This reminds me of what has been happening to trea
Post# of 39368
This reminds me of what is happening to treaty over the past few tears...
MIAMI (AP) -- Lennar Corp. said Tuesday that a jury has awarded it $1 billion in damages in a long-running defamation dispute with a California developer.
The homebuilder says the decision brings to an end a seven-year legal dispute against developer Nicolas Marsch III and his company, Briarwood Capital LLC. But Lennar said Tuesday that it is unlikely it will ever collect the award from Marsch, who failed to appear in court this week.
Efforts to reach Marsch for comment late Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Lennar said the jury found that Marsch was liable for conspiring with convicted con man Barry Minkow in a scheme to extort money from the company.
"While collecting the award is doubtful, the true value of the verdict is the validation of our integrity, credibility and transparency, which have always been cornerstones of our foundation," Lennar's CEO Stuart Miller said in a statement. "The jury award represents a complete vindication of Lennar's reputation and good name."
According to court documents, Marsch in 2006 began a campaign to force Lennar to pay him some $39 million stemming from a California land deal.
After Minkow, a famed carpet cleaning entrepreneur who served prison time for fleecing investors out of millions in the 1980s, was brought on board, according to court papers, he issued press releases, emails and YouTube videos claiming Lennar was beset by fraudulent accounting, misappropriation of company funds and other corporate malfeasance.
In 2011, Minkow returned to federal prison to serve a five-year term for his role in the extortion and defamation scheme. He was ordered to pay Lennar $583.5 million in restitution for an estimated 20 percent drop in Lennar' stock price.