Verdicts & Settlements

The following is a list of results achieved by Giamanco Law Partners for past clients in the Chicago area. Call 630-635-5555 or use our contact form to arrange a consultation with one of our attorneys.

Plaintiff’s Cases

Minor Doe v. Grandfather Doe – $500,000 (policy limits)

• Minor was injured while visiting his grandfather’s home by a firework that exploded when it was lit.
• Homeowner’s insurance company hired three different lawyers to defend each of the three family members who were the cause of the minor’s injuries.
• Our office aggressively pursued the case and after discovery depositions a policy demand was made to the insurance company.
• The client’s net funds were placed into a structured settlement that will massively increase his recovered proceeds over time.

Doe Father, Mother and Son v. Country Financial Insurance – $300,000 (policy limits)

• Family members were hit by a diver who was fleeing and evading the police and suffered substantial injuries.
• We were able to ultimately submit policy limit demands for all three family members for $100,000 each.
• We were also able to negotiate down their medical liens to save each of them well over $10,000.

Doe v. State Farm and Maneti – $191,897.59

• Client was a stroke survivor who was involved in a small auto accident within weeks of his stroke.
• The accident aggravated the conditions he was recovering from due to the stroke.
• We were able to collect the policy limits from the at-fault driver ($50,000) and then an additional $141,897.59 from our client’s own insurance carrier through their under insured motorist policy.

Minor Doe v. Cronk – $150,000

• Client was struck while riding a skateboard across the street. There were allegations that he was on his phone at the time not paying attention.
• While he client suffered a head injury, overall, he made a good recovery.
• The client’s net funds were placed into a structured settlement that will massively increase his recovered proceeds over time.

Doe and Roe v. Geico and Naz – $120,000

• Clients were injured when rear ended by another driver.
• Another attorney was initially retained, one who advertises on TV frequently. After that attorney did little on the case and made no progress, the client hired us to take over.
• We were able to settle the case for both defendants within a few months.

Doe v. Yousef and Allstate – $100,000 (policy limits)

• Client was rear ended and suffered a torn rotator cuff.
• Our office was able to quickly collect the initial $50,000 from the at-fault driver’s insurance company, plus an additional $50,000 under our client’s underinsured motorist policy.

Doe v. Tahir – $45,000

• Client was injured by a family member during an argument at home.
• Client initially tried to represent himself but had numerous problems doing so.
• After the arbitration hearing on the matter, we were able to negotiate a substantial recovery for the client.
• There were no insurance proceeds to recover.

Doe v. UFC Gym Wrigleyville – $125,000

• Client was injured on poorly maintained gym property.
• Despite the defendant refusing to engage, we were able to obtain a judgment for our client.

Doe v. Jose B. Solis – $2,025,406

• Defendant drugged and sexually assaulted our client after providing her with alcohol. She was 15 years old at the time.
• Defendant had a history of drugging underage girls and assaulting them.
• Although the defendant was charged criminally he was found not guilty and our client was left with no ability to hold him accountable for his actions without our assistance
• We obtained summary judgment on our client’s behalf for liability. At trial, on the issue of damages, our client was awarded compensatory damages of $1,025,406 and punitive damages of another $1,000,000.

Doe v. Mr. and Mrs. Pace – $1,050,000 (policy limits)

• Client was a 7-year-old boy who was riding in a side-by-side ATV when the driver, another 7-year-old boy, rolled it over causing our client to sustain a traumatic head and hand injury.
• The parents of the boy who was driving were negligent in allowing him to drive and not properly supervising the children.
• The case was settled pre-suit for the full policy limits available.

Doe v. Two Brothers Brewing and Chrislan – $233,500

• Client was injured when a defective product, a tap handle, broke free of its mount and sliced through her hand as she attempted to pour a beer.
• We alleged the product was defective and the manufacturer and those in the stream of commerce were in turn responsible for her injury which required multiple surgeries to treat.

Doe v. A.Z. – $200,640.61

• Client was a passenger in a vehicle driven by the defendant while in Las Vegas. Defendant had been drinking, lost control of her car and caused a collision. Our client sustained a fractured foot and collar bone, which required two surgeries to repair.
• After being retained we were able to negotiate a settlement for our client within nine months of having been retained and without having to file suit.

