Practices: Construction and Real Estate Litigation and Counseling

Building on and managing a property can consistently pose new challenges. These challenges – from construction defects to financing issues to lien threats – call for a knowledgeable and quick response from counsel who regularly address similar issues in the law and construction industries.

Ungaretti & Harris represents a variety of public and private clients in construction and real estate litigation matters, including:

Architects Developers Contractors Financial institutions Owners

Property managers Tenants Municipalities Utilities

A sampling of our recent work includes real estate management disputes, sale/leaseback litigation, eminent domain proceedings, foreclosures and lien claims, bankruptcies and workouts, condemnation actions and land use issues. Our broad client base has provided us the necessary experience to address all construction and real estate disputes – and demonstrates the trust and regard we have earned from clients in the construction and real estate fields.

Coupled with Ungaretti & Harris’ bankruptcy, government, and real estate teams, our attorneys have significant construction and real estate litigation experience including the following recent matters:

Breach of Contract Claims

• Handling construction contracts on behalf of a private equity firm as a user of construction services.
• Obtaining a multi-million dollar arbitration award on behalf of a fiber optic company against a railroad company for various claims arising out of construction of a nationwide fiber optic network.

Construction and Design Defect and Delay Claims

• Representing a client relating to a $50 million tenant build-out and premium costs incurred in several change orders.
• Representing a major bank in multiple claims relating to deficient MEP professional engineer drawings.
• Representing a client in a $40 million warehouse construction dispute.
• Representing a prominent Chicago businesswoman in construction disputes with the designer/builder of her area home.

Eminent Domain and Condemnation

• Representing the owner of privately-owned but publicly-subsidized housing complex condemned by its municipality in a fair housing case.
• Assisting property owners and developers responding to new and focused efforts by municipalities to seize property for development, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. City of New London.
• Assisting property owners in disputing and litigating issues of under valuation or inverse condemnation when zoning regulation precludes all reasonable use of land.
• Counseling municipalities regarding recent changes to and current state of the law and representing both municipalities and property owners in disputes and litigation.

Insurance Disputes

• Representing a major insurance company in the settlement of the foreclosure of a $30 million mortgage loan on a combination office/hotel complex. The settlement resulted in our client obtaining title to the property through the mechanism of a consent foreclosure judgment, which ended protracted and vigorously contested litigation.
• Representing a Canadian insurance company in foreclosing on and/or taking title to a number of problem loans ranging from $1 million to $7 million.

Lien Claims

• Obtaining summary judgment for a lender against broker and mechanics lien claimants.
• Handling a construction fraud case involving mechanics liens and allegations of shoddy construction work under the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act.
• Handling a mechanics lien case for a sub-contractor to collect holdbacks from the general contractor on disputed drainage system installation issues associated with the building of a new development.

Municipal Work

• Representing a manager/developer of luxury apartment communities in negotiation of construction management contracts in its role as construction manager for a pension fund.
• Handling a significant construction project involving foundation issues and related structural distress, city ordinance issues, claims against the general contract, mechanics' liens, claims against the architect, and potential property damage claims.