SL partners, Kimberly Slaven-Hauth and Jordan A. Shaw, successfully defended nine defendants in a securities fraud lawsuit in Circuit Court. The plaintiffs filed suit against nine persons and entities who purportedly raised money for a real estate and specialty business in 2020. Unfortunately, the impacts of COVID and other market factors prevented the business from performing as expected. In 2021, the plaintiffs, two (2) investors, filed claims alleging both securities fraud under the Florida Securities and Investor Protection Act (section 517, Fla. Stat.) and common law fraud against, among others, the business, its owners, and its subsidiaries.
The plaintiffs also sued family members of the business’s owners and managers and sought to recover not only the entirety of their six-figure investment, but also punitive damages, interest, and attorneys’ fees.
The matter was referred to Shaw Lewenz, by a large 100+ lawyer firm, which had been conflicted out due to its preparation of the business’s operating agreement and other governing documents. Over the course of the (3) year litigation, the SL commercial litigation team obtained dismissals of eight (8) defendants, attorneys’ fee entitlement for seven (7) defendants, and just minutes before a trial against the final defendant, settled for a de minimus payment of $2,000 divided among the two Plaintiffs. The firm and its clients are pleased that this hard fought battle is over, and could not have asked for a better result.