(Chicago – 2/10/2022) It took less than 2 hours for a Cook County jury to return a unanimous verdict today in favor of our client in a rare probate case involving ownership of real estate, multiple financial accounts and other property. The decedent’s sole heir, a nephew, filed the lawsuit in 2016 seeking to recover the assets from our client, who was the decedent’s close friend and life partner. After four days of trial, the jury of 9 women and 3 men reached a unanimous verdict that awarded 6 of the 7 assets at issue to our client, which were valued at approximately $1.5 million.
Attorney David M. Gower of the Oak Brook, Illinois law firm of DeBlasio & Gower LLC represented our client at trial. “We are very proud of the fantastic result David was able to obtain for our client in this jury trial,” said Antonio DeBlasio, the firm’s founding partner. He added that “not all probate and estate planning attorneys can say they have the litigation experience to take a case to a jury. We do.”
Mr. Gower graduated from Wheaton Academy and served four years in the U.S. Navy. Upon return from military service, he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and his law degree from Loyola University Chicago. In 2021, Mr. Gower was named Chairman of the DuPage County Bar Association’s Estate Planning and Probate Section.
DeBlasio & Gower LLC is a boutique law firm located in Oak Brook, Illinois, focusing on business and civil litigation, including probate and estate litigation. With over 40 years of combined experience representing businesses, individuals and estates in Illinois, the firm’s attorneys have represented hundreds of clients in federal court, Cook County Circuit Court, DuPage County Circuit Court, and the courts in Lake County and Will County.
To discuss your probate and estate planning needs, please contact David M. Gower or Antonio DeBlasio at (630) 560-1123.
DISCLAIMER: While our firm has had success for many clients, all cases are decided on their own merits. Judges and juries decide the outcome of cases, not lawyers. This blog post is not legal advice and should not be relied on by anyone as legal advice in their particular situation. Furthermore, while DeBlasio & Gower welcomes communications via its website, please be aware that communicating any information to DeBlasio & Gower LLC or any of its attorneys through its web site or via any other method without a formal engagement with the Firm does not constitute or create an attorney-client relationship between you (or any other users, senders or recipients) and DeBlasio & Gower LLC or any of its attorneys. Thank you.