Legal Malpractice Defense

The trial team of Sommer Luzynczyk and Kayla Condeni secured a defense verdict on behalf of their client, an anesthesiologist. The jury trial was held before Judge Lisa Fabiano in the Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit, Winnebago County, Illinois. The plaintiff alleged the anesthesiologist diverted Fentanyl during his surgery on March 10, 2013, ...

  On May 2, 2025, a trial team of Mimi K. Moon and Brian C. Rocca obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a vascular surgeon. Plaintiff alleged that the vascular surgeon was professionally negligent in his care and treatment of a 66 year old female who suffered a bleeding complication after a diagnostic cardiac ...

that Mimi Moon and Kimberly Flanigan secured a defense verdict in a complex, multiparty medical malpractice trial in Lake County.   The plaintiff sought $5.5 million in damages, alleging medical negligence that resulted in a partial lower extremity amputation and ongoing complex regional pain syndrome. After a compelling defense, the jury deliberated for approximately two ...

The trial team of Sommer Luzynczyk and Michael A. Barry Barry secured a defense verdict on behalf of their clients, two reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialists. The jury trial was held before Judge Frank Andreou in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The plaintiff alleged that the physicians failed to timely diagnose and treat a bacterial ...

Brian Henry and Kayla Condeni successfully argued that the defendant anesthesiologist could not be the surgery center’s apparent agent such that the surgery center was vicariously liable for the physician’s alleged medical malpractice. Brian and Kayla argued that the surgery center’s consent forms unequivocally put the patient on notice that the anesthesiologist was not the ...

Brian Henry and Kayla Condeni successfully defended an orthopedic surgeon in a 1.5 week trial in Cook County. The orthopedic surgeon was accused of negligently overlengthening a patient’s leg when performing a total hip replacement. The plaintiff requested over $1 million in damages after claiming the patient could no longer work, was disfigured, and experiencing ...

Lead counsel Michael Barry assisted by Brian Rocca successfully defended two obstetricians in a 3.5 week jury trial in Cook County.  These obstetricians, along with a maternal fetal medicine physician and six labor and delivery nurses, were accused of causing the extreme, premature birth of twins at 24 weeks of pregnancy by ordering/administering an antibiotic ...

Robert Chemers and Matt Ligda obtained a dismissal with prejudice, after motion, extensive briefing and hearing, of a Supreme Court Rule 224 pre-suit petition where it was shown that petitioner failed to state a viable cause of action and the discovery sought was not necessary.

Robert Chemers obtained a judgment for an insurer client in federal court in Chicago that the carrier had no duty to defend its insureds for an auto accident due to the auto exclusion in the CGL policy and that any duty to defend was discharged when the insureds failed to respond to the carrier’s written ...

Robert Chemers and David Larson obtained a summary judgment for an insurer client in federal district court in Chicago that there was no duty to defend based on 17-month late notice to the insurer by the business sophisticated insured. The Court weighed the recognized factors and found 4 of the 5 weighed against the insured, ...

Brian Henry recently lectured to computer animation and medical illustrators at the UIC Medical Center regarding demonstrative trial exhibits. Using real-world examples of medical illustrations and medical animations, Brian demonstrated how trial exhibits can effectively educate jurors to the anatomy and/or the medical procedure and to aid experts in explaining their opinions in a trial.

In a recent tragic case, Tom Draths was able to persuade the Court that his client could not be responsible under the law for the death of a high school student.  Through Tom’s vigorous research and enthusiastic advocacy, Tom’s client was dismissed from the case because it was not legally obligated to design or rectify ...

Robert Chemers and David Larson obtained summary judgment for an insurer sued for bad faith for alleged unreasonable and vexatious delay to arbitrate the plaintiff insured’s UM claim. The carrier arbitrated, lost and paid the award, and then was sued for bad faith for the lengthy delay in going to arbitration. Circuit Court ruled that ...

Robert Chemers led a team including Ed Ruff and John Scheid in a challenge to 735 ILCS 5/2-1303, the amendment to the Code adding pre-judgment interest effective July 1, 2021. The challenge motion was brought in a medical malpractice case pending in Cook County, and on May 27, 2022 the Circuit Court declared the statutory ...

