People ex rel. Department of Revenue v. Countryman

The plaintiff, Illinois Department of Revenue (Department), appeals from the order of the circuit court which denied its motion to reinstate its complaint against the defendant, James Countryman, after the court had dismissed the complaint for want of prosecution. On appeal, the plaintiff contends that the court abused its discretion since the record demonstrated that the plaintiff was actively pursuing discovery in this matter and, also, that the attorney’s failure to appear was inadvertent. For the reasons set forth below, we reverse.

On October 6, 1978, the plaintiff filed a complaint…