Los Angeles, CA — March 2011
I. LTL Wins Jury Verdict in Shareholder Dispute.
LTL obtained a unanimous jury verdict on behalf of its client after a hard fought 6-day trial in the Orange County Superior Court. On March 11, 2011, the jury unanimously (12-0) found that Defendants must pay their former business partner the full amount of claimed damages plus interest. The jury also found on clear and convincing evidence that that Defendants acted with fraud, malice or oppression, thereby awarding punitive damages.
One of the Defendants is currently the Vice President of the Vietnamese-American Community of Southern California and recently ran for Mayor of Westminster in the November 2010 elections.
LTL partners K Luan Tran and Enoch Liang represented Plaintiff at trial. Through vigorous preparation, LTL showed the jury how Defendants systematically and maliciously tried to oust Plaintiff from the company that the three partners founded. “We are very pleased with the outcome of the case,” said partner K Luan Tran, “and we are particularly proud of the fact that we prevailed on behalf of someone who was clearly taken advantage of by more sophisticated individuals with greater resources. It was a hard fought case, but we will always fight hard for our clients’ best interests, no matter who is on the other side.”
II. LTL Wins Another Ninth Circuit Appeal.
In February 2011, LTL partner Enoch Liang won yet another Ninth Circuit appeal. LTL had obtained an ex parte right to attach order for nearly $1.5 million from the Central District of California. Defendant appealed. The Ninth Circuit unanimously rejected the Defendant’s attacks on the purported procedural and substantive defects in the District Court’s right to attach order. The case settled shortly thereafter on very favorable terms for LTL’s client.
III. Results are In: LTL was a perfect 11-0 in 2010
In 2010, LTL tried six cases through trial and arbitration and briefed/argued five appeals. As of December 2010, LTL had a perfect 8-0 record, with three matters still under submission—1 arbitration, 1 bench trial, and 1 state court appeal.
As previously reported, in January 2011, LTL won a complete defense verdict in the pending arbitration (in an employment dispute) and in the pending bench trial (in bankruptcy court), bringing its 2010 record to 10-0. In early February 2011, LTL also won the pending state court appeal on a 3-0 decision. This last decision brought LTL’s 2010 record to 11-0.