Robert Chemers and Dave Larson obtained summary judgment for an insurer client against its Insured, which Insured was defended by the carrier through personal counsel under reservation, no settlement occurred, and the Insured tried the underlying business tort case (conversion, detinue, and two tortious interference claims) and lost with an adverse judgment entered for $8.3M, ...

Alan Schumacher and Alexander Beehler obtained a not guilty verdict on behalf of an interventional radiologist and his employer following a jury trial in Cook County. The case involved an allegedly negligent tunneled dialysis catheter exchange procedure for a 42-year-old woman who suffered a decompensation shortly after the procedure. The plaintiff claimed the post-procedure application ...

Sommer Luzynczyk and Kayla Condeni win dismissal with prejudice based on lack of standing in a putative class action lawsuit against the estate of a deceased physician. The lawsuit brought in the Circuit Court of Cook County alleged a pattern of conduct extending back 29+ years and involved the alleged failure to administer routine childhood ...

Sommer Luzynczyk and Kayla Condeni win dismissal with prejudice based on lack of standing in a putative class action lawsuit against the estate of a deceased physician. The lawsuit brought in the Circuit Court of Cook County alleged a pattern of conduct extending back 29+ years and involved the alleged failure to administer routine childhood ...

Matthew J. Egan and Brendan J. Nelligan successfully defended their client, an attorney for union-sponsored benefit funds, in the United States District Court in Chicago against a claim that the attorney tortiously interfered with the plaintiff’s contract with another company when the attorney notified the other company of the funds’ claim that the plaintiff had ...

Brian Henry recently was a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago Medical Center for emergency medicine resident physicians covering multiple medical liability topics . This was the 49th year of this seminar and Mr. Henry has been a guest lecturer for more than 30 years.

Robert Chemers and Dave Larson obtained a judgment for their insurer client in their federal court declaratory judgment action that the insurer had no duty to defend its insureds who were sued in Cook County in a 44 page multi-count complaint for defamation and other claims based on no bodily injury and no property damage, ...

Robert Chemers and Dave Larson won summary judgment for an insurer in the federal court in Rockford holding that a defendant in a serious underlying personal injury action is not an additional insured. The policy’s additional insured endorsement extended status as an additional insured where the named insured agreed in a written contract to name another ...

John Smith and Michael Barry obtained a not guilty verdict for their orthopedic surgeon client following a 7 day jury trial in Cook County.  The case involved an alleged failed hip resurfacing procedure in a young woman, which required conversion to a total hip arthroplasty.  The plaintiff claimed that the resurfacing procedure was contraindicated based ...

Jim Sipchen, John Scheid, and Scott Howie obtained an appellate victory for landowners whose 70-acre farm was the subject of eminent domain proceedings filed in DuPage County, Illinois.  The Illinois Appellate Court’s decision upheld a traverse and motion to dismiss a local municipality’s lawsuit that sought to condemn a private driveway that the landowners had ...

Matthew J. Egan and Quinn P. Donnelly were successful in the Circuit Court of Cook County in obtaining the dismissal with prejudice of a business owner’s claim that the firm’s client, an insurance broker, negligently failed to procure insurance coverage for the substantial losses the business sustained after it was forced to close in March 2020 in accordance ...

Matthew Tibble and Alex Beehler obtained summary judgment on behalf of a logistics company accused of negligence in a lawsuit where the plaintiff sought to recover for injuries allegedly sustained after falling. The logistics company faced two counts alleging negligence. One count alleged respondeat superior liability on the theory that employees of the logistics company created a defective ...

Kayla A. Condeni and Matthew J. Egan were successful in the Circuit Court of Cook County in obtaining the dismissal with prejudice of all claims against an attorney and a law firm arising from their representation of the plaintiffs in a medical malpractice case that was settled shortly before trial commenced. The plaintiffs asserted claims ...

