Cole Schotz Secures 19.98 Million Dollar Judgement for The Wimbledon Fund

Cole Schotz P.C. secured a judgment in favor of The Wimbledon Fund, SPC Class TT in the U.S. District Court for Central District of California, marking a significant victory following five years of litigation across multiple states. On July 18, the Cole Schotz team secured a final judgment for $17.66 million against a prominent Hollywood producer and director, and for $2.32 million against his production company.

Wimbledon filed suit against film producer David Bergstein’s asset management firm Swartz IP Services Group Inc. (SIP) in 2015, for the fraudulent transfer of $17.66 million in purchased notes to third parties before letting SIP default on the loan, including $2.3 million fraudulently transferred to a separate production company.

The Cole Schotz team secured an initial victory in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against SIP on November 24, 2015 in the form of a judgment in the principal amount of $18.2 million. Wimbledon subsequently reached a settlement with various parties, but retained its claims against certain unaffiliated defendants.

While defendant argued that he was not behind the fraud, despite evidence presented that he was an officer for SIP, the Cole Schotz team convinced U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder to declare the defendant as jointly liable for the contractual obligations owed by SIP. The judge granted Wimbledon’s summary judgment and determined the Hollywood producer must pay the sum which is owed for his involvement in the corrupt loan purchase financing transaction.

The Cole Schotz team that represented The Wimbledon Fund was led by James Walker and consisted of members Leo Leyva, Eric Latzer, Cameron Welch and James Kim. The firm’s efforts spanned its Texas, New York and New Jersey offices.