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DCSTB Partner Tom Connick Successfully Defends Real Estate Appraiser In Alleged Million Dollar Civil Conspiracy And Consumer Fraud Case

by on June 23, 2012 in Appellate Group, Blog, Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Representative Cases

On August 17, 2011 DCSTB Partner, Tom Connick, went to trial in a case that had been pending and litigated since 2006, wherein Tom’s client, a professional real estate appraiser, was accused of participating in a predatory lending/flipping scheme, that allegedly damaged Plaintiffs in excess of one million dollars. After approximately five (5) days in trial, Tom successfully convinced the trial court to grant his client a directed verdict, i.e. dismissal, on all claims. After hearing arguments of counsel, the trial court agreed with Tom and dismissed all counts alleged against his client. The Plaintiffs appealed. Just recently, on June 21, 2012, in the case of U.S. Bank, Etc., Et Al. v. Cynthia Amir, ET Al, Slip Copy, 2012 WL 2355620, 2012-Ohio-2772, Ohio App. 8 Dist., June 21, 2012 (97438), the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling in favor of Tom’s client. This is a significant Appellate victory for Tom’s client, as Plaintiffs had made a demand and alleged damages for over One Million Dollars. And, in fact, other Defendants in this case were deemed liable for over 1.8 Million Dollars. Notably, however, both at trial and on appeal, Tom successfully presented arguments showing that his client did not participate in the alleged fraudulent real estate scheme, whatsoever. This case is also significant for outlining Ohio case law related to alleged real estate appraiser liability in the context of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, Fraud and Civil Conspiracy.

Congratulations to Tom on another job well-done!!

 

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“Iron Client” opens New Venture in Pittsburgh Airport

by on January 17, 2012 in Blog, Business Law, Representative Cases

Cleveland’s culinary renaissance is spreading to Pittsburgh.  Iron Chef Michael Symon, longtime client of DCSTB partner Jim Sammon, announced this week that he is opening a new Bar Symon inside the Pittsburgh International Airport.  Congratulations to Michael and his whole team !   We fully support expanding the number of places that we can get a Lola burger!

Jim Sammon undertook all aspects of the legal work for the deal, including the creation of the corporate entity, drafting and negotiating of the agreement between Chef Symon’s company (33 1/3 Management) and its partner in the venture, United Concessions Group.  The venture plans to be the first of many airport concepts that spread the culinary delights of Cleveland’s finest.

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DCSTB recovers over $4,000,000 for client in insurance dispute

by on January 9, 2012 in Blog, Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Representative Cases

DCSTB recently settled a bad faith insurance claim on the eve of trial for $3,750,000 against one of the largest insurance carriers in the world.  Rob Dubyak’s corporate client initially approached him with a $22,000 commercial property damage claim for the client’s building.  When the insurance company improperly investigated the claim, delayed payment of benefits, and refused to pay Rob’s client what was owed under the insurance policy, the firm filed suit for bad faith denial of benefits.  Led by the efforts of Tom Connick, who has over 15 years of insurance law/litigation experience, the firm fought for our client for over two years of intense litigation. Tom and Rob took over 20 depositions, including those of claims adjusters, insurance and damage experts, and the insurance company’s claims executives. The extensive work of DCSTB exposed the inexcusable breach of contract and bad faith of the defendant.  Although the insurance company maintains that it was not liable, it ultimately agreed to pay DCSTB’s client a multi-million dollar settlement.  In total, DCSTB recovered approximately $4,400,000 for the client.

The case combined over 35 years of litigation experience of these two DCSTB partners.  The firm was able to develop the necessary strategy to protect the client’s commercial property interests, while at the same time masterfully analyzing the insurance policy to make sure that the insurance company paid our client’s substantial damages, including for the interruption in her business and lost profits.  Tom Connick focuses a large part of his practice on representing both insurers and policyholders in a variety of insurance-related legal issues, including bad faith litigation.  Rob Dubyak represents many commercial property owners and has extensive commercial litigation experience and expertise in helping them in all aspects of transactions and litigation.  The combined expertise of DCSTB’s attorneys make the firm uniquely suited for handling such complex litigation matters.

Congratulations to Tom and Rob on this phenomenal result for our client.

Whether you are an insurer or a policyholder, if you have any insurance law issue, including claims of bad faith denial of benefits, that requires legal counsel, you can contact Tom Connick directly at (216) 364-0502 or tconnick@dctblaw.com. If you need assistance with any other commercial or litigation matter, you can contact any of the attorneys at DCSTB at (216) 364-0500.

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Summit County Court agrees to certify class action

by on October 26, 2011 in Blog, Class Action, Representative Cases

The Summit County Court of Common Pleas decided last Friday to certify a class action brought by Tom Connick on behalf of a group of residents of a mobile home park who were charged excessive fees for natural gas by the owners of the park since the 1990′s.  The Judge rejected arguments by the park owners that there were too many differences between the class members, such as their length of residence or whether they were current on rent to the park, to allow the case to be handled as a class action.  The court held that the Plaintiff satisfied all elements under Civil Rule 23 for certification, and that the case would move forward as a class.

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Trial Win for Tom Connick

by on August 25, 2011 in Blog, Representative Cases

I represent an appraiser who was accused of inflating the value of a home in Cleveland to secure a mortgage.  The home was subject to foreclosure, and the homeowner sued several parties, including my client, alleging that the parties were involved in a predatory lending scheme.  Although my client appraised the home at its proper market value, he was sued for fraud, civil conspiracy, violation of the Ohio Corrupt Practices Act (Ohio’s version of the federal RICO Act), and violation of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act.

After over five years of discovery and motion practice, the case went to trial last week.  I successfully persuaded the Court to exclude evidence and testimony offered by the Plaintiff, including the testimony of Plaintiff’s expert appraiser, who failed to provide an opinion of a comparative market value of the subject house as of the date my client performed his appraisal.  Without such comparative evidence, I argued, the expert’s opinion had no evidentiary value.  The Court agreed.  I also established through four days of cross-examination of the Plaintiff’s witnesses that there was no evidence to support the claims against my client.

At the close of the Plaintiff’s case, the trial judge granted my motion for a Directed Verdict, holding that my client was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.  Under Ohio Civil Rule 50, the judge evaluated all of the evidence presented in a light most favorable to the Plaintiff.  Even under that standard, it was held that a reasonable jury could only find in my client’s favor.

I will continue to handle this case through any appeal.

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