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The Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed a trial court’s judgment awarding more than $4.3 million to a Lafayette company that put a down payment in 2020 toward the purchase of 705,300 boxes of nitrile gloves, but never received the full order of gloves.
In December 2022, the Indiana Commercial Court in Marion Superior Court entered a judgment awarding Illumination International LLC, an importer of medical products, $4,358,342 in damages in its lawsuit against Vannin Healthcare Global Ltd., a company based in the Isle of Man, according to court records.
This award came after a jury found in favor of Illumination, finding that Vannin had breached the parties’ contract.
Vannin appealed, arguing the trial court erred in denying its motion for a directed verdict and that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict.
The appellate court disagreed, finding there was conflicting evidence at trial as to whether Vannin breached the parties’ contract that created a question of fact that needed to be resolved by the jury.
Judge Cale Bradford, writing for the court, said that it was undisputed that Illumination paid $2,767,125 as a down payment but that Vannin did not deliver the full order of gloves in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
The gloves were to be supplied by Vannin from VGlove Vietnam.
Bradford wrote that the jury considered the evidence and found that payment of funds by Illumination to Vannin was sufficient to trigger Vannin’s responsibilities under the agreement.
“Given the evidence presented at trial, we cannot say that the jury’s determination in this regard is unreasonable. Vannin’s challenge on appeal effectively amounts to an invitation for this court to reweigh the evidence, which we will not do,” Bradford wrote.
Judges Patricia Riley and Leanna Weissmann concurred.
I Yang “Rick” Li, Illumination International’s president and CEO, told Indiana Lawyer that he was not surprised at the Court of Appeals’ ruling in favor of Illumination International.
Anthony Dowell of Dowell Commercial Litigation represented Illumination International in the case before the Court of Appeals.
In a news release, Dowell said that after receiving the July 31 appellate decision, Illumination immediately moved to freeze Vannin’s and Vannin’s owner’s assets.
Dowell said the Indiana Commercial Court awarded interest on the judgment, which he said has risen and now totals more than $4.7 million.
On Aug. 10, the High Court of the Isle of Man entered an injunction freezing the assets of Vannin Healthcare Global Limited and its owners Oliver van Veen, Peter van Veen, Sally Oliver and Julian van Veen.
Dowell sent a copy of the injunction to Indiana Lawyer and said Vannin had objected to the freezing order, with a hearing scheduled for Aug. 29 on the Isle of Man.
The injunction states that the named defendants, both Vannin and its owners, must not remove any assets that are in the Isle of Man up to the value of $4,744,497.
Michael McNally and Daniel Gibson of Delk McNally LLP represented Vannin in its appeal before the Court of Appeals, according to court records.
Indiana Lawyer reached out to Delk McNally via email and phone for comment on the appellate court decision.
Samuel Nunberg, who serves as general counsel for Vannin, told Indiana Lawyer that Vannin, in response, filed a petition for rehearing Aug. 29 with the Court of Appeals.
The petition asks whether the appellate court erred in considering Illumination International LLC’s argument that Vannin was an agent of VGlove Vietnam because it was not raised before the trial court or jury.
It also asks whether the court erred in determining the jury’s conclusion that Vannin breached the contract with Illumination International is supported by sufficient evidence.
The petition requests that the court’s decision be reconsidered and the jury verdict and judgment in favor of Illumination International be reversed.
“This isn’t over yet. This is not final. This is temporary. I hope the public understands that,” Nunberg said.
Nunberg said the Isle of Man order and the issues surrounding it will be further clarified in future notices and pleadings.
He said any “continued placements of false information” by Illumination International or Li are also going to be addressed in court.
Li said he felt that Vannin knew that their claims were baseless.
He said Vannin’s tactics have been to stall the case in the legal system and try to shift the blame to him. Li said he didn’t feel there was any basis for a rehearing.
“Their approach is not typical. It’s a little extreme,” Li said.
Li said he’s spent three years on the case and called it a frustrating experience.
“I lost the biggest client I ever had because of them,” Li said, adding that he hoped to ultimately get paid the judgment awarded by the trial court.
The case is Vannin Healthcare Global Ltd. v. Illumination International LLC, 23A-PL-96.
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