Markowitz Herbold Wins $23.4 Million Verdict for Vineyard Client in "Wolf of Montreal" case

The case pitted two men who had brushes with forms of celebrity in the early 2010s — Martin as a contestant on the reality-TV show "Shark Tank" and John Babikian as an accused penny-stock fraudster.

The Markowitz Herbold team convinced jurors that a preponderance of the evidence showed Babikian and Martin had formed a partnership to plant a 400-acre vineyard outside The Dalles, and that Babikian failed to follow through on an obligation to fully fund the project as Martin directed its development. Martin claimed Babikian owed him around $4.5 million in lost profits.

In a seven-day trial that featured accusation of barely veiled threats against Martin by Babikian, the jurors also agreed that Babikian tried to gain control of the vineyard through deceit and coercion.Chad Colton led the trial team and was assisted by Adam Starr.