Conlon Wins Suit Over Chicago Chop House Sale

A judge has served up a victory to a real estate entrepreneur who said he was cut out of a deal to buy a River North steakhouse.

Sean Conlon, founder of the Chicago-based commercial lender Conlon & Co. and former host of the CNBC show “The Deed:Chicago,” along with partner Steve Horvath, sought co-investors to share equity when looking to buy the Chicago Chop House in 2016, according to Conlon’s 2018 suit and a ruling this spring from Cook County circuit court.

They connected with restaurateurs Matthew McCahill and Phil Martin, who signed a confidentiality and non-circumvention agreement to evaluate the investment in 2017. The agreement stipulated that they couldn’t use the information Conlon and Horvath provided them for any other purpose .

Conlon and Horvath ultimately reached a deal to buy the restaurant and real estate for $5.9 million, then terminated the contract but remained interested in re-engaging with the then-owners and purchasing the assets, according to court records.

Days later, Martin contacted the owners’ broker about purchasing the property and made an offer without Conlon and Horvath’s authorization.

Conlon sued in 2018, accusing Martin of breach of fiduciary duty. Martin and McCahill argued in response that Conlon couldn’t claim that there was a joint venture, and that Conlon and Horvath’s termination of the purchase agreement terminated the confidentiality agreement.

In her ruling, Cook County circuit judge Sophia Hall cited the terms of the confidentiality agreement, which stated that the only way for the prohibitions to be lifted was if Martin and McCahill negotiated compensation for Conlon and Horvath, going on to say that the agreement was enforceable and was violated. Hall’s ruling also cites text conversations among the parties that showed that they committed to a joint venture.

An attorney for the defendants didn’t respond to a request for comment.