representatives” or “personal representatives,”

on the one hand, and “special representatives,” on the other. Where

the legislature has employed certain language in one part of a statute

and different language in another, we may assume different meanings

were intended (State Bank of Cherry v. CGB Enterprises, Inc., 2013

IL 113836, ¶ 56), and the difference in meaning here is apparent.

“Special representatives” are referenced only with respect to

situations where “no petition for letters of office for the decedent’s

estate has been filed.” See 735 ILCS 5/13-209(a)(2), (b)(2) (West

2010). In all other situations, which by inference must be whenever

petitions for letters of office have been filed, the statute refers to

“representatives” or “personal representatives.”

¶ 35 Plaintiff would have us treat “personal representatives” and

“special representatives” as interchangeable, but her approach is

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incompatible with the history of section 13-209. Prior to its

amendment by Public Act 90-111 in 1997, section 13-209 only made

provision for actions by or against “personal representatives.” See

735 ILCS 5/13-209(a), (b), (c) (West 1996). No mention was made

of “special representatives.” The references to “special

representatives” were all added at the same time through Public Act

90-111, and in each instance, the new provisions allowing

appointment of “special representatives” to bring or defend against

actions were preceded by the conditional clauses “if no petition for

letters of office for the decedent’s estate has been filed” (735 ILCS

5/13-209(a)(2) (West 2010)) and “if no petition has been filed for

letters of office for the deceased’s estate” (735 ILCS 5/13-209(b)(2)

(West 2010)). By adding the new term “special representative” and

expressly limiting use of “special representatives” to situations where

no petition for letters of office had been filed, the General Assembly

must have understood the preexisting statutory term “personal

representatives” as referring to individuals to whom letters of office

had been issued. No other interpretation of the statutory change is

tenable.

¶ 36 That a “personal representative” means one appointed pursuant to

a petition for issuance of letters of office is confirmed by section 13-

209(c) (735 ILCS 5/13-209(c) (West 2010)), the specific provision

governing this case. As noted earlier in this opinion, that subsection

affords litigants an opportunity to save an otherwise time-barred

claim where they have sued a deceased person whose death was

unknown to them before expiration of the applicable statute of

limitations. To avail themselves of this opportunity, however,

litigants must “proceed[ ] with reasonable diligence to serve process

upon the personal representative” (735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(2) (West

2010)) and “[i]f process is served more than 6 months after the

issuance of letters of office, liability of the estate is limited as to

recovery to the extent the estate is protected by liability insurance”

(735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(3) (West 2010)). If “personal representative”

was not intended by the legislature to refer specifically to an

individual appointed to settle and distribute an estate pursuant to a

petition for issuance of letters of office, whether as an executor or as

an administrator, using the time when letters of office issued as a

point of demarcation regarding the scope of the estate’s liability

would serve no purpose.

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¶ 37 That “personal representative” as used in section 13-209 was

intended by the legislature to refer specifically to individuals

appointed to settle and distribute a decedent’s estate pursuant to a

petition for issuance of letters of office is also consistent with how the

term is used in section 2-1008(b) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735

ILCS 5/2-1008(b) (West 2010)), which deals with the related question

of what happens when a party to an action dies after suit has been

filed. There, as in section 13-209, the term “special representative” is

used when referring to individuals appointed by the court in situations

where no petition for letters of office for the decedent’s estate has

been filed. 735 ILCS 5/2-1008(b)(1), (b)(2) (West 2010). Where a

petition for letters of office has been filed, the relevant entity is the

“personal representative,” just as it is under section 13-209. See 735

ILCS 5/2-1008(b)(2) (West 2010).

¶ 38 That a “personal representative” refers to someone appointed

pursuant to a petition for letters of office while “special

representative” designates someone appointed by the court in

situations where no petition for letters of office for the decedent’s

estate has been filed is further supported by the fact that section 2-

1008(b) includes an express provision for substituting the personal

representative for the special representative “[a]t any time that an

estate is opened with a representative other than the special

representative.” 735 ILCS 5/2-1008(b)(1) (West 2010). If the terms

“personal representatives” and “special representatives” were

synonymous and freely interchangeable, this provision would make

no sense.

