A Houston lawyer and real estate developer accused of wronging 13 investors by selling a piece of property at below market value was cleared by a Dallas County jury Thursday after about four and a half hours of deliberation.
Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann’s Michael Hurst, who successfully defended Ronny Hecht against the claims, said the reading of the verdict was an emotional moment for him and his client.
“It was beautiful,” Hurst told The Texas Lawbook. “This has weighed heavily on him and his family.”
The jury trial began last week in Judge Maria Aceves’ courtroom in the case where 13 limited partners claimed Hecht and his company, Hecht GP, cost them millions of dollars when he sold the property that had been leased by LA Fitness for $8.5 million. The limited partners alleged the property, adjacent to the Dallas Mavericks’ soon-to-be home, had been valued at as much as $14 million.
The sale of that property and the litigation that resulted is rooted in the 2020 breakup of a business relationship Hecht had with another Houston real estate developer, Avishai Ron. The fallout from the demise of that partnership resulted in the men filing at least a half-dozen lawsuits against one another to untangle their business interests in real estate projects.
The limited partners, who filed suit in April 2024, allege that when Hecht sold the property at the below-market rate, he did so either “knowingly and intentionally” to gain leverage in his legal battles with Ron or because he was “grossly negligent.”
The plaintiff’s attorney, Michael Tobolowsky of Tobolowsky Law, told the jurors during closing arguments Wednesday to recall his remarks in opening statements that everyone makes mistakes.
“Let me be very clear what we meant by mistake and refusal to take accountability for that mistake,” he said, telling jurors the “mistake” in this case is Hecht’s “intentional act, taken knowing the risks of that act, and knowing the substantial harm it could cause people and this partnership.”
During his closing argument, Hurst told the jurors the lawsuit has been a “nightmare” for Hecht and his family and called Ron “vindictive.”
“His best friends in the entire world are the main plaintiffs in this lawsuit, and they have filed this lawsuit to cause Ronnie Hecht to spend a lot of money … defending himself, his reputation, his family,” Hurst said.
Julie Pettit of the Pettit Law Firm, who also represents Hecht, referenced Tobolowsky’s use of the word “mistake.” She told jurors “making a mistake or having different business judgment than perhaps Ronny had does not rise to liability.”
“He just wants his life back,” Pettit said.
During his rebuttal, Tobolowsky said opposing counsel focused on him to distract from the evidence.
“I guess the whole point of the defense’s position is going to be to attack legal counsel rather than the evidence, which should mean something to you — kind of why I started my closing with the way that I did,” Tobolowsky said. “I got this feeling that they’re going to try to use my words — which are not evidence, right? — to convince you of something different from the facts.”
Counsel spoke with the jurors after the verdict and heard from them they felt the price the property was sold at had more to do with market conditions at the time.
The jury rejected claims that Ron breached his fiduciary duties and that the investors had conspired to harm Hecht.
Among the 13 limited partner plaintiffs are two Houston-based lawyers, Andrew Meade and John Neese.
Holly Stubbs, David Coale, Daniela Holmes and Erin Elms-Nemac of Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann are also representing Hecht.
The case number is DC-24-05091.