Facts

Plaintiff Elizabeth Grewal and defendant Amit Choudhury were fellow students at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill. Years later, Grewal sought Choudhury's advice in regard to investing a substantial inheritance she received from her mother. Choudhury hired Grewal to work at his new company, Finexa Inc., in June 2000. On Jan. 2, 2001, Grewal gave Choudhury $880,000 to invest. Choudhury executed a promissory note for $1,000,000 plus interest with a maturity date of January 2006. Choudhury was a Canadian citizen. Grewal filed suit for fraud and breach of contract.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Grewal contended that she transferred $880,000 as a loan to Choudhury, which was the reason for the promissory note. Despite repeated attempts at collection, Choudhury never repaid the loan.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Choudhury contended that the $880,000 was investment capital and not a loan. He had invested the money in Finexa, Inc. and the start-up company failed.

Result

The jury found in favor of Grewal in the amount of $1,923,740, which represented $1,423,740 in economic damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.

Other Information

FILING DATE: July 19, 2007.