ILLINOIS OFFICIAL REPORTS

Appellate Court

Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Akbulut, 2012 IL App (1st) 112978

Appellate Court

Caption

DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, as Indenture

Trustee for American Home Mortgage Investment Trust 2007-2, PlaintiffAppellee, v. NASIF AKBULUT, Defendant-Appellant.

 District & No. First District, Fourth Division

Docket No. 1-11-2978

Rule 23 Order filed

Rule 23 Order

withdrawn

Opinion filed

August 23, 2012

October 15, 2012

October 18, 2012

Held

(Note: This syllabus

constitutes no part of

the opinion of the court

but has been prepared

by the Reporter of

Decisions for the

convenience of the

reader.)

The amended affidavit of service filed in plaintiff’s foreclosure action

averring that the person who served defendant was an employee of an

agency appointed to serve process for plaintiff cured any defect in the

return of service.

Decision Under 

Review

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 10-CH-17062; the

Hon. Daniel Patrick Brennan, Judge, presiding.

Judgment Affirmed.
Counsel on

Appeal

Stephen Richek, of Chicago, for appellant. 

 

Louis J. Manetti, Jr., of Codilis & Associates, P.C., of Burr Ridge, for

appellee.

Panel JUSTICE PUCINSKI delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

Justices Fitzgerald Smith and Sterba concurred in the judgment and

opinion.

OPINION

¶ 1 In this mortgage foreclosure action, defendant-appellant Nasif Akbulut appeals from an

order of the circuit court of Cook County denying his motion to quash the personal service

obtained on him by plaintiff-appellee, Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as indenture

trustee for American Home mortgage investment trust 2007-2 (Deutsche Bank). Akbulut

contends that service was not properly obtained on him because the return of service does

not state that the special process server, Terry Ryan, was appointed to serve process or that

he was an employee of one of three private detective agencies which had been appointed to

serve process for Deutsche Bank. For these reasons, Akbulut contends that service on him

should have been quashed.

¶ 2 On April 19, 2010, Deutsche Bank filed this mortgage foreclosure action against Akbulut

on property commonly known as 4344 North Mobile Avenue in Chicago. Akbulut was

personally served at that address on April 20, 2010 by Ryan. Ryan’s affidavit of service bore

a signature line with Ryan’s name and “License(s): Agency: 117-001101.” The bottom left

corner of the affidavit lists United Processing, Incorporated, along with its address and phone

number. United Processing was one of three detective agencies appointed to serve process

for Deutsche Bank. Akbulut did not answer or otherwise appear and on April 13, 2011, a

judgment for foreclosure and sale was entered in favor of Deutsche Bank. The property was

then sold at public auction to Deutsche Bank for $546,907.76 on July 15, 2011.

¶ 3 On July 19, 2011, Akbulut filed a motion to quash service, asserting that there was no

evidence “in the [c]ourt file or otherwise” that Ryan was appointed to serve process and that

service by an unappointed special process server was invalid. Plaintiff’s response to this

motion included an amended affidavit of service by Ryan, averring that he was “an employee

or agent of United Processing, Inc., a licensed private detective agency, license number 117-

001101, appointed by the court to serve process” in the cause. Akbulut filed no

counteraffidavit. Akbulut’s motion to quash was denied on September 28, 2011, and on that

same day the court granted Deutsche Bank’s motion to confirm the sale of the property. This

appeal ensued.

¶ 4 Akbulut’s sole contention on appeal is that service on him should have been quashed

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because there was insufficient proof that Ryan, the special process server who served him,

was an employee of one of the three detective agencies appointed to serve process for

Deutsche Bank. A judgment entered by a court that lacks jurisdiction of the parties is void

and may be attacked at any time in any court. State Bank of Lake Zurich v. Thill, 113 Ill. 2d

294, 309 (1986). Accordingly, a judgment which is obtained without proper service of

process is void. State Bank, 113 Ill. 2d at 308-09; see Klein v. La Salle National Bank, 155

Ill. 2d 201, 206 (1993).

¶ 5 Akbulut notes that when a private detective agency is appointed to serve process, it must

utilize one of its employees to accomplish that service. 735 ILCS 5/2-202(a-5) (West 2010).

As Akbulut also notes, Ryan’s original return of service did not specify that Ryan was an

employee of a private detective agency. But Akbulut has failed to cite any authority

supporting his implicit contention that the failure to mention a process server’s employment

status in the return of process invalidates service. In C.T.A.S.S.&U. Federal Credit Union v.

Johnson, 383 Ill. App. 3d 909, 912 (2008), cited by Akbulut, the court found that at the time

process was served, the detective serving process had not yet been appointed as special

process server. Here, Deutsche Bank filed an amended affidavit of service in which Ryan

averred that he was an employee or agent of United Processing, which was one of the three

detective agencies appointed to serve process for Deutsche Bank. The circuit court was

entitled to rely upon this amended affidavit to cure any defect in the return of process. See

State Bank, 113 Ill. 2d at 306-07.

¶ 6 For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court of

Cook County.

¶ 7 Affirmed.

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