A new law went into effect at the beginning of this year, which significantly affects service of process in Cook County, Illinois. Service of process is the legal requirement following the filing of a lawsuit, where the plaintiff must provide proof to the court that the defendant was notified of the lawsuit against them. This notice is provided through a summons, which is a legal document requiring the defendant to participate in the lawsuit by filing an appearance or answer to the complaint within 30 days of service.

Under the previous law, an attempt to serve a lawsuit on a defendant must have first been made by the Cook County Sheriff. Following the new law, plaintiffs can utilize either the Sheriff or a special process server, which is a private company licensed to serve legal documents. All other counties in Illinois were exempt from the requirement of service by a Sheriff as they each had a population of less than 2,000,000 residents. 735 ILCS 5/2–202.

The change in this law affects both plaintiffs and defendants in different ways. It allows plaintiffs more flexibility to complete their service requirement in a manner that suits them. Some special process servers are known to make more attempts at completing service as compared to the Sheriff. For defendants, they previously received the benefit of having the plaintiff complete the additional step of a Sheriff's service attempt. In the event that the Sheriff was unsuccessful, the plaintiff would then hire a special process server, which allowed defendants additional time before participating in the lawsuit against them.

One notable area that will be affected by this new law relates to debt collection by debt collectors. Debt collectors use their attorneys to file lawsuits against debtors who have failed to make payments after several collection attempts. Many times, these debt collectors are not the original creditors and have purchased the debt from another creditor. In the past, these debt collectors have sometimes utilized special process servers in Cook County right after filing the lawsuit. The debt collectors skipped the requirement of initially tasking the Sheriff with attempting service. However, many debtors were unaware of the previous requirement, and did not dispute the improper service. The defendants that disputed service had benefited by using the additional time to negotiate a settlement with the debt collector, prior to engaging in a costly trial. Additionally, debtors and all defendants should take lawsuits against them seriously, even if they are unfamiliar with the plaintiff, as is the situation in many debt collection cases.

Importantly, all parties to a lawsuit should have a strong understanding of the legal requirements affecting their case, as well as their rights and applicable defenses. Utilizing an attorney is the best way for both plaintiffs and defendants to ensure that their rights are protected, and they have the best chances of success.

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Please contact CTM Legal Group at (312) 818-6700 and one of our attorneys can help you navigate the various legal issues you may be facing.