Lawyer erred on personal representative after learning defendant was dead

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted April 19, 2024 10:32 AM

Answering a question certified for immediate appeal in a case where the plaintiff didn’t know the defendant was dead when the lawsuit was filed, the Illinois Appellate Court concluded that the maneuver used by plaintiff’s attorney to rectify the problem — having his secretary appointed as “personal representative” of the decedent’s estate under Sec. 13-209(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure and then naming her as defendant in an amended complaint — was the wrong move.The case involved an Illinois motor vehicle accident …

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