advertisement

Legal woes resurface for downtown Elgin Dream Hall

The owner of a downtown Elgin rental hall faces new legal trouble after a judge ruled Dream Hall 51 must pay a contractor it owes and it faces a refiled lawsuit from a former tenant.

Kane County Judge Divya Sarang ruled Dream Hall 51 LLC, owned by Kevin Echevarria, must pay nearly $18,000 to a Downers Grove elevator company for repairs made in 2018. And former tenant Elgin Area Table refiled a suit involving a 2018 lease agreement dispute, arguing it was paid only $15,000 of a $35,000 settlement.

Echevarria has worked since 2017 to convert the former downtown J.C. Penney building into Dream Hall 51, an 18,000-square-foot venue offering three tiers of space for dining and food vendors.

Echevarria said this week the Elgin Area Table case had been dismissed and that he was never served with the lawsuit by Carlsen Elevator of Downers Grove.

In 2018, Dream Hall had a dispute with a tenant, the Elgin Area Taproom, which does business under the umbrella of the Elgin Area Table LLC and later moved out. In a November 2018 settlement, Dream Hall agreed to pay Elgin Area Table a total of $35,000, beginning with a $15,000 installment on Nov. 20, 2018, and $5,000 installments each month for the next four months.

Echevarria paid the initial $15,000 installment but has not made any $5,000 installment payments. In January 2019, a judge ordered Echevarria to pay the remaining $20,000.

But the suit was later dismissed on a technicality involving court jurisdiction. Last week, Elgin Area Table filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Dream Hall, PKE Enterprises and Echevarria, essentially restarting efforts to enforce the settlement.

"No subsequent installments were made," said Jeffrey Meyer, attorney for Elgin Area Table. "(And) $20,000 is still owed."

The two sides are due in court Feb. 6 on the breach of contract lawsuit.

Echevarria said he was a small business trying to make it and was trying to move forward from the Elgin Taproom matter. "We've had some challenges," he said.

Echevarria's former attorney, John Burke, had no comment on the most recent litigation; Echevarria said his new attorney would contact the Daily Herald, but the attorney never did.

Court records show Dream Hall was served Dec. 12 with the Carlsen Elevator lawsuit, which sought payment for six repair visits to Dream Hall from February 2018 through June 2018.

No one from Dream Hall showed up at a court hearing last week and a judgment of $17,578.20 plus attorney fees was entered against Dream Hall, court records show.

Elgin Area Taproom moving out after settling lawsuit with landlord

Elgin's Dream Hall owner ordered to pay $20,000

Owner to close Elgin restaurant, citing dispute with Dream Hall landlord

Elgin native brings his cabaret show to Lounge 51

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.