FEATURED CASES

JURY AWARDS VERDICT IN FAVOR OF LYNCH THOMPSON CLIENT AFTER THREE-WEEK TRIAL

Lynch Thompson’s team successfully represented a defendant in a three-week jury trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County and obtained a verdict and judgment in their client’s favor. The plaintiff had sought a multi-million-dollar award based on a tortious interference with expectancy claim, plus punitive damages – but Lynch Thompson attorneys convinced the jury that the plaintiff was not entitled to any damages from Lynch Thompson’s client.

CLIENT’S $7.5 MILLION AWARD IN PUNITIVE DAMAGES

Read the entire decision here.

The First District upheld Lynch Thompson’s multi-million-dollar award for its client, Mark Munizzi, against his former employer, UBS Financial Services Inc. 2021, Ill. App. 201237 (Ill. App. Ct. 2021. Munizzi asserted claims of defamation, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage and claims under the Illinois Wage Payment Collection Act, after the firm terminated the client for cause and fabricated the bases for termination on the client’s regulatory filings. After a thirteen-day FINRA arbitration, Finra Case Number 18-02179, the panel awarded the entirety of the compensatory damages sought by the client (an amount of $3.1 Million), plus a substantial punitive damages award ($7.5 Million), severance ($112,500), attorneys’ fees and costs ($496.753) and an expungement of defamatory language on the client’s public filings. The trial court denied UBS’s attempt to vacate the award and instead entered judgment in the client’s favor. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s judgment, including FINRA’s substantial (and rare) punitive damages award. The Illinois Supreme Court denied the financial services firm’s petition for leave to appeal, thereby concluding the litigation in favor of Munizzi. UBS after conclusion of its unsuccessful appeals, paid Munizzi $14.1 million which included $3 million in additional attorneys’ fees and statutory interest.

CLIENT PREVAILS ON NOVEL CAUSE OF ACTION

Lynch Thompson represented one lender, among many, seeking to recover from a real estate developer whose business was impacted by the recession of 2007-10. While other creditors accepted pennies on the dollar, or ceased collections activities altogether, the attorneys of Lynch Thompson obtained significant funds for its client from a judgment debtor who claimed to have no meaningful, collectible assets.

Through extensive collections activities, Lynch Thompson discovered the judgment debtor’s method for concealing his assets, which involved the use of trust accounts established by his attorney. In addition to the funds collected from the judgment debtor, Lynch Thompson also filed litigation against the judgment debtor’s attorneys. In that action, Lynch Thompson pursued legal theories that broke new ground, and obtained a confidential settlement amount satisfactory to the client.

TRIAL VICTORY AFTER DELIBERATION OF LESS THAN AN HOUR

Lynch Thompson secured a verdict for its client following a multi-day jury trial in the Northern District of Illinois. The client was a lessor of airplanes which had entered into a letter of intent regarding a potential lease of two aircraft with the plaintiff, a start-up airline located in Thailand. The plaintiff asserted claims against the lessor-client, including claims alleging fraud and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and sought over $20 million in damages. After a trial, the jury rejected all of the plaintiff’s claims and theories, finding in favor of the firm client and awarding no damages.

COURT GRANTS MOTION TO DISMISS ON CROSS-BORDER DISPUTE

Lynch Thompson represented a Spanish company engaged in the business of supplying construction equipment in the EU. After a chance meeting, the client entered into negotiations to participate in a joint venture with a Ghanaian company and a Cameroonian company, to supply heavy equipment to Cameroon for infrastructure projects. Eventually, the JV partners got cold feet and sought to sued firm’s client in federal district court in Chicago. The court dismissed the case on the firm’s motion, which raised a number of complex arguments touching on personal jurisdiction of the individual and corporate, foreign defendants, subject matter jurisdiction over a dispute centered in Europe and Africa, service of process defects, and construction of the JV agreement.

PRODUCTS LIABILITY PLAINTIFF ABANDONS CLAIM

The firm has long represented a manufacturer of commercial vehicles. In one recent matter, Lynch Thompson defended the manufacturer against a claim that the defendant’s vehicle was defectively designed, and that the purported defect caused an incident that left the plaintiff with substantial, permanent injury. After thorough investigation and discovery, especially the depositions of the plaintiff’s co-worker and boss, the firm was able to establish that it was operator error and failure to follow protocol, not any design or manufacturing flaw, that caused the injury. Plaintiff abandoned his claim.

