Jury verdict for interference with business relationship is upheld

CH Holding Company sued Bruce Miller and CH Brand Parking Associates, arguing that Miller had breached a fiduciary duty to CH by the manner in which it negotiated potential sales of a Casino parking ramp.  In essence, the plaintiff, an investment group, claimed that Miller's company interfered with several prospective sales of the ramp, to the detriment of investors, by inserting language that would have benefitted Miller's parking operations company.

The jury agreed with the plaintiffs' claims and awarded a judgment in excess of three million dollars.  Miller and his company sought to reverse the judgment or to secure a remittur of the amount.  He also argued that the plaintiffs waited too long to sue.  The Court of Appeals disposed of the latter argument by pointing out that the Plaintiffs had alleged and proven that the operative facts were hidden from them initially, and that they had filed suit within two years of reasonable discovery.

With regard to the basic theory, the Court noted that there was ample evidence to support the Plaintiffs' claims and that Defendants' remittur argument--alleging that one Defendant should not have been included in the award--was mis-titled and unsustainable.