After bowing out of representing the village of Dolton due to village trustees’ refusal to pay them, the Del Galdo law group is suing a lawyer representing those trustees for defamation.
The Berwyn-based law firm claims Burt Odelson, of the Odelson, Murphey, Frazier and McGrath law group, made knowingly false statements about the Del Galdo group that led to the trustees turning against them as village attorneys.
“Odelson defamed Plaintiff and sabotaged Plaintiff’s legal representation agreement with the Village of Dolton in an effort to improperly benefit his own firm,” Del Galdo said in the lawsuit.
The opposing law firms both have extensive experience representing municipalities and government officials in the Chicago area. Michael Del Galdo, founding attorney of the Del Galdo firm, has long ties to the political operation Michael Madigan, the indicted former Illinois House speaker and Democratic Party chairman.
According to the lawsuit, Odelson told attendees at a Feb. 22 Dolton Village Board meeting that Del Galdo had a conflict of interest in representing the village and had billed the village tens of thousands of dollars “in violation of Dolton’s corporate authorities.”
Del Galdo said other statements he claims were defamatory include that they solely served as the village’s prosecutor, not village attorney, and that cases under Del Galdo’s representation had gone under default judgment.
Odelson said during the Feb. 22 meeting that “Dolton isn’t getting the representation it should.” The village trustees then voted to turn over files on pending litigation to Odelson, Murphey, Frazier & McGrath and stop paying Del Galdo.
Attorney Burt Odelson at an Oak Lawn High School District 229 Board meeting in January 2022. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Del Galdo said in an April 24, letter to the village that it would no longer “work for free” and ceased all legal assistance. They also warned that in recent cases there has been a struggle to find qualified municipal defense firms and insurers, and that “no one wants to represent the village.”
Since then, Dolton’s legal representation has been murky, with Odelson saying despite trustees approving payments to his firm, Mayor Tiffany Henyard has refused to send the checks, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars owed over two years. In some cases, including that of a fatal police chase in which Dolton owes $33.5 million, the village is represented by attorney Michael Kasper, who has been strongly tied to Del Galdo and Madigan in the past.
“Her theory is that don’t pay me and I’ll go away,” Odelson said Tuesday. “Exactly what happened with Del Galdo.”
However, Odelson said he plans to continue supporting village trustees until the next village election in April, after which the village may be under new leadership.
“I’m not going away. We’re trying to help the people of Dolton,” he said.
Odelson called the defamation suit “totally meritless” and a waste of time and money.
But Del Galdo is not backing down, saying in a statement through the firm’s attorney, Jon Loevy of Loevy and Loevy, that “Mr. Odelson’s actions were designed to hurt our reputation and (Del Galdo law group), and its 40 plus employees depend on that reputation remaining intact.”
“Mayors and government officials don’t find their prospective attorneys in the yellow pages,” Del Galdo wrote. “Our entire industry is based on reputation and word of mouth.”
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
