The jury in a lawsuit involving minority shareholders who sued a Harold Simmons-affiliated company ruled against Simmons' company, NL Industries, in a verdict that could bring damages ranging from $28 million to $178 million.
The shareholders claimed NL Industries deprived them of the value of their investment. The shareholders were running the corporation’s NL Environmental Management Services Inc. subsidiary.
A Dallas County jury handed down the verdict on Friday. The defendants included NL Industries, subsidiary NLS Environmental Management Services Inc., Contran Corp. and Harold Simmons, a Dallas businessman and well-known philanthropist who controls NL Industries, among others.
The plaintiffs were Industrial Recovery Capital Holdings Co., Highland Environmental Management LLC and Efficasey Environmental LLC.
The jury gave two alternative verdict scenarios, only one of which will be accepted by the court. In one, it ruled breach of contract and awarded $28 million in actual damages. In the other, it ruled a breach of fiduciary responsibility and awarded actual damages of $33.7 million and punitive damages of $140 million. Punitive damages included $5 million against NL Industries General Counsel Robert D. Graham, according to a news release and court records. Graham could not be immediately reached for comment.
