 By John Ryan As our staff researches the annual Lawdragon 500 guide, we do our best to keep track of the thousands of developments in successful law practices around the nation. One of the biggest cases from Texas was the $112-million verdict Tyco-subsidiary ADT scored against Mexican and American defendants over retaliation ADT faced after terminating a deal with its dealers in Mexico. Thomas Ajamie of Houston’s Ajamie LLP, who represented ADT, filled us in on the case and some other developments in his practice. Last year, we talked with Ajamie about his work on behalf of investors who lost money with the Madoff and Sanford frauds. Lawdragon: What was at issue in the ADT case? Thomas Ajamie: Our client had a garden-variety business dispute with the dealers of its products in the country of Mexico. The contract between our client and the dealers required that all disputes be resolved by arbitration. Instead, the dealers contacted a rogue group of people and companies who filed false criminal complaints against individual employees of our client. Some of our employees were arrested and thrown into Mexican prisons; others were forced to leave the country of Mexico. Our client filed suit in the USA to try to stop these unlawful arrests. Once we filed suit against the people and companies who were making the false criminal charges against our employees, we were able to stop the arrests in Mexico and our client was able to run its business there without interference. LD: What has happened to the executives who were arrested? Have they been able to resume employment? TA: All of the executives who were arrested left the employ of our client ADT. Some of them found other employment; some did not. All of them had their reputations harmed by the false arrests and false accusations made against them. LD: What do you think was key in the trial to have the jury find in your favor? TA: The key to our success at trial was that we were able to prove that all of the criminal complaints filed against our client’s employees were eventually dismissed by the appellate courts in Mexico since the complaints lacked any factual truth. The jury got the picture that these criminal complaints were filed for the sole purpose of harassing ADT’s employees and with the intent to try to extort money from our client. Also, during the course of the case the defendants filed criminal complaints in Mexico against certain trial witnesses who planned to testify in favor of our client. That was the final straw, and the jury clearly was angered by the defendants' efforts to intimidate trial witnesses. LD: What is the status of the case now in terms of appeals? Do you anticipate having trouble collecting from the defendants? TA: The trial judge entered final judgment in favor of ADT in the amount of $112,119,000. According to the National Law Journal, this was the 16th largest verdict of 2009. The case is now on appeal. The defendants are wealthy and they can pay the judgment, but it’s unclear whether they will try to hide or move certain assets. LD: Is this case indicative of any trends that you're seeing in your practice? TA: We are seeing many more international cross-border business disputes. In recent years we have handled disputes emanating out of Hong Kong, China, Italy, Switzerland, France, Ecuador and of course Mexico. I foresee this trend to continue. LD: Since we last spoke, what types of cases of have you been handling as the economy has continued to struggle? TA: In this environment, there are an increasing number of disputes over money. Companies are fighting over every last dollar. We are seeing our clients take aggressive stances. And competitors in certain industries are filing suits against one another because their businesses are more competitive and they are looking for ways to increase their business at the expense of their competitors. LD: What updates can you provide about the Madoff and Sanford cases since our interview last year? TA: Those cases continue to trudge along. Since billions of dollars are in dispute, it will take a few years for the cases to be completely resolved. LD: Can you give us a short preview on what cases or trials lay ahead for you and the firm this year? TA: We are scheduled to try more financial cases this year. Companies, pension funds and wealthy individuals have very strong cases against banks and others who mishandled their money. We will also continue our defense work for our excellent clients like Dell, Tyco, DuPont and others. Page: 1 of 1 pages for this article
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