Entrepreneur obtains $50 million verdict in disputes with private equity fund

Client(s) Ohio entrepreneur

Jones Day secured plaintiff-side judgments totaling $50 million for an Ohio entrepreneur against a private equity fund and its controlling owner after a scheme to unilaterally rescind a business deal that had not been as profitable as the counterparty hoped. The counterparty purchased the client's business in 2019 for $50 million, consisting of a mixture of cash and equity in the buyer. When the business suffered financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, the defendants sought to rescind the transaction, "return" the business to the client, and zero his equity interests. Jones Day first secured a summary judgment win in arbitration over the client's employment agreement and followed with a complete victory in related state court litigation concerning the sale of the company—securing a final judgment totaling nearly $50 million—with the court finding the defendants had willfully converted the client’s equity interest.