2019 IL App (2d) 180250 No. 2-18-0250 Opinion filed June 21, 2019

______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS SECOND DISTRICT

______________________________________________________________________________ RICHARD DOE , ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Kendall County. P laintiff -Appell ant , ) ) v. ) No. 17-L-38 ) JOHN DENNIS HASTERT , ) Honorable ) Robert P. Pi lmer , Defendant

- Appellee. ) Judge, Presiding.

____________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE McLAREN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justice s Jorgenson and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion. OPINION ¶ 1 Plaintiff, Richard Doe , appeals the dismissal of his four -count complaint alleging battery, false imprisonment, negligent infliction of emotional distress , and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising from a sexual assault co mmitted by defendant, John Dennis Hastert, when plaintiff w as a child. The trial court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint , agreeing with defendant’s assertion that plaintiff’s cause of action was barred by the statute of limitations. Plaintiff argues that t he trial court erred because the limitations period was delayed or tolled by (1) the discovery rule, (2) fra ud ulent concealment, ( 3) equitable estoppe l, (4 ) equitable tolling , and (5) public policy. For the following reasons, we affirm. ¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- ¶ 3 On May 26, 2017, plaintiff filed a complaint against defendant. Plaintiff’s complaint contained four counts. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss (735 ILCS 5/2

- 619(a)(5) (West 2016)). The trial court dismissed the action, determining that plaintiff’s cla ims were barred by the statute of limitations for personal

- injury claims ( id. § 13 -202 ). Plaintiff filed a motion to reconsider , which the trial court denied. ¶ 4 A. Plaintiff’s Complaint ¶ 5 The following facts are alleged in plaintiff’s complaint and we accep t them as true for
purpo ses of our review of the ruling on defendant ’ s motion to dismiss See Parks v. Kownacki , 193 Ill. 2d 164, 167

- 68 (2000). During the spring or summer of 1973 or 1974, when plaintiff was 9 or 10 years old, 1 plaintiff was riding his b ike along Game Farm Road. Plaintiff stopped at the Game Farm Building to use the bathroom. While plaintiff was in a bathroom stall, sitting on the toilet , he heard a male voice mutter so mething outside the stall door. Suddenly, the stall door opened and defendant entered the stall. Defendant ’s genitals were exposed. Defendant grabbed plaintiff by the neck, bent plaintiff over the toilet, and forcefully sodomized plaintiff. After the sexual assault, defendant left the bathroom. Plaintiff saw defendant ’s face at that time but did not recognize him. ¶ 6 Several weeks later , while plaintiff was in gym class at Yorkville Grade School, he saw a large man enter and walk toward the gym teacher. Plaintiff recognized the man as defendant. The sight of defendant caused plaintiff to shake and cry. Defendant spoke with the gym teacher and then defendant approached plaintiff. Defendant took plaintiff by the neck and led him into the hallway. In the hallway defendant dropped to his knees and asked plaintiff if he had told

1 Plaintiff acknowledges that he was born in 1964; however, he does not reveal his birth date.2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- anyone about the assault. Plaintiff, still crying, said no. Defendant warned plainti ff against reporting the assault and threatened him, saying that defendant’s father was the sheriff and that if plaintiff told anyone about the assault plaintiff’s parents would be put in jail. ¶ 7 The events caused plaintiff severe mental and emotional distress, interfering with his daily life and preventing him from fully processing the sexual assault and the short - and long

term i njuries caused by the assault. It was not until 1984 or 1985 , when plaintiff was 20 or 21 years old , that he beg an to comprehend the scope of defendant’s malevolent acts against him

