HOUSTON, April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A Harris County jury has awarded a $7.86 million verdict to Ohio-based Prexus Health against Houston's University General Hospital and its affiliated companies Ascension Physician Solutions and Luxxus Health Systems.

Jurors in Houston's 270th State District Court issued the verdict on April 26, 2011, after finding that University General's leadership wrongfully terminated a series of contractual agreements with Prexus. The agreements covered management and administrative services at University General's 72-bed specialized hospital in the Texas Medical Center complex.

The jury also found that Luxxus interfered with confidentiality and non-compete agreements by hiring former Prexus executives and employees to perform the same services through companies controlled by University General executives. The verdict was issued following two days of jury deliberations and a 2 1/2-week trial.

"The jury rightly decided that the defendants unlawfully and blatantly breached these contracts, and interfered with Prexus' contractual relationships and with its executives and employees," says Dallas attorney Michael K. Hurst of Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail, lead trial counsel for Prexus. "We're very pleased that the position of Prexus has been vindicated and that the jury upheld established standards of business law and business ethics."

In addition to Mr. Hurst, the Prexus trial team from Gruber Hurst included attorneys Dena DeNooyer Stroh, Jonathan R. Childers, and Steven Hopkins.

Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail was formed in 2006 and provides legal counsel on complex business litigation, including securities, financial services, employment, intellectual property, technology, products liability and other commercial cases. Clients include leading companies — large and small — and individuals in the fields of private equity, real estate, manufacturing, professional services, energy, and retail.

For more information, contact Barry Pound at 800.559.4534 or barry@androvett.com.

SOURCE Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail