Ryan v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Chicago
Ryan v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Chicago
Opinion
*594 ¶ 1 Over Sheila Ryan's objection, the Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of *595 *444 Chicago (Zoning Board of Appeals) granted a 2.5-inch reduction to the standard 24-inch setback required between the side of her home and the new home next door that was purchased by Laura Sheehan from building contractor Raymond T. DeGrazia and his corporation, 636-638 West 37th Street, Inc. Ryan attempted to overturn the board's decision by a judicial review in the circuit court of Cook County. The circuit court, however, granted Sheehan's motion to dismiss Ryan's complaint because the caption of her summons of service listed only "Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Chicago, et al " as defendants and did not expressly include Sheehan. On appeal, Ryan contends that the summons adequately notified Sheehan of the legal action and that the decision to dismiss elevated form over substance. She asks us to reverse and remand for a resolution on the merits rather than on the basis of a minor, technical error.
¶ 2 Ryan's property is located at 640 West 37th Street. For simplicity, we will use "638 West" to refer to the new construction at 638 West 37th Street and "636-38 corporation" to refer to home builder DeGrazia's company.
¶ 3 The record compiled before the Zoning Board of Appeals indicates the encroachment into the side setback was caused when the location for the new concrete foundation at 638 West was mismarked by a subcontractor. The builder testified he did not realize the error until after the foundation, walls, and roof were complete and it was no longer cost effective to alter the construction. The builder's attempts to amicably resolve Ryan's concerns about her adjacent residence were unsuccessful. 636-38 corporation asked the municipal zoning administrator for a variance from Chicago's RS-3 zoning ordinance, but the administrator denied the request. The Zoning Board of Appeals granted the variance after finding strict compliance would create a hardship on the builder and/or the new owner; the small encroachment was a mistake, not profit-motivated, and would not impact public safety or be injurious to other property; and a variance would not alter the essential characteristics of the neighborhood.
¶ 4 Ryan timely filed for judicial review of the board's decision dated June 22, 2016, and timely issued a summons on or about July 26, 2016, to the board; the builder, DeGrazia; and the new homeowner, Sheehan. The record includes a certified mail receipt that Sheehan signed at her new home on August 8, 2016, when she accepted delivery of the complaint and summons. Immediately below the caption was the subtitle "SUMMONS IN ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW" and the following:
"To each defendant:
YOU ARE SUMMONED and required to file an answer in this case or otherwise file your appearance in the office of the clerk of this court located in Room 801, Richard J. Daley Center, Chicago, Illinois, within 35 days after the date of this summons."
¶ 5 This was followed by six lines of contact information for petitioner Ryan's attorney, on the left side of the page, and to the right of the attorney contact information was a date field which the clerk of the circuit court had completed by stamping the summons date "JUL 26 2016." Just below this paragraph, on the bottom half of the one-page summons, was the subtitle "CERTIFICATE OF MAILING" and the following:
"On ________________, ____, I sent by registered mail a copy of this summons to each defendant addressed as follows:
*596*445Defendant Address Zoning Board of Appeals-City of 121 N. La Salle, room 905, Chicago, IL Chicago 60602 Raymond T. DeGrazia 3207 S. Emerald, Chicago, IL 60616 Laura Sheehan 638 W. 37th Street, Chicago, IL 60609 ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ Dated: Dorothy Brown JUL 26 2016 Clerk of the Court"
¶ 6 DeGrazia filed a motion to dismiss on grounds that Ryan had failed to name his corporation as a party to her review action, despite the fact that 636-38 corporation had applied for the zoning variance. Ryan then sought leave to amend her complaint to include the corporation as a defendant. On February 23, 2017, the circuit court granted Ryan leave to amend and denied DeGrazia's motion as moot. Ryan filed her amended pleading the next day and about two weeks later Sheehan filed a special and limited appearance for purposes of challenging the contents of her summons. After written briefs and oral arguments, the circuit court granted Sheehan's motion on June 14, 2017, and later denied a motion for reconsideration.
¶ 7 Ryan contends the circuit court misapplied Illinois law in concluding that it lacked jurisdiction over Sheehan and was required to dismiss the complaint seeking administrative review. We review the circuit court's ruling
de novo
.
McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University v. Department of Employment Security
,
¶ 8 "In a general sense, 'jurisdiction' refers to the 'right or power to interpret and apply the law,' or to a court's 'sphere of authority or control.' "
In re M.W.
,
¶ 9 The Administrative Review Law (Act) grants special statutory jurisdiction to circuit courts to review final decisions of administrative agencies such as the Zoning Board of Appeals "within the time and in the manner herein provided,"
i.e.
, as provided in the statute. 735 ILCS 5/3-102 (West 2016). Because the Act is a departure from common law, the procedures it establishes must be strictly followed.
Lockett v. Chicago Police Board
,
*597
*446
McGaw Medical Center
,
¶ 10 Litigants, however, have struggled to follow the terms of the Act and vest the court with jurisdiction. The harsh consequences of seemingly minor errors have prompted the legislature to clarify the language of the Act and create exceptions for certain errors. See,
e.g.
,
Fragakis v. Police & Fire Comm'n of the Village of Schiller Park
,
¶ 11 For instance, rules abound on when to file, whom to name as defendants, and how to serve notice of an action. Section 3-103 of the Act requires an action for administrative review to be filed within 35 days from the date the decision sought to be reviewed was served on the affected party. 735 ILCS 5/3-103 (West 2016) ;
Nudell v. Forest Preserve District of Cook County
,
¶ 12 As for personal jurisdiction, a plaintiff or petitioner submits to the personal jurisdiction of the court by the act of filing a petition or complaint.
In re M.W.
,
¶ 13 Looking further into the procedures that must be followed to effectively invoke the personal jurisdiction of the circuit court, section 3-105 of the Act specifies the use of registered or certified mail to serve a summons for administrative review on the administrative agency and each of the defendants. 735 ILCS 5/3-105 (West 2016). Section 3-105 also provides, "The form of the summons * * * shall be according to *598 *447 rules of the Supreme Court." 735 ILCS 5/3-105 (West 2016). Illinois Supreme Court Rule 101 requires that a summons be "directed to each defendant" and that the format "substantially" follow the sample summons that is included in the rule. Ill. S. Ct. R. 101 (eff. Jan. 1, 2016). 1 The caption of the sample form directs "naming all defendants." Ill. S. Ct. R. 101(b) (eff. Jan. 1, 2016). Also relevant is Illinois Supreme Court Rule 131(c) (eff. Jan. 1, 2016), which concerns pleadings and other documents that are filed and served, and provides that, in cases where there are multiple parties, "it is sufficient in entitling documents, except a summons , to name the first-named plaintiff and the first-named defendant with the usual indication of other parties." (Emphasis added.)
¶ 14 Sheehan persuaded the circuit court that Ryan's summons did not comply with these requirements and that these requirements were jurisdictional and could not be corrected by amending the complaint.
¶ 15 Long-standing precedent indicates a summons "which does not name a person on its face and notify him to appear, is no summons at all, so far as the unnamed person is concerned."
Ohio Millers Mutual Insurance Co. v. Inter-Insurance Exchange of the Illinois Automobile Club
,
¶ 16 These principles were restated in
*599
*448
Arch Bay Holdings, LLC-Series 2010B v. Perez
,
¶ 17 Even so, courts "should not elevate form over substance, but should construe a summons liberally."
Novak
,
¶ 18 Additionally, in the context of the stricter service requirements imposed under the Act, the Illinois Supreme Court has emphasized that an established rule of statutory construction is to "liberally construe a right to appeal so as to permit a case to be considered on its merits." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Cox v. Board of Fire & Police Commissioners
,
¶ 19 Notably, the legislature recently amended the law concerning civil summons in order to clarify that technical errors do not deprive the circuit court of personal jurisdiction, which the trial judge did not have the benefit of prior to ruling on Sheehan's motion to dismiss. During the pendency of this appeal, the legislature amended section 2-201 of the Code of Civil Procedure by adding paragraph (c):
"§ 2-201. Commencement of actions-Forms of process.
(a) Every action, unless otherwise expressly provided by statute, shall be commenced by the filing of a complaint. The clerk shall issue summons upon request of the plaintiff. The form and substance of the summons, and of all other process, and the issuance of alias process, and the service of copies of pleadings shall be according to rules.