. At that time, plaintiff wen t to the Kendall County State’s Attorney’s O ffice , whe re he intended to report the crime. Plaintiff spoke with Kendall County State’s Attorney Dallas C. Ingemunson. Unbeknownst to plaintiff, Ingemunson was an associate of defendant ’s . Ingemunson had been defendant’s personal attorney, he and defendant were business partners in various ventures, and he played a prominent role in defendant’s political career. ¶ 8 When plaintiff told Ingemunson what defendant had done to him , Ingemunson threatened to charge plaintiff with a crime and accused plaintiff of slandering defendant’s name. “Upon information and belief [Ingemunson’s] threats were intended to prevent plaintiff from discovering the full extent of the crimes committed against him” and were made for defendant’s benefit. Ingemunson’s threats caused plaintiff further mental and emotional distress. As a result, plaintiff was traumatized, repressed the sexual assault, and was intimidated into silence. ¶ 9 A short time thereafter, defendant was elected to the United States House of Representatives and, su bsequently, became Speaker of the House. Defendant’s prominence caused pla intiff to f ur ther withdraw and attempt to suppress his memories of the sexual assault. Defendant’s position , coupled with the multiple threats against plaintiff and his family, intimidated plaintiff and precluded him from speaking with anyone regarding whether he m ight have a civil claim against defendant.2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- ¶ 10 In May 2015, defendant was indicted and federal law enforcement officials stated that defendant was believed to have paid $1.7 million to conceal hi s sexual abuse of a former student. Shortly thereafter, news stories circulated regarding accusations of defendant’s abuse of underage male students. When plaintiff learned of these stories , he began to fully under stand what had happened to him, including that he might have a claim against defendant for his injuries. ¶ 11 Based on these facts, plaintiff alleged four counts of liability against defendant: battery, false imprisonment, negligent infliction of emotional dist ress, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. ¶ 12 B. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss ¶ 13 On September 12, 2017, defendant filed a motion to dismiss under section 2 -619(a)(5) of the Code of Civil Procedure (the Code) ( id. § 2-619(a)(5) ), alleging that pl aintiff’ s claims were barred by the 2- year statute of limitations for personal

- injury action s and by the 12- year statute of repose. The alleged abuse occurred in 1973 or 1974. Plaintiff turned 18 in 1982 ; however, he did not file a complaint until 2017, more than 30 years later. Defendant alleged that the complaint makes clear that plaintiff was aware of his claim s in 1984 or 1985, after he had turned 18. Defendant also alleged that the discovery rule d id not save plaintiff’s claims , because he had actual knowledge of them in 1984 or 1985. Similarly , because nothing was concealed from plaintiff , his claim s were not tolled under the theory of fraudulent concealment. Plaintiff alleged that he was aware of all the facts giving rise to his cause of action after he had turned 18. Finally, the statute of repose barred plaintiff’s claim s even if the statute of limitations did not , because plaintiff reached the age of 30 decade s before he filed his complaint. ¶ 14 On October 10, 2017, plaintiff filed his response to defendant’s motion to dismiss , alleging and arguing the following. The limitations period was tolled by the actions of defendant2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- and those acting on his behalf , under the theory of equitable estoppel. Plaintiff cited section 13

- 202.2(d- 1) of the Code ( id. § 13-202.2(d- 1)) ( t he limitation s period for childhood sexual abuse do es “ not run during a time period when the person abused is subject to threats, intimidation, manipulation, or fraud perpetrated by the abuser or by any person acting in the interest of the abuser ”)). Further, the statute of repose was repealed before plaintiff’s claims were barred. The statute of repose for claim s of childhood sexual abuse required claims to be brought before the victim’s thirtie th birthday. Effective January 1, 1994, the statute of repose was repealed. Because plaintiff was born in 1964 , the repose period had not run on his claim s prior to the statute’s repeal and, therefore, his claims were not barred. ¶ 15 C. P laintiff’s Motion to Compel Discovery ¶ 16 On November 1 6 , 2017 , plaintiff filed a motion to compel discovery of defendant. Plaintiff alleged that defendant had failed to provide any responses to the written discovery requests that plaintiff issued on September 29, 2017. Rather, o n October 27, 2017, defendant had provided objection s to all of plaintiff’s requests . Defendant asserted that discovery was premature , due to his pending motion to dismiss. ¶ 17 D. Trial Court’s Judgment ¶ 18 On November 20, 2017, the trial court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint with prejudice, as barred by the statute of limitations. T he trial court also ruled that plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery was moot due to the cour t’s order dismissing plaintiff’s complaint . On December 20, 2017, p laintiff filed a motion to reconsider , which the trial court denied on February 27, 2018. On March 29, 2018, plaintiff filed his notice of appeal. ¶ 19 I I. ANALYSIS ¶ 20 A. Standard of Review2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- ¶ 21 Defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’ s complaint was brought pursuant to section 2

