Law Firm Greenan, Peffer, Sallander & Lally Announces a Convincing Win in Fight Over Dot-Com Proceeds; Proves That Bigger Is Not Always Better.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

SAM RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2002

The law firm of Greenan, Peffer, Sallander & Lally effectively burst the bubble of a claimant trying to cash in on a multi-million dollar dot-com sale. On December 4, 2001, a jury of five women and seven men took less than one day to unanimously reject Southern Californian Robert Martins' claim against AIN Incorporated and its founder Michael Gorun.

On February 14, 2000, AIN, under its trade name CarSmart, was acquired by on-line auto sales behemoth, Autobytel (ABTL), in a cash and stock deal valued in excess of $20 million. Only weeks before the close, Martins, a sales executive for AIN, secretly filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming half the proceeds of the sale, based on his alleged contribution to the look and feel of a CarSmart website that AIN had attempted to launch. Martins claimed that he had a contract with AIN, entitling him to a 49.9 percent ownership in the CarSmart website once it was spun off into a separate company. His suit against AIN eventually expanded to include not only AIN and Gorun, but also Autobytel, and included counts of fraud and conspiracy.

AIN and Michael Gorun hired two large law firms in succession trying to fight off Martins' claims, before he finally hired Greenan, Peffer, Sallander & Lally, which successfully defended the case. Superior Court Judge James R. Trembath entered final judgment on the jury's verdict on April 16, 2002.

Robert Sallander, a founding partner of GPS&L, and John Makin, another seasoned litigation partner, took over Michael Gorun's representation in late May of 2001 and wowed the client with their expertise.

"The best thing I ever did was move my case to GPS&L," Gorun says. "This was the biggest case of my life... but with the other firms, I never knew what was happening, and nobody could explain to me where they were going with my representation. For the same hourly rate I was paying the big firm for inexperienced third-year attorneys, at GPS&L I got a very experienced trial lawyer who took charge of the case and aggressively represented my interests."

And the firm's efforts were noticed by other lawyers on the case. An attorney representing another party in the lawsuit, remarked, "Sallander's closing argument was one of the finest I've ever heard. It was simply masterful."

With offices in San Ramon, California, the law firm of Greenan, Peffer, Sallander & Lally LLP offers sophisticated litigation and business representation to companies and individuals in the Tri-Valley and nationally.