$40 million lawsuit against Marina City co-defendants dismissed again

Plaintiff alleges assault by MTCA attorney

25-Feb-09 – For the second time, a $40 million lawsuit against Marina Towers Condominium Association and two commercial entities at Marina City has been dismissed.

The suit was originally filed on October 1, 2008, by Edie and Joseph Mathers, owners of four condominium units at Marina City. They were suing System Parking for $20 million, Transwestern Commercial Services for $10 million, and Marina Towers Condominium Association for $10 million. The complaint was over parking-related disputes and an incident in 2006 that resulted in Mathers being arrested.

Circuit Court Judge Lawrence O’Gara dismissed the complaint on December 21 but gave the Mathers 28 days to find an attorney and re-file the complaint.

On January 29, Judge O’Gara gave them another 28 days. (Left) Photo of Edie Mathers from her web site, Marina City Chicago Gift Shop Gallery.

But time ran out on Wednesday. “It would be fundamentally unfair to let this case proceed any further,” said O’Gara after patiently listening to Mathers plead for another ten days. She said after working diligently on it every day, she had found an attorney to take her case but he had recently been ill and could not attend the hearing.

“I sympathize with your plight,” the judge told Ms. Mathers. “There’s finality in the law and we have reached finality in this case.”

He said continuing the case would be unfair to the defendants, who “can’t have a $40 million lawsuit hanging over their heads.”

In an emergency motion seeking another extension, Mathers claimed there was an altercation between her and MTCA attorney Ellis Levin at the January hearing. Mathers claims Levin grabbed and twisted her arm, sending her to the hospital.

O’Gara pointed out that if the bailiff had witnessed such an assault, Levin would have been arrested. There was no response to an email sent late Wednesday morning by Marina City Online to attorney Daniel B. Meyer of O’Hagan Spencer LLC, who was representing System Parking and might have witnessed any altercation.

“This case has an intriguing history,” said Judge O’Gara.

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