Chicago Developer Marty Paris Sues Lawyers After Jail Time

River Forest developer Marty Paris is once again in court, this time not as a defendant, but a plaintiff.

Paris sued two of his former divorce attorneys for malpractice, accusing them of abandoning him on the eve of trial and later conspiring to collect fees that helped land him in jail.

Paris, founder of Sedgwick Development, sued attorneys Brian Hurst and Olga Stambler, along with their firm Hurst, Robin, Kay & Allen, as well as attorney Howard Rosenfeld and his firm Rosenfeld Farmer, the Cook County Record reported.

The lawsuit alleges a breach of legal ethics, claiming the lawyers improperly switched sides and worked against Paris after having previously represented him in his long-running divorce case.

Paris claims Hurst backed out of representing him just before trial in 2022, leaving him without counsel during a critical phase. That trial ended with a judgment that left Paris on the hook for millions of dollars in legal fees and settlement costs — including $1.19 million to his ex-wife and another $1 million in legal bills.

He was jailed three times during the proceedings, including over the 2023 holiday season, after judges found him in civil contempt for not paying court-ordered fees.

The lawsuit argues Paris was unfairly targeted and the jailings were part of a “debtors’ prison” scheme meant to squeeze him. The financial demands far exceeded his liquid assets, and revenue from his developments had been mischaracterized as personal wealth, it states. Judges disagreed, estimating his net worth at more than $20 million.

The lawsuit adds a new wrinkle: Paris alleges that Hurst not only joined efforts to collect legal fees from him, but also began representing Rosenfeld — a court-appointed attorney for Paris’ children — in a separate claim for $229,000. That violated legal ethics rules, Paris alleges, since Hurst had previously been his attorney and did not disclose his prior relationship with Rosenfeld.

The allegations follow ongoing legal and financial troubles for Paris, who is also fighting Republic Bank over $52 million in loan defaults tied to troubled River North and South Loop housing developments.

A bankruptcy court dismissed Paris’ personal bankruptcy case in January, removing protections that had previously shielded him from creditors. One lender, BDS IIII Mortgage Capital, has since demanded nearly $10 million from Paris, according to a February court filing.

Paris is representing himself in the lawsuit. Hurst and the other defendants have yet to respond in court.

— Judah Duke

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the properties involved in the $52 million of Republic Bank loans in default.