Commercial real estate firm filed broker's lien against a property in dispute of a real estate broker's commission. Plaintiff (the owner of iO Theatre, a comedy club) filed complaint to extinguish lien as improper. Defendants filed counterclaim for payment of their broker's commission. After bench trial, court awarded Defendants a $50,000 commission. Court properly denied Plaintiff's claim for attorney's fees, as Plaintiff cannot be considered a prevailing party by grant of an interlocutory motion for preliminary injunction, as it was not a final disposition on merits of Plaintiff's claim, and did not confer Plaintiff a permanent relief. Court's holding that Defendants were the procuring cause of the off-market property was not against manifest weight of evidence. (HARRIS and MIKVA, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Real Estate