Well, I Was Trying to Settle the Case . . .
On occasion I have had clients who tell me that they are in the middle of negotiations with an attorney who then files suit to protect the statute. They want to know if the appearance is needed if they are about to settle the matter. ALWAYS go in and file your appearance. You can always go explain to the Court that you are in settlement discussions and ask for an extension.
In Jacobo v Vandervere,401 Ill.App.3d 712, 930 N.E.2d 459, 341 Ill.Dec 249, the plaintiff filed suit on June 8, 2008 and defendant was personally served on June 27th. On July 23rd, the initial court date, defendant failed to appear. A default order was entered and a prove-up was scheduled for August 6th. Defendant once again failed to appear and the court entered a default judgment of $10,219.
On August 26th defendant filed a motion to vacate the default and on the hearing date of October 21, the trial court denied the motion. The trial court noted that the defendant's insurance carrier was aware of the pending litigation prior to both the entry of the default (July 23, 2008) and the entry of the default judgment (August 6). Furthermore the defense counsel never claimed that the defendant was not properly served or had any valid reason for ignoring the three initial court dates.
The defendant appealed arguing the penalty was too severe, forcing the plaintiff to trial would not result in hardship, and during the approximately 40 days between the original return date on the summons and the defendant's filing of her motion to vacate, the insurer was trying to settle the claim and had requested documentaion of the plaintiff's bills. The Appeals Court did not agree. They did not feel that the trial court abused its discrection and as such the ruling was affirmed.
