Antonio DeBlazio

Antonio DeBlasio

Founder & Manager

Tel. (630) 560.1124
E-mail: deblasio@dgllc.net

 

Antonio DeBlasio is the founder and managing member of the firm. Mr. DeBlasio is an experienced litigator who puts his clients first. He has advised individuals, business executives, for profit and not-for-profit companies and government bodies on the prosecution and defense of complex civil and business litigation matters.

Antonio DeBlasio has been selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer in Business Litigation on ten separate occasions in 2018 and 2014-2022. Only 5% of Illinois attorneys receive this distinction from Illinois Super Lawyers®. Clients he has served on the plaintiff’s side of cases have recovered over $90 million. Clients he has served on the defense side have avoided millions in potential liability.

Mr. DeBlasio has successfully prosecuted and defended matters in many adversarial settings, including state and federal courts in Illinois, Arizona, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and Pennsylvania, arbitration and mediation matters before JAMS, the American Arbitration Association and the American Health Lawyers Association, as well as the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board and the Illinois Court of Claims.

Tony has represented clients from a multitude of industry sectors, including, health care, technology, communications, financial, education, real estate, manufacturing, construction, management firms, consulting firms, not for profits, religious organizations, as well as foreign and domestic government entities. The breadth of his experience is evidenced by the representation of foreign clients’ interests in the United States, as well as the fact that he has served as a Special Assistant Attorney General on behalf of an Illinois Governor, as special outside counsel to the Illinois State Board of Education, and as counsel to a receiver appointed by a federal court in an SEC action involving a massive Ponzi scheme.

Prior to starting the firm, Tony was a partner in the Commercial Litigation Group of one of Chicago’s largest law firms (Gardner, Carton & Douglas n/k/a Drinker Biddle & Reath). Tony then served as a litigation partner at a small, boutique law firm in DuPage County, Illinois that focused on representing government entities.

Tony has four children, two by marriage to his lovely wife Jenni (all of whom cross-examine him regularly). Tony is an avid fan of the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Bears and the Purdue Boilermakers. Tony enjoys spending time with his wife, children and family.  He also enjoys traveling, biking and anything outdoors, as well making homemade wine and sauce (not gravy), savoring a good meal, and trying to hit his driver in the fairway.

Reported Court Decisions

  • A Plus Janitorial Co. v. Group Fox, Inc., 2013 IL App (1st) 120245, 988 N.E.2d 178 (1st App. Court 2013) (Illinois Appellate Court affirmed dismissal of lawsuit against our client, a former employee sued for allegedly violating an employment agreement after dissolution of the employer company).
  • Zic v. Italian Gov’t Travel Office, 149 F. Supp. 2d 473 (N.D. Ill. 2001) (J. Bucklo) (granting dismissal of fraud and unjust enrichment claims).
  • Zic v. Italian Gov’t Travel Office, 130 F. Supp. 2d 991 (N.D. Ill. 2001) (J. Bucklo) (federal court in Chicago granted dismissal of fraud, discrimination, civil conspiracy, declaratory judgment and specific performance claims against Italian government agency and officers).
  • FTC v. Freeman Hospital, 911 F. Supp. 1213 (W.D. Missouri 1995) (federal district court refused to enter preliminary injunction against hospital client sued by Federal Trade Commission for alleged antitrust violations).
  • FTC v. Freeman Hospital, 69 F. 3d 260 (8th 1995) (federal appellate court affirmed decision of Missouri district court denying preliminary injunction against hospital client sued by Federal Trade Commission for alleged antitrust violations).
  • General Ass’n of Regular Baptist Churches v. Scott, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 197422 (N.D. Ill. 2012) (obtained federal court judgment of $404,721.78 for religious organization against ponzi-scheme operator of stop-loss health insurer and defeated attempt to compel arbitration pursuant to Federal Arbitration Act).
  • General Ass’n of Regular Baptist Churches v. Scott, 549 Fed. Appx. 531, 533, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 23099 (7th 2013) (federal appellate court affirmed decision in favor of our client refusing to force arbitration of fraud claim).
  • Castellanos v. City of Elmhurst, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77209, 2006 WL 2861953 (N.D. Ill. 2006) (federal court granted City of Elmhurst’s motion to dismiss civil rights claims for failure to train police officers and civil conspiracy pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and state law claims for unlawful search, seizure, arrest and invasion of privacy).
  • Riemer v. Chase Bank United States, N.A., 274 F.R.D. 637 (N.D. Ill. 2011) (J. Cole) (federal court granted client’s motion to strike affirmative defenses asserted by Chase Bank in client’s Truth in Lending lawsuit relating to unauthorized credit card charges)
  • Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Henry Bros. Constr. Mgmt. Servs., LLC, 877 F. Supp. 2d 614 (N.D. Ill. 2012) (J. Dow) (federal court granted construction management company’s motion to dismiss negligent misrepresentation claim).
  • Paragon Micro, Inc. v. Bundy, 22 F. Supp. 3d 880, 884 (N.D. Ill. 2014) (federal court granted clients’ motion to compel arbitration of claims alleging destruction of data in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030, fraudulent computer tampering in violation of 720 ILCS 5/17-51; misappropriation of trade secrets in violation of the Illinois Trade Secrets Act, 765 ILCS 1065/1, deceptive trade practices in violation of the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 815 ILCS 510/2, and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, 815 ILCS 505/1)
  • Kougias v. Ill. Dep’t of Human Servs., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27324, 2011 WL 1004278 (N.D. Ill. 2011) (federal court granted motion for summary judgment defeating lawsuit filed by IDHS nurse alleging retaliation for exercising First Amendment right to complain about physician’s conduct at the Illinois Department of Human Services).
  • Kougias v. Ill. Dep’t of Human Servs., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98864, 2012 WL 2920963 (N.D. Ill. 2012) (federal court granted motion to dismiss claim alleging denial of First Amendment right to exercise religion in the workplace).
  • MKV Invs. LLC v. Sierra Consulting Inc., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21515 (federal court refused to dismiss claim for specific performance filed by owner of commercial condominium against contract buyer that refused to close on purchase; favorable settlement after court ruling).
  • Northwestern Univ. v. City of Evanston, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17104, 2002 WL 31027981 (N.D. Ill. 2002) (J. Aspen) (federal court denied City’s motion for summary judgment on University’s claim that City engaged in vindictive action in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and tried to impose unconstitutional conditions on the University demanding that University waive its tax-exempt status and make millions in voluntary financial contributions to the City in order to be released from the restrictions of an historic district; case settled after court ruling).