Pair accuses Dundee firm, lawyers of malpractice

Two lawyers and a Dundee law firm are facing a lawsuit that alleges their failure to file a motion on time caused their clients to be barred from appealing.

Rhonda Layne and Louis Iacovelli filed a lawsuit Feb. 17 in Cook County Circuit Court against McNamee & Mahoney and William A. Feda and Timothy K. Mahoney, individually and doing business as the firm.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs retained the defendants to represent them in a 2009 lawsuit against Adoption Ark,  Elina Filippova and Ellen Taylor, alleging breach of contract, willful and wanton misconduct, negligent misrepresentation and intentional infliction of emotional distress

Additional counts were added in the first amended complaint in 2011 and on March 27, 2013, an order was entered in the Kane County Circuit Court granting defendants' motion for summary judgment.

The plaintiffs' attorneys, according to the suit, filed a motion to amend the complaint on April 29, 013. Because the motion was filed 33 days after the summary judgment order, the suit says the Kane County Circuit Court no longer had jurisdiction and they were barred from filing an appeal as they missed the 30 day deadline.

The plaintiffs accuse the defendant attorneys of failing to file motions in a timely fashion, comply with court orders, provide a vigorous defense and keep them apprised of the status of their case.

Layne and Iacovelli seek damages in excess of $50,000, plus attorney fees and costs. They are represented by attorneys Zane D. Smith and Andre Ordeanu of Zane D. Smith & Associates in Chicago.

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 that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and represents only one side of the story.