Jury awards IDX Capital, Jamie Cawley and Brady Halper $8.25 Million Against Phoenix Partners Group Founder, Wesley Wang
NEW YORK, March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In a judgment yesterday, IDX Capital and two of its former principals, Jamie Cawley and Brady Halper, won a lawsuit and were awarded $8.25 million against Wesley Wang, a founder and former managing director of Phoenix Partners Group, a credit derivatives interdealer broker.
After a six-week trial in NY Supreme Court in Manhattan, a jury found Wang liable for both compensatory and punitive damages in a lawsuit alleging that he tortiously interfered with IDX Capital's sale to Knight Capital Group (KCG), the electronic execution firm in 2006. Court papers alleged that Knight had offered to buy the fledgling IDX Capital, a credit default swap trading firm, for $25 million, but backed away from the deal after Wang bombarded Knight's CEO, Thomas Joyce, and other Knight employees, with numerous emails disparaging Cawley, Halper and IDX.
The jury also found Jason Horowitz, a former employee of Interdealer IT, a financial derivatives software firm, jointly and severally liable to Cawley for both compensatory and punitive damages.
Court papers alleged that the defendants waged a malicious campaign that included "the hacking into IDX Capital's computer systems, transmitting stolen documents, and sending false and defamatory information to Knight concerning Cawley and IDX Capital." Wang's actions, court papers alleged, were motivated by a vendetta and extreme animus, spite and a vindictive desire to ruin the business interests, career and personal life of Cawley and those associated with him. Court papers also alleged that Wang emailed Cawley's wife about her family, prompting them to seek legal protection and take measures to protect their personal safety.
At trial, the jury found that the Knight-IDX deal would have gone through, but for the actions of Wang and Horowitz, both of whom, the jury found, had tortiously interfered with the contemplated deal by wrongful means. The jury also found that Wang's interference with Cawley's contemplated employment contract with Knight was done with "the sole purpose of harming" Cawley.
The jury also found that Wang had committed libel.
In addition to compensatory damages, the jury also granted punitive damages -- designed to punish the wrongdoer for his egregious acts and act as a deterrent for others -- against Wang and Horowitz.
In a statement today, Cawley said: "It took us six years and a tremendous amount of financial resources to vindicate our rights, but Wang was finally judged by a jury of his peers. We are elated with the decision and are happy that this whole affair is finally behind us. We are excited to move on with our lives."
For legal case reference: IDX Capital, Jamie Cawley, Brady Halper v. Wesley Wang, Jason Horowitz, Patrick Nihan & Terrence Solomone (NY State Supreme Court. Index NO. 102806/2007).
For further information contact Maritza Olmo (212) 779-2300.
SOURCE IDX Capital
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