Chicago Professional Liability Team Secures Significant Appellate Victory in Lawsuit Alleging Life Insurance Fraud, Marking Team’s Third Appellate Win This Year

Chicago, Ill. (December 7, 2023) – Chicago Partners Josh M. Kantrow and Thomas M. Wolf recently secured an appellate victory on behalf of Lewis Brisbois’ client when the First District Appellate Court in Illinois affirmed the client’s summary judgment award, determining that the plaintiffs failed to establish that the client engaged in fraud. Notably, this decision constitutes Messrs. Kantrow and Wolf’s third appellate win of the year.

The plaintiffs in this matter, Battista v. Katz, 2023 IL App (1st) 220971-U, alleged that Lewis Brisbois’ client committed fraud when marketing a life insurance plan to the plaintiffs’ company. At the time that the plaintiffs purchased the plan, it was believed that the premium contributions to the plan were tax deductible. Several years after the plaintiffs purchased the insurance, however, the IRS issued a clarifying decision that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax deductions being disallowed and the plaintiffs being charged penalties and interest. As a result, the plaintiffs’ sought $1.4 million in damages from Lewis Brisbois’ client.

Messrs. Kantrow and Wolf successfully convinced the trial court in Cook County, Illinois – a plaintiff-friendly venue – that their client never made any false representations, that they were dealing with an unsettled area of law, and that subjectively their client did not believe their representations were false when made. They also argued that, in any event, the plaintiffs’ claim was time-barred. The trial court agreed and granted summary judgment in favor of Lewis Brisbois’ client. The plaintiffs appealed. On appeal, although the appellate court disagreed with the lower court on the issue of whether the plaintiffs’ claim was time-barred, it affirmed summary judgment as a matter of law on all other grounds. The Illinois Supreme Court denied plaintiff’s Petition for Leave to Appeal, meaning the appellate decision in our client’s favor stands.

Mr. Kantrow is co-chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) Practice and co-host of the firm’s BIPA Radar podcast series. Clients frequently retain him to handle complex business litigation matters, including class action litigation, throughout the United States. In addition to having deep experience defending technology litigation matters, he successfully litigates complex insurance coverage cases and defends a wide range of professional services providers in various errors and omissions claims.

Mr. Wolf is a member of Lewis Brisbois’ Professional Liability and BIPA Practices. He represents individuals as well as public, private, and non-profit entities in high-profile general liability, transportation, and insurance coverage disputes.