Attorney: Mt. Prospect tavern owner wins lawsuit

A Cook County judge has awarded Mount Prospect business owner Tod Curtis nearly $1 million in a legal dispute with a local developer, Curtis’ attorney said Thursday.

Curtis, owner of Ye Olde Town Inn at 18 W. Busse Ave., had sued Oz Development LLC, claiming that Oz damaged a wall on his building while developing an adjacent site into the Blues Bar.

Curtis asked Oz development to pay for the repairs, but his requests were refused, said Mike Graf, Curtis’ attorney.

In order to build the blues bar at 2 W. Busse Ave., Oz Development had to raze the building that used to stand on the site. That building was connected to Curtis’ via a common wall, Graf said.

“The damage to (Curtis’) building occurred during the demolition. The judge awarded us the estimated cost of repairs,” he said.

The total award was $965,000. The next step is to attempt to collect the damages from Oz Development, Graf said.

Neither Errol Oztekin, head of Oz Development, nor his attorney could be reached for comment Thursday.

Curtis is also the plaintiff in a federal racketeering lawsuit, which he filed against Oztekin, the village of Mount Prospect and a number of village officials. That case is expected to proceed in the fall of next year.