A $100,000-plus defamation lawsuit, filed by a Kane County sitting judge against a Geneva blogger, was continued Wednesday with a DeKalb County judge giving the blogger a timetable to challenge a ruling that permitted alternative methods to serve a summons.

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

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

DeKalb County Chief Judge Bradley Waller denied Ward’s effort to quash the summons.

“You agree that there was a posting of process and a copy of the complaint and there’s evidence of certified and regular mail,” Waller said. “So in terms of the service itself, I don’t see that there’s any issue with respect to that.”

Ward had alleged the process server did not file an affidavit detailing what efforts were made to find Ward, not just that he could not be served, as required.

But Waller said the challenge should have been to his own ruling, not the process server’s efforts.

In June, Waller ruled to allow Noland’s lawyer to use alternative methods to serve the summons – by posting it to his front door, by certified and regular mail.

In setting a new timetable for Ward to challenge the judge’s ruling – and for Noland’s attorney Michael Scotti to respond – Waller also told Ward he had to respond to the lawsuit.

He set the next court date for Dec. 23.

The issue of alternative means to serve a summons came about when the process server tried and failed six times to serve Ward with the notice of Noland’s lawsuit, according to court records.

“In order to be granted alternative service, there has to be a written affidavit demonstrating a diligent inquiry into the defendant’s whereabouts,” Ward said. “They have to describe specific unsuccessful attempts at service – not just that they were unsuccessful. They have to outline why the defendant could not be served, not simply that he wasn’t served.”

Ward also argued that the process server might have had the address wrong, as his affidavit of six attempts to serve the summons states the house was a townhouse, while it is a single-family house.

“I have proof it’s not a townhouse,” Ward said, showing Waller a photo on his phone.

Ward also said he does not accept certified mail and has not answered his door since 1983.

In court papers, Scotti included a paralegal employee’s affidavit that she mailed a copy of the complaint and summons by both regular and certified mail to Ward.

He included her affidavit and documents showing the certified mail was returned to sender in the filing.

“As you stand here today in light of the response, would you agree or disagree there was a certified mailing based upon affidavit of the paralegal there was mail the old fashioned way?” Waller asked.

Ward said his mail person knows he won’t accept certified mail and if it came in the regular mail, he would put it into the recycling.

Scotti said there was no dispute as to the correct address for Ward.

And as for the process server’s description of his house as a townhouse instead of a single-family residence, Scotti dismissed it, saying, “Tomato, tah-mah-tow.”

“There is no dispute that the address is correct. ... He is not disputing that a copy of the summons was taped on his front door,” Scotti said.

“So we have the right door. We have the right address. We have six separate attempts where people appeared to be home and nobody answered the door,” Scotti said. “Mr. Ward acknowledges that he has not answered his front door since 1983. These things are consistent. I believe we have made the diligent attempt to serve in the traditional manner.”