¶ 39 When construing statutes, it is appropriate to consider similar and

related enactments, though not strictly in pari materia. We must

presume that several statutes relating to the same subject are governed

by one spirit and a single policy, and that the legislature intended the

several statutes to be consistent and harmonious. Wade v. City of

North Chicago Police Pension Board, 226 Ill. 2d 485, 511-12 (2007).

Accordingly, we believe that section 2-1008(b) of the Code of Civil

Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1008(b) (West 2010)) supports our

interpretation of section 13-209(c).

¶ 40 So, too, does section 6-139 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735

ILCS 5/6-139 (West 2010)). That statute deals with the death of the

plaintiff in an action for ejectment. It is clear from the text of the law

that when it refers to “the decedent’s personal representatives,” it

means individuals to whom letters of office have been granted by the

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court under the Probate Act. We know that is what it means because

“the granting of letters of office to them” is one of the things that

must be demonstrated in order for a personal representatives to step

into the shoes of a “plaintiff in ejectment [who] dies after issue joined

or judgment entered therein.” 735 ILCS 5/6-139 (West 2010).

¶ 41 In this case, a petition for issuance of letters of office was filed

pursuant to the Probate Act, but it was filed by Mr. Grand Pre’s son,

and it was the son to whom the letters of office were granted. Mr.

Grand Pre’s son was therefore his “personal representative” under

section 13-209(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-

209(c) (West 2010)). Shatayeva was not. Shatayeva did not seek and

was not granted either letters testamentary or letters of administration

to settle and distribute Mr. Grand Pre’s estate. She was merely

appointed at plaintiff’s request to serve as “special administrator.”

¶ 42 Why plaintiff referred to Shatayeva’s appointment using the term

“special administrator” is unclear. She cited no statutory authority for

that request in her motion, and the term is not used anywhere in

section 13-209. It may be because plaintiff was thinking in terms of

an earlier verison of section 2-1008(b). We surmise this because

section 2-1008(b) deals with a related problem, as we have already

noted, and prior to its amendment in 1997, it used the term “special

administrator” when referring to an individual appointed in cases

where no petition for issuance of letters of office had been issued

(735 ILCS 5/2-1008(b) (West 1996)), instead of the current phrase,

“special representative.”

¶ 43 As previously discussed, section 2-1008(b) itself can have no

direct application here. It applies where a party dies while a case is

already pending. It may not be used where, as in this case, a defendant

dies before the action is instituted. Greene v. Helis, 252 Ill. App. 3d

957, 961 (1993); Sepeda v. LaBarre, 303 Ill. App. 3d 595, 598

(1999).2

2

Gaddy v. Schulte, 278 Ill. App. 3d 488 (1996), a panel of the Fifth

District of the Appellate Court did sanction the use of section 2-1008 of the

Code of Civil Procedure for appointment of a “special administrator” to

defend an action where the alleged tortfeasor died before the action was

instituted and indicated that a person could qualify as a personal

representative under section 13-209 (735 ILCS 5/13-209 (West 2010)) even

though letters of office had not issued to that person under the Probate Act.

Gaddy has not been followed by the courts of Illinois and for the reasons

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¶ 44 While section 2-1008(b) is not directly applicable, case law

construing the previous version of the law confirms our interpretation

of the law. A “special administrator” appointed under the former

version of section 2-1008(b) of the Code of Civil Procedure to defend

against an action was not the equivalent of an administrator appointed

pursuant to a petition for issuance of letters of office under the

Probate Act. Hannah v. Gilbert, 207 Ill. App. 3d 87, 90 (1990). No

letters of office were issued to a “special administrator,” and “special

administrators” had no authority to distribute assets of a decedent’s

estate. Id. In the parlance of the current statute, they were therefore

equivalent to “special representatives,” not “personal

representatives.” Accordingly, appointment of a “special

administrator” would not operate to trigger the provisions of section

13-209 of the Code of Civil Procedure permitting actions against an

individual appointed to settle and distribute an estate pursuant to a

petition for issuance of letters of office, i.e., personal representatives.

