Morton v. Madison County Nursing Home Auxiliary

Richard Morton (plaintiff), independent administrator for the estate of William R. Morton, the decedent, appeals from the dismissal of counts III and IV of his amended complaint. At issue is whether section 2 — 616(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2 — 616(d) (West 1998)), comprising the “relation back” doctrine for the amendment of pleadings, requires that a summons must be served upon a subsequent defendant within the limitations period. We hold that it does. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court of Madison County.

BACKGROUND

On August 3,…