Tressler Attorneys Successfully Defend Property Management Company
Tressler attorneys Daniel R. Formeller, Jennifer L. Smith, Simone E. Haugen and Sarah E. Melendez successfully represented the Defendant in a complex management liability case in the Illinois Appellate Court. Plaintiffs were residential apartment tenants in properties managed by the Defendant. Plaintiffs were required to pay non-refundable move-in fees under their leases and were never asked to pay a security deposit. The Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (“RLTO”) requires landlords to provide tenants with summaries of its terms upon presentation of a lease agreement. The RLTO requires a specific and separate summary detailing the security deposits and current interest rates. A failure to provide these summaries amounts to a $100 statutory fee. Plaintiffs sued in the Circuit Court of Cook County, alleging that they were never provided the specific security deposit summary, and were therefore entitled to the statutory recovery. It was not disputed that the Plaintiffs received a comprehensive general summary of the RLTO.
The defendant property manager moved to dismiss the complaint, contending that the leases adhered to the RLTO by incorporating the general RLTO summary. Moreover, the absence of the security deposit summary was rendered immaterial in light of the fact that the Plaintiffs were under no obligation to submit security deposits. The Circuit Court, concurring with this argument, dismissed the complaint, finding that the Plaintiffs lacked standing since they had sustained no discernible injury. Plaintiffs appealed.
In affirming the decision, the Illinois Appellate Court agreed that the RLTO requires landlords to attach both the general RLTO summary and the security deposit summary to rental agreements. The Court held, however, that the Plaintiffs suffered no injury by failing to receive the security deposit summary, and therefore lacked standing to sue. The Court's decision underscores the fundamental tenet that standing to sue hinges upon the substantiation of an injury to a legally recognized interest.
Congratulations to Daniel R. Formeller, Jennifer L. Smith, Simone E. Haugen and Sarah E. Melendez on this excellent result!
John Hundley, et al. v. WPD Management, LLC, 2023 IL App (1st) 230075 (Opinion filed November 3, 2023).
About Daniel R. Formeller
Daniel R. Formeller is Chairman of the firm. As a trial lawyer based in the firm’s Chicago office, Dan focuses his practice on business litigation and the resolution of business disputes through mediation and arbitration. Dan handles a wide variety of complex business litigation and counseling, including intellectual property, state and federal securities actions, anti-trust, ERISA, class actions and directors and officers liability matters. He has been lead trial counsel in bench and jury trials in state and federal courts throughout the United States.
About Jennifer L. Smith
Jennifer L. Smith is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. In her two decades of representing clients in state and federal courtrooms, she has been engaged to litigate a wide range of disputes including complex business litigation, the defense of professionals and executives, wrongful death actions and aviation accidents. Her representation has included the defense of class actions and parties in multidistrict (MDL) toxic tort litigation. Jenny is a member of the Trial Bar for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
About Simone E. Haugen
Simone E. Haugen is an associate in Tressler's Professional Liability Practice Group. Simone focuses her practice on complex civil litigation matters, including professional and management liability litigation and other tort matters.
About Sarah E. Melendez
Sarah Elizabeth Melendez is an associate in Tressler's Professional Liability and Litigation Practice Groups. Sarah focuses her practice on complex civil litigation matters, including professional and management liability litigation and other tort matters. Sarah was recently selected by her peers in the 2023 and 2024 editions of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™.
About Tressler LLP
Headquartered in Chicago, with eight offices located in five states, Tressler LLP is a national law firm comprised primarily of attorneys who devote their practice to the representation of the insurance industry in coverage analysis and resolution, litigation, underwriting consultation, product development, claims management and reinsurance.
In addition, Tressler has one of the most experienced and multi-faceted government law practices in Illinois, and has attorneys who represent clients in commercial litigation, defense litigation, corporate transactions, employment law and litigation, intellectual property and condominium and common interest community association law.
For more information, please visit www.tresslerllp.com.
