In a 2023 Florida case, a jury awarded rapper Flo Rida more than $82 million in a breach of contract case. He had agreed to endorse Celsius energy drinks in exchange for company stock, but the company never gave him the shares. The company appealed, and one of its arguments was over the valuation date of the shares.
Wrong date: The jury used the date of trial to figure the stock value when calculating damages, but the appellate court agreed with the company that the trial date (January 2023) was the wrong date to use. The valuation should have been based on the stock’s value on the date of the breach (April 2021) or the date when the stock could have first been sold (November 2021). The case was remanded back to the lower court to determine the proper valuation date.
The change in valuation date could cut the award in half, according to reports.
The case is Celsius Holdings, Inc. v. Strong Arm Productions USA, Inc., 2024 Fla. App. LEXIS 9594; 2024 WL 5063357, and a case analysis and full court opinion are available on the BVLaw platform.