Top Defense Verdicts - Bee-Dee Investments Ltd. v. Rady

A main challenge in the dispute between wealthy philanthropist Ernest Rady and his family members was communicating his story to a jury.

"He is a very humble guy. He worked hard and built this huge fortune," said Steven M. Strauss, a partner at Cooley LLP who served as Rady's lead defense counsel in the contract dispute.

In 2009, eight of Rady's nieces and nephews sued him for $272 million in damages. They alleged that he had offered to buy out their shares in the family-owned real estate conglomerate, American Assets Inc., and later reneged. Bee-Dee Investments Ltd. v. Rady, 37-2009-00100904-CU-SL-CTL, (San Diego Super. Ct., filed Oct. 22, 2009).

At issue was whether a memo emailed by Rady to family members constituted a binding contract or a conditional offer.

The jury delivered a unanimous verdict for the defense following a two-week trial. The remaining claims for breach of fiduciary duty and dissolution were dismissed.

"The dispute was resolved to the satisfaction of all the parties," said plaintiffs' attorney William N. Hebert, a partner at Calvo Fisher & Jacob LLP.

Strauss said that he hopes the case will "have a chilling effect" on such family squabbles.

"It's very emotional, hurtful and disruptive," he said. "They used to say that blood is thicker than water, but it looks like in this case, money was thicker than blood."

- PAT BRODERICK

<!-- Top Defense Verdicts - Bee-Dee Investments Ltd. v. Rady -->