Our client coordinated and was a minority participant in a secured debt/equity investment round in a startup company that marketed a proprietary system to reduce scale and asphaltene deposits in the oil and gas industry. The startup succeeded, but a dispute between our client and the lead investors led to complex chain of litigation. Initial litigation led to a full recovery for our client plus over 2x profit on the investment. The lead investor then sued our client on a related issue, and we counterclaimed - settling for a further payment of over $1 million to our client. Unable to leave well enough alone, the lead investor again sued our client, and again we prevailed, obtaining an additional six-figure payment to our client.
As much as we enjoy helping our clients, the best lessons here may be ( 1) to avoid business dealings with litigious partners and (2) to properly assess and mitigate risks at the beginning of any business relationship. For that reason, we also routinely provide risk management and litigation prevention services. Avoiding litigation entirely may be less impressive than victory at trial, but it is always the safer (and often the more profitable) choice.
Jeff Vail is the founder of Vail Law LLC in Greenwood Village, Colorado. He has extensive experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in all types of business litigation, including alter ego and veil-piercing claims, breach of fiduciary duty claims, breach of contract claims, fraud and fraudulent concealment claims, and fraudulent transfer claims. Contact us at (303) 600-3730 or jvail@vail-law.com.
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