BANKRUPTCY VICTORY CREATES FREQUENTLY-CITED PRECEDENT

In a case frequently cited for the requirements to find a debt non-dischargable in bankruptcy, Lynch Thompson successfully represented, through a trial before the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, a bank who had relied on misrepresentations made by the borrowers on their loan application. The success at trial allowed Lynch Thompson’s client to collect on its debt where other creditors were prohibited as a result of the bankruptcy.

APPELLATE COURT UPHOLDS CONTEMPT FINDING AGAINST OPPOSING COUNSEL

Lynch Thompson recently obtained a victory at both the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Illinois First District Appellate Court against an examinee who refused to disclose information that might assist Lynch Thompson’s clients in discovering assets to satisfy a seven-figure judgment entered in their favor. The trial court judge agreed with Lynch Thompson’s arguments and held the examinee in contempt for his failure to answer questions posed by the Lynch Thompson attorney. Following oral argument, the appellate court likewise found in favor of Lynch Thompson’s client and upheld the trial court’s finding of contempt.

CLIENT AWARDED FEES ON MULTI-STATE LITIGATION

Lynch Thompson represented a client in litigation brought under the Illinois Wage Payment Act before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the owners of the client’s former employer. In an attempt to dissuade Lynch Thompson’s client from prosecuting her claim, the owners brought a lawsuit out of state claiming that the client’s actions led to the demise of their business. Lynch Thompson successfully obtained a dismissal of the out of state action, and also obtained a substantial award of fees for its client as a result of the owner’s litigation strategy, which lead to a confidential settlement favorable to Lynch Thompson’s client in both matters.

RECOVERY OBTAINED WITHOUT FILING SUIT

Lynch Thompson recently represented a client aggrieved that his former attorney had allowed a fraudfeasor to hack the attorney’s email and entice client into transferring a significant sum to the fraudfeasor. Lynch Thompson obtained a meaningful settlement for the client without even filing suit.

SUBSTANTIAL SETTLEMENT FROM INSURANCE COMPANY BASED ON JUDICIAL ESTOPPEL OF OPPOSING PARTY'S PRIOR LITIGATION POSITION

Lynch Thompson attorneys were retained by a vendor providing services to a worker injured on the job. The worker failed to pay the vendors’ invoices. After the worker resolved a workers’ compensation and personal injury lawsuit stemming from his injuries, in which he claimed the vendor’s invoices as damages, the attorneys of Lynch Thompson filed suit on behalf of the vendor. Lynch Thompson obtained a favorable ruling following a motion for summary judgment barring the worker from asserting the vendor’s invoices were unreasonable or the work unnecessary based on his prior litigation position thereafter. Following the ruling, Lynch Thompson successfully obtained a sizable settlement from the workers’ insurance company.

MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR RECOVERY AGAINST OUTSIDE ADVISORS TO BANKRUPTCY DEBTOR

The attorneys of Lynch Thompson successfully represented a bankruptcy trustee in complex adversary litigation against a bankruptcy debtor’s outside advisors. The insiders of the bankruptcy debtor, with the assistance of its outside advisors, had manufactured a series of transactions designed to strip the assets of the entity for the insiders’ benefit, while leaving its debts uncollectible. Lynch Thompson attorneys pursued claims, including aiding and abetting fiduciary duty against the debtor’s outside advisors, uncovered the details of the transactions and the involvement, effectively securing a multi-million-dollar recovery for the bankruptcy estate.

SUBSTANTIAL RECOVERY AGAINST INSIDERS TO BANKRUPTCY DEBTOR

Lynch Thompson represented the bankruptcy trustee of a Chicago based window manufacturer, following the insider’s shut down of its factory, which was highly publicized due to labor violations involved in the shutdown. The attorneys of Lynch Thompson brought adversary claims against the debtor’s insiders for their involvement in a scheme designed to funnel the assets of the entities to themselves. Following discovery, the insiders entered into settlement agreements which brought a substantial recovery for the creditors of the bankruptcy debtor.

OPPOSING PARTY ABANDONS PURSUIT OF NON-COMPETE AGREEMENT

The attorneys of Lynch Thompson were retained by an employee/officer to defend against litigation brought by his former employer seeking to limit the client’s post-employment business activities. The former employer, a closely held family business, raised claims of violations of a non-compete agreement, allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and improper dissemination of trade secrets and sought both injunctive relief and damages. After minimal discovery, Lynch Thompson’s attorneys persuaded opposing counsel to abandon the claim limiting both the litigation expenses and interruption to the client’s business.