Rooftop owners sue sports consultant over statements in news article

Owners of rooftops surrounding Wrigley Field are suing a sports consultant who they claim attempted to spread lies about them in a newspaper article.

More than a dozen rooftop owners filed a defamation lawsuit Jan. 21 in the Cook County District Court against Marc Ganis, individually and doing business as SportsCorp Ltd.

The suit comes in the ongoing battle between rooftop owners and the Chicago Cubs over the installation of a video scoreboard proposed as part of renovations to Wrigley Field.

The rooftop owners assert that in 2004, they entered into a 20-year agreement with the Cubs to keep any signs or other objects from blocking their view of the field in exchange for a royalty fee.

In their recently-filed suit, however, the plaintiffs lodge allegations of defamation against Ganis.

They claim that Ganis, in an article published on Jan. 21 in the Chicago Sun-Times, said the proposed stadium renovation was rejected due to the rooftop owners' agreement with the Cubs and that they were "stealing" revenue from the Cubs.

The owners claims as a result of Ganis' statements in the Sun-Times article, their reputation and businesses have been damaged.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $50,000, as well as court costs, and are being represented by Chicago attorney Patrick C. Keeley of Piccione Keeley in Wheaton.

Although not named as defendants, the rooftop owners' suit lists the following as respondents-in-discovery:  Sun-Times Media LLC, Sun-Times Media Productions LLC, Fran Spielman, Chicago Cubs Baseball Club LLC, Chicago Baseball Holdings LLC, Tribune CNLBC LLC, formerly known as Chicago National League Ball Club LLC, Ricketts Acquisition LLC, Tribune Sports Network Holdings LLC and Chicago Cubs Dominican Baseball Operations LLC.

These are the rooftop owners who brought the suit: 3639 LLC, 3639 North Sheffield LLC, Sheffield-Waveland Rooftops Inc., GWR Properties LLC, Annex Club LLC, Wrigley Rooftops I. LLC, Wrigley Rooftops III LLC, Wrigley Rooftops IV LLC, 3701 North Kenmore LLC, Wrigley I LLC, Wrigley II. LLC, Wrigley III LLC, Beyond the Ivy Inc., Beyond the Ivy II Inc., Right Field Properties LLC, Right Field Rooftops LLC, doing business as Skybox on Sheffield, Rooftop Acquisitions LLC, doing business as Lakeview Baseball Club, and Murphy's Rooftop Co.

Reporter Bethany Krajelis contributed to this article.

Cook County District Court Case No. 2014L000628.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Cook County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.