Charles Candiano

• Free Consultation
  You and I will discuss your claim until I am satisfied that I can help and your questions are answered, WITHOUT cost or obligation.
• Contingent Fees
  Our fee on Personal Injury cases is 1/3 of the recovery and costs. Our fee on Workers' Compensation cases is set by statute at 20% of Settlement or Award and costs

Illinois

Since 1995

Indiana

Since 1996

Federal Circuit

Since 1995

Owner

Candiano Law Office

2013 - Current

Trial Attorney

The Margolis Firm, PC

2004 - 2013

Trial Attorney

Margolis & Velasco

2001 - 2004

Trial Attorney

Rusin, Patton, Maciorowski & Friedman

2000 - 2001

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney

Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Lake County Indiana

1996 - 1999

The John Marshall Law School

J.D. (1995)

Chicago Bar Association

Chair Professional Fees Committee

2017 - Current

Indiana State Bar

Member

2006 - Current

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association

2001 - Current

Q. Can a nonprofit/religious organization in Marion County, Indiana file a lawsuit for verbal defamation?

July 25, 2025

A: Here are some thoughts you should bear in mind:

You cannot prosecute a defamation case without an attorney.

You will need to pay the attorney a retainer against which you will be billed by the hour. This gets very expensive.

As a church/religious organization, you may be classified as a "public figure," which would require that you prove "actual malice." (The declarent knew the statement was false at the time it was made, or Recklessly disregarded whether the statement was true or false.)

Remember, truth is an absolute defense. If there is any factual basis for the Defendant's statements, you lose.

It will probably be impossible for you to prove any pecuniary (Money) damages. You would need individuals who are prepared to testify, under oath, that but for the defamatory comments made by the declarant, that person was prepared to contribute $1000 (or any other specific sum of money) to your organization. If that person is testifying for you, he/she has likely made the contribution and you have no loss.

Remember, your attorney will bill you for every 10th of an hour at a rate of at least $400-$600 per hour and may have minimum charges in their contract. (i.e. .2 hrs. minimum for telephone calls; .3 hrs. minimum for emails; 1.0 hrs. for Court status; etc.) Written discovery and the associated communications would likely require 12 to 15 hours of work. Each deposition will require between 2 and 5 hours and you may need to hire an expert witness who will also require a retainer.

If you want to proceed, meet with a local attorney who does this work and seek their opinion as to whether the matter is viable (whether there is any likelihood of recovering as much as the matter will cost to prosecute). Initial consults for this type of work may be offered free or for a reduced flat rate. Good luck. ... Read More

Q. Options for false accusations and lifetime trespass by store manager.

July 24, 2025

A: You can't expect a meaningful answer without providing any facts. What does "involving the police" mean? Were you arrested? Were you charged with a criminal offense? Given that the police didn't witness anything, you could not have been charged unless the event was captured on video. Was it? There are at least three big chains with 'dollar' in their names: Dollar General, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree. The store owner has the right to exclude you based on their belief that you are dishonest. They CANNOT exclude you based on your race, color, creed, or other protected basis, but they CAN exclude you if they believe that you try to steal or cheat them. Unless they had video proof that you stole items, it was wrong for them to jeopardize your employment, but they have a perfect right to exclude you from their property. Your best option is to patronize another store. On your facts, you suffered no pecuniary harm so you have no damages. ... Read More

Q. Does vicarious liability apply to Domino's franchise for a driver's accident using personal vehicle?

July 24, 2025

A: Almost certainly not, but it depends. Legal questions never exist in a vacuum and most answers are highly fact-sensitive. On your facts, the driver is an independent contractor. The driver provides the car and the driver provides the skill and ability to operate the car. Moreover, the driver does not have an exclusive relationship with the putative employer. The driver could deliver for Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Little Caesar's, etc. To find vicarious liability, there needs to be some affirmative action taken or some duty breached by the individual or entity that you seek to hold responsible and whatever happened that caused you to ask the question. If the pizza driver caused an auto accident, individuals who were injured or died would probably have their recovery limited by the driver's policy of insurance. Change the facts. Let's say the driver causes a fatal car accident and the commercial endorsement on his/her auto insurance policy lapsed 3 months ago. In that case, you would say that Domino's (the franchisee only) is responsible for the accident because they negligently failed to confirm that the driver had coverage. That is a good legal argument but there is no guarantee that a Court would accept it. Say the driver's commercial endorsement lapsed yesterday. You still have the same argument but the Court would be imposing a greater burden on the putative employer, especially if the driver pays his insurance, monthly. That said, the putative employer has the right to implement a policy that its drivers must verify their insurance every month, prior to the expiration date. It is an interesting question to which there is no definitive answer without many, many more facts. ... Read More

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