Doe v. Mary Curry – $189,000

• Client was rear-ended and pushed into another car. Client sustained a torn labrum which required surgery to correct, and a head injury that took several months to subside.
• Client attempted to settle the case on her own; however, the insurance company offered her only a small portion of the value of her case. She hired us and we more than doubled the offer in just a few months of time – and without having to file suit.

Doe v. Jillian K – $150,000.00 (policy limits)

• Client was riding a motorcycle straight through an intersection. The other party intended to turn left in front of our client but didn’t see him until the last second when she came to a stop partially blocking his lane. Our client sustained life-threatening injuries including several fractures.
• The police report placed our client at fault and an independent witness did as well; however, with the help of an investigator we worked with, we were able to prove that our client was not to blame and settled his case within 60 days of when the collision occurred for the full policy limits available.

Doe v. Doe, Inc. (a golf resort) – $142,500

• Our client suffered a torn rotator cuff while vacationing at the defendant’s resort when she slipped and fell on an unnatural accumulation of ice.
• The resort had a defective roof design which caused ice to accumulate on an outdoor deck and management admitted to our client when the injury occurred that they had a history of problems with the particular area.
• While the insurance company we dealt with for the defendant initially refused to consider any compensation for our client, within two months of having filed suit they changed their position after realizing that we would aggressively pursue the case.

Doe v. Doe, Inc (a ‘big box’ store) – $125,000

• Our client suffered a torn bicep when he attempted to lift a box of floor tile from the floor and place it onto his cart.
• What the client did not know is that the box had been previously opened and defectively repackaged by the defendant store. The box ripped open as he tried to lift it forcing his arm to be jerked and bicep torn.
• His injury required surgery to repair it.
• Our client did not get immediate medical attention, and in fact the defendant had video of him checking out without having complained to anyone of his injury.
• This case was settled after conducting initial discovery and via a pre-trial settlement conference with the judge assigned to it.

Doe v. Nicole Root – $100,000 (policy limit)

• Our client was the driver of a vehicle that was struck by the defendant’s vehicle when it failed to stop at a stop sign.
• Our client suffered numerous injuries including fractured ribs and broken teeth.
• Within four months of when we were retained by our client, we obtained her necessary medical records and bills and obtained an agreement from the defendant’s insurance company to tender their policy limits.

Doe v. Feliz Lopez – $100,000 (policy limit)

• Our client, while a passenger in another vehicle, was struck by the defendant who failed to yield the right of way.
• Our client suffered a hip injury which she initially believed to be minor in nature. Over time when the injury did not resolve, we insisted she seek additional consultation from a medical doctor – who ultimately advised her she had a torn muscle in her hip which required surgery to repair.
• While the defendant’s insurance carrier initially protested and refused to tender the policy limits to our client, we were ultimately able to obtain them prior to having to file suit.
• We also successfully negotiated down liens claimed against our client’s case by the various medical providers to save her approximately $20,000.

Doe v. Lamerrica Lacking – $240,000

• Defendant was a prior friend of our client; however, the two had a falling out and the Defendant then engaged in a pattern of harassing, abusive and threatening behavior that included creating a fake Facebook profile claiming to be our client, claiming our client had A.I.D.S. and using the profile to generally defame our client’s reputation.
• The court ultimately entered a judgment awarding our client $60,000 for defamation, $60,000 for emotional distress and $120,000 for punitive damages for a total award of $240,000.
• In addition to obtaining a monetary judgment against the defendant, we also assisted our client in obtaining an order of protection that forbids the defendant from harassing her further – which if broken will subject the Defendant to criminal charges being filed against her.

Doe v. Lawrence Paterson – $35,000 (in bonds ordered returned to client)

• Defendant was the prior attorney for our client and during his representation of her he obtained possession of $35,000 worth of bonds that belonged to the client for safe keeping. After the client fired her prior attorney, he refused to return the bonds claiming he was holding them as a “retaining lien” for his unpaid legal bill.
• Client had originally filed a replevin case against her former attorney on her own but ran into numerous problems in handling the case.
• We ultimately obtained a court order requiring the bonds be turned over to our client within three months of when we were hired.

