Fred B. Monroe, as Lead Counsel, and Joseph H. Karam Secure Jury Verdict and Award of Approximately $21.477 Million in Damages for JMD Clients
May 18, 2026 – Fred B. Monroe, as lead counsel, and Joseph H. Karam, secured a jury verdict in favor of JMD’s clients, David Soleymani, and WoofersEtc after a three-week contested trial against Scottie Johnson, Systematic Audio, LLC, Jacob Fuller and Sundown Audio, LLC. Richard B. Fennell of JMD provided instrumental behind the scenes support during the trial of the case. The jury awarded approximately $21.477 million in damages against Scottie Johnson and Systematic Audio, LLC, including $5,369,296.50 in compensatory damages and $16,107,893.00 in punitive damages, which is believed to be one of the largest civil jury verdicts in Catawba County history. The jury also returned verdicts against Jacob Fuller and Sundown Audio, LLC for the same amount of compensatory damages, but a lesser amount of punitive damages. Copies of the jury verdicts are attached.
In this hotly-contested, complex business dispute, Fred and Joe presented evidence to the jury that Johnson, the principal of Systematic Audio, LLC, and Fuller, of Sundown Audio, LLC, engaged in a fraudulent scheme to create the appearance of a bank liquidation of Sundown Audio for only around $4 million, with the intent to cheat Soleymani out of his contractual right to 25% of the gross sales price. In the end, the jury’s verdict indicated that Sundown Audio, LLC actually sold for $21,477,190.00. The jury also found that Johnson took unfair retaliatory actions against the Soleymani family’s business, WoofersEtc. In addition, the jury soundly rejected Systematic Audio, LLC’s counterclaim for alleged violations of the Lanham Act. On September 18, 2026, the Court entered judgment on the verdicts that not only confirmed an award of punitive damages, but also awarded attorneys’ fees, and interest, which resulted in a total award of over $29.4 million. A copy of the judgment is attached.
