Defendants Settle After Opening Statements

One week before a private equity fund signed a $700 million letter of intent with Clorox, it wrongfully terminated one of the partners, depriving him of $5 million worth of carried interest.  In informing him of his termination, he was told they had news – the good, the bad, and the ugly – the good being the sale, the bad being the termination, and the ugly being the intent to screw him out of the carried interest. We took over this case midway, deposed the CEO obtaining key admissions, and set it for trial. During opening statements, we showed not only the key evidence, but also the iconic photo of Clint Eastwood in the famous movie, “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.” The trial judge began ruling against the defendants’ positions “as a matter of law,” resulting in a settlement before the end of the day.