A Dallas jury ruled Tuesday evening that medical office executive Mehrdad Ghani committed fraud and breached the fiduciary relationship he had as part of a business partnership with North Dallas neurologist Erwin Cruz.
The eight-woman, four-man jury heard six days of testimony and then deliberated for nearly five hours before unanimously agreeing to award Dr. Cruz $5,050,500.
Dr. Cruz sued Ghani in 2012 claiming that the defendant misappropriated funds and misled the partners about the financial condition of two limited partnerships that operated medical imaging facilities in the DFW area.
The jury ordered Ghani to pay $4.452 million in actual damages and $598,500 in exemplary damages.
“Jurors said after the verdict that the evidence was cut and dry,” said Eric Stahl, a partner in the Law Offices of Frank L. Branson in Dallas. “I think it was the accumulation and credibility of several witnesses for our client against just the testimony of the defendant.”
Stahl tried the case with attorney John Burkhead, who is a lawyer with the Frank Branson Law Firm.