Fornadel v. Kelly

── Fornadel v. Kelly ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: May 26, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (1st) 250502-U SECOND DIVISION May 26, 2026 No. 1-25-0502 NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT VALENTINA FORNADEL and MARIA GROSZEW, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiffs-Appellants, ) Cook County ) v. ) No. 2021 CH 06391 ) ROSA KELLY, ) Honorable ) Alison C. Conlon, Defendant-Appellee. ) Judge, Presiding JUSTICE D.B. WALKER delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice Van Tine and Justice McBride concurred with the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: We affirm the circuit court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ second-amended complaint with prejudice and the denial of plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a third-amended complaint. ¶2 Jewdokia Sawczenko passed away in October of 2021 after battling cancer. Plaintiffs Valentina Fornadel and Maria Groszew initiated the underlying proceedings to challenge an amendment Mrs. Sawczenko made, prior to her death, regarding the beneficiary of her land trust. The trial court ultimately dismissed their second-amended complaint with prejudice. On appeal, plaintiffs contend that the trial court (1) improperly barred plaintiffs from discovery that would No. 1-25-0502 have aided in pleading factual matters in their complaint; (2) erred in dismissing their second- amended complaint with prejudice; and (3) should have granted plaintiffs leave to file a third- amended complaint. For the following reasons, we affirm. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 Plaintiffs are Mrs. Sawczenko’s nieces who reside in New Jersey, and defendant Rosa Kelly is her daughter. Until her death, Mrs. Sawczenko resided in and owned property located at 4683 N. Kason Avenue in Chicago. Defendant lived across the street from her mother. ¶5 On June 13, 2020, Mrs. Sawczenko transferred title of her property to a land trust with Chicago Title Land Trust Company (Chicago Title). The record does not identify the parties who were made beneficiaries of the trust at the time. On February 23, 2021, Mrs. Sawczenko executed an “Amendment of the Contingent Beneficial Interest” of the trust. The document provided that in the event of Mrs. Sawczenko’s death, each plaintiff would be granted an undivided 50 percent beneficial interest in the trust. ¶6 That same day, Mrs. Sawczenko executed her last will and testament. In her will, Mrs. Sawczenko stated that the land trust documents were “amended concurrently with this instrument” to confirm her intent that plaintiffs receive the property. Her will stated that defendant would receive $50, and her granddaughter, the daughter of her deceased son, Anatol, would also receive $50. The remainder of Mrs. Sawczenko’s assets, including all her personal property, “all monies in any bank or institutional accounts,” and any remaining interests, would be divided 50 percent to each plaintiff. Valentina was made executor of the will and Maria was the successor executor. ¶7 On September 3, 2021, Mrs. S