Category: Real Estate

One more successful trial was conducted by attorneys in Lei Jiang Law Firm. Attorney Jiang was the lead counsel. He, et al. v. Rom, et al., Case No. 1:15-CV-01869, was initially filed as a class action in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Ohio. Three Plaintiffs represented a class of 140 people against eight individual and corporate defendants.  Class action, international parties, service issues, taking evidence under Hague Convention, and electronic discovery all render this case one of the most complex cases.  But we see it as an opportunity to establish ourselves in the global litigation and advanced dispute resolution arena.

Electronic discovery presented a unique challenge in this case.  Our firm represented Plaintiffs and were dumped with 86 gigabyte (GB) of electronic stored information (ESI) after a successful motion to compel filed by us.  The dumping was just one month before the discovery cut off deadline. Considering that 1GB typically contains 64,782 pages of documents (more pages for email files).  86 GB contains an enormous amount of documents for review. Yet, we swiftly employed a comprehensive strategy, utilized latest software and platform, and conducted document review in the most effective and efficient manner.  Our team, attorneys and computer forensic expert, worked diligently on the data.   As a result, the relevant information was quickly extracted for litigation. We were able to review a large amount of information within a relatively short period of time.

Although Plaintiffs’ effort in class certification failed, the final result was a success. The case proceeded to trial. The four day trial resulted a complete victory for our clients.  Plaintiffs prevailed on all claims submitted to the jury, including fraud and violation of Ohio Deceptive Trade Practice Action.  Plaintiffs also successfully pierced corporate veils of all remaining corporate defendants – making their owner(s) personally liable for the corporate misconduct. Finally, Plaintiffs were awarded with punitive damage and attorney fee.  This was a stunning victory for Plaintiffs, considering fraud, piercing the corporate veil, and seeking punitive damage were the most difficult tasks in any lawsuit.

In this case, we also utilized new technology for virtual remote deposition and contemporaneous transmission of trial testimony from the other side of the globe – Hong Kong.  The new technology we used was tested for the first time in the Northern District of Ohio.  It significantly reduced the cost, and eased restrictions on time, place, facility and equipment.  In this case, legal expertise and technology worked together seamlessly.

It must be mentioned that Plaintiffs were fortunate to have the case be heard in the court of honorable Judge James Gwin. Judge Gwin took no shortcuts, made no detours, and in this case, he made the complete journey necessary to accomplish justice.

If you or your company need a competent law firm to handle international disputes or litigation, please contact us.