In Re Marriage of Delk

666 N.E.2d 683, 281 Ill. App. 3d 303, 217 Ill. Dec. 14, 1996 Ill. App. LEXIS 311
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 2, 1996
Docket1-95-1566
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 666 N.E.2d 683 (In Re Marriage of Delk) 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
In Re Marriage of Delk, 666 N.E.2d 683, 281 Ill. App. 3d 303, 217 Ill. Dec. 14, 1996 Ill. App. LEXIS 311 (Ill. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE HOFFMAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The petitioner, Karen Delk, appeals from orders of the circuit court of Cook County dismissing her petition for relief pursuant to section 2 — 1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2:— 1401 (West 1992)) and denying her leave to file a response to a Supreme Court Rule 137 (134 Ill. 2d R. 137) petition for sanctions pending against her. For the reasons which follow, we dismiss this appeal in part and affirm in part.

On December 17, 1980, a judgment was entered dissolving the marriage theretofore existing between Delk and the respondent, George C. Herzog. That judgment, amongst other things, provided for the custody and support of the minor children of the parties, maintenance for Delk, and a division of the parties’ marital assets. The judgment was thereafter modified in certain financial respects by orders entered on May 5, 1983, and November 21, 1985.

On April 13, 1989, Delk filed a section 2 — 1401 petition requesting that the court modify its judgment of September 17, 1980, redistribute the marital assets of the parties, and award her maintenance and child support for the period after September 17, 1980, based upon Herzog’s actual income and assets. In support of her petition, Delk charged that Herzog intentionally and fraudulently failed to fully disclose his income and assets at the time of the entry of the original judgment on September 17, 1980, and upon the modification of that judgment on May 5, 1983, and November 21, 1985. Delk’s original petition specified certain assets and income that Herzog had failed to disclose.

On September 15, 1989, pursuant to Herzog’s motion, the trial court struck Delk’s petition and granted her leave to replead. Thereafter, Delk filed an amended petition which was stricken on November 28, 1989, a second amended petition which was stricken on September 5, 1990, and a third amended petition. Each successive petition set forth additional allegations of asset and income concealment on the part of Herzog.

On August 14, 1992, Delk filed a motion for leave to file a fourth amended section 2 — 1401 petition. After being continued from time to time, the motion was denied on January 8, 1993.

On January 11, 1993, immediately prior to the scheduled commencement of a hearing on her pending third amended section 2 — 1401 petition, Delk moved for, and was granted, a voluntary dismissal pursuant to section 2 — 1009 of the Code (735 ILCS 5/2 — 1009 (West 1992)).

On September 21, 1993, Delk filed a four-count pleading entitled "Fourth Amended Petition Pursuant to Section 2 — 1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure” (refiled petition). Counts I, II and III of the refiled petition sought relief pursuant to section 2 — 1401 and were presumptively filed pursuant to the provisions of section 13 — 217 of the Code (735 ILCS 5/13 — 217 (West 1992)), which permits a party to commence a new action within one year after taking a voluntary dismissal. Count IV of the refiled petition was brought pursuant to section 505 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/505 (West 1992)) and sought a determination that Herzog owed past-due child support and maintenance in the sum of $2,125.24. Count IV sought no relief pursuant to section 2 — 1401.

Herzog moved to dismiss Delk’s refiled petition, and on July 26, 1994, the trial court heard extensive argument on the motion. The transcript of that hearing reveals that the court, among other things, found that Delk failed to exercise reasonable diligence in discovering the matters alleged in her refiled petition and further failed to exercise reasonable diligence in seeking relief pursuant to section 2 — 1401. The transcript reveals that the trial court dismissed the refiled petition with prejudice.

Failing to agree upon the wording of an order after the July 26 hearing, the attorneys for the parties appeared before the trial court again on August 11, 1994. After entertaining counsel’s arguments and indicating the matters that should be included in a draft order, the court directed the attorneys to prepare an order before they left the courtroom and present it to the court for signature. Regrettably, we do not know the exact content of the order of August 11, 1994, as a copy of that order has not been included in the record before us. It appears, however, that Delk filed a motion to reconsider some order dismissing her refiled petition that was entered on August 11, 1994. We say "appears” because, although Delk has failed to include a copy of her motion to reconsider in the record, references to such a motion appear in the trial court’s orders of October 7, 1994, December 12, 1994, and February 22, 1995, and in the transcripts of the proceedings held on October 7, 1994, and January 23, 1995.

The transcript of the January 23, 1995, proceedings reveals that the trial court denied Delk’s motion to reconsider. During its oral ruling, the trial court clarified the basis for its dismissal order in several respects. Pertinent to our disposition of this matter, the trial court stated:

"And I also want to correct the record because — when I previously dismissed the fourth amended petition on lack of due diligence, my reference was to — the lack of due diligence was mainly to the time period for the filing of the first petition in 1988 and the fourth amended petition that was filed in 1993.”

On February 22, 1995, the trial court entered a written order again dismissing each of the four counts of Delk’s refiled petition with prejudice. This appeal followed.

Delk’s notice of appeal states that she seeks a reversal of the orders entered by the trial court on February 22, 1995, August 11, 1994, December 21, 1993, and September 23, 1993. Before addressing Delk’s appeal as it relates to the dismissal of counts I, II and III of her refiled petition, we will address her appeal from the dismissal of count IV and the orders of September 23, 1993, and December 21, 1993.

Although not contained in the record on appeal, it appears that Herzog filed a Rule 137 petition seeking sanctions against Delk on July 6, 1993. The absence of that petition from the record prevents us from determining the grounds stated therein or the pleading to which it was addressed. However, we do know from the record that, on September 23, 1993, the trial court denied Delk leave to file a tardy response to the petition for sanctions. Although that order effectively defaulted Delk, the record does not reflect that any monetary award was entered against her. In point of fact, the transcripts of the proceedings held in this case on October 7, 1994, and January 23, 1995, reflect that the petition for sanctions was still pending and scheduled for hearing in April 1995.

Even though the issue was not raised by either party, this court has an obligation to determine if it has jurisdiction to entertain Delk’s appeal from the trial court’s order of September 23, 1993. In re Marriage of Betts, 159 Ill. App.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Door Properties, LLC v. Baker Hartley P.C.
2023 IL App (1st) 220875-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
In re Marriage of Owens
2020 IL App (3d) 190034-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
LaSalle National Trust, N.A. v. Lamet
767 N.E.2d 464 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2002)
In re Marriage of Buck
742 N.E.2d 378 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2000)
In re Marriage of Cerven
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2000
Malkin v. Malkin
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1998

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
666 N.E.2d 683, 281 Ill. App. 3d 303, 217 Ill. Dec. 14, 1996 Ill. App. LEXIS 311, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-marriage-of-delk-illappct-1996.