In re EState Ann Wilson (arnetta Williams

• Decision Date: 21 October 2010
• Docket Number: No. 108487.,108487.
• Parties: In re ESTATE OF Mary Ann WILSON (Arnetta Williams, Appellant, v. Karen A. Bailey, Appellee).
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

238 Ill.2d 519
939 N.E.2d 426
345 Ill.Dec. 583

In re ESTATE OF Mary Ann WILSON (Arnetta Williams, Appellant,
v.
Karen A. Bailey, Appellee).

No. 108487.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Oct. 21, 2010.

[939 N.E.2d 429]

Sherly E. Fuhr, Ralph M. Goran, Adam W. Weber, of Chicago, for appellant.George Harold Klumpner, of Oak Brook, for appellee.Robert F. Harris, Charles P. Golbert, Kass A. Plain, Janet L. Barnes, of Office of Cook County Public Guardian, of Chicago, for amicus curiae Cook County Pub. Guardian.

[345 Ill.Dec. 586 , 238 Ill.2d 522] OPINION Justice KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

The issue in this case is whether a circuit judge who is the subject of a petition for substitution for cause under section 2–1001(a)(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2–1001(a)(3) (West 2006)) must refer the petition to another judge for a hearing automatically, upon the filing of the petition, even when the petition, on its face, fails to comply with threshold procedural and substantive requirements.

[345 Ill.Dec. 587 , 939 N.E.2d 430]

In the matter before us, the circuit judge did not believe that automatic referral was necessary in such circumstances and denied the motion for substitution. The appellate court reversed and remanded in a published opinion (389 Ill.App.3d 771, 329 Ill.Dec. 119, 905 N.E.2d 957), expressly rejecting precedent from other districts which held that the circuit court may evaluate the sufficiency of a petition for substitution before referring it to another judge for a hearing on whether cause for substitution exists. See In re Estate of Hoellen, 367 Ill.App.3d 240, 305 Ill.Dec. 182, 854 N.E.2d 774 (2006); Alcantar v. Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co., 288 Ill.App.3d 644, 224 Ill.Dec. 372, 681 N.E.2d 993 (1997). One justice dissented, arguing that where a petition is insufficient on its face, the statute does not require that it be automatically referred to another judge for a hearing. We granted leave to appeal. 210 Ill.2d R. 315. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the appellate court's judgment and affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

[238 Ill.2d 523] BACKGROUND

The events giving rise to this appeal began in May of 2006, when Isaac Heard, Sr., brother of Mary Ann Wilson (Mrs. Wilson), filed a petition in the circuit court of Cook County pursuant to sections 11a–3 and 11a–8 of the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/11a–3, 11a–8 (West 2006)) alleging that Mrs. Wilson was a disabled person and requesting that Arnetta Williams, one of Mrs. Wilson's cousins, be appointed guardian of her estate and person.¹ At the time Heard filed his petition, Wilson was 86 years of age. She is now 90.

Heard's decision to initiate the guardianship proceedings was the culmination of a series of events dating back to 2003, when social service agencies began receiving requests to assist Mrs. Wilson with various problems she was having, including the lack of heat in her home and the need for assistance with bill paying, medication, meals and home care. In early 2006, the City of Chicago Department on Aging began sending a public health nurse to Mrs. Wilson's home after receiving a report that money was being taken from her. The nurse, named Sherry Ponce De Leon, first visited the premises on January 4, 2006. She performed a “well-being” check on Mrs. Wilson and Wilson's elderly companion, a man named Clifford Service. Based on her observations, nurse Ponce De Leon recommended that the couple undergo competency evaluations by a doctor specializing in gerontology.

Over the next four months, the Department on Aging received more than 20 additional calls and reports concerning the welfare of Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Service. Arnetta Williams, Mrs. Wilson's cousin, visited Wilson's home on April 15, 2006, and found that she had been abandoned, left in feces, unable to walk or talk, and in a [238 Ill.2d 524] state of starvation. Williams relayed her discovery to Mr. Heard, Mrs. Wilson's brother, so that he would be aware of the situation.

On May 3, 2006, the Department on Aging and Williams both contacted nurse Ponce De Leon with a report that Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Service were locked in Wilson's house. When Ponce De Leon reached the house, she was met by Williams, two uniformed police officers, and a certified nursing assistant from the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs (the VA). The nursing assistant reported

[345 Ill.Dec. 588 , 939 N.E.2d 431]

that neither Wilson nor Service had their medication. While nurse Ponce De Leon noticed that there was food in the house, she observed that both Wilson and Service appeared frail and confused and were not oriented to date and place. The two complained that they had not received medical care and that someone was taking their pension checks.

