On May 3, 2023, a Mercer County jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Business Litigation Partner Dan Sweetser’s clients in a hotly contested business partnership dispute.
Dan represented a metal alloys company in India and its owners. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is a New Jersey man who grew up in India and knew Dan’s clients. He alleged that Dan’s clients entered into an oral contract with him to co-own and financially support a scrap metal business that he started in New Jersey. He claimed that our clients breached the oral agreement and owed him $750,000 in contract damages, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in other damages.
Dan’s clients agreed that they helped the plaintiff start his business and bought scrap metal from him. However, they vigorously denied entering into an oral agreement with him to co-own and share in the expenses of his New Jersey business.
After a bitter seven-day jury trial before Mercer County Presiding Civil Judge Douglas Hurd, the eight-person jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Dan’s clients. The jury found from the evidence, which included the testimony of 10 witnesses and over 100 exhibits, that Dan’s clients did not have a contract with the plaintiff and did not owe him any money.
Dan’s clients are overjoyed with the jury verdict. They greatly appreciate the time and effort Dan put into preparing for the trial, and his passion and advocacy at trial.
“I am thrilled with the verdict in favor of my clients and very happy that they can put this matter behind them,” said Dan. “This case has been aggressively litigated since its inception four years ago and was a hard-fought legal battle. I am appreciative that the jury was able to find the truth and vindicate my clients from the serious claims made against them.”
Dan is a Partner in the firm’s Business Law and Litigation Group. For over three decades, Dan has been successfully litigating a wide range of cases in the State and Federal courts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Dan represents clients in the areas of employment law, contracts, business disputes, shareholder disputes, insurance matters and civil rights law. To contact Dan, please email him at DSweetser@szaferman.com or call (609) 275-0400.