Doe Inc. v. LS Construction and Development Co. and Donald Kindwald d/b/a LS Construction – $473,329.28

• Client was a general commercial construction contractor out of Houston, Texas that hired the defendants to perform a portion of the work on two auto parts stores. The sub-contractor/defendant was ultimately fired from the job site due to a poor quality of work and not completing the job on schedule.
• The sub-contractor/defendant originally filed a lien against the property claiming our client breached the contract and sued to foreclose on the lien. Our client hired our office to defend the lien foreclosure case on behalf of the owners and to bring a counter-claim against the sub-contractor/defendant.
• On our motion, and at our client’s request, all matters were ordered to proceed to binding arbitration in Houston, Texas in accordance with our client’s contract. We partnered with another law firm in Texas to handle the arbitration for cost saving reasons.
• After the arbitrator ruled in our client’s favor, we entered the judgment against the sub-contractor in two Illinois courts.
• We then moved to dismiss all remaining cases filed by the sub-contractor against our client and the property owner and both judges granted our motions.
• A second case was subsequently filed by our office against the company’s owner individually and we were successful in entering the judgment against him personally.

Doe v. Couch – $250,000 (policy limit)

• Client’s vehicle was struck by the defendant’s vehicle after the defendant ran a red light. The impact caused our client to fracture his leg in six places, requiring surgery.
• The severity of the impact and the surgical repair have caused him to exacerbate his prior knee arthritis, requiring the recommendation for him to have a total knee replacement.
• We made a full policy demand of $250,000 to compensate our client for his injuries to which the insurance carrier, Farmers, agreed to pay.
• Case was settled within four months of our office being retained.
• No lawsuit was necessary.

Doe v. Draper and Tafts – $125,000 (policy limit(s))

• Client was a passenger in a vehicle that lost control and struck a second vehicle. A third vehicle then struck the client’s vehicle.
• Client sustained a torn meniscus requiring surgical repair. This collision also led to an aggravation of her knee arthritis which may cause the need for a total knee replacement.
• Two insurance policies applied to this case, one with Progressive Insurance for $25,000 and another with State Farm Insurance for $100,000. Separate demands for the full policy limits available were made to each insurance carrier. After negotiations with the carriers each agreed to pay their full policy limits to our client.
• Entire case was settled within one year of when the collision occurred.
• No lawsuit was necessary.

Doe v. Doe Inc. – $100,000

• Client was a minor stock-holder in a corporation.
• The corporate officers decided to cut our client out of the business, its profits, and all related business dealings without paying him for his ownership in the corporation.
• While we prepared a complaint to be filed ultimately no lawsuit was necessary as we were able to negotiate settlement terms that were favorable to our client, including total payments to him for his stock in the amount of $100,000.

Doe v. 1435 W. Taylor, Inc., Dominic O’Mahony and Rainer Zach – $49,000

• Client invested funds with the defendants as a down payment and in anticipation of being given 1/3 of an interest in a tavern within the City of Chicago.
• Defendant’s took client’s money but refused to complete the transaction and refused to return the client’s money.
• Giamanco Law Partners were retained to assist in recovering the outstanding principal, interest, attorney’s fees, and costs.
• Case was settled within a few months of filing suit against the defendants and all legal expenses our client incurred were paid by the defendants.

Doe v. State Farm Insurance Company – $50,000.00 (policy limit)

• Uninsured motorist action.
• Client’s husband lost control of the vehicle our client was riding in causing it to flip and her to sustain facial scarring.
• The full policy tendered within one month of the start of representation of our client.

I.D.O.T. v. Doe. – $330,000 (jury verdict in favor of client)

• Eminent domain case involving the taking of a client’s land for public purpose.
• Case hinged on how much the land was valued at.
• IDOT claimed the land was only worth $138,000

Doe v. Jones – $100,000 (policy limit)

• Two vehicle collision resulting in torn knee ligaments and soft tissue injuries
• Policy was offered through settlement prior to starting the jury trial.

Doe v. Timmerman Starlight Trucking, et. al. – $2,250,000.00 (received through settlement following mediation)

• Automobile and truck collision
• Collision resulted in the death of the plaintiff’s spouse
• Case was referred to a California based law firm

Defense Cases:

Vicki Gardner v. Doe, Inc. – dismissal of various counts and judgment for our client

• We were retained to defend the Doe, Inc. a used car dealership that was sued by a person who purchased a car from them along with a warranty from a third party. She claimed she was defrauded in purchasing the vehicle. Her attorneys were well known for consumer rights matters and they refused all reasonable settlement offers.
• At trial, we were able to get the judge to dismiss several of the counts before the trial started and ultimately rule entirely in our client’s favor on the case against it.

