Six investors in Lancelot Investors, a Cayman Islands hedge fund, were suckered by the operator of a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. They sued Lancelot’s auditors in Cook County, where the offshore company is headquartered. The lawsuit alleged that fraudulent and negligent audit reports duped the six investors into pumping $79 million…
A contract was entered into between Beckett Media LLC and OnRamp Technologies to allow Beckett to use OnRamp’s applications and websites for “inventory management and sales solution.” According to the contract, “in the event of any litigation of any controversy or dispute arising out of or related to this agreement,…
The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District has affirmed a judgment that pierced the corporate veil of a closely held corporation and then awarded the plaintiff attorney fees connected to this litigation. The case was reported to be one of first impression in Illinois. Steiner Electric sold electrical products…
The Illinois Appellate Court for the Third District has held that persons with claims against a corporation dissolved for more than 5 years could not recover against the corporation’s liability insurers. In this case, defendant insurers included Employers Insurance Co. of Wausau, TIG Insurance Co. and Travelers Casualty and Surety…
In a landlord-tenant case that included a bankruptcy, the Illinois Appellate Court weighed in on the law of unjust enrichment and constructive trust. The case involved the payments on a commercial lease, a bankruptcy and the legal principles. The commercial lease tenant — Montgomery Ward — had filed for bankruptcy…
On April 6, 2012, nine graduates from DePaul University College of Law filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and all others who were similarly situated against DePaul. They were making claim that the university and particularly its law school violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and committed common-law…
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…
Menzies Aviation and CenterPoint Properties Trust entered into a 10-year lease for a warehouse near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in 2007. CenterPoint owned the warehouse, while Menzies operated an aircargo handling business that included the use of 15,000- and 30,000-pound forklifts. The warehouse was a single-story, 185,000-square-foot structure built in…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago has affirmed a decision by a trial judge that led to the forfeiture of an oil and gas franchise. Emmanuel Joseph operated a British Petroleum (BP) service station in Chicago. Sasafrasnet, LLC was the authorized distributor of BP products. Joseph…
The Illinois Appellate Court has reversed and remanded a decision by a circuit court judge regarding a contract. Global Care S.C. was a medical services corporation that leased several office suites from K&K Holdings. The term of the leases was seven years. The lease was to end on July 31, 2011. …