Stradling Trial Team Wins Again!

May 2015

Stradling attorneys Marc J. Schneider and Richard C. Goodman chalked up two more trial wins relating to the contentious break-up of a twenty year business relationship. Not only did the Stradling team obtain a complete defense win on a $9 million claim made against their client, they also obtained a $600,000 judgment in favor of their client in a related case.

Stradling’s client had partnered with his close friend for more than twenty years, creating a prosperous business together. When his friend’s son took over after the passing of his father, the relationship fractured eventually causing Stradling’s client to voluntarily dissolve the company. The son then alleged the dissolution was sought in “bad faith” and sued Stradling’s client for nearly $9 million in purported lost profits.

Stradling skillfully represented the client in a one-month Court trial. When the dust had settled, Stradling had secured a full defense win for its client. Pursuant to a final decision issued in April 2015, the Court held that the son was entitled to nothing because Stradling’s client had acted in good faith in dissolving the corporation. In a related case, after a multi-week arbitration, Stradling’s client was awarded a $600,000 judgment against an entity related to the son.

These two wins follow the same trial team’s unrelated recent defense victory after a more than two month trial on a fraud claim for a large Orange County public company, in which the Plaintiff had sought $129 million in damages.