Seith v. Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.

              1Although the late Mr. Neal is no longer part of this litigation, we continue to use a
caption that reflects his prior status in this case owing to our practice of following the format of
the caption used in the notice of appeal.
SIXTH DIVISION
January 12, 2007
No. 1-03-1307
ALEX R. SEITH, ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court
Plaintiff-Appellant, ) of Cook County.
)
v. ) No. 02 L 5830
)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, INC., and )
STEVE NEAL, ) Honorable
) Michael J. Hogan,
Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE O’MALLEY delivered the opinion of the court:
On May 7, 2002, plaintiff Alex R. Seith filed a two-count complaint alleging that an
article written by the late Steve Neal and published by Chicago Sun-Times, Inc., contained
statements which constituted per se libel and false-light invasion of privacy. Defendants moved
to dismiss pursuant to section 2-615 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure. 735 ILCS 5/2-615
(West 2004). The circuit court of Cook County granted defendants’ motion to dismiss.
Plaintiff filed timely notice of appeal. On appeal, plaintiff asserted that his complaint
stated a claim upon which relief could be granted. After the parties fully briefed these issues,
plaintiff filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss the appeal as to defendant Steve Neal. That motion
also stated plaintiff’s intention to continue the matter against Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. This
court granted plaintiff’s motion and a mandate issued pursuant to that order.1 After a period of