Christopher R. Johnston, Shareholder

Christopher Johnston has an extensive and varied trial practice in civil litigation. He concentrates his practice in commercial and injury litigation including premises liability, insurance fraud investigations, automobile, construction, real estate and probate matters.  Mr. Johnston is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the Federal District Courts for Northern Illinois and Eastern Wisconsin. He has tried cases to verdict in Law and  Chancery in state court in Cook, Lake, Grundy, Kankakee and Will counties in Illinois as well as in Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. During his 30 years of practice, he has tried more than 75 cases to jury verdict.  

Mr. Johnston defends businesses and individuals in liability matters.  He handles typical personal injury cases with minimal damages, as well as complex multi-party disputes.  He regularly handles lawsuits involving false arrest, malicious prosecution, assault and battery, and property security.   To illustrate Mr. Johnston’s varied experience, the following is a sample of recent successes he has achieved: (prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes)

• Successfully defended the owner of an apartment building from a claim for fatal injuries due to a fall in an interior stairway brought by the Estate of the deceased tenant. Plaintiff asked the jury for $3 million.  The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant.
• Successfully defended a general contractor from a serious injury claim due to a fall behind a restaurant built by the defendant.
• Obtained a not guilty verdict for a homeowner, sued by contractor due to a fall from the homeowner’s garage roof (during construction) resulting in significant leg fractures.
• Successfully defended an apartment building owner in a wrongful death claim where the 30-year-old decedent left surviving two young children.  Using the testimony of expert toxicologist and biomechanical engineer the defense successfully contended that the decedent, whose body was found in a gangway near by the defendants apartment building, and just below a handrail that was substandard under the Chicago Municipal Code, could have fallen and sustained his fatal injuries due to causes other than the substandard handrail.
• Obtained a not guilty verdict for a 54-year-old orchestra leader who was sued by an 85-year-old after an altercation (over handicapped parking space) resulted in the plaintiff suffering a fractured hip and sustaining over $90,000 in medical bills.  The defense successfully argued that the altercation was instigated by the plaintiff and that the defendant was acting with reasonable force to defend himself.

Defending businesses, individuals and their insurers from fraudulent bodily injury and property claims is a particular focus of Mr. Johnston’s practice.  In addition to regularly assisting in the investigation of fire and theft claims, Mr. Johnston advises clients on medical fraud, insurance coverage and “staged” and “caused” accident situations. In addition to defending insurers against fraudulent insurance claims, Mr. Johnston handles all areas of first party insurance practice including the defense of uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.

Mr. Johnston is sought-after on a regular basis as an arbitrator in first party insurance claims. He is AV^® Preeminent^™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Memberships

• Illinois State Bar Association
• Chicago Bar Association
• Illinois Chapter, National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators (NSPII) (President-2003; Vice President-2002)

Professional Activities

• Co-author: "Discovery In Automobile Accident Cases," Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 1987

News

• Not Guilty Verdict in Premises Liability Death Claim