Levin case confounds condo owner

26-Jan-12 – A lawsuit currently pending in Cook County Circuit Court, defended by judicial candidate and condo attorney Ellis Levin, is frustrating a Chicago family trying to collect 18 months of what they say is unpaid rent.

Susan Coveny, owner of a condo unit on East Ontario Street that overlooks Lake Michigan, filed her lawsuit on February 24, 2011 for $10,325. She and her daughter, Mindy Cain, blame nearly a year of delays on Levin, saying he has requested a new judge four times, claiming each one is “biased” against his client.

More recently, the renter moved for judgment against Coveny (left), claiming she is trying to evict him because he filed complaints against her with the City of Chicago.

The motion is based on the Illinois Citizen Participation Act, enacted in 2008 to help protect people and organizations threatened with litigation after participating in a government process.

Coveny denies there is any basis for the renter’s complaints, such as electrical service not working correctly, and says when she tried to send maintenance personnel to his condo unit, he would not let them in. When Coveny herself came to the unit to try to discuss the unpaid rent, a “cease and desist” letter arrived the next day from Levin, who claimed she was harassing the renter.

“I’m just a landlord who wants my rent,” says Coveny.

Levin has told them he will seek attorney fees in the case against Coveny, saying in front of her, according to her daughter and confirmed by Coveny, “that he was going to get the rich real estate lady.”

Nearly $30,000 is now owed in unpaid rent, claims Coveny, who also owns a real estate company in Long Grove, Illinois, northwest of Chicago. “I don’t know where the end is. He could live there indefinitely, the way Ellis Levin is positioning him.”

Her attorney, Anthony Sciara, declined to comment, as did Levin. The next court date is February 15.

Levin is one of six candidates for Circuit Court Judge in the county’s 8th sub-circuit.

 Related story: Levin faces serious competition in judge’s election