Phelan v. Keiser, No. Appeal from the Circuit Court of Madison County. Honorable Randall A. Bono, Judge, presiding. Defendant, Jeffrey Keiser, moved to dismiss the suit because it was filed 11 days after the statute of limitations ran. Plaintiffs claim that Madison Mutual's conduct tolled the statute of limitations based on the doctrine of equitable estoppel.
Plaintiffs appeal from the circuit court's order granting defendant's motion to dismiss.
Under section 2-619 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a complaint is subject to involuntary dismissal if the action was not commenced within the time limited by law. The standard of review in this case is de novo , as it is an appeal from a circuit court order granting a motion to dismiss based on affirmative matters allegedly defeating the underlying claim. 236 Ill. App. In Vaughn , the trial court dismissed the plaintiff's complaint as untimely. The supreme court, while agreeing that the complaint was untimely filed, found that an issue of fact existed as to whether the defendants were estopped to assert the statute of limitations.