In August 2019, Nathanial Martinez of Palter Sims Martinez PLLC secured a favorable jury verdict on behalf of his clients Hertz Electric LLC and HJC Global Electric LLC against James Benge and Benge General Contracting LLC. The Benge parties had initially filed the lawsuit against the Hertz parties alleging defective workmanship as the basis for not paying the Hertz parties for the work they performed. Martinez was able to obtain dismissal of all of the Benge parties’ affirmative claims through summary judgment before trial and directed verdict during trial. After a four-day trial, Dallas County jury unanimously found that the Benge parties had committed both breach of contract and fraud against the Hertz parties in connection with certain electrical and painting work performed at several commercial projects in DFW, including restaurants such as Quill Lounge and Matchbox Pizza. The jury awarded the Hertz parties damages under both the fraud and contract theories of the case and their attorneys’ fees. In addition, the jury found that James Benge was the “alter ego” of Benge General Contracting LLC because he had caused Benge General Contracting to be used for the purpose of perpetrating and did perpetrate an actual fraud on HTJ Global and Hertz Electric primarily for his own direct personal benefit.
“This case had been reset for trial over nine times, and my clients were beginning to wonder if they would ever get this to a jury,” said Martinez. “I cannot begin to describe how elated they are with this hard-fought and well-deserved result.”
The case, styled Benge General Contracting LLC v. Hertz Electric LLC and HJC Global Electric LLC v. James Benge, Individually, was tried in the 160th Judicial District of Dallas County, Texas, Honorable Aiesha Redmond, presiding.
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