Antonio DeBlasio

Served as lead counsel to the Illinois State Board of Education in proceedings to recover in excess of $22 million in federal and state grant funds that a state audit revealed had been unaccounted for or misspent by a south suburban school district; Successfully defended real estate investors in a civil trial alleging violations of the Truth in Lending Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act arising from their purchase of residential properties from individuals in foreclosure (Illinois Appellate Court affirmed trial court in October 2012); Successfully prosecuted claims for unpaid consulting services on behalf of individual clients from Beijing, China and obtained dismissal of $1 million plus counterclaim including allegations of fraud and kickback arrangements; Negotiated a favorable settlement as lead counsel for an Italian government agency and eight of its foreign officers and directors in a multi-million dollar contract, fraud and conspiracy action brought by a US-based employee; Served as counsel to a court appointed receiver in a SEC civil action involving the fraudulent sale of $28 million in securities structured as time shares in Branson, Missouri to over 500 individuals; Served as Special Assistant Attorney General to Governor Rod R Blagojevich and effected the dismissal of a purported consumer rights lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the State's emergency bailout of the RTA in September 2007; Served as Special Assistant Attorney General on behalf of a clinical nurse manager in a discrimination and retaliation case filed against the clinical nurse manager, the Illinois Department of Human Services and a former staff psychiatrist (obtained dismissal of all claims on behalf of client); Obtained an arbitration award of $824,226 in compensatory and punitive damages in a team effort in an American Health Lawyers Association arbitration on behalf of an Indiana health plan in a contract and fraud action against a managed care entity owned by Methodist Hospital, Wishard Hospital, and Indiana University Medical Center, involving Indiana's Medicaid risk-based managed care program The arbitrator reduced the gross arbitration award of $25 million to $824,226 because the successful health plan client had rightfully withheld approximately $15 million in funds from the defendants, upon the advice of counsel; Secured mandatory injunctive relief as part of a team effort against the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board and defeated emergency appeals within three days in both the Illinois Appellate Court and Supreme Court, allowing three religious orders to merge and recover $87 million in Medicare recapture funds; Prosecuted and favorably settled equal protection and unconstitutional conditions (extortion) claims in a team effort on behalf of Northwestern University against the City of Evanston for attempting to extract millions in contributions from the University as part of an alleged quid pro quo arrangement for excluding University properties from a proposed local historic district The Honorable Abner J. Mikva assisted the parties in reaching a favorable settlement; Defended a Northern Illinois hospital as Lead Counsel in a whistleblower action alleging that the hospital submitted false Medicare and Medicaid claims by offering above-market physician compensation to induce patient referrals; Negotiated favorable settlement with whistleblower and US Attorney's Office in Chicago; Successfully defended police officer as court-appointed lead counsel in a federal court False Claims Act action alleging the officer made misrepresentations in acquiring residential property from HUD as part of HUD's Officer Next Door sales program; Secured a judgment in excess of $700,000 against a construction company and two corporate officers who defrauded an Elmhurst couple in connection with a residential remodel project. As part of the judgment, the DuPage County Circuit Court awarded the couple punitive damages in excess of $475,000 and their attorneys' fees and costs pursuant to the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act; Secured the release of six plastic injection molds on behalf of one of North America's top 10 non-automotive plastic injection molders from a DuPage County manufacturer that was holding the molds hostage on a claim of unpaid invoices, potentially delaying the production of plastic components used in high-end blood analyzing equipment used by hospitals and clinical laboratories. Ultimately, the client was successful in securing the dismissal of all claims and obtaining the release of all of funds held in escrow after suggesting it would pursue claims under the Consumer Fraud Act against the manufacturer; Negotiated and obtained significant settlement payment for the Village of Oak Brook from Lorig Construction Company arising from damage caused to the Village's underground water main that occurred during installation of temporary sheet piling in connection with bridge construction work over Salt Creek The settlement occurred after the Village defeated Lorig's motion for summary judgment; Secured several judgments, including a trial judgment, against defendants involved in a scheme to defraud one of the Firm's clients who had invested in the defendants' travel nurse business; Advised a Midwestern US company on corporate ownership issues and potential violations of federal and state law in connection with the company's eligibility to qualify as a small business concern to secure Phase I and Phase II research and development grant funding from several federal agencies in connection with the SBA's Small Business Innovation Research Program; Obtained a significant settlement on behalf of Plymouth Tube Company from two owners of a New Jersey company that had guaranteed the company's purchase obligations The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, settled on the day the individual defendants were to sit for their depositions in Chicago.