Firm secures victory for Chicago musician

Through the firm’s longstanding relationship with Lawyers for the Creative Arts, a Mayer Brown Restructuring team that included associates Josh Gross, Alex Berk and counsel Craig Reimer took on the defense of a professional violinist facing claims to prevent the discharge in her bankruptcy case of $75,000 in alleged debt. 

The plaintiff filed a lawsuit in Illinois state court seeking to hold Mayer Brown’s client liable for $75,000 in damages flowing from the plaintiff’s consignment of her viola with a former business associate of the client. The client, a 60-year-old woman with little income and few assets, filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in part to escape the burdens of defending against the litigation. The plaintiff made several inflated settlement offers, filed and withdrew a motion for default, and opposed Mayer Brown’s motions to dismiss the original and amended dischargeability complaints before capitulating and agreeing to voluntarily dismiss the proceeding. On August 26, 2020, the complaint was dismissed. The client was freed of the stress of the litigation, in both state and federal court, without the need to pay any damages or expenses whatsoever.