On October 20, 2016, TDR partner Caesar Tabet was quoted by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin in an article about the Illinois Appellate Court opinion in People ex. rel. Beeler, Schad and Diamond, P.C. v. Relax the Back Corp., 2016 IL App (1st) 151580. The Appellate Court’s opinion exonerated TDR’s client of all liability under the Illinois False Claims Act in connection with allegations that TDR’s client improperly did not pay sales tax on Internet and mail-order catalog sales. At trial, the court rejected approximately 95% of the claims against TDR’s client, and on appeal the Appellate Court rejected the remaining 5%, leaving TDR’s client with no liability whatsoever.
Regarding the Appellate Court’s opinion, Tabet states that it is “thorough, comprehensive and consistent with well-established federal and state law under the federal False Claims Act and the Illinois False Claims Act and constitutional principles that limit taxation on the internet,” and that it “will be very helpful to the trial courts that are still dealing with potentially hundreds or thousands of similar cases that essentially are tax cases brought by private attorneys under the False Claims Act,” because it will “help those courts substantially narrow and limit these hundreds or thousands of other pending cases.”
TDR partners Caesar Tabet and Daniel Konieczny tried the case and argued the appeal.