May 22nd 2026

CHICAGO – Senior Partner John Lynch and Associate Ryan Valdez recently secured a complete defense verdict in a property damage and common law nuisance matter between neighboring homeowners in suburban Chicago. The plaintiff alleged that alterations to the defendants' property caused water migration and subsequent mold formation, initially demanding $4,000,000 in total damages. Following a trial, the jury found in favor of the defense, awarding the plaintiff $0.

Overview of the Case

The dispute arose in a suburban Chicago neighborhood, where the plaintiff asserted negligence and common law nuisance theories against her neighbors. She claimed that the defendants modified their property in a manner that redirected surface water directly into her home, resulting in severe structural issues and toxic mold accumulation.

Key Difference-Makers

• John Lynch - Chicago Senior Partner
• Ryan Valdez - Chicago Associate

Claims Made Against Our Client

The plaintiff claimed that the defendants’ replacement of their driveway, re-grading of their backyard, and alleged building code violations relative to a detached garage caused water to flood the crawlspace of her home. Based on these allegations, she sought a massive $4,000,000 monetary award to cover property remediation, damages, and severe health complications she characterized as "sick building syndrome."

The core of the plaintiff's argument relied on historical village correspondence, photographs of the pooling water, and a series of independent expert evaluations conducted on the property over several years to demonstrate a direct causal link between the driveway modifications and the mold formation.

Defense Strategy

This case was inherited from another firm just eight weeks before the scheduled trial date. The defense team immediately launched a targeted, aggressive pretrial motion strategy designed to exploit major procedural gaps left by the plaintiff.

Lynch and Valdez recognized that while the plaintiff had hired experts to evaluate her home, there had been a failure to properly disclose those experts or develop a clear damages theory prior to trial. The defense filed a series of comprehensive motions in limine to bar the plaintiff's experts from testifying and to strictly limit any other witness commentary regarding causation. The court granted nearly all of the defense's motions, dismantling the plaintiff's ability to present expert technical backing to the jury.

Left without expert support, the plaintiff attempted to reconstruct the case mid-trial by relying heavily on adverse testimony from the defendants themselves, village correspondence, and photographic evidence. The defense systematically countered these efforts by demonstrating that the plaintiff's water damage issues long pre-dated any property alterations made by their clients. Furthermore, the defense attacked the plaintiff’s credibility by establishing that her claims were fueled by personal animosity stemming from a rapidly deteriorating neighborly relationship rather than objective physical evidence.

Impact on Final Outcome

The strategic pretrial positioning proved decisive. The common law nuisance theory was dismissed well before the case ever reached a jury. At trial, the jury focused directly on the plaintiff's systemic lack of evidence regarding both causation and actual damages. The defense's meticulous enforcement of the court's pretrial evidentiary limitations left no viable mechanism to prove the claims. The jury returned a complete defense verdict, completely shielding QPWB’s clients from a $4,000,000 demand.

Unique Aspects of the Case

The most distinct element of this litigation was the compressed timeline, with the file being handed over to QPWB a mere eight weeks before trial. Despite the late stage of the proceedings, Mr. Lynch and Mr. Valdez quickly analyzed years of property records and successfully executed a multilayered motion strategy that severely curtailed the plaintiff's case before opening statements even began.

Predicting the Future

This victory highlights QPWB's specialized capability to step into complex, late-stage litigation, get up to speed quickly under tight deadlines, and deliver successful results. This verdict underscores the critical value of rigorous motion practice, reassuring future clients that we can seamlessly safeguard their interests even when taking over files shortly before trial.

Key Actions in This Case

• Rapid File Assimilation: Demonstrated operational speed and effectiveness by quickly mastering a complex, multi-million dollar property dispute to achieve complete trial-readiness within an eight-week window.
  
• Pretrial Motion Mastery: Drafted and secured critical motions in limine that barred the plaintiff’s undisclosed experts, eliminating the foundational causation arguments against our clients.
  
• Strategic Evidence Deconstruction: Used the plaintiff's admissions and historical property timelines to establish that the water issues pre-dated the clients' construction and were amplified by neighborly bias.

About QPWB

Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. is one of the fastest growing law firms in the United States providing a different focus on what it means to provide responsive service to clients and team members. With a national presence of 57 offices and a comprehensive scope of over 130 practice areas, QPWB delivers legal representation in litigation, regulatory, and corporate matters to a diverse range of industries. This scope and rapid expansion has attracted unique legal talent from all different backgrounds and experiences which has made them the largest minority-owned law firm in the country.