HeplerBroom attorneys recently prevailed in a complex commercial lease dispute when the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court upheld a jury verdict in favor of the firm’s client. MKM Oil, Inc. and Fast Break, LLC v. Welk, 2025 IL App (4th) 240284-U.

Welk, a large real estate developer who owned a gasoline station in the Village of Morton, refused to allow the firm’s client—who leased the station—to assign the sublease to Travel Centers of America. In exchange for his consent, the developer made an ever-expanding series of demands. (He initially sought $75,000 for allegedly overdue property repairs, which soon escalated to include reimbursement of his attorneys’ fees, and ultimately ballooned to $232,900 in claimed repair costs, figures the firm’s client vigorously disputed.)

After the sublease assignment collapsed, the firm’s client (Fast Break) and its sublessee (MKM Oil) sued the developer in Tazewell County Circuit Court. Plaintiffs asserted that the developer’s unreasonable refusal to consent to the assignment constituted a breach of the lease and tortious interference with business expectancy. Following a jury trial, the jury found in favor of the firm’s client and awarded compensatory damages, prejudgment interest, and $250,000 in punitive damages. Defendant appealed.

On appeal, defendant contended that the jury’s verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence and should be overturned due to alleged evidentiary errors and improper jury instructions. The Appellate Court rejected those arguments, accepted HeplerBroom’s position in full, and affirmed the jury’s damages award in its entirety. The court also ordered defendant to compensate the firm for reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in defending the verdict on appeal.

Thomas Wilson, a partner in the firm’s Springfield office, represented Fast Break in the trial court and at the jury trial. Irina Dmitrieva, a partner in the firm’s Chicago office, briefed the appeal.