See Greene v. Helis, 252 Ill. App. 3d at 961; Lindsey v. Special

Administrator of the Estate of Phillips, 219 Ill. App. 3d 372, 376

(1991); Bricker v. Borah, 127 Ill. App. 3d 722, 725 (1984).

¶ 45 In Keller v. Walker, 319 Ill. App. 3d 67 (2001), a panel of the

Third District of the Appellate Court did conclude that the plaintiffs

in a personal injury action could satisfy the requirements of section

13-209(c) by seeking appointment of a special administrator in a case

where the alleged tortfeasor had died without a will and no estate had

been opened. In reaching that conclusion, however, the court did not

recognize, consider or discuss the significance of section 13-209(c)’s

use of the term “personal representative”; that a special administrator

would only qualify as a “special representative,” not a “personal

representative”; or that under section 13-209(c), as throughout the

statutory scheme enacted by our legislature, a “personal

representative” refers specifically to an individual appointed to settle

and distribute an estate pursuant to a petition for issuance of letters of

office. There is no indication in Keller that these problems were even

raised. The decision is therefore of no value in the resolution of this

case. See Village of Lake in the Hills v. Laidlaw Waste Systems, Inc.,

160 Ill. App. 3d 427, 431 (1987) (no precedent established on points

neither argued nor discussed in an opinion). Keller is also inapposite

because, of course, an estate had been opened in this case, a petition

discussed in this opinion, it is incorrect on both counts.

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for issuance of letters of office had been filed and a personal

representative had been appointed long before plaintiff first instituted

her cause of action.3

¶ 46 Under the plain language of section 13-209(c), plaintiff was

obligated to proceed against Mr. Grand Pre’s duly appointed personal

representative, substituting him as the defendant, once she learned of

Mr. Grand Pre’s death if she wished to preserve her otherwise invalid

cause of action. She did not. Instead, as we have noted, she elected to

have her lawyer’s secretary appointed “special administrator” and

sued her instead. Under these circumstances, the circuit court was

correct when it concluded that section 13-209(c) could not properly

be invoked by plaintiff to preserve her otherwise untimely cause of

action.

¶ 47 Practitioners familiar with trusts and estates will recognize that

the Probate Act itself makes provision for appointment of special

administrators under limited circumstances. They will also recognize,

however, that those provisions are of no use to plaintiff here and

therefore cannot alter the outcome of this case.

¶ 48 Section 8-1(e) of the Act (755 ILCS 5/8-1(e) (West 2010))

authorizes appointment of a special administrator to defend a

proceeding to contest the validity of a will or prosecute an appeal

from a judgment in a will contest case if the decedent’s representative

fails or refuses to do so or if there is no representative to act when the

contest is brought. Similarly, section 8-2(e) of the Act (755 ILCS 5/8-

2(e) (West 2010)) authorizes appointment of a special administrator

to defend a proceeding to probate a will or prosecute an appeal where

admission of a will to probate has been denied if the decedent’s

representative fails or refuses to do so when ordered by the court or

if there is no representative then acting. Those circumstances are

clearly not present in this case. There is no will contest, admission of

the will to probate was not denied, a representative for defendant was

3

Minikon v. Escobedo, 324 Ill. App. 3d 1073 (2001), another appellate

decision involving section 13-209(c), concerned the relationship between

that statute and 2-616(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-

616(d) (West 2010)) and whether plaintiff had met section 13-209(c)’s due

diligence requirements. No issue was raised as to whether a “special

administrator” qualified as a “personal representative” and it is

distinguishable from this case for the same reasons that Keller is.

