Ohio First District Court of Appeals Affirmed 2009 Judgment of $1.3 Million in Favor of Keating Muething & Klekamp's Client Covenant Dove

Cincinnati, OH — In a June 29, 2011 decision, the Ohio First District Court of Appeals affirmed the 2009 money judgment and injunctive relief granted in favor of Covenant Dove LLC in the amount of $1,340,810.29.

On December 9, 2009, Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL (KMK^®) attorneys, Michael L. Scheier and Benjamin G. Stewart, after 18 months of litigation and an eight-day jury trial, won a judgment of $1.3 million plus an award for attorneys’ fees for their client, a group of related companies in Memphis, Tennessee, known as Covenant Dove, LLC.  The case was heard in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas before Judge Melba D. Marsh.   In all, there were 22 named plaintiffs and 15 named defendants in the case, Covenant Dove LLC et al v. Mariner Health Care et al, Case No. A0805955; Court of Common Pleas; Hamilton County, Ohio.

The claims arose from the transfer of ownership of seven nursing home facilities located in Mississippi and Tennessee from Mariner Health Care-related entities to Covenant Dove.  The disputes generally revolved around the issues of which party was responsible for paying the bills incurred from the seven facilities prior to the transfer of ownership, and which party was entitled to keep the monies earned from the services provided prior to the transfer.

After both sides presented their evidence to the jury, but before the Court gave the case to the jury to decide, plaintiffs’ counsel asked for summary judgment in Covenant Dove’s favor, arguing no issue of disputed fact remained to present to the jury in regard to either liability or damages.  The Court agreed and entered judgment on all of the plaintiffs’ claims in the complaint for breach of contract and for attorneys fees.  The Court of Appeals affirmed the award of contract damages and the amount, and remanded the case for the trial court to determine the amount of legal fees owed to Covenant Dove.