Winston Dismisses $14M Lawsuit on Behalf of Global Marketing Systems, Inc.

On October 30, 2015, Winston won a dismissal of Brave Maritime Corporation, Inc.’s (Brave) complaint, which sought more than $14 million in damages against client Global Marketing Systems, Inc. (GMS). Brave alleged that an enforceable contract existed between the two parties concerning a joint venture involving the acquisition and operation of a fleet of shipping vessels that would eventually be listed on a U.S. stock exchange.

Brave relied on two documents in attempting to prove there was a binding agreement: an initial Memorandum of Understanding, which the parties had designated as non-binding, and a later Final Recap, which was intended “to serve as an outline of the mutual understanding of the current structure of the Brave/GMS IPO transaction” but no longer contained the non-binding language. 

Judge J. Frederick Motz of the District of Maryland sided with Winston’s argument that no valid contract existed between the parties, concluding that the Final Recap was not meant to be binding. Judge Motz dismissed the case without oral argument and prior to discovery.

GMS was represented by Washington, D.C.-based partners Tom Buchanan and Charlie Papavizas.