Man sues two Illinois attorneys for malpractice he claims cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars

Two Illinois lawyers are facing a lawsuit from a former client who claims they let the statute of limitations run out on his claim for a partnership buyout.

Mark Swift filed a legal malpractice lawsuit Oct. 14 in Cook County Circuit Court against James McGurk and Russell Scott. Attorney records list McGurk as a private practitioner in Chicago and Scott as an attorney with Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale P.C. in Swansea.

According to the complaint, on Sept. 1, 2009,  Swift, after a dispute and through his attorney, demanded his 35 percent ownership in a business partnership be bought out by his partners.

Swift contends a partner sued him in November 2009 and he retained McGurk to represent him, paying him more than $90,000 in legal fees. McGurk then brought Scott on the case for assistance, the suit notes.

In December, McGurk and Scott filed an appearance in Swift's case and an answer to the suit, according to the suit, but Swift claims they failed to include his buyout claim in the answer, as well as in a new claim filed against their client's partners in March 2010.

Swift asserts that under the Illinois Uniform Partnership Act, he had one year from his Sept. 1, 2009 letter to file the buyout claim. The defendant attorneys, the suit alleges, let the statute of limitations run out, which Swift claims barred him from filing any claim for a buyout and cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Swift is represented by attorney Edward X. Clinton Jr. of The Clinton Law Firm in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014L010616.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. 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 represents only one side of the story.