Susman Godfrey LLP announced it has won a $1.6 billion judgment after an 11-day bench trial in New York state court on behalf of BML Properties, Ltd. in a long-running fraud lawsuit against China Construction America Inc. arising from the development of the Bahamian luxury resort Baha Mar.
Under the leadership of Sarkis Izmirlian, BMLP developed the multibillion-dollar resort complex and hired CCA in 2011 as the construction manager and general contractor for the project. However, beginning in May 2014, CCA deliberately misled BMLP about its intentions and ability to complete and open the resort to paying guests by March 2015, as planned and agreed to by both parties. Despite a “best interests” obligation to BML, CCA diverted substantial “resources and manpower to competing projects, concealing those diversions, and even engaging in outright sabotage of the Project,” the Court determined.
The Baha Mar Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in June 2015, just three months after the resort’s failed opening, was “a foreseeable and natural consequence” of CCA’s fraudulent misrepresentations and failure to get the project back on track, according to the Court’s decision. The $1.6 billion verdict includes $845 million in fraud damages, plus pre-judgement interest from May 2014.
“We are pleased with the Court’s ruling that allows our client to recover the significant losses resulting from CCA’s egregious conduct,” said BMLP’s counsel, Jacob Buchdahl.
The trial team also included Susman Godfrey partners Elisha Barron and Tamar Lusztig, and associate Stephanie Spies. Mark C. Zauderer and Jason T. Cohen of Dorf Nelson & Zauderer LLP served as co-counsel.
The case is BML Properties Ltd. v. China Construction America Inc. et al., case number 657550/2017, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York. Justice Andrew Borrok presided over the trial.