Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Service of Process
Plaintiff filed a lawsuit for premises liability after she slipped and fell on property owned by the defendants. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss alleging that plaintiff failed to exercise due diligence in effecting service when there was a nearly three-year gap between the date the complaint was filed and when service was made. The trial court granted the motion and plaintiff appealed. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the complaint where there was no credible claim that the defendants’ location was either unknown or not easily ascertained. (FITZGERALD SMITH and HOWSE, concurring)