David L. Washington, a Chicago homeowner, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 12, 2010. The case challenges Presiding Judge Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird's General Administrative Order 2007-03, which allows plaintiff's firms that handle foreclosures to seek standing orders for the appointment of special process servers. These orders last three months, and then must be renewed.
The major issue in the case is whether Judge Kinnaird has the authority to issue such an order. The Illinois Code of Civil Procedure requires that plaintiffs seeking a special process server must file a motion with the court each time that they wish to have a special process server appointed. The suit claims that the only way to modify the process is via legislative action. I am inclined to agree.
The argument in favor of the Judge's order is due to the volume of foreclosures filed in Cook County, plaintiffs should be able to expedite the process, which likely helps clear up the court's dockets. However, this argument ignores two important points. First, special process servers are only as good as their word -- so-called "sewer service" not uncommon in Chicago. Sewer service is the practice of placing court documents in the sewer grate in front of a distressed property. Second, this practice short-circuits the due process requirements of the U.S. Constitution.
Mr. Washington seeks class certification. Regardless of his success in that regard, his complaint lays out what could shape up to be an interesting legal battle. Here's hoping that he emerges with a victory for himself and the other residents of Cook County.
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