ADVOCATE HEALTH AND HOSPITALS CORP. v. Bank One, NA

The issues on appeal are whether the imposter defense contained in section 3 — 404(a) of the Illinois version of the Uniform Commercial Code — Negotiable Instruments (810 ILCS 5/3 — 404(a) (West 2000)) (UCC) may be properly asserted in a section 2 — 615 motion to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim (735 ILCS 5/2 — 615 (West 2000)) and whether the defense is factually applicable to the present dispute.

As detailed in this court’s earlier opinion, Blutcher v. EHS Trinity Hospital, 321 Ill. App. 3d 131, 746 N.E.2d 863 (2001), one of the defendants in that action, a hospital, issued a…