Doe v. Smith and State Farm v. Smith – dismissal of personal injury case and declaratory judgment case filed against our client

• We were retained to defend the Smith defendants in two cases, (1) a personal injury matter where our client was accused of fondling two children who were under age 6 at the time and (2) a declaratory judgment case filed by their homeowner’s insurance company where they sought to be relieved of any duty to defend or indemnify our clients despite the coverage they agreed to provide.
• Through various pre-trial motions and discovery, we were ultimately able to defeat the claim filed by State Farm and force them to provide insurance coverage for our clients in addition to indemnification.
• State Farm ultimately paid to settle not only the case filed against our client but also agreed to pay the attorney’s fees incurred by our client due to our defense of the underlying case.

Corporate Office Business Center v. Doe – Judgment in favor of client following arbitration

• Our client was a tenant in a shared office suite run by the plaintiff.
• Prior to his lease terminating he hand-delivered notice that he did not intend to renew his lease but did not obtain any proof of receipt from the plaintiff.
• Plaintiff claimed that our client failed to provide them with the necessary notice that he did not intend to renew his lease.
• At arbitration we prevailed on behalf of our client and obtained not-guilty.
• Plaintiff did not reject the arbitration award and judgment was entered on the award dismissing the case against our client.

Rathbun Carpentry Contractors v. Doe, LLC – Directed verdict on all major counts

• We represented a town home developer and general contractor who were accused of failing to pay a subcontractor in excess of $100,000 for work he claimed he performed in relation to the development.
• Prior counsel for our clients withdrew after representing the clients for several years and we took over the file within a few months of the trial date.
• Based on lien waivers signed by the plaintiff and his documentary evidence and testimony we were able to persuade the judge that the plaintiff could not prove its case and we were able to get a directed verdict entered on all major counts of the complaint against our clients.

Burchett v. Doe – Directed verdict in favor of our client entered

• Our client was an architect who was hired to review and seal plans for a multimillion-dollar house that was to be built in the Chicago area.
• During the construction, water infiltrated the home causing the growth of mold in addition to other defects which required correction.
• The home owners sued the contractor, the designer and our client and were seeking over $1,500,000 in damages.
• A well-known law firm handled our client’s case for three years and then withdrew a few months before the scheduled trial date.
• We were retained less than four months prior to trial.
• After a week and a half of trial, upon the conclusion of the plaintiff’s case, the judge granted our motion for a directed finding in our client’s favor and dismissed him from the case.

Joseph Arbour, v. Doe – Case dismissed on our motion

• Plaintiff was a contractor who our client hired to build two handicap ramps for his disabled wife. The contractor built the ramps incorrectly and refused to correct the work for the agreed to contract price.
• The plaintiff then sued our client for breach of contract.
• We filed a counter-claim against the contractor for breach of contract and for the amount needed to correct his defective work.
• On our motion the court dismissed the contractor’s case against our client in accordance with the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act.
• Our case against the contractor is still pending.

Jones v. Doe – settled for less than medical bills claimed.

• This case involved a rear-end collision caused by our client.
• Negligence on the part of our client was admitted and he was not available for trial.
• Plaintiff was extremely sympathetic and made a great witness.
• By using pre-trial motions, we were able to convince the Plaintiff’s attorneys that it was in their best interest to settle the case for less than one-third of its initial value and less than the total medical expenses, lost wages and property damage sustained.

Encompass v. Doe – case dismissed

• Declaratory judgment case.
• Parents of two minor children were counter-sued for contribution for injuries sustained to their two children when the golf cart they were riding in was struck by a pickup truck.
• The parents insurance company, Encompass, refused to defend the parents and sued asking the court to hold them harmless for denying coverage.
• Filed a counter-claim against Encompass for failing to defend and sought attorneys fees expended by client in their defense.
• Case was ultimately dismissed and Encompass paid our client’s attorney’s fees

Henry v. Doe – Not guilty

• Doe rear-ended the plaintiff and her minor son who were traveling in a vehicle in front of hers.
• Doe admitted to having caused the accident; however, the jury against awarding any damages for the claimed injuries.

