Facts

David Lacagnina sued Comprehend Systems Inc., Richard Morrison, and Jud Garner, in connection with an employment dispute.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant allegedly hired plaintiff in 2012 as the Vice President of Business Development for the small startup. Defendants allegedly changed the terms of his employment and compensation and subsequently terminated him. As such, plaintiff sued defendants for breach of contract, fraud, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Defendants allegedly misrepresented plaintiff's role in the company and induced him to sign a document with the changed terms under false pretenses.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants claimed plaintiff was terminated because he performed poorly and delayed the company's sales plan.

Settlement Discussions

Lacagnina demanded $899,000 in damages. Defendants countered with a $381,000 offer of settlement.

Injuries

Lacagnina allegedly suffered emotional distress from the firing and the misrepresentations defendants made.

Result

The jury found that defendants' actions constituted fraud. It also found they had breached the contract and failed to act in good faith, and awarded Lacagnina $556,446, but declined to award any punitive damages. Of the total amount, $226,446 was for economic damages brought on by defendant's deceitfulness and fraudulent conduct, $5,000 for the breach of contract, which was the value of 40,000 stock options, $250,000 in damages for the breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and $75,000 for emotional distress damages.

Other Information

According to the defense, the court recently granted judgement notwithstanding the verdict, and reduced the verdict to $250,000, which was below defendants' CCP 998 offer. FILING DATE: April 29, 2014.

Length

eight days