Illinois Supreme Court Amends Rule on Rejected Filings

Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and the Illinois Supreme Court announced today an amendment to Supreme Court Rule 9 which seeks to address the impact that a rejected filing can have on a filer if it were to delay a filing beyond a set deadline, such as those set by statute or rule.

The new rule requires the trial and reviewing courts to allow a back-dated filing so long as the new filing corrects the old one and an application is made within 5 court days. Previously, Rule 9(d) allowed two avenues for those seeking to overcome a rejected filing and both required “good cause shown.” This proved to be a difficult standard to apply, and filings were rejected and thus rendered untimely.

“Only about 5% of filings are rejected. But when the rejected filing is time sensitive, substantive rights can be affected,” said Fourth District Appellate Justice Eugene G. Doherty, chair of the Supreme Court e-Business Policy Advisory Board. “The rule amendment gives filers a clear process to avoid that outcome.”

The amended rule is effective immediately.

The Amended Illinois Supreme Court Rules can be found here.

The amended rule was proposed by the Supreme Court E-Business Policy Advisory Board (Board). Created in November 2014, the Board is charged with providing recommendations, advice, and guidance to the Supreme Court and Administrative Office regarding implementation of e-Business applications and data exchanges in the Illinois circuit courts.

(FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: James Brunner, Public Information Officer of the Illinois Supreme Court at 217.208.3354 or jbrunner@illinoiscourts.gov.)