Gordon v. Gordon

887 N.E.2d 35, 379 Ill. App. 3d 732, 320 Ill. Dec. 255, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 193
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 11, 2008
Docket3-07-0168
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 887 N.E.2d 35 (Gordon v. Gordon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gordon v. Gordon, 887 N.E.2d 35, 379 Ill. App. 3d 732, 320 Ill. Dec. 255, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 193 (Ill. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

JUSTICE SCHMIDT

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, Randolph M. Gordon, filed suit against his former spouse, Victoria Gordon, alleging that she either intentionally or negligently inflicted emotional distress. The trial court dismissed the complaint for want of personal jurisdiction over the defendant. The plaintiff appeals, arguing that the trial court had personal jurisdiction under the long-arm statute (735 ILCS 5/2 — 209 (West 2004)). We affirm.

FACTS

On August 26, 2002, the plaintiff and the defendant divorced in Florida. A Florida trial court entered a final judgment, dissolving the marriage and incorporating the parties’ marital settlement agreement. The marital settlement agreement dealt with the parties’ parental rights and responsibilities concerning their three children and the distribution of their property. The final order also gave the Florida trial court jurisdiction over the enforcement of the provisions of the marital settlement agreement.

On March 10, 2004, the plaintiff filed suit, alleging that the defendant had committed the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress. The complaint stated that the plaintiff resides in Morris, Illinois, and that the defendant resides in Ocoee, Florida. It alleged that some of the tortious conduct occurred in Grundy County, Illinois.

The complaint referenced the parties’ marital settlement agreement and alleged that the defendant refused to comply with its terms so as to harass and embarrass the plaintiff and hinder his relationship with his children. The amended complaint specifically alleged that the defendant: (1) caused the City of Ocoee to send a water bill for her house to the plaintiff in Illinois; (2) failed to deliver a car title to the plaintiff within 10 days of the entry of the marital settlement agreement; (3) failed to deliver a quitclaim deed for the parties’ Illinois townhouse to the plaintiff for a period in excess of one year, when the marital settlement agreement required delivery within 10 days of its entry; (4) caused a law firm to contact the plaintiff about the payment of a note when the defendant failed to provide the plaintiff with a deed that would have allowed him to refinance and pay the defendant; (5) failed to provide the plaintiff with a mortgage release even though she was paid 90 days earlier, thereby slandering the title to plaintiffs Illinois property; (6) turned off the ringer on the telephone to prevent the plaintiff from having reasonable contact with his children; (7) failed to inform the children that the plaintiff called; (8) discouraged or prohibited the children from calling the plaintiff; (9) failed to provide the plaintiff with the children’s school calender or his son’s baseball schedule as required by the marital settlement agreement; (10) caused the children to call the plaintiff to solicit money for school trips even though the defendant received child support for such purposes; (11) refused to allow the plaintiff access to the children on weekends when the children would be accessible to the plaintiff; (12) failed to consult with the plaintiff about their daughters’ braces although his consent is required by the marital settlement agreement; (13) failed to notify the plaintiff about the children’s doctor’s appointments as required by the marital settlement agreement; (14) removed items from plaintiffs grandfather’s chest in violation of the marital settlement agreement; (15) failed to give the plaintiff furniture as required by the marital settlement agreement; and (16) on several occasions, called the plaintiffs home telephone and attempted to access messages on plaintiffs answering machine.

On April 14, 2004, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to section 2 — 301 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2 — 301 (West 2004)). The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his original complaint and subsequently filed an amended complaint.

The amended complaint added the claim that the defendant negligently inflicted emotional distress and alleged that the defendant had committed additional acts giving rise to his claims for emotional distress. It further alleged that the defendant: (1) obtained the plaintiffs e-mail address and sent an e-mail to the plaintiff in Illinois for the sole purpose of harassing him by showing him that she obtained his e-mail address; (2) e-mailed the plaintiffs sister-in-law a harassing e-mail, using the same alias that she used to harass the plaintiff’s friend; and (3) on July 22, 2004, called the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and caused it to start an unfounded investigation so as to harass the plaintiff. The defendant’s conduct has allegedly caused the plaintiff to lose both sleep and appetite and to seek medical care.

On October 1, 2004, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to section 2 — 301 of the Code (735 ILCS 5/2 — 301 (West 2004)). On June 21, 2005, the trial court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss, finding that the defendant’s alleged acts did not confer jurisdiction on Illinois courts. On July 20, 2005, the plaintiff filed a motion to reconsider; the trial court denied the motion on February 15, 2007.

Plaintiff appeals.

ANALYSIS

On appeal, the plaintiff argues that the trial court had specific personal jurisdiction over the defendant under numerous but unstated subsections of section 2 — 209(a) of the long-arm statute (735 ILCS 5/2 — 209(a) (West 2004)) or, in the alternative, under the catchall provision of the long-arm statute (735 ILCS 5/2 — 209(c) (West 2004)). We review de novo the trial court’s determination of jurisdiction because it is based solely on documentary evidence. Kostal v. Pinkus Dermatopathology Laboratory, P.C., 357 Ill. App. 3d 381, 827 N.E.2d 1031 (2005).

The catchall provision of the long-arm statute provides that a trial court may exercise jurisdiction “on any other basis now or hereafter permitted by the Illinois Constitution and the Constitution of the United States.” 735 ILCS 5/2 — 209(c) (West 2004). The enactment of the catchall provision made the long-arm statute coextensive with due process requirements of the Illinois and United States Constitutions. Keller v. Henderson, 359 Ill. App. 3d 605, 834 N.E.2d 930 (2005). As such, “the long-arm statute is satisfied when due process concerns are satisfied, regardless of whether the defendant performed any of the acts enumerated in the long-arm statute.” Keller, 359 Ill. App. 3d at 612, 834 N.E.2d at 935. Therefore, our personal jurisdiction analysis will focus solely on whether the plaintiff has shown that federal and Illinois due process requirements have been satisfied.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
887 N.E.2d 35, 379 Ill. App. 3d 732, 320 Ill. Dec. 255, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 193, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gordon-v-gordon-illappct-2008.