Introduction
Seth Horvath focuses his practice on trial and appellate litigation in state and federal courts nationwide. He represents a wide variety of clients in complex commercial disputes across multiple industries.
My focus
My practice includes three main areas:
Commercial Litigation
My commercial litigation experience is wide-ranging. From single-witness administrative hearings to complex, multiparty trials to summary proceedings on issues of law, I represent clients in the real-estate, financial-services, manufacturing, legal, and medical industries, among others. Each commercial case is unique, and I enjoy the challenge of helping clients identify creative and effective legal solutions tailored to meet their business goals.
Employment Litigation
My employment practice includes representing employers in restrictive-covenant disputes, trade-secret cases, and discrimination proceedings before federal and state agencies. Whether the matter involves prelitigation counseling or active litigation, I am familiar with all aspects of these disputes and the issues that need to be addressed to resolve them successfully for businesses.
Appellate Litigation
Appellate advocacy starts in the trial court. I counsel clients on preserving trial issues for appeal and pursuing interlocutory appeals that resolve key legal issues before final judgment. After judgment, I help clients identify their strongest appellate issues and create persuasive arguments to present those issues to reviewing courts.
Representative experience
Clerkships
Before entering private practice, I was a law clerk for Justice Rita B. Garman of the Illinois Supreme Court.
Trial court litigation
- Representing a medical-device manufacturer in a complex commercial arbitration over the interpretation of its marketing agreement
- Representing the principals of an investment company in a three-week bench trial over the enforcement of their separation agreement with a former employee
- Representing a property owner in a year-long bench trial over the condemnation of subsidized housing by a Chicago-area municipality
- Representing a plaintiff in a three-week jury trial over civil-rights violations by a municipality and its employees
- Litigating third-party professional-liability claims on behalf of a client whose actuaries improperly advised it on computing benefits under an ERISA-qualified benefit plan
- Litigating breach-of-fiduciary-duty and fraud claims for a not-for-profit seniors-care organization against two of its former executives
- Litigating a substantial breach-of-contract dispute for a large law firm against a former municipal client
- Counseling members of a real-estate-development venture through multiple lawsuits involving their former partners, lender, and subcontractors
- Counseling a Chicago-area bank through complex multi-property residential-foreclosure litigation
- Representing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in negligence and breach-of-fiduciary-duty lawsuits against former officers and directors of failed banks
Appeals
- Accel Entertainment Gaming, LLC v. Village of Elmwood Park, 2015 IL App (1st) 143822 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 2015) (challenge to constitutionality of local ordinance regulating video gaming)
- Hyperactive Gaming, LLC v. Williamson Post, American Legion, 2015 IL App (5th) 140312-U (Ill. App. Ct. 5th Dist. 2015) (dispute over validity of assignment of video-gaming contract)
- Sarvis v. BMO Harris Bank N.A., 619 Fed. Appx. 520 (7th Cir. 2015) (dispute over standing to litigate claims on behalf of trust beneficiary)
- Schaumburg Bank & Trust Co. v. Alsterda, 815 F.3d 306 (7th Cir. 2016) (defense of bankruptcy trustee’s right to retain settlement proceeds against creditor’s claim)
- Moline School District No. 40 Board of Education v. Quinn, 2016 IL 119704 (Ill. S. Ct. 2016) (challenge to constitutionality of state law creating tax exemption for aviation-support-service provider)
- Carle Foundation v. Cunningham Township,., 2017 IL 120427 (Ill. S. Ct. 2017) (amicus curiae; challenge to constitutionality of state law stating standards for charitable property-tax exemption for not-for-profit hospitals)
- Grant Park Commodities, LLC v. Attefjord, 2017 IL App (1st) 161277-U (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 2017) (appeal from jury trial on breach-of-contract and tortious-interference-with-contract claims)
