
Hon. Thomas R. Allen, (Ret.)
IllinoisNeutral AvailabilityJudge Allen has more than 40 years of legal experience. On the bench, he stood out as an exceptionally intelligent and even-tempered jurist. His colleagues describe him as pragmatic and fair, with a great sense of humor. Judge Allen served most of his judicial career in the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Chancery Division where he settled many commercial and business-related cases. As a senior mediator and arbitrator, he brings a tremendous depth of experience to his practice having worked as a litigator for more than 30 years before becoming a judge. He values courtesy and respect and shows the same to parties and their counsel throughout the dispute resolution process and beyond.
Types of Cases Resolved
- Bad Faith
- Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
- Business Dissolution
- Class Action
- Condominium Board Dispute
- Construction
- Construction Defect
- Contract
- Defamation
- Directors & Officers (D&O)
- Discrimination
- Employment
- Estates
- Family Business
- Fee Dispute
- Fiduciary Duty
- Fraud
- Government
- Guardianship
- Harassment
- Insurance Coverage
- Legal Malpractice
- Lender Liability
- Non-Compete
- Partnership Dispute
- Probate
- Professional Malpractice
- Re-Insurance
- Real Estate
- Restrictive Covenants
- Retaliatory Discharge
- Shareholder Dispute
- Stockholder Derivative Actions
- Storm Damage
- Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
- Trade Secrets
- Trademark
- Trusts
- Unfair Competition
- Whistleblower
- Wrongful Termination
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- Since joining ADR Systems in 2019, Judge Allen has served as a full-time mediator and arbitrator
- 8-year judicial career in the Circuit Court of Cook County, including serving briefly in the First Municipal Division and Probate Division, with 7 years spent in the Chancery Division, Calendar 10, 2010-2018
- 32-year legal career in litigation, real estate and criminal defense, including Assistant Cook County Public Defender and member of the Homicide Task Force; private practice at Law Offices of Thomas R. Allen; Partner Chapekis, Marcus, Allen & Chapekis, 1977-2010
- Prior to joining the bench, he served as 38th Ward Alderman, City of Chicago for 18 years
Representative Cases
- Construction: action for fraudulent concealment and rescission based on faulty construction and chronic flooding of single-family residence
- Contract, Non-Compete and Fraud: dispute over sale of scrap iron business and breach of seller’s non-compete covenant alleging fraud and seeking punitive damages; settled during trial
- Class Action: mediated cases involving numerous claims of violating the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) via the non-consensual collection of fingerprint information through time-keeping equipment; settled cases for $450,000, $675,000, $1.0 million and $1.2 million
- Class Action: resolved class claims relating to alleged failure by employer to comply with BIPA requirements regarding written consent, the storage and use of biometric identifiers and the lack of a retention and destruction policy for that data
- Class Action: settled a putative class action suit involving purported BIPA violations regarding the collection and storage of fingerprints and handprints of numerous current and former employees without written consent
- Class Action, Contract and Fraud: settled hundreds of claims against laser hair restoration sales company alleging fraud, breach of contract and rescission
- Condominium Board Dispute and Fiduciary Duty: dispute between condominium board and unit owner regarding unlawful contracts awarded to family members of condominium board president in violation of state law
- Contract: mediated case involving claims of breach of contract over supposed failure to pay the full sum of collected fees owed for services provided; settled for $1.03 million
- Employment: Settled a dispute involving claims that defendant failed to inform the plaintiff and other employees of the collection and use of their sensitive biometric data protected under BIPA
- Fiduciary Duty, Insurance Coverage and Fraud: extremely complex case which stemmed from the 2007-2008 US economic meltdown; large insurance company sought to rescind coverage of hundreds of thousands of second lien mortgage loans and lines of credit based on fraud in underwriting process; counterclaims sought damages in excess of $700 million; case involved 20 attorneys from across the US; resolved entire matter on the eve of trial
- Fraud: case involved the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act; action to recover fraudulent transfers made by husband to his adult children to avoid payment of $18 million default judgment in a divorce case
- Government: county treasurer brought claim against suburban municipality to recover mistaken double payment of annual tax distribution to village; settled quietly avoiding potential embarrassment