Aubrey Sudomier and Tom Draths recently defeated a claim involving a road rage incident. Through their factual development and aggressive advocacy, Aubrey and Tom established that their opponent’s apparent agency theory did not have a legal basis to proceed beyond its earliest stages.  Aubrey and Tom’s client was dismissed from the case.  

Pretzel & Stouffer teammates John Scheid, Tom Draths, and Rich Burgland recently defeated an effort to enjoin their client’s $70 million public works project. In response to their opponent’s request for temporary restraining orders and injunctive relief, John, Tom, and Rich acted quickly and efficiently to gather evidence to support their arguments that the project’s ...

Sommer Luzynczyk will serve as speaker at the IDC’s 2021 A to Z Litigation Academy, which will be presented over eight sessions, from September 2021 through April 2022. Sommer will speak on the topic of discovery, including strategies for drafting written discovery, preparing for depositions, and managing discovery in general. This new academy is designed ...

Brian Henry and Alexander Beehler successfully defended a pulmonologist and medical group in a lawsuit filed by a plaintiff who alleged that a surgical procedure caused partial paralysis along with bowel and bladder dysfunction. After the medical negligence lawsuit proceeded through expert discovery, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the claims against the pulmonologist and medical group ...

Quinn Donnelly and Patrick Healy obtained the immediate dismissal with prejudice of a Complaint against a municipality that sought to recover for injuries allegedly sustained when the plaintiff crashed his motorcycle on a municipal roadway. Quinn and Pat argued that the plaintiff’s claims against the municipality were time-barred under the one-year statute of limitations set ...

Tom Draths, Jack Lonquist, and Aubrey Sudomier recently prevailed in a case in which the injured party claimed negligence resulting in multiple leg fractures and surgeries that allegedly left him permanently disabled.  Through their aggressive investigation, factual development, and motion practice, Tom, Jack, and Aubrey convinced two separate judges that plaintiff’s theories of liability were ...

Richard M. Waris, Brendan J. Nelligan, and Quinn P. Donnelly obtained the dismissal with prejudice of a complaint filed against an insurance broker alleging that the broker was negligent in procuring coverage and negligently misrepresented the scope of the coverage procured, when the insured was denied coverage for economic losses they allegedly sustained as a ...

James Sipchen and Quinn Donnelly were successful in obtaining the dismissal with prejudice of a Complaint filed against an attorney and the attorney’s law firm alleging that they tortiously interfered with the distribution of assets pursuant to a Transfer on Death agreement. While the lawsuit was originally filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partners Matthew Egan and Brendan Nelligan prevailed in the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of the firm’s clients, an attorney and his employer, a union, in a legal malpractice case arising from the attorney’s representation of a police officer in a grievance arbitration proceeding at which the plaintiff, a union member, challenged ...

Pretzel & Stouffer attorneys Matt Reddy and Donald Patrick Eckler, recently published a series of column in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin on recent developments in the admissibility of medical records.  Links to the columns are here and here.

Pretzel & Stouffer attorney Jonathan Federman recently published an article in the IDC Quarterly with Paula Villela on the potential consequences for filing a frivolous lawsuit.  The article is linked here.

Pretzel & Stouffer partner Donald Patrick Eckler published a monograph on forum non conveniens in the IDC Quarterly with Andrew Corkery, David A Warnick, Michael D. Gallo, and Adam Carter.  In addition, he recently spoke to the CBA YLS Health and Hospital Committee presenting a program entitled “Should I Stay or Should I Go: Recent Developments in Forum Non Conveniens ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partners Matthew J. Egan and Brendan Nelligan recently prevailed in federal court on behalf of the firm’s client, an attorney, who had been appointed by a state circuit court judge to serve as the child’s representative in a contentious domestic relations case to which the plaintiff was a party. The plaintiff, who was also the petitioner ...

The Committee is responsible for receiving rule proposals from the Supreme Court, Supreme Court or Judicial Conference Committees, the bench, the bar or the public. Proposals offered by the bench, bar or public are reviewed by the Rules Committee and placed on the agenda for public hearing if the proposal is determined to have merit.

