1.92 Million jury verdict on behalf of fired CEO who had been verbally promised stock options
In this case, Daniel Y. Zohar represented the nephew of Rupert Murdoch, David Calvert-Jones. Calvert-Jones had been hired as the CEO of a transportation and media business in Los Angeles, and at the time he was hired, was verbally promised stock options in the company, which was struggling financially.
After turning the company around, Calvert-Jones was abruptly terminated. When he asked to cash out his stock options, the company denied having ever made such a promise. There were no written agreements ever drawn up or signed regarding the stock options.
The defense contended that there was never a binding agreement, and even if there were, the options were worth no more than $88,000.
The Zohar Law Firm was hired to present the case at trial to a jury in downtown Los Angeles during the height of the recession. After a two week trial, a unanimous jury rendered a verdict in favor of Calvert-Jones for $1.92 Million.