In a significant legal development, a landlord's right to evict a tenant was upheld by the Appellate Court of Illinois, affirming the trial court's decision in favor of the landlord. The complaint was filed by Demosthenis Tsatsanis in the Circuit Court of Cook County on September 14, 2022, against his tenant Renee MacDonald.
The case revolves around Tsatsanis' efforts to evict MacDonald from a rental property located at 2623 West Evergreen Avenue, Unit 2E, in Chicago. Tsatsanis alleged that MacDonald's lease expired on May 31, 2022, and despite being served with a termination notice on June 28, 2022, she failed to vacate the premises. MacDonald moved to dismiss the eviction action on several grounds including improper service of the termination notice and claims that Tsatsanis waived his right to evict by accepting rent after the lease expiration. However, her motions were denied by the trial court.
During pretrial proceedings, MacDonald argued that she had not received proper notice and that Tsatsanis had continued to accept rent beyond the lease term. She also introduced an affidavit from Eleni Tsatsanis, co-owner of the property and estranged wife of Demosthenis Tsatsanis, who claimed she had agreed to continue renting to MacDonald on a month-to-month basis. Despite these arguments, the court found that unanimous consent from all owners was not required for terminating a tenancy or evicting a tenant.
At trial on July 13, 2023, evidence presented included email communications between Tsatsanis and MacDonald regarding her move-out date and termination notice sent via certified mail. The jury found in favor of Tsatsanis and awarded him possession of the property. On appeal, MacDonald argued that errors during trial prevented her from receiving a fair hearing. These included objections sustained against introducing evidence related to Eleni’s ownership interest and issues surrounding service of the termination notice.
Ultimately, Justice Mikva delivered the judgment affirming the jury’s verdict in favor of Tsatsanis. The court held that actual receipt of termination notice cured any defects in its service method and rejected claims that acceptance of rent post-lease expiration constituted waiver for eviction rights.
Before Judge Christ Stanley Stacey under Case ID No. 22 M 1714402.