Mr. Service was able to leave the house on his own. Mrs. Wilson required assistance from nurse Ponce De Leon, the VA nursing assistant, and one of the police officers. Nurse Ponce De Leon drove the two to the Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center in the City of Chicago, where they were examined. ² A physician advised nurse Ponce De Leon that Mrs. Wilson had a heart murmur and was dehydrated. Mr. Service was also dehydrated. Both received fluids intravenously and both were eventually admitted to the hospital. Mrs. Wilson was diagnosed with failure to thrive, aphasia (the inability to communicate through speech), organic brain syndrome and abandonment. She remained at the hospital for a month.

[238 Ill.2d 525] Five days after Wilson and Service were hospitalized, Mr. Service's son, David, petitioned the court to adjudge Mrs. Wilson a disabled person and to appoint him as her plenary guardian. That petition, which was later dismissed, was followed by the guardianship petition filed by Mrs. Wilson's brother, Mr. Heard. As noted previously, it was Heard's petition which gave rise the proceedings currently before us.

Upon the filing of Mr. Heard's petition, the circuit court appointed Sandra Thiel to serve as Mrs. Wilson's guardian ad litem. The court's order directed the guardian ad litem to interview Wilson, advise her of her rights under section 11a–11 of the Probate Act (755 ILCS 5/11a–11 (West 2006)), and to attempt to ascertain Wilson's views regarding the adjudication of disability, the proposed guardian, and various other matters relevant to the guardianship.

The guardian ad litem reported to the court the circumstances of Mrs. Wilson's admission to the hospital. She also related her impressions of Mrs. Wilson based on a personal interview. She described Mrs. Wilson this way:

“very frail, thin and weak. She did not know where she was, her address, if she ever had any children, why she was in hospital, how she got there, her age, date of birth, or what medication she was taking.”

The guardian ad litem reported that a psychological evaluation had described Mrs. Wilson as

“oriented only to name, cannot give her medical history, her face is expressionless, concentration impaired; impression: organic brain syndrome with agitation.”

According to the guardian ad litem, Mrs. Wilson was also diagnosed by a specialist with a probable urinary tract infection. The hospital physician treating her opined that she required 24–hour nursing care.

In the course of her investigation, the guardian ad litem discovered that Mrs. Wilson had apparently signed powers of attorney for both health care and finance prior [238 Ill.2d 526] to her hospitalization. The documents designated a woman named Karen Bailey as Mrs. Wilson's agent. Bailey's relationship to Mrs. Wilson was initially unknown, and the guardian ad litem recommended

[345 Ill.Dec. 589 , 939 N.E.2d 432]

that the powers of attorney be temporarily suspended.

Following receipt of the guardian ad litem's report, the circuit court conducted a hearing on May 15, 2006, at which the guardian ad litem and Arnetta Williams each appeared. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court entered an order appointing Arnetta Williams temporary guardian of Mrs. Wilson's estate and person pursuant to section 11a–4 of the Probate Act (755 ILCS 5/11a–4 (West 2006)), and granting her authority to arrange for Mrs. Wilson's medical care and placement in a nursing home, to investigate Wilson's financial circumstances and mail, to investigate the powers of attorney discovered by the guardian ad litem, and to obtain access to Wilson's medical records. The court also suspended, until further order, the powers of attorney naming Bailey as Mrs. Wilson's agent and authorized Williams to collect from Karen A. Bailey a signature stamp bearing Mrs. Wilson's name.

The record shows that at the time of these events, Karen Bailey was employed as executive secretary for a member of the Cook County board of commissioners. Bailey claimed that the health care and finance powers of attorney naming her as Mrs. Wilson's agent were executed by Mrs. Wilson in Bailey's employer's office on January 16, 2004. The record also contains a will, purportedly executed by Mrs. Wilson on the same date, which named Bailey as the executor of Wilson's estate and left to Bailey Wilson's entire estate.

It was eventually discovered that the dates on the documents were fraudulent. E-mail records obtained by subpoena and admitted into evidence established that the power of attorney and will forms were actually [238 Ill.2d 527] purchased by Bailey, online, from a company called Legacy Writer, Inc., in 2006. Bailey bought and downloaded the forms no earlier than February 6, 2006, more than two years after Bailey claims Wilson signed them. It appears from the record that they may not actually have been obtained by her until April 20, 2006, just weeks before these proceedings commenced.

Bailey's misconduct was brought to the attention of prosecutors, who initiated criminal proceedings against her. As a result of her wrongdoing with respect to Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Wilson's finances, Bailey was ultimately convicted of multiple felony...