Set-off Is Counterclaim; Not Affirmative Defense – IL Court Rules in Partition Suit

Stadnyk v. Nedoshytko, 2017 IL App (1st) 152103-U views the counterclaim-versus-affirmative defense distinction through the prism of a statutory partition suit involving co-owners of a Chicago apartment building. The plaintiff sued to declare the parties’ respective ownership rights in the subject property.  After the court issued a partition order finding the plaintiff and defendants had …

Non-shareholder Liable For Chinese Restaurant’s Lease Obligations Where No Apparent Corporate Connection – IL Case Note

Pink Fox v. Kwok, 2016 IL App (1st) 150868-U, examines the corporate versus personal liability dichotomy through the lens of a commercial lease dispute.  There, a nonshareholder signed a lease for a corporate tenant (a Chinese restaurant) but failed to mention the tenant’s business name next to his signature.  This had predictable bad results for …

Car Seller’s Impossibility and Commercial Frustration Defenses Fail In Missing Mercedes Case – IL ND

 (photo credit: www.sfcitizen.com (visited 7.6.15)) Sunshine Imp & Exp Corp. v. Luxury Car Concierge, Inc., 2015 WL 2193808 (N.D.Ill. 2015) serves as a recent example of how difficult it is for a breach of contract defendant to successfully argue the impossibility or commercial frustration defense. There, a case involving multiple layers of interconnected luxury car …