Pretzel & Stouffer partners Brendan Nelligan and Matthew J. Egan prevailed in the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of the firm’s clients, an attorney and his employer, a union, in a legal malpractice case arising from their representation of a police officer in a grievance arbitration proceeding at which the plaintiff, a union member, challenged the termination ...

John Smith and Ryan Shupe recently obtained dismissal of their orthopedic surgery client in a lawsuit alleging medical malpractice.  The plaintiff claimed that postoperative ordering and administration of pain medications caused cardiac arrest, hypoxic brain damage, and death.  John and Ryan litigated the case for several years, through extensive discovery, discovery disputes, and an appeal.  ...

  James J. Sipchen and Kayla A. Condeni successfully defended an attorney subject to a Rule 137 Motion for Sanctions that sought three years’ of attorneys’ fees incurred in defending a defamation lawsuit totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. After prevailing on a motion dismiss the defamation claim on the grounds of the absolute privilege, ...

  Pretzel & Stouffer partner, Donald Eckler, together with Alice Sherren published an article in the Professional Liability Defense Quarterly entitled “Everybody Wants to Rule the World: Adverse Domination and Legal Malpractice Claims.” The article discusses the adverse domination theory as an exception to the statute of limitations in relation to legal malpractice claims and, ...

On September 26, with Jennifer Groszek, Pretzel & Stouffer shareholder, Jim Sipchen, presented at the Professional Liability Defense Federation’s (PLDF) Annual Meeting, “Bankruptcy Pitfalls for the Collection Attorney: The FDCPA, Automatic Stay, and Discharge Injunction.”  

Matthew Egan, recently secured dismissal with prejudice of an attorney who represented a group of investors in a large commercial real estate development. The plaintiffs alleged that the attorney was negligent in structuring several corporate and real estate transactions, causing the investors to be exposed to personal tax liability for millions of dollars in TIF ...

Timothy Weaver recently obtained a defense jury verdict in a medical malpractice case in which a dentist claimed that defendant orthopedic surgeon negligently delayed spine surgery by one day for an acute, repeat low back disc herniation in order to suit his surgical schedule, thereby causing permanent foot paralysis (drop foot), gait abnormalities, and related ...

 John Smith  and Ryan Shupe recently secured a victory for their general surgery client in a case alleging medical malpractice. The plaintiff claimed that a surgical procedure and postoperative care caused the patient’s death. John and Ryan undertook discovery efforts for several years of litigation. These efforts included obtaining concessions from treating physicians and experts, ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partners, Jim Sipchen and Donald Eckler, recently published an article in the Professional Liability Defense Federation Quarterly (PLDF) discussing the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and its application to the defense of actions against lawyers under federal consumer protection statutes.

Pretzel & Stouffer partner Jim Sipchen will be speaking at the Professional Liability Defense Federation Annual Meeting later this year. He will be addressing liability issues for collection lawyers, including bankruptcy and the FDCPA.

Pretzel & Stouffer attorneys, John Smith and Ryan Shupe, recently secured a victory for their general surgery client in a case alleging medical malpractice. The plaintiff claimed that a surgical procedure and postoperative care caused the patient’s death. John and Ryan undertook discovery efforts for several years of litigation. These efforts included obtaining concessions from ...

Matthew J. Egan recently obtained summary judgment in the Circuit Court of Cook County on behalf of a law firm, which had been sued for breach of fiduciary duty by a former client. The former client alleged that the law firm had a conflict of interest and used confidential information he had entrusted to the firm ...

Jim Sipchen and Tom Draths recently prevailed in the Illinois Appellate Court on behalf of an attorney who was alleged to have committed legal malpractice in the representation of a client in an underlying whistleblower/retaliatory discharge suit filed against Nicor Gas, Co. Plaintiff alleged that attorney was negligent in failing to take adequate discovery on his claims and ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partners Matthew J. Egan and Brendan Nelligan recently prevailed in the Illinois Appellate Court on behalf of the firm’s client, an attorney who had been sued for legal malpractice arising from his representation of a client in litigation which challenged the plaintiff’s performance of fiduciary duties as the trustee of a trust. See, 2018 IL App ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partners Matthew J. Egan and Brendan Nelligan once again prevailed in the Illinois Appellate Court on behalf of the firm’s client, an attorney who was sued for legal malpractice arising from his representation of certain clients in multiple mortgage foreclosure cases. The circuit court had dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint on the grounds that it did not ...

