Geneva blogger, judge’s attorney at odds over summons in $100K-plus defamation lawsuit

A $100,000-plus defamation lawsuit, filed by a Kane County sitting judge against a Geneva blogger, was continued Wednesday, when the blogger claimed he had not been served.

Circuit Judge Michael Noland sued Jeff Ward Feb. 13, alleging that Ward defamed him by falsely claiming in a Jan. 31, 2025, blog post that the judge cheats on his wife.

The case is being heard in DeKalb County because the plaintiff, Noland, is a sitting Kane County circuit judge.

The issue of service – when a defendant is served with notice of a lawsuit – also came up June 17 when Noland’s attorney Andrew Clott said the process server tried and failed six times to serve Ward.

DeKalb County Chief Judge Bradley Waller gave Clott permission to use regular mail, certified mail and taping it to Ward’s front door to give him notice.

“I have not been served,” said Ward, appearing in person wearing a pink short-sleeved shirt and blue paisley tie.

“Then that begs the question, how did you know about today’s court date?” Waller asked.

“I have an advisor who advised me to show up,” Ward said.

Noland’s attorney Michael Scotti challenged Ward’s claim.

“I take issue with Mr. Ward’s saying he wasn’t served,” Scotti said. “We filed an affidavit of service. I have a picture of his front door with the summons taped to it and in addition, pursuant to your order, we sent it to his address by certified and regular mail. Certified mail was not picked up. Regular mail was not returned to us.”

Scotti said unless they have the wrong address, Ward has been served several times over.

“Our service agent believes he’s been evading service because there are people in the home when he goes there, lights on in the house, noises, cars in the driveway,” Scotti said.

Ward said he does not have to make himself available to be served.

“I’m not evading service,” Ward said. “I don’t answer my door for anyone – I haven’t since 1983. I am not evading certified mail. I have not accepted certified mail since 1983. Even my post person knows this. So, it’s simply a matter of the methods they are using aren’t going to work with me. ... I’m just behaving the way I always have."

Waller set Sept. 5 for Ward to file court papers seeking to quash or contest service. He set Sept. 19 for Scotti to file a response, Oct. 6 for Ward’s rebuttal to Scotti’s response and Oct. 15 for a hearing on the motions.

Waller told Ward that he needs to take steps to challenge the service and object to the case being moved to DeKalb County.

“I take issue with having to pay for what I consider a frivolous lawsuit,” Ward said, regarding the court’s filing fee. “Does DeKalb County offer waivers for appearances?”

Waller said if Ward thinks he qualifies for a fee waiver, he should apply for one.

“Since I’m the judge that signs and reviews every fee waive, I would certainly consider it like any other matter,” Waller said.

“It’s not an issue of whether I retain an attorney,” Ward said. “It’s whether I would be able to against a sitting judge. ... Entering an appearance is like an admission that the court has jurisdiction.”

Waller said his order specifically provided Ward the right to object to jurisdiction.