- United Investment Group, LLC v. Beggars Pizza Franchise Corporation, 2017 IL App (1st) 162275-U (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 2017) (appeal from summary judgment on breach-of-contract claim)
- Good v. Iowa Department of Human Services, 924 N.W.2d 853 (Iowa Sup. Ct. 2019) (challenge to legality and constitutionality of gender-identity-based restriction on Medicaid coverage)
- Frank v. Gaos, 139 S. Ct. 1041 (2019) (amicus curiae; dispute over cy pres remedy in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) class-action settlement)
- Pepper Construction Co. v. Palmolive Tower Condominiums, LLC, 2021 IL App (1st) 200753 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 2021) (appeal from bench trial on breach-of-contract and unjust-enrichment claims)
- SunAmerica Housing Fund 1050 v. Pathway of Pontiac, Inc., 33 F. 4th 872 (6th Cir. 2022) (appeal from summary judgment on claims challenging general partners' decision to exercise right of first refusal in partnership agreement involving low-income-housing tax-credit program)
- State of Montana v. Montana Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, No. OP 22–0552, 2023 WL 142673 (Mont. S. Ct. Jan. 10, 2023) (challenge to legality and constitutionality of statute and regulations requiring surgical procedure to change sex designation on birth certificate)
- Newmark Group Inc. v. Avison Young (Canada) Inc., 293 A.3d 394 (D.C. Ct. App. Apr. 21, 2023) (appeal from summary judgment on claims for trade-secret misappropriation and tortious interference with contracts and business expectancies)
- Vasquez v. Iowa Department of Human Services, 990 N.W.2d 661 (Iowa S. Ct. 2023) (challenge to legality and constitutionality of gender-identity-based statutory and regulatory restrictions on Medicaid coverage)
- Carle Foundation v. Illinois Department of Revenue, 2023 IL App (4th) 200121 (Ill. App. Ct. 4th Dist. 2023) (amicus curiae; appeal from bench trial granting charitable property-tax exemptions for not-for-profit hospital)
- Hooker v. Hooker, No. 22–1914, 2023 WL 5923984 (7th Cir. Sept. 12, 2023) (appeal from order remanding improperly removed case from federal court to state court and awarding attorney’s fees and costs)
Looking ahead
Discovery analytics continue to evolve at a rapid pace. More so than ever before, success in litigation will be dictated by leveraging data early in a case through conceptual analytics and technology-assisted review.
/Insights
- Presenter, Nixon Peabody LLP Procure and Protect Presentation Series, December 16, 2021, “Contracting in a Supply-Chain-Constrained Environment”
- Presenter, National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee, September 4, 2019, “American Bankers Association v. National Credit Union Administration”
- Presenter, Nixon Peabody LLP Annual CLE DAY, June 5, 2019, “Protecting the Attorney–Client Privilege and Work-Product Doctrine”
- Presenter, National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors, 2018 NASCUS State System Summit, July 17, 2018, “So It’s Come to This: Suing and Being Sued in the Digital Age”
- Presenter, Nixon Peabody LLP Annual CLE Day, June 7, 2018, “Tricks of the Trade Secret: Protecting Your Company in Trade-Secret Litigation”
- Presenter, National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors, 2017 NASCUS State System Summit, September 1, 2017, “Banks v. Credit Unions: Old Rivalry, New Developments”
- Presenter, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, 2017 Credit Union Examiners’ Conference, November 30, 2016, “Red Flags for Regulators”
- Presenter, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, 2016 Illinois Bank Examiners’ Conference, October 18, 2016, “Red Flags for Regulators”
- Presenter, National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors, 2016 NASCUS State System Summit, October 5, 2016, “Red Flags for Regulators”
- Coauthor, Trends in charity-care legislation and litigation, September 28, 2023, Nixon Peabody LLP Healthcare Alert
- Author, New developments in Illinois’s COVID-19 litigation, June 8, 2020, Nixon Peabody LLP Commercial Litigation Alert
- Author, Illinois’s plan to reopen, May 15, 2020, Nixon Peabody LLP Commercial Litigation Alert
- Author, Illinois’s coronavirus (COVID-19) stay-at-home order upheld by federal judge as other lawsuits proceed in state court, May 6, 2020, Nixon Peabody LLP Commercial Litigation Alert