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already in place, and there is no indication that the representative

failed or refused to undertake any of his obligations.

¶ 49 The Probate Act also allows appointment of a special

administrator to represent the estate in a proceeding for issuance of

a citation on behalf of the estate in cases where a person is believed

“(1) to have concealed, converted or embezzled or to have in his

possession or control any personal property, books of account, papers

or evidences of debt or title to lands which belonged to a person

whose estate is being administered in that court or which belongs to

his estate or to his representative or (2) to have information or

knowledge withheld by the respondent from the representative and

needed by the representative for the recovery of any property by suit

or otherwise” (755 ILCS 5/16-1(a) (West 2010)), and decedent’s

personal representative is the respondent in the case (755 ILCS 5/16-

1(c) (West 2010)). Again, however, these circumstances are not

present here. This is not a citation proceeding on behalf of the estate,

and the personal representative named by Mr. Grand Pre, his son, is

not a respondent.

¶ 50 Finally, section 18-8 of the Act (755 ILCS 5/18-8 (West 2010))

calls for appointment of a special administrator in cases where the

decedent’s representative or the representative’s attorney has a claim

against the estate. This situation is not before us either. The claim

here is not being pressed by Mr. Grand Pre’s personal representative,

or by an attorney for his personal representative.

¶ 51 We note, moreover, that a common thread in all of the foregoing

provisions is that appointment of a special administrator is

appropriate only where action or inaction by the personal

representative designated by the decedent may be adverse to the

interests of the decedent’s estate. Plaintiff has not cited any cases

permitting the appointment of a special administrator to protect the

interests of a decedent’s estate where, as here, an estate is already

opened, letters of office have already issued to an executor to settle

and distribute the estate, the executor has undertaken his

responsibilities and no conflict of interest is alleged.

¶ 52 The absence of authority for appointment of a separate special

administrator under such circumstances is not difficult to explain.

Having two separate individuals attempting to operate simultaneously

and independently on behalf of the same decedent poses obvious

problems for the prompt, efficient and final settlement of the

decedent’s affairs. Moreover, Illinois law is clear that a testator has

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the right to designate by will who shall act as his personal

representative, and a court may not ignore his directions and appoint

someone else to act in that capacity. Where, as here, the testator has

designated such a representative, the appointment of another party to

serve as special administrator impermissibly infringes on that right

and is not allowed. See In re Estate of Faught, 111 Ill. App. 3d 1043,

1045 (1983). Indeed, in addressing this problem in the context of the

Wrongful Death Act (740 ILCS 180/2.1 (West 2010)), courts have

concluded that appointment of a special administrator after a petition

for issuance of letters of office has been filed is void. Cushing v.

Greyhound Lines, Inc., 2012 IL App (1st) 100768, ¶¶ 104-05.

¶ 53 Plaintiff urges us to adopt a “no harm, no foul” approach and

sanction what she attempted to do on the grounds that there would be

no prejudice to Mr. Grand Pre’s estate from multiple representatives

because she is not seeking recovery from Shatayeva beyond amounts

for which the estate is protected by liability insurance. A threshold

problem with this argument is that we have no basis for evaluating it.

While plaintiff may perceive no prejudice to the estate, her interests

are inherently antithetical to its, and the estate may very well have a

different view. Unfortunately, we do not know what the personal

representative of the estate or the heirs or legatees think because none

of them were ever notified of this litigation or Shatayeva’s

appointment to defend against it.

¶ 54 The intrinsic conflict between plaintiff’s interests and those of the

estate is problematic for another reason as well. The Probate Act

expressly and unequivocally holds that “[t]he person appointed ***

special administrator under this Act may not be selected upon the

recommendation of any person having an interest adverse to the

person represented by the *** special administrator or by the attorney

for the adverse party.” 755 ILCS 5/27-5 (West 2010). Under this

provision, appointment of Shatayeva would have been improper even

if there were some basis for appointment of a special administrator,

for her selection was based entirely on the recommendation of the

attorney for plaintiff, who was clearly an adverse party.