- 619(a)(5) of the Code ( id. § 2-619(a)(5) ). When deciding a section 2-619 motion, a court accepts all well

- pleaded facts in the c omplaint as true , and the court will grant the motion when it appears that no set of facts can be proved that would allow the plaintiff to recover. Moon v. Rhode , 2016 IL 119572, ¶ 15. Specifically, section 2

- 619(a)(5) provides that a defendant is entitl ed to a dismissal if the “ action was not commenced within the time limited by law .” 735 ILCS 5/2

- 619(a)(5) (West 2016). We review de novo an order granting a section 2

- 619 motion

. Moon , 2016 IL 119572, ¶ 15. ¶ 22 B. The Statute of Limitations ¶ 23 Plaintiff argues that , although he turned 18 in 1982, the trial court erred by dismissing his complaint, because the discovery rule delaye d the limitations pe riod. Plaintiff contends that the period “did not start to run until 1984 or 1985, shortly before he visite d the State Attorney’s office. That is when, as alleged in his complaint *** he began to discover his injuries and their relation to [defendant’s] sexual assault on him as a child.” Defendant argues that the complaint is barred by the statute of limitations because plaintiff failed to file his complaint within two years of discovering that he had been sexually abused and that he had been harmed by that abuse. ¶ 24 Initially, we note that defendant claims that plaintiff has forfeited this issue because he faile d to raise it in his response to defendant’s motion to dismiss. However, plaintiff raised the discovery rule during the hearing on the motion to dismiss. Thus, plaintiff has not forfeited the issue. ¶ 25 To analyze plaintiff’s argument that his claim s were ti mely under the statute of limitations and the discovery rule, we must first determine which particular statute of limitations applies to plaintiff’s claim s. We believe that the general statute of limitations applicable to personal- injury claims applies

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- ¶ 26 P rior to January 1, 1991, claims of personal injury resulting from childhood sexual abuse were governed by the two

- year limitations period for personal- injury claims

. 735 ILCS 5/13 -202 (West 2016); Clay v. Kuhl , 189 Ill. 2d 603, 608 (2000). On January 1, 1991, the legislature adopted section 13

- 202.2 of the Code (Pub. Act 86

- 1346 (eff. Jan. 1, 1991)), which codified a
two

- year statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases and incorporated the common

law discovery rule. Wisniewski v. Diocese of Belleville , 406 Ill. App. 3d 1119, 1173 (2011) ( section 13 -202.2 codifies the common

- law discovery rule). Under the express terms of section 13-202.2(b) , th e two

- year limitations period does not begin to run until the victim “discovers or through the use of reasonable diligence should discover” that the abuse occurred and that the abuse caused the personal injury. I ll. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 110, ¶ 13-202.2(b) (now 735 ILCS 5/13-202.2(b) (West 2016) (20

- year limitations period) ). ¶ 27 In the present case, howeve r, if the limitations period expired on plaintiff’s c ause of action under the common

- law discovery rule, it did so prior to the enactment of section 13

- 202.2(b) of the Code. Accordingly, in analyzing the timeliness of plaintiff’s claims , we will apply the general statute of lim itations applicable to personal

- injury claims and the common

- law discovery rule. See Doe A. v. Diocese of Dallas , 234 Ill. 2d 393, 409 (2009). ¶ 28 An action for personal injury must be filed “within 2 years next after the cause of action accrued.” 735 ILCS 5/13

- 202 (West 2016). If the plaintiff is a minor, “he or she may bring the action within 2 years after the person attains the age of 18 years.” Id. § 13-211. ¶ 29 1. The Common- Law Discovery Rule ¶ 30 Under the common