- Author, The legality of Illinois’s stay-at-home order: A second, broader lawsuit challenges the governor’s authority to impose coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions on Illinois residents, April 30, 2020, Nixon Peabody LLP Commercial Litigation Alert
- Author, Illinois trial court restricts enforcement of coronavirus (COVID-19) stay-at-home order, April 29, 2020, Nixon Peabody LLP Commercial Litigation Alert
- Coauthor, ABA v. NCUA: a split decision on expanded fields of membership for credit unions, April 18, 2018, Nixon Peabody LLP Commercial Litigation Alert
- Coauthor, ABA v. NCUA: the legality of expanded fields of membership for credit unions, August 22, 2017, Nixon Peabody LLP Commercial Litigation Alert
- Coauthor, Illinois Supreme Court revives charitable property-tax exemptions for Illinois hospitals under 2012 law declared unconstitutional in 2016, March 27, 2017, Nixon Peabody LLP Healthcare Litigation Alert
- Coauthor, ICBA v. NCUA: case dismissed, for now, February 21, 2017, Nixon Peabody LLP, Commercial Litigation Alert
- Coauthor, ICBA v. NCUA: the legality of relaxed restrictions on nonmember business lending, December 15, 2016, Nixon Peabody LLP Commercial Litigation Alert
- Author, "Disentangling the Eleventh Amendment and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Alternative Remedies for State-Initiated Disability Discrimination under Title I and Title II," University of Illinois Law Review 231, 2004
In the news
- Law360
Biggest Illinois decisions of 2024: A midyear report
July 12, 2024This article looks at some of the biggest Illinois decisions in the first half of 2024. Chicago Complex Disputes partner Seth Horvath provides third-party comments in the coverage, discussing two of the Illinois Supreme Court cases, Project44 Inc. v. FourKites Inc. and Waukegan Hospitality Group, LLC v. Stretch's Sports Bar & Grill Corp.
- Daily Montanan
ACLU Montana: Stop health department, DOJ from harm to transgender people
May 18, 2024This article covers a request for a preliminary injunction to stop enforcement of a rule preventing people who are transgender from amending their birth certificates and driver’s licenses without interference from the state of Montana. NP is mentioned in the coverage for working with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of New York to represent the plaintiffs in the case. The NP team includes partners Seth Horvath, Tina Solis, and Tom Hecht, and counsel Christie Kurow, all of the Chicago office and Complex Disputes practice.
- The Hill
Montana sued over refusal to amend transgender people’s identity documents
April 18, 2024The following article covers a class-action lawsuit filed by two transgender women who sued Montana and several state agencies over a policy that prohibits transgender people from amending the sex designation on their birth certificates to accurately reflect their gender identities. NP is mentioned in the coverage for working with the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Montana to represent the two plaintiffs. The NP team includes partners Seth Horvath, Tina Solis, and Tom Hecht, and counsel Christie Kurow, all of the Chicago office and Complex Disputes practice.
- Missoula Current
Transgender women file class-action suit against Montana
April 18, 2024The following article covers a class-action lawsuit filed by two transgender women who sued Montana and several state agencies over a policy that prohibits transgender people from amending the sex designation on their birth certificates to accurately reflect their gender identities. NP is mentioned in the coverage for working with the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Montana to represent the two plaintiffs. The NP team includes partners Seth Horvath, Tina Solis, and Tom Hecht, and counsel Christie Kurow, all of the Chicago office and Complex Disputes practice.
- Law360
Auto parts maker seeks to scrap $6M commission suit
Nov 6, 2023This article covers Italian auto parts maker Carbopress SpA’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by AutoTech Technology Development Inc. related to commissions allegedly owed for Carbopress’ relationship with General Motors. The article mentions Corporate partner Charles Bernardini and Complex Disputes partner Seth Horvath, both of Chicago, for representing Carbopress in the case.
