It was quickly dismissed for being, said defense attorneys, “substantially insufficient in law,” but in 2008, Marina City’s condominium association, commercial property manager, and the company that parks vehicles were served a lawsuit with combined claim amounts of $40 million. Edie Mathers and Joseph Mathers, owners of four condo units at Marina City, filed the lawsuit on October 1, 2008, suing Marina Towers Condominium Association for $10 million, Transwestern Commercial Services for $10 million, and System Parking for $20 million. There were 29 separate claims against the defendants, but the dispute was mostly over an incident in 2006 in which Edie Mathers claimed an employee of System Parking assaulted her. It happened as she and her husband, Joseph, retrieved their vehicles on the plaza level of Marina City. However, it was Edie who was arrested by Chicago police, according to the civil complaint. (Left) East tower parking ramp at Marina City in foreground at left with west tower ramp in background at right.

Mathers said the employee, Yaw Akwaboah, struck her “across the face with a customer ticket receipt while reaching across her face while [Mathers] was speaking to the cashier.”

“At the same time,” she said, “Akwaboah bumped Edie Mathers with his fat body, trying to move her out of the way while she was taking care of business as a monthly customer.”

Not satisfied with System Parking’s handling of the incident, Mathers called Chicago police but was told they already had a call about the incident, which was apparently System Parking calling to complain about Mathers. Mathers says she was charged with battery based on a System Parking manager telling police that Mathers struck the manager “about the torso with an open hand causing minor redness and soreness.”

The complaint offered glimpses into an ongoing dispute with System Parking over a truck the Mathers used for their video production business. Edie Mathers says she received a letter from System Parking informing her she could no longer park in their ramps at Marina City, effective November 1, 2006. Having to find another place to park, said Mathers (right), was not only inconvenient but “placed us in harm’s way.”

When she parked elsewhere, her truck, she said, was vandalized. When she tried to use short-term parking reserved for residents, police were called and her truck was towed.

Mathers was claiming false charges, false arrest, false imprisonment, abuse of process, malicious prosecution, discrimination, negligence, interference with her business, racism, breach of contract, personal injury, property damage, infliction of emotional distress, trademark infringement, violations of the Civil Rights Act, racial profiling, harassment, sexism, racism, restraint of trade, defamation, libel, and slander.

Case moved, then dismissed

On November 14, 2008, MTCA attorneys Daniel Meyer and Ellis Levin filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, saying it “is substantially insufficient in law.”

The $40 million in damages, they wrote, exceeded the amount allowed by the Circuit Court of Cook County. Also, because many of the counts in the complaint are covered by the Illinois Human Rights Act, the motion points out they cannot be heard by any state court – and that the complaint “is neither plain nor concise.”

“While the plaintiffs do plead some ‘facts’ in the complaint, the story told by those ‘facts’ is difficult if not impossible to discern,” wrote Meyer and Levin. “Further, one cannot determine which defendants are party to which counts. Moreover, there does not appear to be any relation between the ‘facts’ set forth in the False Charges and Abuse of Process counts and the remaining counts of the complaint.” Meyer (far left) and Levin.

“Instead, the complaint, which contains less than six pages of substance yet contains 29 purported causes of action, is pleaded entirely in conclusions.”

On November 19, Judge William Maddux ordered the case transferred for trial to the Municipal Department, a Circuit Court division that normally hears civil cases seeking $30,000 or less.

The lawsuit was dismissed on December 23, 2008. Circuit Court Judge Lawrence O’Gara called the complaint “improper” and gave the plaintiffs 28 days to re-file, preferably with the assistance of an attorney.

While listening to her describe how she filed the lawsuit, O’Gara asked Mathers if she had any legal training. She said she had no training and had not taken any classes. Mathers expressed frustration to the judge, telling O’Gara, “We’ve been bamboozled throughout this process.”

Judge O’Gara scolded Mathers for filing a $40 million lawsuit without an attorney but wished her “good luck” before dismissing the complaint. ”You seem to have a grip on what you need to do,” he told her.

Lawsuit merit aside, $40 million was not the most for which MTCA had been sued. On April 26, 2004, Edie Mathers sued MTCA and then-president James Curtin for $1 billion. That lawsuit was dismissed on July 19, 2004.