The law firm of Dinsmore & Shohl suffered a major loss when a Hamilton County jury in Cincinnati awarded Turbocombustor Technology $12.6 million. The jury found that the law firm and one of its attorneys, Harvey Cohen, “were fraudulent in their dealings with” the company. The lawsuit was the second that arose from the 2006 purchase of Douglas-Ohio and Douglas Machine & Manufacturing companies by Turbocombustor.
The Douglas companies used Cohen and Dinsmore as attorneys during the sale. The two provided documents during the sale closing that said the Douglas companies did not have any outstanding lawsuits or legal issues. The lawsuit against the law firm claims that a 2005 shareholder lawsuit that involved the Douglas companies was not resolved during the time of sale and not disclosed to Turbocombustor. The lawsuit alleged that Turbocombustor was then put on the hook for $10 million related to those lawsuits.
The lawsuit said that Cohen and Dinsmore “chose to proceed with the transactions, and their conduct was therefore fraudulent and/or reckless and/or negligent.”
The managing partner for Dinsmore, George Vincent, said that the firm is standing by Cohen and will appeal the verdict. “This is an unfortunate outcome and did not reflect the reality of the case,” Vincent said. The jury also has to decide if Dinsmore and Cohen should pay punitive damages, which could wind up being in the millions.