- Government: case involved Tax Increment Financing (TIF) dispute regarding industrial park; claims by municipality against developer of industrial park for breach of complex TIF agreement and demands for disgorgement of $25 million TIF subsidy
- Government: road closure by village effecting access to industrial park; claims by landowners against village for violation of due process, eminent domain and economic damages
- Government: dispute between police pension fund and village regarding failure to remit tax levy funds in accordance with statute and actuarial opinion; settled by borrowing funds, thereby avoiding a politically untenable voter referendum
- Non-Compete: case involved a dispute between competing dealerships of a top-tier motorcycle manufacturer over the services of a key salesman with a cult-like customer following and the validity of a non-compete agreement
- Non-Compete and Trade Secrets: disagreement between highly compensated executive and company involving executive going to work for competitor and downloading trade secrets on the way out the door
- Partnership: parties were involved with ‘flipping’ 500-600 properties based on an oral agreement; when real estate crash occurred, defendant abandoned partnership; plaintiffs’ claims demanded contribution toward millions in losses and an accounting
- Partnership: oral agreement by attorneys to share fees and expenses regarding defense of legal malpractice claims
- Real Estate: complex easement agreement recorded by developers of two high rise condominium buildings, imposing weight limits on trucks; agreement prevented one of the buildings from having access to easement for refuse service
- Real Estate and Land Use: case involved ownership and easement rights to advertising billboard and revenues; billboard straddled two individual properties
- Real Estate: claims of interference with easement of support on a party wall and violation of municipal code; case arose from the excavation by landowners of 140-year-old rowhouse in upscale area of city
- Retaliatory Discharge and Wrongful Termination: corporate officer sought damages for retaliatory discharge and wrongful termination after filing a shareholder derivative suit against corporation
- Trusts and Estates: mediated case regarding whether defendants were considered co-trustees of an estate and the extent to which they violated fiduciary duties; settled for $540,000
- Trusts and Fiduciary Duty: claims by beneficiaries against trustee (second wife) alleging conversion and breach of fiduciary duty in the dissipation of $1.5 million in trust assets from 92-year-old owner of trust
- Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist: mediated case involving motor vehicle accident with uninsured defendant, resulting in sternal and vertebral fractures, epidural hematoma and placement in a knee immobilizer; settled for $255,000
Professional Activities and Awards
- Former Chair, Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinating Committee; appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court
- Former Member, Legislative Committee; appointed by Illinois Supreme Court
- Former Member, Judicial Conference; appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court
- Former Chair, Legislative Committee on Transportation and Public Way
- Former Member, Legislative Committees on Finance; Zoning and Land Use; Aviation
- Former Member, Illinois State Bar Association
- Member, Illinois Judges Association
- Former Member, Chicago Bar Association (CBA)
- Former Board Member, Irving Park YMCA
- Former Board Member, Portage Park Chamber of Commerce
- Former Board Member, Belmont Central Chamber of Commerce
- Member, Wright College Advisory Council
- Board Member and Former President, Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago
- Member, Our Lady of Victory Chicago Holy Name Society
- Member, United States Handball Association
- Labor Man of the Year, Greater Chicago and Vicinity Port Council, Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO
- Arthur Dunne Award, Young Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago
- Wright College Service Award, Wright College Advisory Council
- CARES Award, Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center
Presentations and Publications
- Panelist, “Eight O’clock Call,” CBA
- Panelist, “Trial Prep: Top Tips from Cook, DuPage and Will Counties,” Lunchtime Seminar Series
Education
- JD, Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law
- Honors
- Illinois Benedictine University
- Cum Laude
Admissions
- Illinois State Bar
- US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
Disclosure
I was a sitting judge for over eight years, have practiced law and have been a mediator and arbitrator since 2019. Many attorneys have tried cases in my courtrooms or mediated or arbitrated a case with me.
Additionally, I have a family member working as a trial attorney in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.
The disclosures listed above will not affect my neutrality in this dispute.