- Iowa Public Radio
River to River
June 29, 2023This radio segment features an interview with Chicago Complex Disputes partners Seth Horvath and Tina Solis, who discuss recent rulings in several states related to bans on gender affirming care, the implications those rulings may have in Iowa, and the overall climate surrounding gender affirming care for transgender youth.
- Bloomberg Law
Iowa top court tosses attempt to revive Medicaid trans care ban
May 15, 2023This article covers the Iowa Supreme Court dismissing the state’s appeal of a ruling in Vasquez v. Iowa Department of Human Services which found the state’s ban on Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming surgery to be unconstitutional. The article mentions NP for representing the plaintiffs, two transgender Iowans, in the case. The NP team included Chicago partners Seth Horvath and Tina Solis of the Complex Disputes practice and Chicago partner Tom Hecht.
- Des Moines Register
Iowa Supreme Court to decide if Medicaid must cover gender transition surgery
Jan 19, 2023The following article covers Iowa Supreme Court oral arguments in the state’s appeal of a ruling that an amendment to the Iowa Civil Rights Act—which prohibited the use of Medicaid coverage for gender affirmation surgery—violated the Iowa Constitution. The articles quote Chicago Complex Disputes partner Seth Horvath, who is providing pro bono legal representation for two transgender Iowans whose applications for Medicaid coverage for gender affirmation surgery were denied. The NP team also includes partners Tom Hecht, Tina Solis, and Bill Kirby; and associates Christie Kurow and Maggie Borse, all of the Chicago office and Complex Disputes practice.
- Courthouse News Service
Iowa seeks to reinstate ban on Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment surgery
Jan 18, 2023The following article covers Iowa Supreme Court oral arguments in the state’s appeal of a ruling that an amendment to the Iowa Civil Rights Act—which prohibited the use of Medicaid coverage for gender affirmation surgery—violated the Iowa Constitution. The articles quote Chicago Complex Disputes partner Seth Horvath, who is providing pro bono legal representation for two transgender Iowans whose applications for Medicaid coverage for gender affirmation surgery were denied. The NP team also includes partners Tom Hecht, Tina Solis, and Bill Kirby; and associates Christie Kurow and Maggie Borse, all of the Chicago office and Complex Disputes practice.
- Iowa Capital Dispatch
Iowa Supreme Court weighs transgender issue and civil rights protection
Jan 18, 2023The following article covers Iowa Supreme Court oral arguments in the state’s appeal of a ruling that an amendment to the Iowa Civil Rights Act—which prohibited the use of Medicaid coverage for gender affirmation surgery—violated the Iowa Constitution. The articles quote Chicago Complex Disputes partner Seth Horvath, who is providing pro bono legal representation for two transgender Iowans whose applications for Medicaid coverage for gender affirmation surgery were denied. The NP team also includes partners Tom Hecht, Tina Solis, and Bill Kirby; and associates Christie Kurow and Maggie Borse, all of the Chicago office and Complex Disputes practice.
- NBC Montana
Montana Supreme Court ruling upholds right for transgender birth certificate changes
Jan 10, 2023This article covers a Montana State Supreme Court ruling in the ongoing Marquez v. State of Montana case, which restores a 2017 rule allowing transgender people to change their sex designation on their birth certificates without requiring a court order stating they have received some undefined surgical treatment. The article mentions NP for bringing the initial suit alongside the ACLU Foundation and the ACLU of Montana. The NP team involved in the case includes Complex Disputes partners Seth Horvath and Tina Solis, and partner Tom Hecht, all of the Chicago office.
