Case Conclusion Date: November 9, 2019
Practice Area: Business Disputes
Outcome: Clients paid nothing to settle $100+ million in claims
Description: We represented a closely-held family business in a complex business dispute. A group of former minority shareholders alleged fraud and breach of fiduciary in connection with decades-old stock transactions. The plaintiffs argued that their claims were timely because they did not discover the relevant facts until shortly before they filed suit.
After more than five years of litigation, including several interlocutory appeals to the Supreme Court of Virginia (which we successfully resisted), we uncovered electronic data conclusively refuting the lead plaintiff's statements about when he discovered his claims. That data confirmed that the lead plaintiff's claims were barred by the statute of limitations.
As a result, the trial court awarded more than $160,000 in sanctions against the lead plaintiff. We then negotiated a settlement, in which the plaintiffs agreed to drop their claims in exchange for a mutual release. In other words, our clients ultimately paid nothing to the plaintiffs to settle more than $100 million in claims.