¶ 55 It is true, of course, that Shatayeva’s appointment was not

predicated on the Probate Act. As noted earlier, we do not know what

it was based on because no statutory basis for the appointment was

stated in the motion seeking her appointment or in the order granting

it, and, in any case, none of the circumstances under which the

Probate Act authorizes appointment of a special administrator are

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present here. Even though the Probate Act is not directly controlling,

however, the soundness of the principles underlying the foregoing

provision is unassailable and further undermines the propriety of the

procedure followed in appointing Shatayeva.

¶ 56 Plaintiff asks us to excuse her failure to discover that an estate

had already been opened for Mr. Grand Pre on the grounds that her

attorney did make some effort to check the court records, and was

unsuccessful. Exactly what inquiries the attorney actually made,

however, are never described. They could not have been significant,

for, as counsel for Shatayeva points out, information regarding the

estate and the appointment of Grand Pre’s son as independent

administrator was readily available through the Cook County circuit

clerk’s office and online. In any case, the claim “I tried” is not

sufficient under the governing statute. While section 13-209 may

impose no duty of reasonable diligence to discover a defendant

tortfeasor’s death in the first instance, it clearly and unequivocally

requires reasonable diligence by a plaintiff after learning of the death,

including reasonable diligence in moving to file an amended

complaint substituting the personal representative as defendant (735

ILCS 5/13-209(c)(1) (West 2010)) and serving him or her with

process (735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(2) (West 2010)). Implicit in both

those obligations is the duty to use reasonable diligence in identifying

the personal representative. Based on the scant record before us,

plaintiff’s efforts here fell short of that standard.

¶ 57 We note, moreover, that even if plaintiff’s delay in discovering

the existence of the estate were excusable, that still would not justify

her failure to then proceed as section 13-209(c) requires. Plaintiff had

ample opportunity to properly comply with that statute after learning

that an estate was already open, a petition for issuance of letters of

office had been filed, and an independent administrator had been

appointed and was already in place. Plaintiff’s failure to substitute the

correct party following Mr. Grand Pre’s death was brought to her

attention no later than March of 2011, when Shatayeva moved to

dismiss. Although the original limitations period on plaintiff’s claims

had expired the previous year, section 13-209(c)(4) (735 ILCS 5/13-

209(c)(4) (West 2010)) gave her up to two additional years beyond

the expiration date to proceed against the personal representative,

assuming the other requirements of section 13-209 were satisfied.

Nothing in the record before us indicates that requiring plaintiff to

substitute the existing personal representative for Shatayeva, the

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“special administrator,” would have disadvantaged plaintiff in any

way. She simply elected not to do so.

¶ 58 Now, unfortunately for plaintiff, it is too late. The extra two-year

window afforded by section 13-209(c)(4) has closed. To excuse

plaintiff’s failure to comply with the requirements of section 13-

209(c) and allow her to substitute the personal representative at this

point would require us to do something which we simply have no

authority to do: rewrite the Code of Civil Procedure to allow a

plaintiff to amend a pleading after the statute of limitations had run.

See Augustus v. Estate of Somers, 278 Ill. App. 3d 90, 99 (1996). It

is no answer to say that the issue here is simply a matter of procedure.

“[E]ven though procedural in nature, a statute of limitations, if

properly asserted by one entitled to its protection, is a bar to an action.

It is a legislatively determined deadline for commencing an action

against one who otherwise might be legally indebted to a plaintiff.

This court may not *** effectively eviscerate a valid statute of

limitations.” Vaughn v. Speaker, 126 Ill. 2d 150, 161 (1988).

¶ 59 CONCLUSION

¶ 60 For the foregoing reasons, we hold that plaintiff’s substitution of

her lawyer’s secretary as “special administrator” in place of Mr.

