Plaintiff, who is the successor trustee and is the son of the sole trustee (age 87) of a revocable living trust, filed complaint for declaratory relief against various defendants, alleging that they engaged in "sham" transactions, executed to cover a constructive fraud arising out ot checks trustee issued to her other son and MIS Consulting, a corporation of which that son is an officer, while she was suffering from a diminished mental capacity. Three defendants (trustee and her other son and MIS) filed objection to personal jurisdiction and motion to dismiss under section 2-301 of Code of Civil Procedure. Subsections (a)(11) and (a)(13) of the Illinois long-arm statute provide personal jurisdiction over trustee. Trustee has sufficient minimum contacts with Illinois to comport with due process; trust was administered in Illinois, and she resided in Illinois for 26 years after trust was created. There is no basis for personal jurisdiction over defendant son, as his contacts have no relation to, nor do they give rise to, Plaintiff's current cause of action. No general jurisdiction over MIS, as Plaintiff's allegations are insufficient to gauge continuity and substantiality of its business in Illinois. Personal jurisdiction over MIS is not necessary to determine rights of trustee and Plaintiff according to trust and its amendments. (O'BRIEN, concurring; LYTTON, concurring in part and dissenting in part.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Trusts