Illinois Courts Define Acts Constituting Fraudulent Intent
Illinois courts have held that fraud consists of anything calculated to deceive, including positive acts, omissions, concealment, breach of legal or equitable duty, and breach of a trust or confidence. Rybak v. Provenzale, 181 Ill.App.3d 884, 899 (2d Dist. 1989). The basic concept of fraud is founded on conduct calculated to deceive. Illinois Jurisprudence, Personal Injury and Torts § 13:01. Fraud has been said to comprise anything calculated to deceive and may consist of a single act, a single suppression of truth, suggestion of falsity, or direct falsehood, innuendo, look, or gesture. Id. A fraudulent misrepresentation may consist of actions, words, or other conduct that constitutes a statement of fact. Id. A representation is fraudulent when, to the knowledge or belief of its utterer, it is false in the sense in which it is intended to be understood by the recipient. Miller v. Lockport Realty Group, Inc., 377 Ill.App.3d 369, 377 (1 Dist. 2007).
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Litigators, Walid J. Tamari and Grant Blumenthal, are co-chairs of the firm's commercial litigation practice group.
