Firm Obtains $1.54 Million Settlement on Unjust Enrichment Claim Over Finder’s Fee
Rabin Kammerer Johnson (RKJ), Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa (RDCY), and Harris Appeals recently settled a case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Matthew Hayden v. Steven F. Urvan v. Brew First, Inc., Case No. 9:21-CV-82051-MATTHEWMAN) for $1.54 million. The parties vigorously litigated the case for nearly 4 years, including appeals of the merits and attorneys’ fees judgments.
In January 2023, RKJ attorneys Adam Rabin and Lauren Johnson were successful in having the court dismiss the defendant’s claims against third-party defendant Brew First, Inc. In March 2024, attorneys Adam Rabin and Lauren Johnson along with Fred Cunningham and Matt Christ from RDCY were successful in obtaining a $500,000 jury verdict for plaintiff Matthew Hayden on a claim for unjust enrichment.
The case involved a finder’s fee that plaintiff claimed that defendant owed him, after plaintiff introduced defendant to an investment bank that matched defendant with a potential buyer of defendant’s company, GunBroker.com, LLC (Gunbroker). But when the acquiring company bought Gunbroker from defendant, defendant refused to pay plaintiff the 1% finder’s fee the parties had discussed if a sale were to occur.
Defendant’s main affirmative defenses and counterclaims related to the fact that there was no written or oral contract, and defendant alleged plaintiff was not entitled to a finder’s fee because he was acting illegally as an unregistered securities dealer, broker, or investment advisor by seeking a transaction-based fee based on the sale of Gunbroker. Defendant also alleged that, upon plaintiff’s request, Brew First had sold unregistered securities to defendant and that Brew First was an unregistered issuer of securities.
At trial, Plaintiff argued the recognized “finder’s exception” applies to any securities registration requirements because plaintiff was supposed to be paid for making the introduction to the investment bank that led to the ultimate sale, not for participating in the negotiations of the terms of the underlying sale of defendant’s company. The jury agreed, awarding plaintiff 1% of the $50 million cash portion of the payment that defendant received from the Gunbroker sale.
The Court granted plaintiff and Brew First’s motion for attorneys’ fees, brought under sections 517.211 and 768.79, Florida Statutes, awarding them over $1 million in attorneys’ fees.
Defendant appealed plaintiff’s merits judgment to the 11th Circuit. With the assistance of Grace Streicher and Andrew Harris from Harris Appeals, plaintiff prevailed on the merits appeal with the 11th Circuit issuing a written opinion.
Defendant also filed an additional appeal of the judgment for attorneys’ fees, but the case settled while the fees appeal was pending.
