Rob

Headline-making results at trial and otherwise in high-profile ‘business divorces’ 

Represents minority owners, majority owners, management and the company in disputes related to governance, valuation, fiduciary and other issues. His successful results for his clients are reported in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, the Gary Post-Tribune, ESPN, ABC News, Fox News, and other media. A sampling of his work includes: 

• Defeating post M&A claims on behalf of a buyer of a large litigation funding business. 
• Successfully resolving a business divorce among family members of a well-known Chicago food service business. 
• Defeating a motion for temporary restraining order brought by a son against his mother relating to family property. 
• Successfully representing general partners at trial against claims for breach of fiduciary duty. 
• Proving oppression for a minority shareholder of a well-known fast-food franchisor, entitling the shareholder to a buyout at (undiscounted) “fair value” at trial, and forcing the majority shareholder out of control of the company.
• Winning a dismissal upon summary judgment in federal court for his client in defending a large claim for the client’s alleged failure to honor a promise to provide stock options. 
• Obtaining a judgment after a trial for a partner who was a shareholder in an automobile dealership business. Rob’s client was awarded money damages as well as attorney’s fees as an exception to the “American Rule,” which generally does not allow successful plaintiffs to recover attorney’s fees. 
• Obtaining a temporary restraining order and then an injunction after a three-week trial on behalf of oppressed doctors whose opponents attempted to lock them out of their membership and management interests in an Indiana physician-owned hospital that they founded. 
• Obtaining a court-ordered receivership of a profitable company in Colorado on behalf of an oppressed minority shareholder, with the court agreeing to strip the majority shareholder of control of the company due to shareholder oppression and lack of transparency in providing corporate records. 
• Obtaining summary judgment for a minority shareholder on his right to inspect the company’s records after the controlling shareholder refused access, and on his right to a buyout pursuant to a shareholder agreement that the controlling shareholder argued did not afford Rob’s client a buyout right. As to the buyout right, Rob proved that the shareholder agreement, although unartfully drafted by other counsel, provided Rob’s client with a buyout right as a “matter of law.”  
• Obtaining numerous buyouts for clients who were oppressed by those in control of their companies. 

Successful representation of clients facing other types of claims at trial and otherwise 

• Obtaining a not guilty judgment at trial for a client accused of misappropriating corporate assets. 
• Obtaining a not guilty arbitration award for a general partner to a large real estate venture as to a multi-million-dollar claim brought by several well-known professional athletes, including several NBA All-Stars such as Michael Jordan. 
• Obtaining not guilty verdicts for a public transportation entity in a series of personal injury lawsuits; in one case, successfully won a counterclaim for the client. 
• Obtaining a dismissal upon summary judgment for a publicly-traded client defending a commercial eviction claim. 
• Obtaining a summary judgment in a $25 million claim filed against commercial lender, defeating the borrowers’ lender-liability claims. 
• Winning on appeal for physician-clients in precedent setting non-compete case. See, Northwest Podiatry Center, Ltd. v. Ochwat, 2013 Il App (1st) 120458. In this case, the appeals court reversed a temporary restraining order against Rob’s clients. On remand, the trial court awarded Rob’s clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and attorney’s fees caused by the temporary restraining order. 
• Obtaining a multi-million-dollar settlement for a publicly-traded food distributor in its claim against a publicly-traded restaurant chain for breach of a master distribution agreement. 
• Representing technology licensees in license agreement disputes, including those involving alleged royalties due the licensor. 
• Obtaining a favorable settlement for an internationally known charitable organization where a decedent’s heirs challenged his bequest to the charity. 
• Obtaining a settlement for a well-known charity in a large breach of contract case. 
• Representing a former NFL coach in a business matter. 
• Obtaining summary judgment for commercial tenant in a square footage dispute allowing for his client to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent overpayments and to save over a million dollars in future rent. 
• Winning a heavily contested plan confirmation trial for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy client/debtor. 
• Obtaining not guilty judgment at trial and prevailing on six-figure counterclaim in commercial lease dispute before the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Chancery Division. 
• Obtaining a preliminary injunction for an elite college athlete enabling him to resume his playing career.