On July 13, 2011, a jury awarded a client of Margrave Celmins nearly $1,300,000.00 on his claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and breach of fiduciary duty arising out of a shareholder dispute. The litigation was filed by a minority shareholder of a law firm against the majority shareholder in July of 2008. The case was hard fought by Mike Kitchen and Lat Celmins and aggressively defended through trial, which commenced on July 5th.

"This litigation consumed nearly three years and a two-week trial," Mike Kitchen said, "but our client felt he had been unfairly treated, and obviously the jury agreed with him based upon the evidence presented."

The case presented complex issues involving the obligations of a majority and controlling shareholder to minority shareholders in the firm. The evidence was presented through numerous documents, including multiple financial exhibits, with most of Plaintiff's exhibits being admitted into evidence. The evidence was presented through numerous witnesses, including two certified public accountant expert witnesses who testified on behalf of Plaintiff and two expert witnesses on behalf of Defendants. Plaintiff's expert witnesses made a detailed and compelling evidentiary presentation of the damages. It is expected that with Plaintiff's requested attorneys' fees and costs, the final judgment may well exceed $1.5 million.