Crawford v. Schaeffer

The issue we address in this case is whether the circuit court had discretion to consider defendant’s summary judgment motion prior to addressing plaintiff’s motion to voluntarily dismiss his complaint, pursuant to section 2 — 1009 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 110, par. 2—1009). For reasons that follow, we vacate the court’s order of dismissal, granted because the court concluded it had no discretion to deny it, and remand for a hearing to determine whether plaintiff complied with all the requirements of the voluntary dismissal statute.

In January 1984, plaintiff…