Hartline Barger Wins a Three-Day Breach of Contract Jury Trial

Hartline Barger won a jury trial in the 146th Judicial District Court of Bell County, before Judge Jack Jones.

This was a lawsuit over a breach of a restaurant purchase agreement. Under the parties’ purchase agreement, the seller was to discount a promissory note, on which the purchaser was the obligor, by $250,000 “if the purchaser pays off the note within one year of the closing date.”

A lower discount, for “10%,” applied if the purchaser paid off the note “within year one and year two.” The closing was on January 2, 2017, and the purchaser paid off the note on January 2, 2018. The seller claimed that January 2, 2018 was not within the one year of closing to be entitled to the $250,000 discount. Roy, Holly, and Brian successfully argued to the jury that January 2, 2018 was still within one year and their client was wrongfully denied the full discount. The meaning of “within one year” as used in the business purchase agreement was the central dispute in this lawsuit. The Hartline Barger trial team also won the second issue in the case, which was that the seller failed to properly reimburse the purchaser for gift cards used at the restaurant for the first two years after the purchase, as the contract required. The jury awarded their client those damages, plus attorney’s fees