Grand Pre following expiration of the statute of limitations did not

operate to preserve her otherwise invalid cause of action against him.

Because an estate had already been opened for Mr. Grand Pre and

letters of office had issued to his executor, section 13-209(c) required

that plaintiff commence the action against the executor, as Mr. Grand

Pre’s “personal representative,” upon learning of Mr. Grand Pre’s

death. Plaintiff had ample time to exercise that option, but did not.

Her cause of action was therefore properly dismissed by the circuit

court, and the appellate court erred when it reversed and remanded for

further proceedings. Accordingly, the judgment of the appellate court

is reversed and the circuit court’s judgment dismissing plaintiff’s

cause of action is affirmed.

¶ 61 Appellate court judgment reversed.

¶ 62 Circuit court judgment affirmed.

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¶ 63 CHIEF JUSTICE KILBRIDE, dissenting:

¶ 64 While I agree with the majority’s conclusion that subsection (c)

of section 13-209 applies to this case, I respectfully dissent from the

majority opinion. I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that

plaintiff did not comply with subsection (c) of the applicable statute.

In fact, that was never an issue raised or argued in this case. Notably,

defendant conceded that plaintiff complied with the requirements of

section 13-209(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-

207(c) (West 2010)).

¶ 65 In reviewing a statute, our objective “is to ascertain and give

effect to the intent of the legislature.” Gaffney v. Board of Trustees of

the Orland Fire Protection District, 2012 IL 110012, ¶ 56. In doing

so, we must consider the plain and ordinary meaning of the language

of the statute. Gaffney, 2012 IL 110012, ¶ 56. “We will not depart

from the plain statutory language by reading into it exceptions,

limitations, or conditions that conflict with the expressed intent of the

legislature.” Gaffney, 2012 IL 110012, ¶ 56. Further, we will not

utilize extrinsic aids of statutory interpretation unless the statutory

language is unclear or ambiguous. Gaffney, 2012 IL 110012, ¶ 56.

¶ 66 Section 13-209 of the Code of Civil Procedure specifically

addresses the situation involving the death of a party. 735 ILCS 5/13-

209 (West 2010). Section 13-209 contains three subsections, (a), (b),

and (c). 735 ILCS 5/13-209 (West 2010). Subsection (a) addresses

when “a person entitled to bring an action dies.” 735 ILCS 5/13-

209(a) (West 2010). Subsection (a) is not applicable in this case.

¶ 67 Subsection (b) of section 13-209 provides, in relevant part:

“(b) If a person against whom an action may be brought

dies before the expiration of the time limited for the

commencement thereof, and the cause of action survives, and

is not otherwise barred:

(1) an action may be commenced against his or her

personal representative after the expiration of the time

limited for the commencement of the action, and within

6 months after the person’s death;

(2) if no petition has been filed for letters of office for

the deceased’s estate, the court, upon the motion of a

person entitled to bring an action and after the notice to

the party’s heirs or legatees as the court directs and

without opening an estate, may appoint a special

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representative for the deceased party for the purposes of

defending the action. If a party elects to have a special

representative appointed under this paragraph (2), the

recovery shall be limited to the proceeds of any liability

insurance protecting the estate and shall not bar the estate

from enforcing any claims that might have been available

to it as counterclaims.” 735 ILCS 5/13-209(b) (West

2010).

¶ 68 Defendant argued below, and in this court, that subsection (b) of

section 13-209 is applicable in this case because Mr. Grand Pre died

before the expiration of the statute of limitations. However, the

plaintiff did not learn of Mr. Grand Pre’s death until after she filed

her cause of action. Accordingly, I agree with the majority that “[t]he

provisions of section 13-209(b) presuppose that the plaintiff is aware

of the defendant’s death at the time he or she commences the action,”

and is, therefore, not applicable when the defendant’s death is

unknown to the plaintiff. Supra ¶ 27. I also agree with the majority

that subsection (c) of section 13-209 is applicable in this case.

