04/01/2014 // West Palm Beach, Florida, US // JusticeNewsFlash // Justice News Flash // (press release)
New York – A federal judge significantly reduced the amount awarded to billionaire William Koch in a lawsuit filed over fake Bordeaux wine. As reported by Reuters, U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken sided with Silicon Valley entrepreneur Eric Greenberg, regarding his assertion that the $12 million in punitive damages awarded to Koch in the case was excessive. The award was reduced to $711,622.
Koch filed the suit against defendant Greenberg alleging he knowingly sold him counterfeit wine at an auction in 2005.
Oetken is quoted as writing in his decision, “The jury found that (Greenberg) had shamelessly defrauded customers with ‘garbage… Yet his conduct did not cause a particularly egregious harm: he was dealing in luxury goods marketed to a sophisticated and wealthy subset of the population. The harm was strictly economic, and the victims were far from vulnerable consumers. These facts merit a relatively low award of punitive damages.”
Koch, who founded the Oxbow Energy group, has an estimated net worth of $3.9 billion.
This report is provided by Justice News Flash – New York Legal News
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