Firm News

On May 10, 2024, Wiggin and Dana secured and protected $582 million for a Kuwaiti ambassador involved in a complex fraud matter. The half-billion-dollar judgment is believed to be the largest appellate judgment in Connecticut history.

The Wiggin and Dana team, led by partner Jonathan Freiman, secured the judgment after years of litigation. The court previously found that the defendant, who had engaged in a multi-year con against the ambassador, was liable for fraudulent misrepresentation, civil theft, and unjust enrichment. After granting summary judgment on liability, the court requested additional evidence on damages, which Wiggin and Dana obtained through requests for testimony taken by a Swiss judge in Switzerland under the Hague Evidence Convention. After presenting hundreds of pages of authenticated documentation and briefing, the court found the voluminous evidence authenticated, confirmed and credible.

After defending the $582 million judgment, on May 10, 2024, the Connecticut Appellate Court ruled that Connecticut’s ban on lawsuits arising out of adultery does not invalidate the Kuwaiti diplomat’s win in a case against his ex-wife.

Mr. Freiman commented to Law360 that, “We’re proud to have secured and protected a half-billion dollar judgment for the ambassador, vindicating his right to recover what he lost in a sophisticated transnational fraud. The Appellate Court properly rejected the fraudster’s attempt to transform herself from a grifter into a victim by using an inapplicable statute that she’d never cited before.”

The Wiggin and Dana appellate team was comprised of Mr. Freiman and Emmett Gilles.

To read the Law360 article, “Conn. Court Upholds Diplomat’s $582M Win Against Ex-Wife,” click here.

To read previous Wiggin and Dana news articles related to this matter, please click below.

Wiggin and Dana Secures Half Billion Dollar Award for Foreign Ambassador

Partner Jonathan Freiman Argues $582 Million Appeal on Behalf of Kuwaiti Ambassador