CHICAGO, Ill. — After a year and a half of litigation culminating in a trial, the CTM Legal Group successfully represented tenants who had their entire security deposit wrongfully withheld by their former landlords. 

CTM's clients, former tenants, prevailed on two counts of their lawsuit against their former landlord, including one alleging the defendants violated the Security Deposit Return Act (SDRA).

During the trial, CTM Legal Group proved the defendants acted in bad faith by withholding the plaintiffs' full security deposit without any valid justification. At one point, the judge stopped the proceedings and advised the landlord defendants that their liability was obvious and they should settle for a certain amount. However, the landlords refused this recommendation from the court.

"From the very start, it was clear the defendants were improperly depriving our clients of their rightfully owed security deposit money," said Conor Grealish, the lead attorney on the case for CTM Legal Group. "Unfortunately, they refused all attempts to reasonably resolve this matter, forcing it to trial where justice ultimately prevailed."

The SDRA requires landlords to return security deposits in a timely manner after a tenant's lease ends, subject to reasonable deductions for damages or unpaid rent. By unlawfully withholding the full deposit, the defendants violated this statute. Despite the judge's guidance, the landlords allowed the case to go to a completed verdict, which found them liable for more than double the initial amount suggested for settlement.

"Even after the lawsuit was filed, we made very generous settlement offers, but the landlord refused all of them," said Sarah Albert, another CTM attorney who worked on the case. "As a result, the landlord ended up having to pay back many times the amount of the original deposit."

CTM Legal Group concentrates in consumer rights cases that are important to individuals, but that many law firms will not accept because they don't think they can achieve a good result in court. The firm has recovered millions of dollars in damages for clients across the Chicago area.  

"This ruling shows our tireless commitment to taking on the cases other firms won't touch in order to defend the rights of individuals against bad actors," said managing partner Bill Tasch. "We will take each and every case to trial if needed to obtain the proper resolutions our clients deserve."