Highlights
This case involved a dispute over a 50 year old family business conducting oilfield services.
Attorneys
Collin Kennedy
Practice Type
Commercial Litigation
Time
3 years
The Challenge
This case was challenging because it pitted family against family and involved high level finance and dozens of intertwined entities that all had to be unraveled and explained to the jury.
Legal Strategy
After the patriarch of the family/founder of the company died, 5 brothers were left to run it. 2 brothers (Bruce and David Hotze) sued 3 brothers (Mark, Steven and Richard Hotze) for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and theft. HKH represented Mark Hotze, who was the COO of the company at the time of trial. After several weeks of trial, the jury rejected all of the Plaintiffs’ claims and found in favor of Mark, Steven and Richard.
Results
Jury rejected all of Plaintiff’s claims and instead awarded approximately $2 million in attorney’s fees to Mark, Steven and Richard since they were the prevailing parties at trial.