¶ 69 Subsection (c) of section 13-209 provides:

“(c) If a party commences an action against a deceased

person whose death is unknown to the party before the

expiration of the time limited for the commencement thereof,

and the cause of action survives, and is not otherwise barred,

the action may be commenced against the deceased person’s

personal representative if all of the following terms and

conditions are met:

(1) After learning of the death, the party proceeds with

reasonable diligence to move the court for leave to file an

amended complaint, substituting the personal

representative as defendant.

(2) The party proceeds with reasonable diligence to

serve process upon the personal representative.

(3) If process is served more than 6 months after the

issuance of letters office, liability of the estate is limited

as to recovery to the extent the estate is protected by

liability insurance.

(4) In no event can a party commence an action under

this subsection (c) unless a personal representative is

appointed and an amended complaint is filed within 2

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years of the time limited for the commencement of the

original action.” (Emphases added.) 735 ILCS 5/13-

209(c) (West 2010).

¶ 70 Subsection (c) of section 13-209 specifically addresses situations

when a plaintiff is unaware, at the time of filing the action, that a

named defendant is dead. Section 13-209(c) allows a plaintiff to

proceed against a deceased person’s personal representative if the

plaintiff, at the time of the filing of the original complaint, did not

know about the deceased’s death. Subsection (c) makes no reference

to whether an estate is open or closed. Rather, the focus is on the

plaintiff’s knowledge.

¶ 71 I would hold that the circuit court erred in granting defendant’s

section 2-619 motion to dismiss because plaintiff properly proceeded

under section 13-209(c) of the Code. The plain language of

subsection (c) states “[i]f a party commences an action against a

deceased person whose death is unknown to the party before the

expiration of the time limited for the commencement thereof.”

(Emphases added.) 735 ILCS 5/13-209(c) (West 2010). In this case,

plaintiff did not know of decedent’s death until after she filed her

cause of action. This is not disputed by the majority.

¶ 72 While I agree with the majority’s conclusion that subsection (c)

of section 13-209 applies to this case, I believe the majority

misapplies subsection (c). Plaintiff alleged, and defendant does not

dispute, that she followed the requirements of section 13-209(c)(1)

through (4) of the Code once she learned of Mr. Grand Pre’s death.

735 ILCS 5/13-209(c)(1)-(4) (West 2010). Specifically, plaintiff was

unaware of decedent’s death when she commenced the action.

Plaintiff moved diligently to substitute a personal representative. She

moved diligently to serve a personal representative. The decedent and

his estate are protected by liability insurance. The personal

representative was served within two years of the time limited for

commencement of the action.

¶ 73 The majority determines that Shatayeva does not qualify as a

“personal representative” within the meaning of subsection (c), even

though it admits that “[t]he Code of Civil Procedure does not define

the term ‘personal representative’ for purposes of section 13-209.”

Clearly, plaintiff used reasonable diligence to have a personal

representative appointed and substituted for Mr. Grand Pre. Her

mistake in misnaming the personal representative as “special

representative” or “special administrator” should not result in a loss

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of her cause of action. Rather, now that plaintiff is aware an estate

was opened for Mr. Grand Pre, plaintiff should be allowed to

substitute the independent administrator of the estate for Shatayeva

as Mr. Grand Pre’s personal representative in this action. I would note

that the estate is not prejudiced by allowing plaintiff to proceed

because the liability of the estate is limited to the extent the estate is

protected by liability insurance.

¶ 74 It is clear that the legislature enacted section 13-209(c)

specifically to address situations when a plaintiff is unaware, at the

time of filing a cause of action, that a named defendant is deceased.

Accordingly, I would hold that plaintiff properly proceeded under

section 13-209(c) of the Code and the circuit court erred when it

granted defendant’s section 2-619 motion to dismiss. I would,

therefore, affirm the appellate court’s judgment.

¶ 75 For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully dissent.

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