Facts

The plaintiffs were plastic surgeons who purchased individual pages on websites hosted by defendant Powers Acquisition Corporation (PAC). The iEnhance.com website was a marketing tool designed to help plastic surgeons expand their cosmetic surgery practices. A statement on the iEnhance.com website incorrectly stated that all plastic surgeons on the website were board certified in plastic surgery. However, the plaintiffs were only eligible for certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) and were planning to sit for certification in November 2005. As a result of PAC's false statement, ABPS deferred the plaintiffs from sitting for their certification examinations for one year.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs contended that PAC was negligent and caused the deferral due to no fault of the doctor plaintiffs. PAC's president wrote a letter to the ABPS absolving the doctors of any responsibility. Despite that, the ABPS strictly enforced its advertising guidelines and upheld the deferrals of all PAC clients.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defendants contended that the doctors were comparatively at fault for not discovering the offending language and more importantly, there were no provable damages. Via cross-complaint, PAC alleged that the ABPS interfered with PAC's contractual relationships with their client doctors who terminated their contracts with PAC once deferred.

Settlement Discussions

No firm offers. The parties agreed to a resolution of the claims asserted by four of the original eight plaintiff plastic surgeons. These doctors agreed to dismiss their claims against PAC in exchange for a combined payment of $27,000.

Damages

The plaintiffs had to spend time requalifying for the 2006 examination. The plaintiffs suffered a loss of increase to their aesthetic surgery revenues once ABPS certified.

Result

The parties stipulated to a binding baseball arbitration with retired Judge Cole. The plaintiffs' confidential baseball submission was $430,000 and PAC offered $75,000. Judge Cole initially selected plaintiffs' $430,000 number but decreased the award by 20 percent for plaintiff's own contributory negligence, for a final award of $364,000. Later Judge Cole increased his award to $430,000. Judge Cole entered judgment in favor of the lead plaintiff in the sum of $430,000, plus costs. By stipulation, $430,000 was deemed to be the verdict for the other three plastic surgeons whose cases were pending, with a reduced cost amount. Judgment entered in favor of the four plastic surgeons totaling $1,762,700.