News & Insights

In late 2024, the Illinois Institute of Continuing Education published the updated Handbook, Business Law: Miscellaneous Operating Issues.    The seven chapter Handbook is designed to assist seasoned legal practitioners as well as those just starting out in the field of business law.  Ken Michaels, Anthony O’Neill and Rezarta Cenaj Melo co-authored Chapter 5, an “Overview of Antitrust Law for the Corporate Practitioner.”   The chapter of the treatise discusses a broad range of antitrust litigation holdings on the subjects of monopolies, vertical and horizontal price fixing, per se and rule of reason violations, exclusive dealings, tying arrangements, price discrimination, and mergers and acquisitions.

The First District affirmed dismissal of a case brought by the administrator of an estate of a drowned four-year-old boy against ten defendants including condominium and homeowners’ associations, management companies, and developers. Purevdori v. Mission Hills Condominium T-2 Ass’n, 2024 IL App (1st) 231693.

This month’s article reviews a Seventh Circuit affirmation of dismissal of constitutional claims against a Chicago short-term leasing ordinance without ever getting to the constitutional aspects of the claims. The Seventh Circuit observed in Mogan v. City of Chicago, 115 F.4th 841 (7th Cir. 2024) that the plaintiff unit owner misquoted the underlying prohibition against leasing throughout the proceedings and, on that basis, held that the plaintiff had knowledge that short-term leasing was prohibited before he purchased the unit.

The discussion below focuses on a condominium association where the owners are at odds with each other, but also where no one monitored the fact that the condominium declaration violated updated provisions of the Condominium Property Act. The unit owners are left at the end of the case with an entirely unmanageable piece of property.

In Majerle v. Winona, 1302 LLC, 2024 IL App (1st) 231339-U, when a condominium board of directors sued a developer and others for construction defects on a newly constructed six-unit condominium building and a unit owner then brought his own action against the same defendants, the appellate court affirmed dismissal of the unit owner’s later-filed lawsuit.

In its June Flashpoints Author Spotlight, IICLE recognized and thanked Ken Michaels for his significant contributions to the legal profession.  Ken is a regular contributor to Flashpoints covering all things condominium law, as well as a contributing author to both CONDOMINIUM LAW: DAILY OPERATION CHALLENGES (2024) and CONDOMINIUM LAW: GOVERNANCE, AUTHORITY, AND CONTROLLING DOCUMENTS (2024). 

In this article Ken discusses a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision to reverse the entry of summary judgment for a condominium association’s section 15 sale of units.

The Third District of the Illinois Appellate Court recently affirmed entry of summary judgment in favor of a condominium association and against a unit owner who, acting without board approval, broke through the ceiling of her unit and raised the ceiling a little over two feet. Claymoor Condominium Ass’n v. Majewska, 2024 IL App (3d) 230171-U.

In this article Ken discusses how bankruptcy debtors could still retain possession of units after eviction orders entered in state court.

Ken Michaels, Co-Founder of the Firm, has been elected as an Illinois Super Lawyers for 2024. Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, selects outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas throughout the United States who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. 

The Firm congratulates our colleague, Dr. Rezi Melo, on her election as President of the Albanian-American Bar Association of Illinois (AABAI). The AABAI seeks to help foster the growth of the Albanian legal community by providing resources that will enable members to become formidable legal representatives. Mentoring, educational, social, and civic opportunities are provided to its members. AABAI membership is open to attorneys in private practice, corporations, government service and higher education.

In this article Ken discusses the Illinois Appellate Court decision regarding the First District upholding a permanent injunction against unit owners who do not maintain architectural continuity.
 

In this article Ken discusses how the Illinois Supreme Court revivifies how courts look at insurance policy issues.

In this article Ken discusses how unit owners of a parking garage condominium have no action for trespass or eviction against an association which bars access for a year to make necessary repairs.