Reported Decisions

At King & Jones, our lawyers are equipped to help individual and corporate clients with most any civil litigation matter. Over the years, we have handled a wide variety of cases, from personal injury to antitrust. We have found that our skills as experienced trial lawyers are transferable from one subject matter to another. Our clients have, too.

Some of King & Jones’s Reported Cases:

LID Associates v.Dolan

756 N.E.2D 866 (ILL. APP. 2001)

A jury awarded our limited partner clients over $18,000,000 in damages in this breach of fiduciary duty case. The trial court then awarded $5 million in equitable prejudgment interest. The Appellate Court reversed the award on various grounds and ordered a retrial. The case settled prior to the second trial.

Midwest Gas Services v.Indiana Gas Co.

317 F.3D 703 (7TH CIR. 2002)

In an another David v. Goliath case, we obtained a reversal of the district court judge’s dismissal of our client’s antitrust action against a major Indiana utility. Our clients operated a natural gas storage field and a related marketing affiliate.

Sobel v. Franks

633 N.E.2D 820 (ILL. APP. 1994)

In this breach of fiduciary duty case, the court granted our motion for directed verdict during a jury trial. The court agreed that the insurance agency’s former broker breached his fiduciary duty to the agency by soliciting clients for himself prior to leaving the agency. The Court held the broker forfeited his commissions earned during the period of the breach. The Illinois appellate court affirmed.

Joslyn Manufacturing Co. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.

23 F.3D 1212 (7TH CIR. 1994)

In a series of coverage disputes, we successfully represented a policy holder in its attempts to recover millions of dollars for the costs of environmental remediation.

Disciplined Investment Advisors, Inc v. Schweihs

650 N.E.2D 578 (ILL. APP. 1995)

In this breach of fiduciary duty case, we represented a minority shareholder in a squeeze-out action. One aspect of this case involved an appeal challenging the chancery court’s power to stay the matter pending the appeal of a divorce court’s order requiring the shareholder to accept a settlement offer. The case involved analyzing the value of the minority shareholder’s interest. The matter later settled.

United States Gypsum Co. v. Indiana Gas Co

350 F.3D 623 (7TH CIR. 2003)

United States Gypsum Co. v. Indiana Gas Co.: On behalf of a major producer of wallboard and a direct consumer of natural gas from an Indiana utility, we obtained a reversal of the trial court’s order dismissing our antitrust action. The case later settled.

First Merit Realty Services, Inc., v. Amberly Square Apartments, L.P.

869 N.E. 2D 394 (ILL. APP. 2007)

We successfully appealed an arbitration award against our clients. We convinced the appellate court that the arbitrators exceeded their authority by reforming a contract and ignoring the plain language in the parties’ contract.

DeGeer v. Gillis

842 F.SUPP.2D 1055 (N.D. ILL. 2012)

We represented a minority partner in a consulting firm who was being squeezed out by his majority partners. After defeating the majority partners’ summary judgment motions, the case successfully resolved by settlement.

Pattullo Banks v. City of Park Ridge

2014 IL APP (1ST) 132856

We obtained a reversal of the trial’s court’s summary judgment ruling against our client, who was severely injured in a pedestrian accident. The appeal involved issues of municipal tort immunity.

Continental Resources, Inc., v. P&P Industries, LLC

2018 N.D. 11, 906 N.W. 2D 105

The North Dakota Supreme Court ordered this breach of contract dispute to be retried after it accepted our arguments that the jury verdict was internally inconsistent. We represented an oilfield services company in this case, which was tried before a jury in Williston, North Dakota.

Village of Lisle v.Village of Woodridge

548 N.E.2D 1337 (ILL. APP. 1989)

We successfully represented a real estate developer involved in a boundary line dispute between two municipalities, which dealt with the issue of a municipality’s power to annex property. The Illinois appellate court affirmed the trial court’s ruling in our client’s favor.

Labovitz v.Dolan

545 N.E.2D 304 (ILL. APP. 1989)

We prevailed on appeal in a partnership dispute where the general partner, Charles Dolan, argued that he had broad discretion in making cash distributions to his limited partners. In this breach of fiduciary duty case, the appellate court held that notwithstanding the partnership agreement’s broad discretionary language, a general partner could not use his power to squeeze his limited partners out of the partnership. The Illinois appellate court required the general partner fiduciary to carry the burden of proof and present evidence that his conduct was fair.

Heritage Commons Partners v. Village of Summit

935 F.2D 1489 (7TH CIR. 1991)

In this breach of contract case, we prevailed before a federal court jury on behalf of a real estate developer who claimed that his contract to develop affordable housing had been breached by the Village. The jury assessed damages of $1,000,000. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.