- law discovery rule, the limitations period begins to run when the party seeking relief both (1) knows or reasonably should know of his injury and (2) knows or reasonably should know that it was wrongfully caused. Parks , 193 Ill. 2d at 176 . The limitations period begins running even if the plaintiff does not know that the misconduct was2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- actionable. Id . Whether the discovery rule applies is generally a question of fact but may be determined as a matter of law when the answer is clear from the pleadings. Clay , 189 Ill. 2d at 609-10. ¶ 31 In Clay , the plaintiff, born in 1964, admitted that she knew of the abuse when it occurred in the 1970s but alleged that she did not realize that her “ ‘sexual encounters ’ ” with the defendant had caused her later psychological injuries until 1994. Id

. at 605 -06, 609. The plaintiff did not file suit until 1996, alleging that the discovery rule saved her otherwise untimely complaint. Id

. at 609 -10. T he supreme court disagreed , holding that the plaintiff’s c omplaint was untimely under the discovery rule. Id . at 610. The supreme court not ed that the plaintiff alleged that she “was aware of the abuse as it occurred” and did not allege that “ she repressed her memories of the abuse

. ” Id . The court went on to hold that , because the allegations in the complaint “show that the plaintiff was always aware of the misconduct charged, and the absence of any contrary assertion that the plaintiff repressed memories of the abuse, we believe that the plaintiff’ s action mu st be considered untimely under the discovery rule.” Id

. The court rejected the claim that the plaintiff’s alleged failure to fully discover the nature of her injuries was sufficient to delay the running of the limitations period. Id . at 611. The court held that “ there is no requirement that a plaintiff must know the full extent of his or her injuries before suit must be brought under the statute of limitations. ” Id . Accordingly, the plaintiff ’ s complaint was barred

as untimely , be cause b y the time she turned 18 in 1982 she knew of the abuse (which was tantamount to knowing that she was injured) and knew that her injury was wrongfully caused , but she did not file suit until 14 years later. Id. at 610-12. ¶ 32 Similarly, i n Parks , the pl aintiff alleged that the defendant sexually abus ed her when she

was 15 through 18 years old, from 1970 through 1973. Parks , 193 Ill. 2d at 177. However, the plaintiff did not file her complaint until 1995, at least 22 years after she reached 18. Id

. T he2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- plaintiff did not allege that she did not remember that she had been abused; she alleged only that she failed to make t he connection between her injuries and the abuse until 21 years later. Id

. The supreme court held that the plaint iff’s claims were t ime

- barred. Id . at 178. The court reasoned that the “ plaintiff was aware of both the cause and some injury ” and that her alleged failure to understand the connection between the abuse and her other injuries did not delay the limitations period. Id

. ¶ 33 Her e, e xamining plaintiff ’ s complaint, we conclude that his action is untimely under the discovery rule. The allegations in plaintiff’ s complaint make clear that plaintiff had sufficient information about his injury and its cause to require him to bring suit within two years after turning 18

. Like the plaintiffs in Clay and Parks , plaintiff in this case d id not allege that he did not remember the abuse , and the allegations i n the complaint indicate that plaintiff was aware of the abuse as it occurred. See id. at 177 ; Clay , 189 Ill. 2d at 610

. Plaintiff’s complaint alleges that the abuse occurred when plaintiff was 9 or 10 years old , and plaintiff reached the age of majority in 1982. Therefore, plaintiff had until his twentie th birthday in 1984 to file a complaint

. See 735 ILCS 5/13

- 211 (West 2016). However, he did not bring the present action until 2017, when he was approximately 53 years old. ¶ 34 Plaintiff ’ s alleged failure to fully discover the nature of his injuries was in sufficient to delay the running of the limitations period. “ There is no requirement that a plaintiff must know the full extent of his or her injuries before suit must be brought under the applicable statute of limitations. ” Clay , 189 Ill. 2d at 611. “Ac cepting the plaintiff’s argument in support of delayed discovery of the injury would improperly create a subjective standard by which accrual of a cause of action would have to be measured.” Id. at 613 ; s ee also Doe v. Carlson , 2017 IL App (1st) 160536, ¶ 19 (“knowledge of injury is presumed where the victim was aware of the sexual abuse as it was occurring ”)