- Montana Right Now
Agencies file motion seeking clarification on preliminary injunction related to birth certificate law
This article covers a motion filed by NP and the ACLU of Montana asking the court to clarify in simple terms its preliminary injunction against a Montana state law restricting transgender people’s ability to change the sex designation on their birth certificates. The NP team involved in this matter includes Complex Disputes partners Seth Horvath and Tina Solis, partner Tom Hecht, and associate Christina Kurow, all of the Chicago office.June 8, 2022 - The Advocate
ACLU blasts Montana's delay on trans birth certificate order
This article highlights a claim by the ACLU of Montana and NP that the state of Montana is failing to comply with a recent court order blocking a state law that would restrict the ability of transgender people to change their gender designation on their birth certificates. The NP team involved in this matter includes Complex Dispute partners Seth Horvath and Tina Solis, partner Tom Hecht, and associate Christina Kurow, all of the Chicago office.May 23, 2022 - Washington Blade
Montana state court blocks anti-trans birth certificate law
The following article covers NP’s and the ACLU of Montana’s success in securing a preliminary injunction against a Montana state law restricting transgender people’s ability to change the sex designation on their birth certificates, including a quote from Chicago Complex Disputes partner Seth Horvath on the positive impacts of the ruling. The NP team also includes Chicago Complex Disputes partner Tina Solis, partner Tom Hecht, and associate Christina Kurow.April 21, 2022 - NBC Montana
Injunction granted in case challenging birth certificate law
The following article covers NP’s and the ACLU of Montana’s success in securing a preliminary injunction against a Montana state law restricting transgender people’s ability to change the sex designation on their birth certificates, including a quote from Chicago Complex Disputes partner Seth Horvath on the positive impacts of the ruling. The NP team also includes Chicago Complex Disputes partner Tina Solis, partner Tom Hecht, and associate Christina Kurow.April 21, 2022 - Law360
5 things to know about 7th Circuit Judge Diane Wood
This article, focusing on Judge Diane Wood’s announcement to take senior status, quotes Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partner Seth Horvath on the positive impression she left on him after an oral argument on behalf of an appellee client, and how the experience taught him that judges take each case on its own merits.Dec 15, 2021 - The Advocate
Iowa Medicaid program must cover gender-affirming care, judge rules
This article on a recent district court ruling in Iowa requiring the state to provide Medicaid coverage for gender-affirmation surgeries to two transgender individuals mentions the firm for the work by Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partners Seth Horvath, Tina Solis and Tom Hecht as pro bono counsel. The court found that denial of coverage violates both the Iowa Civil Rights Act and the equal protection guarantee of the state’s constitution.Nov 24, 2021 - Law360
Illinois hit with more suits over pot biz licensing process
This article mentions Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partner Seth Horvath for representing ia GP LLC in a suit brought against the state regarding their disqualified application for craft grow and transporter licenses.Sep 23, 2021 - NBC News
ACLU sues Montana over transgender ID law requiring proof of surgery
This article covers a lawsuit filed by the ACLU challenging Montana’s Senate Bill 280—a new law requiring transgender individuals to prove they have undergone gender affirming surgery in order to change the gender marker on their identifying documents. The story mentions the firm for the pro bono work by Chicago partners Seth Horvath, Tina Solis and Tom Hecht, of the Complex Commercial Disputes group, who are representing the plaintiffs together with national ACLU and the ACLU of Montana.July 16, 2021 - Law360
Illinois biometric privacy cases to watch in 2nd half of 2021
In this mid-year story on the landscape of Illinois’ biometric privacy litigation, Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partner Seth Horvath is quoted for his outlook BIPA claims and the state’s workers’ compensation law in Marquita McDonald v. Symphony Bronzeville Park LLC.July 8, 2021 - Courthouse News Service
Iowa sued over denial of Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment
This story, focusing on ACLU-Iowa’s lawsuit to strike down as unconstitutional the state’s practice of denying Medicaid coverage for medically necessary gender-affirming surgery to transgender Iowans, mentions Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partners Seth Horvath, Tina Solis, and Tom Hecht for serving as pro bono counsel.April 22, 2021 - Law360
Biggest Illinois Decisions So Far in 2020: Midyear Report
