© 2013 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden, JD
Senior Writer for The Texas Lawbook
Did you see or hear all that loud partying at Del Frisco’s on McKinney Thursday night?
The lawyers from Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank were celebrating a $49 million plaintiff’s jury victory for their client after a two-and-a-half week trial.
A jury ruled Thursday that a Dallas corporation that customizes corporate jet interiors breached its contract with a customer and must pay damages.
Associated Air Center, who operates at Love Field, took millions of dollars in security deposits to customize two luxury business jets but never completed the work and never returned the deposits, costing the customers tens-of-millions of dollars in expenses and lost revenues, the 12-person Dallas jury decided Thursday after five hours of deliberations.
The $49 million jury award, which is believed to be the largest in Dallas this year, will likely be reduced to about $37 million by state District Judge Phyllis Lister Brown because some of the damages overlapped each other, according to lawyers familiar with the case.
Tary Network Ltd. and Citadella International Group, which are sister companies owned by the same individual based in the Virgin Islands, purchased two planes – an Airbus Corporate Jet and a Boeing Business Jet – believing that they had a deal with AAC on the price and timeframe to have the project done.
Brian Hail, a partner at Gruber Hurst, says his client gave AAC a $4 million deposit to secure two slots, which included hanger space for the planes and the manpower and resources to outfit the planes, which are used by heads of state, business executives, rock stars and other wealthy individuals.
“Associated Air put profits ahead of promises and didn’t keep its commitment to our client and, as a result, it cost our client millions and millions of dollars,” says Hail.
“We hope this verdict sends a clear message to companies that integrity and good faith matter,” he says.
DLA Piper, a global law firm, represented AAC. Officials for AAC didn’t respond to inquiries.
Hopefully they were drinking the still potent Maker’s Mark and not the allegedly watered Bud Lights.
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