. Given the allegations in plaintiff’s complaint, which show that2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- plaintiff was always aware of the misconduct charged, and the absence of any assert ion that he repressed memories of the abuse, plaintiff ’ s action must be considered untimely under the discovery rule. ¶ 35 Plaintiff cites D.P. v. M.J.O. , 266 Ill. App. 3d 1029 (1994), to support his argument that the discovery rule applies. In D.P. , the plaintiffs alleged that, although they were aware that their father had sexually abused them as minors, they were unaware of the connection between their psychological symptoms and the abuse until they were 26 and 28 years of age . The appellate court held that in child sex abuse cases the discovery rule applies to the belated discovery of the connection between the abuse and the injuries

. However, given the later holdings of our supreme court in Parks and Clay , D.P. is not controlling here. See Parks , 19 3 Ill. 2d at 178 (the plaintiff ’ s alleged failure to understand the connection between the abuse and her injuries did not delay the limitations period ); Clay , 189 Ill. 2d at 613 (the plaintiff did not need to know the full extent and cause of her injuries before the limitations period began to run). ¶ 36 Next, p laintiff contends that the limitations period was tolled until May 2015, when news of defendant’s alleged molestation of another child became public , due to fraudulent concealment , equitable estoppel, equitable tolling , and public policy

. We will discuss each issue in turn. ¶ 37 2. Fraudulent Concealment ¶ 38 Plaintiff argues that defendant fraudulently concealed plaintiff’s injur ies and claim s . Defendant argues that plaintiff has forfeited his fraudulent- concealment argument because he did not raise it in either his response to defendant’s section 2

- 619 motion to dismiss or his motion for reconsideration

. We agree with defendant that plaintiff forfeited th is argument by failing to raise it in the trial court . S ee Gua rantee Trust Life Insurance Co. v. Kribbs , 2016 IL App (1st)2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- 160672, ¶ 4 7 ( a party who does not raise an issue in the trial court forfeits the issue and may not raise it for the first time on appeal). ¶ 39 3. Equitable Estoppel ¶ 40 To support a claim of equitable estoppel sufficient to toll a limitation s period, a plaintiff must show that (1) the other parties misrepresented or co ncealed material facts, (2) the other parties knew when making the representations that they were not true, (3) the plaintiff d id not know that the representations were untrue when they were made and when the plaintiff relied on the representations, (4) the other parties intended or reasonably anticipated that the plaintiff would base his or her decision whether to act on the representations, (5) the plaintiff reasonably relied on the representations in good faith and to his or her detriment, and (6) the plaintiff would be prejudiced by the reliance on the representations if the other parties deny their truth. DeLuna v. Burciaga , 223 Ill. 2d 49, 82 -83 (2006 ). To claim the benefit of equitable estoppel, a plaintiff must have had no knowledge or means of knowing the true facts , within the applicable limitations period

. Nickels v. Reid , 277 Ill. App. 3d 849, 856 (1996). Further, t he “party claiming the benefit of estoppel cannot shut his eyes to obvious facts, or neglect to seek information that is easily accessible, and then charge his ignorance to others.” Bank of New York v. Langman , 2013 IL App (2d) 120609, ¶ 26, ¶ 41 Plaintiff contends that the limitations period was tolled by the doctrine of equitable estoppel based on the misrepresentations of defendant. Plaintiff alleged that defendant threatened him once, “ several weeks” after the sexual assault, when plaintiff was 9 or 10 yea rs old, in 1973 or 1974. Plaintiff did not allege that he had any other contact with defendant after 1974. However, nothing prevented plaintiff from learning the true facts in 1982 when he reached the age of 18. Accordingly, equitable estoppel does not apply , because plaintiff had2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- ample time to file his action before the statutory deadline. See Kheirkhahvash v. Baniassadi , 407 Ill. App. 3d 171, 182 (2011). ¶ 42 Plaintiff also contends that the limitations period was tolled by the doctrine of equita ble estoppel based on the misrepresentations of Ingemunson. Defendant counters that Ingemunson’s alleged threat does not support plaintiff’s assertion of equitable estoppel , because Ingemunson is not a party. ¶ 43 The common

