A Chicago attorney and his client were ordered to split a $75,000 bill for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to a lawsuit against the Chicago Transit Authority, while the lawyer faces an additional $75,000 sanction for discovery misconduct, a federal judge ruled last week while also dismissing the case.
The total bill for the plaintiff’s attorney, Timothy A. Duffy, a solo practitioner in Lake Forest in the North Shore suburb of Chicago, exceeded $112,350.