Fioretti law firms’ unpaid bills could be fodder in Chicago mayor’s race
By Hal Dardick and Bill Ruthhart, Chicago Tribune | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Since 1999, Fioretti and two of his prior law firms have faced legal action from 12 individuals and companies alleging they weren't paid for their work. Lawyers have sued for paychecks. Campaign workers have filed complaints for unpaid wages. The phone company took one of Fioretti's firms to court for an unpaid advertising bill.
Most of the cases were arguments over less than
The
The series of lawsuits could provide fodder for foes in the mayor's race who might suggest Fioretti isn't a good manager.
"I'm a lawyer, and I always pay my bills," said Fioretti when asked about that possibility. "The buck stops here with me as an elected official, and I have always said I pay my bills."
Plus, he said, voters are most concerned with how he'd handle the key issues facing the city: crime, education and the city's finances.
"I think people will focus on other things," he said. "I'm an open book. People know my record."
A pair of lawsuits stemmed from the
Associate
Zaeske's case was settled for an undisclosed amount.
"I got to tell ya, I wasn't the managing partner, and quite frankly, the firm had several clients that had several problems," Fioretti said of Zaeske's lawsuit. "We kept everybody on, and we were hit with the recession, and I was hit with my health problems and the best I can tell you is this case was settled amicably."
Fioretti declined to elaborate, saying he had signed a confidentiality agreement.
Reached Friday, Zaeske said she "only got a portion (of the
Two other attorneys,
Asked why he had not settled the lawsuit with Brizzolara and Peldyak, Fioretti said the two were suing for "ten times" what he and his former partner John Lower believe they're owed and again pointed to his cancer diagnosis.
"I couldn't meet clients. I couldn't talk to clients. I was in tremendous pain. And the firm closed. I wasn't the managing partner. I didn't have anything to do with hiring and firing," Fioretti said. "We kept everybody around, because they were promising to bring in (work). But that's neither here nor there."
Fioretti currently works as an attorney at the firm Orum & Roth. The alderman said his former firm, Fioretti & Lower, essentially exists in name only and is finishing work on a number of small lawsuits that are "paying off all the expenses. Everybody is being paid. Period."
A pair of other claims against Fioretti followed his 2007 campaign for alderman in which he defeated longtime incumbent
Campaign workers
"The buck stops here," Fioretti said when asked about the claims. "The attorneys handling it said it wasn't an issue, and at the time, I listened to the attorneys, and so be it. As I always say, we're going to pay our bills. Period."
Looking back, Fioretti said he would have handled the matter differently. Miller and DeRonne were working under oral agreements but should have had formal contracts, Fioretti said.
"I'm not going to make excuses for how campaigns are run, especially if you're an insurgent campaign that didn't have the wherewithal to do some things. Let's face it, we didn't have 300 or 400 Streets and San, Building, Aviation workers working for us," Fioretti said. "Emily and Jane were very hard-working volunteers. They're very good people. Period."
Miller declined comment and DeRonne could not be reached.
In addition, both Fioretti & Lower and the alderman's previous firm, Fioretti &
Fioretti &
Fioretti said he was unaware of all those lawsuits, and in each case called the details of the lawsuits "surprising." He said
In the 2001 phone company case,
"I know I was always opposed to advertising.
Fioretti's signature, however, is on the law firm's rebuttal to the
More recently, Fioretti & Lower were sued in 2012 by the
"John was the primary card holder on those accounts, and the only card holder. I never used
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