The wealthy wife of prominent Chicago bankruptcy attorney Peter Francis Geraci and a 54-year-old dog walker got into the same River North elevator three years ago — and they've been fighting ever since.

A Cook County jury has found that the altercation that took place inside that elevator was Holly Geraci's fault. And it has ordered her to pay the dog walker, Robin Di Buono, $275,000 in damages.

The jury's finding Wednesday that Geraci battered Di Buono, and not the other way around, appears to be a spectacular own goal for her and her high-profile husband, who have now filed and lost multiple lawsuits in connection with the incident.

After a three-day trial, jurors backed Di Buono's counterclaim that Holly Geraci grabbed her from behind and scratched her after she got on the elevator with two small dogs at the Geracis' condo building in the 300 block of West Hubbard Street in August 2013.

Di Buono described the court battle as "a nightmare."

"I broke down in tears and the jurors came and hugged me afterward and said, 'Nobody should have to go through what you have experienced,'" Di Buono said.

"It was not happiness, just a huge release of stress. I don't have much money — my cable is about to be cut off — so it was enormously stressful to be sued by a family with almost limitless resources," Di Buono said.

Holly Geraci alleged Di Buono had repeatedly punched her in the head in an unprovoked attack. The Geracis' lawyers even built a life-size replica of the elevator and brought it into the courtroom during the trial, though it did not have functioning sliding doors, according to Di Buono's attorney, Tom Bilyk.

Robin Di Buono won a counterclaim in civil court against the wife of bankruptcy attorney Peter Francis Geraci, who claimed the dog walker had battered her in a River North elevator. Bilyk said the judgment showed that Holly Geraci's testimony "is never going to support any finding in her favor of any kind."

The highly litigious Geracis, who unsuccessfully pursued a criminal case against Di Buono before suing her in civil court, were previously twice castigated by judges for bringing lawsuits that were "palpable nonsense" against the condo association that runs their building.

Despite the latest defeat, the Geracis remain unbowed. Their attorney, Jonathan Parker, issued an emailed statement on Thursday again asserting that "Mrs. Geraci was brutally attacked in an elevator in her own building."

"The adverse judgment was the result of numerous erroneous rulings by the trial court, and misconduct by the opposing attorney," he added, predicting a reverse on appeal.

Di Buono acknowledged she does not expect to see the $275,000 any time soon. "It's never been about money for me, it's been about standing my ground and not letting them walk over me," she said.

By the time the case is finally resolved, the Geracis may no longer live at the West Hubbard building. The incident and the ensuing dispute with their neighbors prompted them to purchase an $8.63 million penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton two years ago, said to be the most expensive unfinished condo ever sold in the city.

Peter Francis Geraci — best known for his late night TV ads — last week told the Tribune that he and his wife plan to move in next year.

They won the right to do so after prevailing in yet another lengthy battle, this one against a neighbor who wanted to buy the same condo.

The victims are the American People and the Republic itself.

The wife of a prominent Chicago bankruptcy attorney will have to share the elevator with dogs after losing a federal lawsuit last week against her condo association asking for canine-free carriage.

Holly Geraci filed the housing discrimination lawsuit in March 2015 against the Union Square Condominium Association, where she shares a penthouse with her husband, attorney Peter Francis Geraci. She said fear of dogs amounted to a disability under the Fair Housing Act and sought to avoid riding with them in the close quarters of her building's elevator.

A jury disagreed, finding in favor of the condo association Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

"They didn't believe that Holly Geraci actually suffered from a disability as it's defined by the Fair Housing Act," Graham Miller, an attorney representing the condo association, said Monday.

Thomas Patterson, an attorney representing Geraci, did not respond Monday to a request for comment. Reached by phone, Geraci hung up after identifying herself.

When the Geracis moved into the development at 333 W. Hubbard St. in 2000, the association didn't allow dogs, but it made an exception for their older Cairn terrier, which weighed 10 pounds. In 2004, the building opened the door for dogs of all kinds, Geraci said in January.

Geraci said she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after being attacked by a German shepherd when she was a child and has a fear of large dogs. She filed several complaints with the condo association, asking that she be able to ride the elevator without dogs.

Geraci got into a physical altercation in 2013 on the elevator with dog walker Robin DiBuono, resulting in the first of four lawsuits filed by the Geracis against Union Square. While Geraci claims she was "beaten up," a jury found in favor of DiBuono and awarded her $275,000 in damages. Geraci said in January that they are appealing the decision.

The Geracis also filed two suits against Union Square over damage to their roof deck, both of which were dismissed.

Miller said Thursday's verdict was cheered by the condo association.

"Everybody over at that building, with the exception of the Geracis, was pretty excited about that," Miller said.

Meanwhile, the Geracis won't have to ride with the dogs forever. In July they paid $8.63 million to buy the 6,000-square-foot penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, taking possession two years after their bid sparked a legal battle with a Mexican billionaire over the right to buy the unfinished 40th-floor digs along North Michigan Avenue.

Geraci said in January that it may take two years to complete the new space, at which time they plan to vacate Union Square. The new penthouse will feature an express elevator from the lobby to their apartment, with no dogs allowed.

While dogs are now free to ride the Union Square elevators with Geraci, Miller said it wouldn't surprise him if the couple appealed the verdict.

"I don't know what they'll do with this case," Miller said. "They certainly take litigation to its extreme."

The Geracis' lawyers even built a life-size replica of the elevator and brought it into the courtroom during the trial, though it did not have functioning sliding doors, according to Di Buono's attorney, Tom Bilyk.