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MMH Obtains Final Judgment for Middle East Based Airline on Fraud and Conversion Claims against Aircraft Spares Vendor
MMH Miami Office partner Rollin Smith successfully obtained Final Judgment in favor of our client, a large low-cost airline based in the Middle East, on fraud and conversion claims against the principals of a corporate aircraft spares vendor. The airline had agreed to purchase a Pratt & Whitney APS3200 auxiliary power unit (APU) from the Delaware-based spares vendor, paid for it in advance, but then received neither the APU nor a refund of the money it paid. The vendor then attempted to rely on Delaware’s corporate secrecy laws to hide the identities of the individuals who conducted the transactions for the vendor.Rollin first obtained a federal court judgment for the airline against the vendor, then subpoenaed information as to the signatories controlling a California-based bank account the vendor had used. In doing so, he was able to identify the vendor’s corporate officers and prosecute the airline’s fraud and conversion claims against them individually in federal court in Florida. Faced with clear evidence of the alleged fraud, these individuals and their counsel agreed to a strictly worded settlement agreement, a breach of which led to Rollin obtaining Final Judgment against them for the amount owed, interest, and attorney’s fees and costs.
