BELLEVILLE – Statutes of limitation don’t operate on weekends according to Circuit Judge Heinz Rudolf, who ruled that Abigail Hoerner could proceed with an injury suit she filed on a Monday.
Rudolf entered an order on Dec. 28 denying a motion of defendant Quinnton Saunders to dismiss Hoerner's complaint.
Hoerner claims Saunders threw a table tennis paddle that struck her on June 26, 2008, when she was six years old.
Illinois law provides that a minor may bring an action within two years after attaining the age of 18.
Hoerner turned 18 on April 16, 2020.
She and her father Garrett Hoerner, an attorney at Becker Hoerner in Belleville, sued Quinnton Saunders, Sean Saunders, and Lisa Saunders on April 18, 2022.
They claimed they were present at Dorchester Swim and Tennis Club on South 74th Street when the paddle struck Abigail Hoerner's mouth.
As a result, they claimed she fell and suffered injuries to her mouth and teeth.
They claimed she endured pain, suffering, and disfigurement.
Quinnton Saunders and his parents retained Michael Bedesky of Heyl Royster in Edwardsville, who moved to dismiss the complaint as untimely in September.
Hoerner opposed the motion on Dec. 27.
He claimed state law on limitations excludes the first day and includes the last day unless the last day is Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday as defined in any statute.
“Here, because April 16, 2022 fell on a Saturday, the deadline to file plaintiffs’ complaint was extended to Monday, April 18, 2022,” he wrote.
Rudolf denied the motion a day later.
Plaintiff Garrett Hoerner practices law in St. Clair County with a focus in civil litigation.
His brother Kevin Hoerner presides as circuit judge.