A $157 million verdict in a complex shareholder derivative and breach of fiduciary duty case earned by Burford Perry has been included among the Top 50 verdicts in the country in 2023, as compiled by Top Verdicts & Settlements - TopVerdict.com.
The February 2023 verdict in Harris County district court centered on claims that Martin Kay had wrongly moved financial resources and talent from Greenlet, LLC, a real estate technology company he co-owned with Laura Yosowitz.
Representing Ms. Yosowitz, the trial team. led by Burford Perry name partner Robert Burford presented evidence that Mr. Kay engaged in self-dealing and defrauded both Greenlet and Ms. Yosowitz by taking Greenlet’s assets — including technology, data, customers, and business plan — to create a new company, Entera Technology. By the time of the trial, Entera had become highly profitable by facilitating institutional investment in single-family homes using big data and artificial intelligence.
“This case presented a tangle of complex business and financial details,” Mr. Burford said. “We connected with jurors by breaking the case down and presenting a narrative that truly resonated with them. Complicated financial disputes like this one are where our firm excels.”
The Harris County jury found that Mr. Kay had breached his fiduciary duty to both Greenlet and Ms. Yosowitz, among other findings. In addition to the national Top 50 ranking, the verdict is also listed among the top 20 plaintiff's jury verdicts in Texas for 2023, based on research by TopVerdict.
In addition to Mr. Burford, Ms. Yosowitz was represented by Burford Perry co-founder Brent Perry and associate Zachary Carlson, as well as Jeff Diamant of Jeff Diamant P.C. and Shawn A. Johnson of SAJ Law PLLC.
The case was Laura Elizabeth Yosowitz v. Martin Lee Kay, et al., No. 2018-37750, in 334th District Court.
