The trial court granted the motion to dismiss with prejudice. The trial court later set a trial date for August 7, 1996. On that day, defendant was not present in court, and the trial court entered an ex parte judgment against him. The trial court then denied defendant's motion. The trial court denied the petition to vacate on May 6, 1997.
Defendant now appeals.
Defendant also contends that he sufficiently pleaded a meritorious defense to the underlying action against him. When reviewing a trial court's disposition on a petition for section 2-1401 relief, we apply an abuse of discretion standard. Final judgments, decrees and orders may be vacated 30 days after their entry under section 2-1401 of the Code. 287 Ill. App. The trend in Illinois is to relax the due diligence standard where necessary to prevent the unjust entry of default judgments and to effect substantial justice.