Cameron & Kane, LLC File Defamation Lawsuit Against Joe Berrios on Behalf of Fritz Kaegi

Yesterday, on behalf of our client Frederick “Fritz” Kaegi, Cameron & Kane, LLC filed a defamation lawsuit against Cook County Assessor and Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Berrios as well as Berrios’ committee for reelection. The lawsuit arises from a series of radio and television political advertisements published by Berrios’ committee which state, among other things, that (a) Kaegi, in his capacity as an investment fund’s manager, personally invested in private for-profit prison companies; and (b) Kaegi personally profited from said investments.

Cameron & Kane, LLC’s lawsuit alleges not only that these statements are false, but also that the Berrios’ committee either knew the statements to be false or acted with reckless disregard of their falsity. In support, the lawsuit’s complaint attaches a host of publicly available documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission the fund’s investments and an affidavit from Kaegi himself, both of which show that the fund never invested in private for-profit prison companies during Kaegi’s tenure.

CBS Chicago reported on the lawsuit the same night it was filed. Politifact also ran an article on the advertisements, rating them “mostly false.”

The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Law Division and its case number is 2018-L-000223.