800 S. Wells Commercial LLC v. Cadden, 2018 IL App (1st) 162882, 103 N.E.3d 875, 878, appeal denied, 108 N.E.3d 848 (Ill. 2018)

On May 9, 2018, the Appellate Court affirmed the entry of summary judgment in favor of The Jenkins Law Group’s client in multi-million dollar claim for breach of fiduciary duty. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of a manager-managed Illinois Limited Liability Company (“LLC”) which had held a leasehold interest in a commercial space and an indoor parking garage of a condominium property in the City of Chicago. The LLC claimed the Defendant, its former vice president, had breached fiduciary duties. The LLC alleged the vice president had diverted a corporate opportunity by failing to obtain for the LLC an option to purchase the garage, had improperly transferred an LLC asset by having a marina left out of a real-estate lease, and had improperly allocated expenses. The Appellate Court affirmed summary judgment for the former vice president, holding that he did not owe fiduciary duties to the LLC, and that he did not breach his fiduciary duties as claimed, even if he had owed such fiduciary duties. Among other things, the LLC’s operating agreement had prohibited it from obtaining the parking-garage option, and had specifically stated that the LLC was formed for the purpose of obtaining a leasehold interest in the property, which did not include the marina. The vice president had been directed and authorized to amend the initial lease to remove the marina pursuant to the unanimous vote of the manager and members at the time. As such, the vice president acted within his authority. The Jenkins Law Group represented the client in both the trial court and the appellate court.