Our ExperienceFor most businesses, their
primary attorneys are business attorneys who deal in several areas from preparing
and reviewing contracts, financial and corporate matters and personnel issues.
When it comes to suing another business over breach of contract, fraud, or extremely
unethical conduct, a business needs top plaintiff’s attorneys to level the
playing field against a corporation with an extensive—and high priced—team
of legal counsel. As plaintiff's attorneys, we have effectively employed winning
offensive tactics and recovered substantial damages for many of our clients. Because
our assets and assertive litigation practices are behind each case, we can help
a case move forward. Since our financial resources are used to help build a case,
we review every potential case before we accept it. We don’t accept a case
unless we feel we can win it. Our firm has over 30-years
of trial experience and has handled cases in almost every state and jurisdiction
of the country. - Financial Strength. We
have the financing and are able to participate in advancing the cost of a trial
even when it is costly to do so.
- Document Recovery.
Janet, Jenner & Suggs is extremely experienced in the area of document recovery.
We are able to get documents that are withheld and work with computer experts
to recover data that has been “deleted.” Once recovered we are skilled
at organizing the data so it is useful.
- Courtroom
Graphics. We are pioneers in the use of computer graphics in courtrooms. We
have brought a high-tech edge to our cases for years. And it continues to set
the standard in the courtroom.
- Nationwide Network.
After handling cases in partnership with attorneys across the country, Janet,
Jenner & Suggs has developed working relationships with an extensive network
of attorneys.
- Broad Range of Expertise. We
have a broad range of trial experience to draw from including cases in agriculture,
restaurant, manufacturing, farming, energy, and others.
- Our
Contingency Fee Arrangements. You have less risk and we have more incentive,
because we work by the outcome, not the hour.
More
and more businesses, as well as attorneys are hiring us as a plaintiff’s
firm. We are accustomed to carrying the burden of proof and we welcome it. With
our assets and assertive litigation practices, we can help a case move forward. TOP
Breach of Contract
Heritage
Propane Partners, based in Tulsa, OK, sued SCANA, South Carolina’s largest
utility company in 2003, in a contract dispute arising over the bidding process
and ultimate sale of SCANA’s propane businesses. Heritage,
now known as Energy Transfer Partners, was approached by SCANA through a SCANA
subsidiary, Cornerstone Ventures, about purchasing five of SCANA’s propane
companies. As part of the solicitation, Heritage and Cornerstone signed a confidentiality
agreement that all information connected with the bid process was to be kept confidential.
After a lengthy and expensive process – Heritage told Cornerstone it wished
to buy the companies and offered an initial bid. After further negotiations, the
two sides came to agreement on all outstanding issues and shook hands. The SCANA
senior management team told Heritage, “we have a deal.” The two sides
continued to work on finalizing the written documents, agreeing that Heritage
would meet with propane employees prior to announcing the agreement publicly.
However, SCANA kept delaying the final contract. It turned out that Heritage had
been used only as a “stalking horse” to garner a higher bid from another
buyer. All the time, expense and expertise that Heritage had expended had only
been used to facilitate transactions with a second bidder, enriching the bidder
and SCANA at Heritage’s expense. Breach of contract, fraud and punitive
damages awarded--$48 MILLION TOP
Agent Mistake—Hurricane Coverage Denied
Among the cases Mr. Suggs has successfully prosecuted
for small businesses is OSCO v. Cincinnati Insurance Co. (reported at 450 S.E.3d
66). In that case, a local meat packing and processing plant suffered damage to
the contents of its freezers due to a hurricane. The insurance agent who sold
OSCO its policy had made a mistake in the address of the plant, although the plant
and premises surrounded the end of a dead end street, and had always had the same
address for the entire premises. The insurance company insisted that it would
only pay for lost inventory on one side of the street, and refused to pay the
other, and undisputed, parts of the loss until the insured accepted the insurance
company's position. A jury found Cincinnati Insurance Co. to be not only negligent
in its handling of the claim, but also willful and reckless. The company's behavior
turned a $231,000 claim into a $2.1 million claim due to the resulting award of
consequential damages and punitive damages.
Building Covered—Not the Contents?
Another
example is Cock N Bull Steakhouse v. General Ins. Co. (reported at 466 S.E.2d
727). A locally owned restaurant suffered a fire loss. The insurance company paid
$275,000 for the restaurant's building coverage, but refused about $50,000 in
payment, alleging the items claimed were "contents" and not covered.
The items included refrigerators and other "fixtures," which under the
law are considered real estate. The restaurant owner first hired a private adjuster,
who had no luck convincing the insurance company of its erroneous interpretation.
This time the insurance company's bad faith converted a $50,000 debt into $1.5
million in punitive damages and was upheld by the South Carolina Supreme Court
on appeal. |
