A Hamilton County jury awarded an additional $11.5 million in damages to Canyon Ridge developers Monday, adding more weight to what was already one of the largest damage awards in county history.
No clear record exists of the county's largest civil jury award, but this total $32 million verdict is thought to be the largest in county history.
A suit filed in 2011 alleged that financial services firm Sterne Agee & Leach and investment banker Ed Wall, a former Sterne employee, worked to build a competing hotel using the same land and funding promised to Canyon Ridge while also working with Canyon Ridge developers.
Chattanooga Village developer Duane Horton discusses plans for the project at a public meeting at the Hixson Community Center in December 2012. A jury awarded nearly $20.6 million in compensatory damages to Canyon Ridge developers on Thursday.Last week, the same jury decided that developers of Canyon Ridge, a planned hotel and convention center located on Lookout Mountain in Walker County, were owed $20.6 million in compensatory damages. That verdict came after more than six weeks of testimony, making it the longest civil trial in county history.
The jury deliberated for about two hours Monday before reaching a verdict in the punitive phase. This second part of the trial process was meant to determine what, if any, damages are due as punishment for wrongdoing. Judge J.B. Bennett thanked jurors for their lengthy service.
"Without a doubt, Hamilton County got its money's worth out of you," Bennett told jurors.
During brief arguments before deliberation, Sterne Agee & Leach CEO Eric Needleman said the company did not profit from Wall's actions on the Canyon Ridge project, and that Wall did not even work for the firm when some of the alleged misconduct took place.
He said Sterne Agee & Leach, Inc. is struggling financially, and the jury's $20.6 million award made a very difficult situation "even that much more difficult." An additional punitive award, he said, would make "an incredibly difficult situation possibly devastating."
Before the verdict was rendered, Wall said he was unable to pay even the compensatory damages and wouldn't be able to pay any additional payments, either.
The jury's punitive award specified that Stern Agee & Leach must pay $10 million to Canyon Ridge, LLC and $250,000 to Scenic Land, LLC, both created for the Canyon Ridge development project. Defendant Edmund Wall will owe an additional $1 million to Canyon Ridge, LLC and $250,000 to Scenic Land, LLC.
A final judgment has not yet been entered. Bennett ordered a Thursday court date for attorneys to discuss pending items in the case.
Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow her on Twitter @clairelwiseman.