$971,000 Jury Verdict for Contractor Who Sued for Unpaid Work at the Pritzker Mansion

This was a breach of contract case that started out in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County and then became a law matter tried before a jury. In this case, a verdict of $971,858 was the outcome in a lawsuit brought by the Harold O. Schulz Co. Inc. for work it did as a general contractor in the renovation and construction work at 1435 and 1431 N. Astor Street in Chicago.

The work was done from 2007 through 2010. The two property addresses consisted of three residential buildings, including a 20,000-square-foot historic mansion built in 1894, a coach house and an adjacent residence.

The main house involved in this lawsuit was inhabited by Jay Prtizker, Mary Pritzker and her family.

Mary Pritzker’s brother, Thomas Muenster, was the sole manager of Astor Street LLC, the legal and equitable title holder to the property.

During the time that the project was ongoing, Schulz submitted monthly invoices to the owner. Astor Street LLC paid all of the invoices, except the last two. In March 2010, Schulz was terminated from the project. Schulz contended that he is company was wrongfully terminated and asserted that it was not fully paid for the amounts due under the agreement with Astor Street LLC.

The defendants maintained that Schulz billed for and was paid for work that the owner later discovered was never done or was done incorrectly.

The jury’s verdict of $971,858 in favor of Schulz did not include interest, attorneys’ fees and court costs. Those sums will be later determined by the court.

The attorneys for Schulz was Ty D. Laurie, Daniel Brennen, Erin Krejci and Kendall Woods.

Harold O. Schulz Company Inc., et al. v. Astor Street LLC, et al., 10 CH 22395 Consol. w/10 CH 20500.

Kreisman Law Offices has been successfully handling construction lawsuits, business litigation and real estate litigation for more than 38 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Rosemont, Park Ridge, Wheeling, Riverside, Berwyn, Alsip, South Holland, Chicago Ridge, Lincolnwood, Northbrook, Round Lake, Skokie, Western Springs, Joliet, Chicago (Bronzeville, Bridgeport, Beverly, Forest Glen, Rogers Park, Printer’s Row) and Schaumburg, Ill.