March 28, 2011 in Case Summaries

In a closely-watched case involving shareholder oppression, the Dallas Court of Appeals upheld a judgment in favor of Levinger PC client Ann Rupe based on the jury’s finding that she had been oppressed by the officers and directors of Rupe Investment Corporation when they refused her request to meet with potential purchasers of her stock.  The appellate court also upheld the trial court’s order requiring the defendants to buy back Ms. Rupe’s stock as an equitable remedy for their misconduct. In a landmark ruling that redefined the text of shareholder oppression in Texas, the Supreme Court held that the conduct at issue did not satisfy the new definition of oppression, but remanded the case for further analysis of Ms. Rupe’s fiduciary duty claim. Ms. Rupe was represented at trial by Steve Aldous and Charla Aldous.  Ritchie v. Rupe, as Trustee for the Dallas Gordon Rupe, III 1995 Family Trust, 339 S.W.3d 275 (Tex. App. — Dallas), rev’d in part, 443 S.W. 30 856 (Tex.2014).

January 15, 2010 in Case Summaries

Jeff Levinger represented Sears, Roebuck and Co. in the appeal of a $61 million judgment based on a jury verdict that Sears breached a bond indenture by prematurely redeeming corporate bonds held by a number of institutional investors. The Dallas Court of Appeals sustained Sears’ no evidence challenge because the investors failed to present any evidence of breach, and thus reversed and rendered a take-nothing judgment against the investors. After Sears responded to the investors’ petition for review, the Texas Supreme Court denied the petition. Sears, Roebuck and Co. v. AIG Annuity Ins. Co., 270 S.W.3d 632 (Tex. App.–Dallas 2008, pet. denied).