$40 Million Jury Verdict Win to Resort Builder Announced by San Diego-Based Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 2002

A U.S. District Court jury in Phoenix awarded almost $40 million to The Pointe and Gosnell Builders (The Pointe) to compensate them for breach of fiduciary duty and a partnership agreement with Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY).

Steven M. Strauss, partner with San Diego's Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP represented The Pointe and was awarded one of the largest-ever jury verdicts in the state of Arizona. An appeal is pending in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In 1986, The Pointe entered into a partnership with MONY to jointly own and operate the prestigious Pointe Resorts at Tapatio Cliffs and Squaw Peak. The dispute arose from the sale of two resorts to Hilton. MONY claimed it was entitled to all $134 million in distributable sale proceeds, while The Pointe claimed entitlement to $33,535,335.

The Pointe and Gosnell Builders designed, developed and operated The Pointe Squaw Peak and The Pointe Tapatio Cliffs Resorts prior to formation of the partnership with MONY in 1986. The resorts received the lodging industry's coveted "Triple Crown" - the Mobil 5 Star, AAA 5 Diamond and Meeting and Convention Magazine Gold Key awards. Hilton purchased The Pointe at Squaw Peak from the MONY/The Pointe partnership for $94 million in April 1999 and MONY's interest in Tapatio Cliffs in August 1998 for $116 million.

According to Strauss, "The jury's unanimous award of $33,535,335, to the dollar of what The Pointe had requested, is remarkable in a civil case of this size and complexity." In an unusual move, following the jury's verdict on July 3, 2002, the Honorable James A. Teilborg complimented the Procopio legal team on the caliber of representation for this complex case, stating, "I have only been on the bench a couple of years but I have been hanging around courtrooms for 35 years now and I can say that in those 35 years I have never seen trial lawyering finer than what I have seen in this case. The thoroughness of the preparation was just magnificent. The skills that the trial lawyers used in presenting the evidence dealing with the technology and with the many exhibits I think perhaps only a former trial lawyer can appreciate as much as I do but I am sure that those who have been nearby have likewise appreciated it."

Steven M. Strauss is chair of the litigation practice at Procopio. One of the most successful trail lawyers in Southern California, he has twice been named Outstanding Trial Lawyer by the San Diego Trial Lawyer Association. He has obtained trial verdicts and settlements in excess of $100 million.

Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, LLP provides comprehensive legal services for businesses in San Diego and North County. As a full-service law firm with more than 70 attorneys in a wide range of practice areas, Procopio provides businesses and their principals with legal services in a variety of areas including securities, mergers and acquisitions, financing, intellectual property, international business, tax, financial services, real estate, construction, land use, environmental law, litigation, estate planning and insolvency.