Mount Prospect set for court fight

Although some parts of Tod Curtis' lawsuit against Mount Prospect could be heard by a jury, Mount Prospect Village Attorney Everette "Buzz" Hill said 90 percent of the lawsuit was thrown out by Federal Judge Ronald A. Guzman on March 29.

"Obviously, we had hoped it would all get thrown out but we're pleased with this decision," Hill said.

Curtis, owner of Ye Olde Town Inn in downtown Mount Prospect, believes village officials have been conspiring to drive him out of business for years and want to proceed with a downtown development without him.

In response, he is pursuing a civil racketeering lawsuit against Mayor Irvana Wilks, several municipal employees and a local developer, claiming they have formed an "ongoing enterprise and scheme" for nearly a decade.

Racketeering lawsuits under the federal RICO statute are typically used to charge organized crime rings and corrupt politicians but have broad applications.

According to Curtis, village officials "employed endless harassing inspections of the property."

Village officials deny all of Curtis' claims.

Some of the claims Guzman threw out included Curtis' claim that village officials violated his equal protection rights and that the village tried to take his property without offering appropriate compensation in return.

Guzman also threw out the wire fraud claim and affidavits from two of Curtis' witnesses, Hill said.

What's left includes Curtis' claim that village officials ramped up inspections of his property after he made critical comments about them to the press in 2008.

The situation came to a head on April 11, 2008, when Curtis refused to allow building inspectors into his tavern. In response, the village shut down Ye Olde Town Inn for 10 days for code violations related to structural, plumbing and electrical problems.

"He said, 'No more inspections' but we have an obligation to our citizens to make sure all structures are safe," Hill said.

Rick Di Monte, Curtis' attorney, disagrees with the Hill's interpretation of the Guzman's decision and is looking forward to taking his case to the jury.

"His term '90 percent' is misleading," said Di Monte, of Park Ridge. "Every claim we have left is potentially lethal and could win us this case. The jury only has to find in favor of one of our claims in order for my client to win a large verdict."

Di Monte declined to say how much money Curtis could be awarded if he were to win the lawsuit.

"As we get closer to trial, I'll get more specific when it comes to the dollars and cents," Di Monte said.

Mount Prospect Mayor Irvana Wilks is confident the village will be victorious.

"When I read what the judge said, I thought without a question, the judge really did understand out side," Wilks said. "They disqualified his witnesses, and it really did seem over and over the judge ruled in our favor."

The two sides will meet again in court on June 2 when the judge will probably set a trail date.

Since 2006, the village has spent about $750,000 defending itself against lawsuits filed by Curtis, said Village Manager Mike Janonis.