This article includes commentary from Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partners John Ruskusky and Seth Horvath on some of the most noteworthy Illinois decisions thus far in 2020. John discusses a decision related to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, while Seth comments on a decision regarding parents suing paint makers for children’s lead test costs, as well as a ruling on a record destruction provision in the Chicago police union contract.July 16, 2020 - Law360
Biggest Illinois Decisions of 2019
This article includes quotes and legal insights from Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partners Seth Horvath and Richard Tilghman discussing some of year’s biggest Illinois decisions.Dec 19, 2019 - Chicago Lawyer
Ready for a fight: Trio of Nixon Peabody attorneys honored by ACLU of Iowa for work representing transgender clients
This story profiles Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partners Seth Horvath, Tom Hecht and Tina Solis, who received an honor from the ACLU of Iowa for their years-long representation of two transgender clients who were denied Medicaid coverage for their gender-affirming surgeries.Nov 20, 2019 - The American Lawyer
Slideshow: Pro bono brought Big Law out in force
Nixon Peabody is mentioned in this roundup of notable pro bono cases. The article highlights the victory that Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partners Tom Hecht, Seth Horvath, and Tina Solis, with assistance from associate Bill Kirby and eDiscovery specialist Anders van Marter, won in Iowa Supreme Court in a matter involving Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming surgery for transgender individuals.June 26, 2019 - American Lawyer
And the LOTW runners up...
Chicago Complex Commercial Disputes partners Seth Horvath, Tom Hecht and Tina Solis are mentioned in this article as runners-up for AmLaw’s Litigators of the Week award for their win at the Iowa Supreme Court in a matter involving Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming surgery for transgender people.March 15, 2019 - Courthouse News Service
Iowa justices say Medicaid covers sex-change surgery
In the following coverage, Chicago partners Tom Hecht, Seth Horvath, and Tina Solis are mentioned in a series of articles covering the Iowa Supreme Court decision in favor of their clients, two transgender women who were denied Medicaid coverage for their gender-affirming surgeries, in violation of the Iowa Constitution and civil rights statutes. Chicago associate Bill Kirby and eDiscovery specialist Anders van Marter were also on the team.March 8, 2019 - Bloomberg Law
Transgender Medicaid patients notch big win in Iowa
In the following coverage, Chicago partners Tom Hecht, Seth Horvath, and Tina Solis are mentioned in a series of articles covering the Iowa Supreme Court decision in favor of their clients, two transgender women who were denied Medicaid coverage for their gender-affirming surgeries, in violation of the Iowa Constitution and civil rights statutes. Chicago associate Bill Kirby and eDiscovery specialist Anders van Marter were also on the team.March 8, 2019 - Law360
State AGs at odds over Google privacy pact at high court
This article mentions Complex Commercial Disputes partners Chris Mason, Sarah André, Dan Deane and Seth Horvath as counsel for The New York Bar Foundation and The New York State Bar Association in an amicus brief—filed with the United States Supreme Court—in support of the approval by a California District Court, and the Ninth Circuit, of Google’s settlement involving a “cy pres” remedy in a privacy-related case.Sep 6, 2018 - Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
Panel hears challenge to suburb's gaming licenses
This coverage notes that Accel Entertainment, a gaming terminal company, took its fight over a west suburb’s $1,000-per machine licensing fee to state appellate court. Chicago partners Seth Horvath and Michael Ficaro are featured in the story and noted as Accel ‘s counsel.Nov 11, 2015
Admitted to practice
Illinois
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. Supreme Court
Education
University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., cum laude, Notes and Comments Editor, University of Illinois Law Review
University of Illinois, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Professional activities
- Officer and Rules Committee Co-Chair, Appellate Lawyers Association
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association
Recognition
- Selected, through a peer-review survey, for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 in the field of Appellate Practice; listed in Best Lawyers since 2023
Languages
Spanish
Insights And Happenings
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Partner / Diversity Partner / Chair, NP Trial / Leader, Aviation- New York
- Office:+1 212.940.3045
- jortego@nixonpeabody.com
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