Areas of Practice
Industries
Bar Admissions
- Michigan, 2007
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 2011
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 2007
Education
Wayne State University, J.D., cum laude
- Order of the Coif
- Law Review, Articles Editor
University of Michigan, B.A.
Language
- Arabic
Ms. Chilson is a member in the Business Litigation Practice Group in Dykema's Detroit office. Her practice focuses on business, commercial, and contract litigation. Her primary emphasis is in the area of complex business and commercial disputes, privately-owned business disputes, shareholder disputes, business torts, recall and warranty cost-recovery matters, automotive supplier disputes, government investigations, construction lien disputes, financial services, commercial real estate, and lending litigation, in which she represents some of the nation’s largest financial institutions.
Ms. Chilson has achieved many successful outcomes in state, federal, and appellate courts, as well as arbitration and various forms of alternative dispute resolution. In 2011, Ms. Chilson successfully arbitrated a lawsuit against an investment advisor for mismanagement of client funds. In 2009, she was part of a trial team that obtained a $47.7 million verdict on behalf of Chrysler LLC against a Tier 1 supplier.
While in law school, she was an intern for the Honorable Avern Cohn, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan.
Experience
Ms. Chilson has successfully represented clients in many areas, including the following:
- Small business and shareholder/member disputes, including derivative claims, business break-ups, and squeeze outs;
- Fraud, tortious interference, breach of fiduciary duty, and other business torts;
- Non-compete agreements and other restrictive covenants;
- Trade secrets;
- Investment advisor professional services claims;
- Real estate matters, including title/lien priority disputes, high-profile real estate disputes, zoning disputes, loan workouts and litigation, guaranty actions, residential and commercial mortgage litigation, construction lien disputes, contested judicial foreclosures, receivership actions, and other lending disputes;
- Consumer finance litigation, including suits arising under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (“RESPA”), Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”), Mortgage Brokers, Lenders, and Servicer Licensing Act (MBLSLA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCPA), credit card disputes, as well as other related consumer finance claims;
- Internal investigations, including investigations in response to grand jury subpoenas;
- General commercial and contract disputes;
- Automotive disputes, including, UCC, commercial, and contract work, automotive supplier disputes, warranty cost-recovery matters, and premises actions; and
- Pre-litigation avoidance consultations and negotiations.
Significant Decisions
- Boykin v. GM, LLC, No. 338594, 2018 Mich. App. LEXIS 3620 (Mich. App. Dec. 4, 2018) (affirming lower court ruling dismissing lawsuit filed by a former GM employee relating to alleged contractual obligations and business torts arising out of former employee’s purchase of a GM dealership).
- Infinity Hawthorne Woods, LLC v. Huron Twp., Wayne County Circuit Court Case No. 2048-000579-CZ (Sept. 18, 2018) (successfully defeated municipality’s motion for summary disposition as to constitutional and race-notice statute claims in lawsuit on behalf of residential home builder in zoning dispute against municipality).
- J.S. Evangelista Dev., LLC v. Found. Capital Res., Inc., 2014 Mich. App. LEXIS 777, 2014 WL 1679067 (Mich. Ct. App. Apr. 24, 2014).
- Kim v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 493 Mich. 98; 825 N.W.2d 329 (2012).
- Awad v. GMAC Mortgage, 2012 WL 1415166 (Mich. App. Apr. 24, 2012).
- Drew v. Kemp Brooks, 802 F.Supp.2d 889; 2011 WL 2936103 (E.D. Mich. 2011).
Seminars & Speeches
- Best Practices for Documenting Construction Projects, Client PresentationFebruary 20, 2020
- Avoiding Obstacles in Running and Growing Your Small Business: Get Control of Your Social Media Presence and Business DataAugust 25, 2016
News
- March 17, 2016
- Twenty-Three Other Dykema Lawyers Identified as Rising StarsSeptember 5, 2013
Alerts
- May 4, 2020
Press Releases
- September 18, 2020
- August 22, 2019
- September 7, 2018
- January 17, 2017
- September 1, 2016
- September 8, 2015
- September 2, 2014
Memberships & Involvement
- Federal Bar Association
- Historical Society for the Eastern District of Michigan, Board of Directors – Trustee
Awards & Recognition
Recognized in Michigan Super Lawyers® as a Rising Star for Business Litigation, 2012-Present
Ms. Chilson earned the Ira Spoon Award, given annually to the student who has written the best paper on the subject of urban development or property law (eminent domain)