lease agreementLandlord Must Pay Prevailing Tenants' $21K Attorney Fees in Commercial Lease Dispute, Appellate Court Rules
"We also see 'a reasonable connection between the fees and the amount involved in the litigation,' given that the tenants faced an abrupt end to their source of livelihood, and that the total amount awarded ($21,525) was much less than the amount of rent that was at stake in the suit (36 additional months x $1,600 = $57,600)," Justice Margaret Stanton-McBride wrote on behalf of an Illinois appellate panel.
February 07, 2025 at 03:20 PM
4 minute read
A defense counsel's award of over $21,000 in attorney fees in a commercial lease dispute was upheld Tuesday by a three-judge panel for and Illinois appellate court, finding the plaintiff did not fully establish the shortfalls of the fee petition.
Justice Margaret Stanton-McBride of the First Appellate District in Illinois said the defendants' co-counsel Drew Ball and Steve McCann of Ball and McCann in Chicago, provided proper evidence to support the Cook County Circuit Court's $21,525 award. The pair defended Lorenzo Brown and Adrienne Green, as the owners Harold’s Chicken and Family, after plaintiff Marco Colin terminated the their tenancy in November 2022. Colin claimed the defendants had a month-to-month tenancy and demanded the defendants vacate the space by December 2022, while the defendants claimed the lease with the prior owner entitled them to continue with their rate and tenancy until 2025.
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