Obtained a $2.13 million verdict on behalf of our client, an international internet auction company, in a breach of contract and declaratory relief action brought in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The plaintiff, a national credit card processor, filed suit against our client seeking in excess of $700,000 for terminating a merchant agreement. Our client filed a counterclaim for breach of contract and declaratory relief seeking to recover $2.13 million of our client’s money that was wrongfully withheld by the plaintiff in a reserve account. Plaintiff withheld these reserve funds on the grounds that there was an alleged risk of future credit card chargebacks. We requested the court to bifurcate and advance the trial date on the limited issue of declaratory relief on the reserve funds issue. The federal court granted our request for an expedited trial. A bench trial followed, and at its conclusion the court declared a judgment in our client’s favor for $2.13 million, while deciding that plaintiff was not entitled to an offset by way of its claim for $700,000.
February 24, 2012