- law doctrine of equitable estoppel parallel s the fraudulent- concealment

statute (735 ILCS 5/13

- 215 (West 20 16))

. Mauer v. Rubin , 401 Ill. App. 3d 630, 648 (2010). Under that statute, t he fraudulent action of a person other than the defendant may toll the limitations period only if the other person wa s an agent or in privity with the defendant and the defendant knew or approved of the fraudulent action. Cangemi v. Advocate South Suburban Hosp ital , 364 Ill. App. 3d 446, 46 1 (2006) (“ ‘ “T he fraudulent concealment must have been that of t he party sought to be charged, and a mere allegation of proof that it was the act of his agent will not be sufficient, unless he is in some way shown to have been instrumental in or cognizant of the fraud ” ’ ” ) (quoting Wood v. Williams , 142 Ill. 269, 280 -81 (1892) , quoting Horace G. Wood, Wood on Limitations, § 276 (1882))); s ee also Chicago Park District v. Kenroy Inc. , 78 Ill. 2d 555, 563 (1980) (citing Wood , 142 Ill. at 280 -81, with approval). ¶ 44 This same principle ha s been applied to the doctrine of equitable estoppel. For example , in Barbour v. South Chicago Community Hospital , 156 Ill. App. 3d 324 (1987) , the plaintiff su ed the defendant hospital alleging that , while she was a pa tient receiving an abortion, a tubal ligation was also performed , without her consent or knowledge. Id . at 325. The p laintiff contended that the hospital was equitably estopped from raising a statute -of- limitatio ns defense , because the hospital’ s agents

— a doctor and a nurse

— fraudulently concealed the cause of action2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- by telling the plaintiff that she was still fertile and providing her with birth control. Id . at 326.
T he appellate court stated: “Under Illinois law, a principal is not estopped from raising the statute of lim itations as a defense unless the principal knew, or participated in, the concealment alleged to have been committed by the agent.” Id . at 330 ( citing Wood , 142 Ill. at 280-81, and Kenroy , 78 Ill. 2d at 563

. The court then noted: “[ T he plaintiff] do es not allege that the hospital’ s board of directors knew of the alleged conspiracy nor does [ the plaintiff] claim that any other department chief was aware of the alleged conspiracy. Instead, [ the plaintiff] attempts to hold the hospital, as principal, liable f or an agent’ s alleged concealment of a cause of action. However, Illinois courts, including the supreme court, have refused to expand the doctrine of equitable estoppel
*** to include an unknowing principal.” Id. at 330 -31 ( citing Wood , 142 Ill. 269, and Kenroy , 78 Ill. 2d 555. ¶ 45 Here, p laintiff alleged that in 1984 or 1985 he visited Ingemunson to “report the crime” and that Ingemunson threatened to charge plaintiff with a crime and accu sed him of slandering defendant. Plaintiff fails to allege that defendant knew of Ingemunson’s alleged threat or accusation. Because defendant could be, at best, an unknowing principal, the doctrine of equitable estoppel does not apply to toll the limitations period . See id. ( citing Woo d , 142 Ill. 269, and Kenroy , 78 Ill. 2d 555. ¶ 46 4. Equitable Tolling ¶ 47 Plaintiff also argues that his claims were timely because equitable tolling tolled the limitations period, due to defendant’s and Ingemunson’s false threats. Defendant argues that plaintiff forfeited this issue because he raised it only in a footnote in his response to defendant’s2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- motion to dismiss. However, plai ntiff also raised his equitable

- tolling argument during the hearing on defendant’s motion to dismiss. Accordingly, we determine that plaintiff did not forfeit this issue. ¶ 48 “Equitable tolling of a statute of limitations may be appropriate if the defendant has actively misled the plaintiff, or if the plaintiff has been prevented from asserting his or her rights in some extraordinary way, or if the plaintiff has mistakenly asserted his or her rights in the wrong forum. ” Clay , 189 Ill. 2d at 614. “ ‘Extraordinary barriers include legal disability, an irredeemable lack of information, or situations where the plaintiff could not learn the identity of proper defendants through the exercise of due diligence.’ ” American Family Mutual Insurance
Co

