In an extremely contentious business dispute, Steven D. Stutsman successfully defended two brothers and their small fashion company in case involving dueling breach of contract claims against their landlord and business partner. As trial commenced, the landlord and business partner caved under the pressure of cross-examination and the parties reached a six-figure settlement in favor of Steve’s clients.
Steve’s clients leased commercial space in the garment district of Los Angeles, which they used to operate their small fashion company. Eventually, an agreement was struck wherein the landlord provided Steve’s clients with $900,000. The landlord claimed this amount was a loan made with a promise to repay at an interest rate of 20%. Steve’s clients maintained that the payment was part of a joint business venture in which the landlord was to provide $2 million in capital, which would be used to acquire merchandise which the venture would sell for a profit, to be split evenly between Steve’s clients and their landlord. The landlord’s failure to provide the full amount promised caused significant economic losses to Steve’s clients. On top of that, the landlord sold much of the merchandise acquired by the joint venture, but never split the profits as agreed by the parties. Steve’s clients also alleged that the proper rented from the landlord had fallen into a state of disrepair, which caused damage to their own merchandise. The parties filed competing lawsuits against one another.
There was no love lost between the parties as litigation persisted for nearly five years, during which Steve’s clients were physically assaulted by the landlord, who also routinely spewed racially and religiously charged epithets at Steve’s clients. Behavior which continued into trial. Following testimony by one of Steve’s clients, the landlord was called to the stand as an adverse witness. During his testimony, the jury learned of the racially and religiously charged epithets and the landlord’s forging of signatures on business and court documents. The landlord’s counsel asked the court for an extended recess and a settlement was ultimately reached with the landlord agreeing to pay Steve’s client’s $750,000 in damages.
Business litigation can, at times, be very personal and very messy. The attorneys at Burrows + Stutsman guide our clients through this tense time of their business lives to ensure their case is presented to the jury in a more composed, articulate, and strategic manner than their opponents’. The results of this approach speak for themselves.
