AZA News
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February 2008
Todd Mensing and Scott Upchurch Win Unanimous Defense Verdict
for Owners of Lancaster Hotel.
On March 3, 2008, Todd Mensing and Scott Upchurch obtained a unanimous defense verdict in favor of the owners of the Lancaster Hotel in Harris County District Court before the Honorable Tony Lindsay. The trial involved a commercial real estate dispute. The Plaintiffs, Houston restauranteur Jean Soussan and his company, Al Mamounia, Inc., alleged that the property owners had violated their lease contract and unlawfully appropriated the Plaintiffs' property. The Plaintiffs sought damages for breach of contract and under several business tort theories, and also argued for punitive damages. After presentation of the evidence, which lasted two weeks, the jury deliberated for only two hours before rejecting all of the Plaintiffs' claims. Further, the jury found against the Plaintiffs on counterclaims of statutory theft and conversion, entered a finding of malice, and awarded a verdict of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars against the Plaintiffs.
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