A Skokie car dealership has dismissed its lawsuit against two of four individuals it had sued, along with two businesses, after accusing them of working together in a scheme to steal vehicles from its lot and resell them.
And those two former defendants have demanded the court make the dealership pay for the lawsuit, which they said was based on allegations that were "false and unsupported."
On July 18, Skokie Motor Sales Inc., which does business as Sherman Dodge, 7601 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against defendant Amanda Abdelkoui. On Sept. 12, the dealership then withdrew its lawsuit against Dimitrios Maravelas.
The dealership had filed suit July 1 in Cook County Circuit Court against the two dismissed defendants, as well as R&D Auto Mart, Antonio Doss, LB Auto and Larry Blatt, alleging breach of contract and scheme to defraud among other charges.
The dealership had accused Maravelas, a used car sales manager, of "engaging in a scheme to defraud [Skokie Motor Sales Inc.], steal [its] used automobiles, arrange to have the stolen automobiles sold at or to various automobile auctions, automobile dealerships and individuals in the greater Chicago area, northwest Indiana and Wisconsin, and then share in the proceeds from the sale of the vehicles stolen..." The suit said all the defendants were party to this scheme.
However, Maravelas and Abdelkoui alleged in a motion for sanctions filed against the dealership in October that the dealership had not done enough work to gather the necessary facts before filing suit, leading them to level claims and accusations against the defendants the dealership purportedly should have known were false.
"If plaintiff would have examined its own computer records, plaintiff would have learned that the allegations contained in the complaint were false and unsupported," the dismissed defendants asserted.
The dismissed defendants have asked the court to order the dealership to pay their attorney fees and other costs as a sanction for allegedly bringing the purportedly faulty lawsuit.
The court is expected to consider the motion for sanctions in January 2017.
Skokie Motor Sales had been represented by attorneys Adam M. Berger and Michael M. Fenwick of Molzahn, Rocco, Reed & Rouse in Chicago.
Maravelas and Abdelkoui were represented by attorney Robert A. Egan, of Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2015L006703.