The Illinois Appellate Court recently issued an opinion affirming a dismissal which Pretzel & Stouffer partners John H. Scheid and Matthew J. Egan won in the Circuit Court of Cook County in favor of the firm’s client, a condominium association. The case involved a large Chicago bank, which foreclosed on a mortgage it held on a condominium and was ...

The Appellate Court of Illinois has affirmed the dismissal of several defendants, including a doctor and a professional corporation represented by Pretzel & Stouffer, finding that the trial court properly dismissed the plaintiff’s medical malpractice action as an impermissible second refiling of a previous action. Scott L. Howie of Pretzel & Stouffer, retained specifically to handle ...

Jim Sipchen prevailed at trial on a legal malpractice claim that alleged his client was negligent in handling a commercial real estate closing for a below-grade commercial unit located in a high rise residential condominium building in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. The plaintiffs alleged that the attorney committed malpractice by not investigating the property’s zoning prior ...

Matthew J. Egan and Brendan J. Nelligan successfully defended a state-wide labor union and one of its employee-attorneys against a legal malpractice claim one of the union’s members brought against the union and the attorney. The plaintiff had been terminated for misconduct following disciplinary proceedings that were conducted pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement between the union and ...

Mimi Moon will be speaking at the Illinois Defense Trial Counsel’s (IDC) seminar entitled “New Trends in Medical Malpractice: From Conflict Checks to Trial.” Mimi will be speaking about birth injury cases, including a discussion on effective strategies for attacking and reducing damages in catastrophic birth injury cases. Strategies for offsetting damages will be addressed, including ...

Matthew J. Egan recently persuaded the Circuit Court of Cook County to dismiss with prejudice a respondent in discovery action against the Firm’s client, an attorney whom the court had appointed to serve as the representative for children whose parents were engaged in contentious child custody litigation. One of the parents filed suit against her attorney ...

Pretzel & Stouffer partners Matthew J. Egan and Brendan Nelligan recently prevailed on a Motion to Dismiss on behalf of the firm’s client in a legal malpractice case in the Circuit Court of Cook County. P&S represented an attorney who defended the plaintiff in a lawsuit that challenged her actions as trustee of a trust. The plaintiff alleged that ...

Matthew J. Egan and Quinn P. Donnelly successfully defended two attorneys against a claim for legal malpractice based on the attorneys’ representation of a dentist in an attempt to collect a disputed debt from a third-party. The third-party, a serial litigant, asserted a claim against the two attorneys. Mr. Egan and Mr. Donnelly were successful in obtaining the ...

Jim Sipchen, Matt Tibble recently won summary judgment in favor of a lawyer who was alleged to have been vicariously liable for the conduct of another attorney with whom he shared office space and who was alleged to have improperly handled a workers’ compensation case. The case involved seldom litigated issues concerning actual and apparent agency and ...

Jim Sipchen obtained a dismissal of legal malpractice case brought against a divorce attorney by his former client who also happened to be a lawyer. The former client argued that his attorney had severely prejudiced him by withdrawing from representation at such a late stage in his divorce case that he was forced to settle that ...

Brian T. Henry has recently successfully defended three physicians in cases alleging professional negligence. In each case, the jury returned a verdict for the defendant doctor. Mr. Henry represented an Internist in a case where the plaintiff alleged a failure to refer the patient to a vascular surgeon for treatment of a pseudoaneurysm after a CT ...

Brian Henry was recently a faculty member at the North Central Region Trial Academy. This was the 30th trial academy which was initially started by the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, but in recent years has become a joint effort of the defense trial organizations in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Mr. Henry has served ...

Jim Sipchen and Matthew Tibble obtained a very significant victory in an accounting malpractice case, convincing the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, to uphold a dismissal based upon the statute of limitations. The case is the first to distinguish a situation where an accountant negligently fails to file a tax return by its due date from one ...