(b) One or more duplicate original summonses may be issued, marked 'First Duplicate,' 'Second Duplicate,' etc., as the case may be, whenever it will facilitate the service of summons in any one or more counties, including the county of venue.
(c) A court's jurisdiction is not affected by a technical error in format of a summons if the summons has been issued by a clerk of the court, the person or entity to be served is identified as a defendant on the summons, and the summons is properly served. This subsection is declarative of existing law. " (Emphasis in original.) Pub. Act 100-1048, § 5 (eff. Aug. 23, 2018) (amending 735 ILCS 5/2-201 ).
¶ 20 Although section 2-201 is part of article II and thus concerns civil actions, rather than article III which is specific to administrative review actions, the amendment was to clarify existing law, rather than change it. We are confident that the legislature intended for summons to be evaluated consistently, rather than for special standards to be read into the language directly applicable to administrative review actions.
¶ 21 On appeal, Ryan contends that the face of the summons she sent to Sheehan for judicial review complied with the Act and the rules of the supreme court, despite the fact that the caption of the summons listed only "Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Chicago, et al " as defendants and did not expressly include Sheehan. Ryan makes this argument because of the additional information on the face of the summons, which we set out above. Sheehan responds that a party seeking administrative review must strictly adhere to the procedures set out in the Act, but she "was named only parenthetically on the certificate of mailing [section of the summons]," and that case law supports the conclusion that the court lacked jurisdiction over Sheehan and properly dismissed Ryan's *601 *450 action. The three other parties, Zoning Board of Appeals, DeGrazia, and 636-38 corporation, filed appellate appearances, but not briefs.
¶ 22 We have evaluated the summons in light of the Act, rules of the Illinois Supreme Court, and objectives of service of process. In our opinion, the format and contents of this summons adequately notified Sheehan of the pending administrative review action and her opportunity to respond and also vested the circuit court with personal jurisdiction over Sheehan. The caption included "
et al.
," in lieu of defendant Sheehan's (or defendant DeGrazia's) actual name, but this was followed by clear statements on the face of the summons that Sheehan was a "defendant" to an administrative review action Ryan filed in the circuit court and summoned Sheehan to respond to the proceeding in that new forum. Just below the caption was the direction "[t]o each defendant * * * to file an answer in this case or otherwise file your appearance * * * within 35 days after the date of this summons;" and Sheehan's full name and mailing address was printed just slightly lower on the same page, under the columns "Defendant" and "Address," and immediately below the clerk's statement, "On [JUL 26 2016], I sent by registered mail a copy of this summons to each defendant addressed as follows." All of this information appeared on the face of the summons. This one-page summons repeatedly and clearly identified Sheehan as a "defendant" in an action in the circuit court of Cook County and summoned the defendant to respond to the proceeding in that new forum. Despite the use of
"et al.
" in the caption, this summons adequately informed Sheehan of the pending action against her and what she needed to do in order to appear and defend her interests. See
Novak
,
¶ 23 Sheehan's reliance on
Arch Bay Holdings
is misplaced, as the defendant's name in that case did not appear on the face of the summons at all. See
Arch Bay Holdings
,
¶ 24 Sheehan's reliance on
Central States Trucking Co. v. Department of Employment Security
,
*602
*451
The reviewing court deemed both the summons and complaint defective due to the abject omission of the director as an actual party and affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the proceedings.
Central States Trucking
,
¶ 25 Nor is this case like
Hanke v. Department of Professional Regulation
,
¶ 26 The face of this summons clearly communicated that Sheehan had been named and served as a defendant to Ryan's action for administrative review. Having found that the contents of the face of this timely summons were sufficient, we do not need to address the parties' additional arguments regarding the difference between jurisdictional and merely mandatory requirements under the Act, and whether Ryan was entitled to a good faith exception for noncompliance with the stated procedures. We reverse the dismissal order and remand the cause for further proceedings.
¶ 27 Reversed and remanded.
Justices Gordon and Reyes concurred in the judgment and opinion.
The relevant version of Rule 101 included the sample form within the rule (Ill. S. Ct. R. 101(b) (eff. Jan. 1, 2016) ), but as of 2018, the sample form was moved to the Article II Forms Appendix (Ill. S. Ct. R. 101 (eff. Jan. 1, 2018), Art. II Forms Appendix).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.