CHICAGO – A Chicago woman alleges false statements made in emails caused her to be removed from the membership of a co-op board.
Esther Ohiku filed a complaint on Dec. 17 in Cook County Circuit Court against Alina Matei alleging defamation per se and other counts.
According to the complaint, both parties reside in Lakeview East Cooperative and have done so for years. The suit states the plaintiff served on the co-op's board intermittently from 1998-2018 and the defendant served on the board from 2009 to the present.
The plaintiff alleges the defendant sent an email to the members of the board with false allegations regarding the plaintiff. The plaintiff also alleges another email was sent by the defendant a few months later that also contained false allegations.
The plaintiff alleges the defendant's wrongful conduct caused the cooperative membership to remove her from the board.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief and other further relief. The plaintiff is representing herself.
Cook County Circuit Court case number 2018L103524