IDC Quarterly Volume 26, Number 1 (26.1.31) | Page 3
Statements or expression of opinions in this publication ar
e t
hose of the authors and not necessarily those of the association. IDC Quarterly, Volume 26,
petition invites a responsive pleading and may be challenged by a motion to dismiss for a failure to state a cause of action
or for a failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted. Vincent, 226 Ill. 2d at 8.
The purpose of a section 2-1401 petition is to present a legal or factual challenge to a final judgment or order. Warren
County, 2015 IL 117783, ¶ 31. While the petition is ordinarily used to bring facts to the attention of the trial court which,
if known at the time of the judgment would have precluded its entry, the petition may also be used to challenge a
purportedly defective judgment for legal reasons. Id. ¶ 31.
In order to prevail on a section 2-1401 petition the petitioner must establish by a preponderance of the evidence each
of the following: (1) the existence of a meritorious defense; (2) due diligence in presenting this defense in the underlying
litigation; and (3) due diligence in the filing of this section 2-1401 petition for relief. Id. ¶ 51 (citing Smith v. Airoom,
Inc., 114 Ill. 2d 209, 221 (1986)). The petitioner is required to support its section 2-1401 petition with an affidavit or
other materials that are not otherwise included in the record. 735 ILCS 5/2-1401(b).
In proving the first element, the existence of a meritorious claim or defense, a party is not required to show the
validity of the meritorious claim
or
defense, but only its existence. Pirman v. A&M Cartage, 285 Ill. App. 3d 993, 1001 (1st Dist. 1996). As a result, this element is generally easily satisfied.
Next, the party bringing the petition must show that it acted diligently both in the underlying action and in filing the
petition to vacate the final order or judgment. The Illinois Supreme Court explained that section 2-1401 is not intended
to relieve the defeated party for its own mistakes, negligence, or for the negligence of its attorney. Warren County, 2015
IL 117783, ¶ 38 (citing Airoom, 114 Ill. 2d at 222). Instead, section 2-1401 will only provide relief where the petitioner
can show that its failure to defend or prosecute the lawsuit was “the result of an excusable mistake and that the petitioner
acted reasonably under the circumstances and was not negligent.” Id.
In evaluating the petitioner’s diligence the court examines the particular facts, circumstances, and equities of the
underlying litigation. Warren County, 2015 IL 117783, ¶ 50. As a result, the petitioner must provide an affidavit and
other documentatio
n in support of its claim
ed diligence.
Id. ¶ 31. Just as in any other civil proceeding, the party responding to the petition can and should provide its own affidavit and documents in opposition of the petition. Id. 51.
The courts are cognizant of the fact that a section 2-1401 petition represents the last option to vacate a judgment or
order. From the outset, the procedural context of these petitions implies that a petitioner—who had several other
opportunities to vacate the judgment—lacks the diligence necessary to prevail. In order to successfully refute this lack of
diligence, the petitioner must provide a “reasonable excuse” for failing to vacate the judgment at an earlier time. Airoom,
114 Ill. 2d at 222. In order to prevail, the petitioner must show that the entry of the final judgment or order was not known
to the petitioner and could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence. Juszczyk v. Flores, 334
Ill. App. 3d 122, 128 (1st Dist. 2002).
Generally, when the petitioner has failed to act diligently the court will deny the petition to vacate the judgment.
There are limited and extraordinary circumstances, however, where the court has ignored the diligence of the parties and
granted the petition in the interest of preventing the unjust entry of a judgment and to do substantial justice between the
parties. Coleman v. Caliendo, 361 Ill. App. 3d 850, 855-56 (1st Dist. 2005) While the first district, in R.M. Lucas Co. v.
Peoples Gas Light
& Coke Co.
, 2011 IL App (1st) 102955, ¶ 24, asserts that Vincent overruled the holding in Coleman, the Illinois Supreme Court’s recent decision in Warren County—as discussed more fully below—explains equitable
considerations are appropriate in reviewing a section 2-1401 petition. Warren County, 2015 IL 117783, ¶ 51.
A section 2-1401 petition, like any pleading, is not immune to opposition. As discussed briefly above, a section 2-
1401 petition is procedurally like a complaint and is therefore subject to the same rules of civil procedure. Blazyk, 406