Julie Walker, Director and litigation attorney at Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC, and William J. Kelly III, founding partner of Kelly Law Partners LLC, both of Denver, Colorado, won a jury trial on behalf of RE/MAX, LLC in Riverside, California. The case was the court’s first live civil jury trial since the pandemic shutdown in 2020.
After several days of pretrial hearings and three weeks of live testimony, the twelve-member jury deliberated for approximately two hours before issuing its verdict for the defense. RE/MAX, LLC, a world-leading international real estate franchisor, had been sued for vicarious liability. The mother-and-son plaintiffs introduced voluminous investment instruments and agreements to claim the franchisee had acted as the franchisor’s ostensible agent in connection with failed real estate investments. RE/MAX, LLC defended the claims on the grounds that the failed investments were not actionable and, additionally, that the investments were outside the scope of the franchisee’s agency.
The jury agreed.