. v. Plunkett , 2014 IL App (1st) 131631, ¶ 32 (quoting Thede v. Kapsas , 386 Ill. App. 3d 396, 403 (2008) ). ¶ 49 Here, plaintiff does not contend that , after he reached the age of majority , defendant misled him or otherwise attempted to prevent him from asserting his rights in a timely manner. Further, Ingemunson’s alleged false threat s , which m ight have o ccurred before plaintiff turned 20, did not constitute an extraordinary barrier that prevented him from filing his lawsuit. See Clay , 189 Ill. 2d at 614. Instead, plaintiff was “prevented” from filing his lawsuit only by his own failure to obtain legal advice. This is not the sort of extraordinary situation in which equitable tolling applies

. ¶ 50 Plaintiff cites Ralda- Sanden v. Sanden , 2013 IL App (1st) 121117, to support his argument that equitable tolling applies here. In Ralda-Sanden , the plaint iff filed a complaint under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 (750 ILCS 45/1 et seq. (West 2010)) to establish paternity nearly two years after the expiration of the limitations period . T he complaint was dismissed under section 2 -619 of the Code. Ralda -Sanden , 2013 IL App (1st) 121117 , ¶¶ 17 -18

. On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the limitations period should be equitably tolled because she2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- had not discovered that her putative father was alive until July 2011, three months before she filed her complai nt. Id

. ¶ 18. The appellate court agreed, reasoning that the uncontroverted affidavits of the plaintiff and her mother established that the plaintiff ’ s mother withheld information concerning the plaintiff ’ s putative father , due to his violent behavior an d his threats to kill the mother and her family. Id

. ¶ 25. Accordingly, the court found that an extraordinary barrier prevented the plaintiff from asserting her rights and that the limitations period should therefore be equitably tolled. Id . ¶ 26. ¶ 51 In th is case, defendant’s alleged abuse and threats ended when plaintiff was 9 or 10 years old, long before defendant reached the age of 18, and Ingemunson’s alleged threats occurred when plaintiff was 20 or 21 years old. Nothing p revented plaintiff from filin g a complaint within the limitations period, between the ages of 18 to 20. Thus, this case is distinguishable from Ralda-Sanden

. ¶ 52 5. Public Policy ¶ 53 Plaintiff urges this court to ignore the applicable statute of limitations because it is against public policy. We disagree. ¶ 54 Statutes of limitations are legislative enactments that afford plaintiffs a reasonab le time to present their claims and protect defendants and courts from havi ng to deal with stale claims “ in which the search for truth may be seriously impaired by the loss of evidence ; whether by death or disappearance of witnesses, fading memories, disappearance of documents, or otherwise. [Citations].” United S tates v. Kubri ck , 444 U.S. 111, 117 (1979); s ee also Softcheck v. Imesch , 367 Ill. App. 3d 148, 157 (2006). ¶ 55 In this case, plaintiff’s claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations on plaintiff’s twentieth birthday in 1984

. At that time, defendant had a vested right to invoke the statute of limitations as a defense to plaintiff’s cause of action. See M.E.H. v. L.H. , 177 Ill. 2d2019 IL App (2d) 180250

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- 207, 214-15 (1997). That right cannot be taken away without offending the due process protections of our state’ s constitution. Id . at 215; s ee also Clay , 189 Ill. 2d at 609 (“under Illinois law, the barring of an action by a statute of limitations creates a vested right in favor of the defendant, and the action cannot later be revived”). ¶ 56 The legislature’s purposes in enacting statutes of limitations are legitimate , and defendant has a vested right to invoke the applicable statute as a defense to plaintiff’s claims. “ This is no less true where the tort alleged, as here, is particularly loathsome .” Softcheck , 367 Ill. App. 3d at 157. ¶ 57 III. CONCLUSION ¶ 58 For the reasons stated , we affirm the trial court’s judgment. ¶ 59 Affirmed.