Debt Collection Defense Cases

CACH, LLC v. Doe – dismissed with prejudice

• Client owned a business that had a credit card.
• When the business closed there was a balance owed to the credit card company for an amount in excess of $21,000.
• The debt was sold to a debt collector who attempted to collect the debt against our client personally.
• We filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, asserting our client was not personally responsible for the debt, and we prevailed on the motion.

Asset Acceptance v. Doe – dismissed with prejudice

• Client owned a business that had a credit card.
• When the business closed there was a balance owed to the credit card company for an amount in excess of $12,000.
• The debt was sold to a debt collector who attempted to collect the debt against our client personally.
• We filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, asserting our client was not personally responsible for the debt, and we prevailed on the motion.

Portfolio Recovery Associates v. Doe – voluntarily dismissed

• Client had a credit card that she defaulted on.
• The debt of in excess of $9,000 was allegedly sold to a debt collector who filed suit to collect the amount owed.
• We defended the case, challenged the Plaintiff to prove the money was owed and ultimately forced them to dismiss the case when they could not meet the requirements of the law.

Midland Funding v. Doe – default judgment against our client which was nearly a year old was lifted and the case was ultimately voluntarily dismissed

• Client had a credit card that he defaulted on.
• The debt of in excess of $10,000 was allegedly sold to a debt collector who filed suit to collect the amount owed.
• Client was served with notice of the lawsuit against him but misplaced the paperwork and didn’t appear on the initial court date resulting in his default.
• We got the judgment vacated, defended the case, challenged the Plaintiff to prove the money was owed and ultimately forced them to dismiss the case when they could not meet the requirements of the law.

Resurgence Financial v. Doe – voluntarily dismissed

• Clients, a husband and wife, had a credit card that they defaulted on.
• The debt of in excess of $12,500 was allegedly sold to a debt collector who filed suit to collect the amount owed.
• We defended the case, challenged the Plaintiff to prove the money was owed and ultimately forced them to dismiss the case when they could not meet the requirements of the law.

Resurgence Financial v. Doe – settled for 20% of the claimed debt

• Client had a credit card that she defaulted on.
• The debt of in excess of $9,000 was allegedly sold to a debt collector who filed suit to collect the amount owed.
• We negotiated a settlement on behalf of the client for the debt to be discharged for 20 cents on the dollar claimed.

JHC Acquisition v. Doe – dismissed with prejudice

• Client was sued for $27,100 but was not correct party and never incurred any services from the original creditor, a nursing home.
• The nursing home provided services to a different person who obtained services for himself while assuming an identity that was the same or substantially similar to our client.
• Even after our client informed the plaintiff of the mistaken identity they still tried to pursue a judgment against him.
• We appeared on behalf of our client, pursued a motion to dismiss the case and ultimately prevailed.

Bank of NY Mellon v. Doe – dismissed without prejudice

• Client took out a home equity line of credit and defaulted on it owing over $45,000.
• After investigating the paperwork that was to support the claim, we determined that the transfers to the plaintiff of the debt appeared invalid and incomplete.
• We in turn demanded that the Plaintiff drop the case or face a motion for summary judgment and a motion sanctions for having filed the case – they chose to dismiss it.

Harris Bank v. Doe – dismissal without any payment from client

• Debt collection case filed against our client for an alleged loan agreement for a vehicle purchase.
• Our client denied ever singing the loan agreement.
• Plaintiff chose to dismiss the case rather than pursue it while our client was represented by legal counsel.

The National Bank v. Doe – settled case for 13% of claimed debt

• Our client was married to a former real estate developer who owed a judgment to the plaintiff for several million dollars.
• Our client and her husband obtained a sizeable tax refund from the government and the Plaintiff, in attempting to collect on the debt owed to it by our client’s husband, attempted to take the funds which totaled in excess of $600,000.
• Our debt collection defense was extensive in this matter resulted in the plaintiff accepting approximately 13% of the amount it claimed was owed to it in order to avoid contesting the case at trial.

In Re: Kirkpatrick – Reduction of $887,500.00

• Negotiated on behalf of the defendant for the full and complete settlement of a jury verdict against him that was in excess $900,000.00 for only $12,500.00.