BUSINESS RESULTS
Dear NONE,
You know us as a personal injury law firm. Would it surprise you to learn that a significant number of the cases Marsh, Rickard & Bryan has handled over the past ten years were, in fact, business cases? Cases where we represented a small home-grown business against a national corporation. Or a minority shareholder fighting a squeeze-out. Let's look at some of the most recent examples of business cases we've taken on.
Henry Cornelius recently filed an action in federal court on behalf of two Alabama drilling-related companies against the out-of-state company that was handling their payroll services. The claim is that employees of the payroll company diverted away monies that should have gone to the IRS for payroll taxes. Henry says he's "using a powerful tool--The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act--to hold the out-of-state company accountable for defrauding Alabama businesspeople".
Mike Beard and Henry also recently filed a lawsuit in Greene County on behalf of an Alabama company whose insurance company refused to cover damaged tooling equipment. The claims include breah of contract, fraud, bad faith, conversion and negligent procurement of insurance. Mike says "This case presents the common situation where the insured relies on a professional to get the correct coverage and then, when a claim is filed, the insurer denies coverage. It seems to me that insurers are becoming more aggressive in denying claims so we're becoming more aggressive, too".
Earlier this year, Alan Lasseter and Henry resolved a lawsuit that centered on a large piece of industrial property that became too environmentally contaminated to use. Henry and Alan represented the Industrial Development Board of the City of Cullman, which leased land and a large manufacturing facility to a corporate lessee. The Industrial Development Board maintained that the lessee did not return the property at the end of the lease term in as good a condition as it had been at the beginning of the term. According to Alan, "the case developed very well through experts on cause and origin, marketability and loss of revenue and we were able to settle the case very early on".
Also, earlier this year, Henry and Nat concluded a lawsuit on behalf of a small Alabama businessman against a Fortune 500 forest products company. The case involved allegations that the forest products company harvested certain timber to which they were not entitled.
David Marsh has been retained by Healthsouth to lead the charge in the battle for insurance coverage. David represents the company in breach of contract and bad faith actions against nearly two dozen insurance companies for failing to provide coverage in various class action lawsuits filed by shareholders and bondholders. The litigation is ongoing.
