DALLAS – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – A Dallas County jury has issued a verdict of approximately $1 million on behalf of Dallas-based New You Weight Management Center after finding that Plano Surgery Center (PSC) failed to live up to its end of a contract that resulted in New You going out of business.
The verdict followed four days of trial in Judge Jay Patterson’s 101st Judicial District Court.
“We’re glad the jury is making PSC live up to its word,” says Geoffrey Harper, a partner in Dallas’ Fish & Richardson P.C. who represents New You. “New You spent a considerable amount of time and money to help promote PSC, and received almost nothing in return.”
In January 2003, New You entered into an oral contract to organize and promote seminars showcasing PSC’s specialized surgeries, including the revolutionary “lap band” weight loss surgery. PSC then refused to compensate New You for its work, according to the lawsuit.
Additionally, evidence at trial showed that PSC never intended to pay New You for its work. Rather, it devised a fraudulent scheme to avoid paying New You for its services by making false statements regarding PSC’s efforts to collect surgical reimbursements from insurance companies. In addition, PSC would then hold drawn-out negotiations over New You’s fees, attempting to extend the time it received free advertising.
According to the lawsuit, PSC’s failure to compensate New You for its work left it without cash to pay its employees and other expenses, eventually forcing it out of business.
The seven-man, five-woman jury found PSC committed fraud and breached the contract with New You. The jury ordered PSC to pay $557,000 in actual damages (exclusive of attorneys’ fees) and $432,000 in exemplary damages.
Along with Mr. Harper, New You was represented by Kiprian Mendrygal, an associate in Fish & Richardson’s Dallas office.
Founded in 1878, Fish & Richardson is one of the largest law firms in the U.S. practicing exclusively in the areas of intellectual property, litigation, and corporate law. The firm has over 350 attorneys and technology specialists in nine offices nationwide. Fish & Richardson has long represented great innovators and entrepreneurs, including pioneering inventors such as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers. Fish & Richardson handles more patent litigation than any other law firm in the U.S. (IP Law & Business July 2005). It is the top firm in patent cases at the International Trade Commission and rates among the top U.S. firms in patents and trademarks obtained.
For more information on this case, contact Alan Bentrup at 800-559-4534, pager 214-967-2067 or [email protected]
