Will Small Prevails at Trial in Fraud and Conspiracy Case

Our last blog post was * gulp * two years ago. It was about a trial I started in March 2020 that ended in a mistrial due to the beginning of the Covid-19 shutdown orders and how depressing that was for me and my client.

Well, I’m inspired to write a new blog post because two years later I am happy to report that I tried that case again in Los Angeles Superior Court, finished the trial after six days, and obtained a unanimous verdict in favor of our client after less than two hours of deliberation by the jury.

We are thrilled for our clients, a specialty food company and its CEO, who were being sued for fraud, conversion, and theft arising from a large order of protein bars that went awry. The party that sued our client asked the jury for millions of dollars in damages, claiming our client and other parties engaged in a conspiracy. We successfully argued to the jury that our client was the rightful owner of the protein bars that were allegedly stolen and that there had been no fraud or conspiracy. We also prevailed on motions for nonsuit in favor of the CEO of the company, after the other side rested their case, thus limiting personal liability for him before the case even reached the jury. (That was also after the judge had advised us that he rarely grants motions for nonsuit and did not anticipate he would grant one in this case.)

This case was filed in 2016 and hotly litigated by all the parties involved, including motions for summary judgment, motions to exclude expert witnesses, and - of course - countless discovery disputes. The other side’s attorneys were well prepared, motivated, and put on a strong case, but we were confident in the case we were presenting and that the jury would see the truth. When the jury foreperson read the verdict, it was a special moment that I will remember for a long time.