Ryan Roman and Michael Marsh

Akerman

Miami partners Michael Marsh and Ryan Roman helped persuade a federal judge to strike a $44.4 million jury award with treble damages in post-trial motions for Jacksonville-based cigar maker Swisher International Inc.

A 2 1/2-week trial ended in March 2016 with breach of contract and antitrust findings against Akerman's client in a lawsuit filed by Trendsettah, a much smaller competitor. A $14.8 million jury award was trebled on the federal antitrust claim.

Swisher brought in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, led by its litigation co-chair Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., after the verdict.

U.S. District Court Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, California, ruled in November that a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on supplier agreements among competitors justified reversing the jury decision and granting summary judgment in favor of the Florida company on the antitrust claim.

The court acknowledged Swisher relied on the district court decision underlying the Ninth Circuit opinion in its summary judgment papers and reviewed that pretrial decision before ruling for Swisher.

A $9 million breach of contract judgment was issued against Swisher last December, and the judge added $2.6 million in attorney fees and costs in March. A notice of appeal has been filed.

Under a 2011 contract, Swisher, which produces 1.6 billion cigars a year, agreed to supply Trendsettah with cigarillos to be sold under the Splitarillo brand. But Trendsettah claimed Swisher restricted production after sales took off and ate into Swisher's market share. The companies disputed similarities between the flavored Swisher Sweets and Splitarillo brands, which include Cali Green and Swag Berry varieties.

Additional Akerman team members were Jennifer Glasser and Naim Surgeon in Miami, Kimberly Lopez and Matthew Detzel in Orlando, and Joshua Mandell in Los Angeles.