LOS ANGELES ― Representing plaintiffs in an investor fraud case, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP lawyers
Desmond J. Hinds and
Filomena E. Meyer recovered a jury verdict for $3.8 million in compensatory damages, plus $1 million in punitive damages. In 1995, plaintiffs had invested funds in a start-up internet service provider (ISP). Mr. Hinds and Ms. Meyer established that defendants, the ISP’s promoters, were liable for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. Specifically, they proved that defendants had played a high-stakes shell game designed to dump their investors, advising plaintiffs that the ISP had gone out of business when in fact defendants had merely transferred the business’ assets into a new company under a different name. To reach the verdict, plaintiffs had to overcome a serious statue of limitations challenge, given the fact that suit on the investment agreement was not filed until 2005.
Mr. Hinds and Ms. Meyer practice out of Hinshaw’s
Los Angeles office. Mr. Hinds has a civil trial practice emphasizing the defense of professional malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims against accountants, appraisers, commercial and residential real estate brokers and property managers, lawyers and insurance brokers. His practice also consists of business litigation, employment litigation, and real estate litigation and transactions.
Ms. Meyer is a litigator who handles matters involving professional liability, business and commercial disputes, intellectual property, construction defects, creditors and debtors, labor and employment, toxic torts and real property. Ms. Meyer also has an appellate practice in a wide-range of subject areas.
Founded in 1934, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is a national law firm with approximately 500 lawyers in 24 offices spanning 12 states, including
Arizona,
California,
Florida,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Massachusetts,
Minnesota,
Missouri,
New York,
Oregon,
Rhode Island and
Wisconsin.
Hinshaw offers a full-service practice, with an emphasis in litigation, business law and corporate transactions, environmental, intellectual property, labor and employment law, professional liability defense, estate planning and taxation matters. The firm represents a range of for-profit and not-for-profit clients in industries that include alarm and security services, construction, financial services, health care, hospitality, insurance, lawyers and law firms, manufacturing, real estate, retail and transportation. Hinshaw clients also include government agencies, municipalities and schools.