Gaw | Poe LLP Successfully Defends Jury Verdict On Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO – January 3, 2019 – Gaw | Poe LLP announced today that it successfully defended its jury verdict in favor of client Donald Okada after that verdict was appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by defendant Mark Whitehead.  In December 2016, a jury in Orange County federal court found on all counts in favor of Mr. Okada in his lawsuit alleging breach of contract and fraud by Mr. Whitehead in connection with a real estate transaction.  The final judgment awarded Mr. Okada over $1 million in damages and attorney’s fees, and denied all relief to Mr. Whitehead on his $7 million worth of counterclaims.

Mr. Whitehead appealed the jury verdict to the Ninth Circuit and requested that it be vacated on various grounds.  In a short 5-page memorandum opinion, the Ninth Circuit panel unanimously agreed with Mr. Okada’s arguments and upheld the jury verdict and final judgment. 

The case is Donald Okada v. Mark Whitehead, No. 17-56007, and was heard in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Donald Okada was represented by Gaw | Poe LLP attorneys Randolph Gaw and Victor Meng.