AZA Won Largest 2024 Harris County Jury Verdict in Commercial Litigation
HOUSTON – TopVerdict.com, a surveyor of the highest jury verdicts and bench awards in the nation, found AZA’s $25.9 million jury verdict for a doctor’s group was the largest Harris County 2024 verdict in three categories – commercial litigation, breach of contract and economic loss.
The September 2024 case pitted AZA client doctors’ group Fondren Orthopedic Ltd. against healthcare giant HCA Healthcare.
Fondren and HCA (which took over for Columbia Hospital Corp.) were in a limited partnership that owns and operates Texas Orthopedic Hospital, a hospital specializing in orthopedic surgery services. The jury found that HCA had broken the non-compete provisions of the contract by opening 10 competing hospitals in the Houston area. In addition, HCA prevented the Fondren group doctors from doing the same by invoking the same non-compete provisions the larger entity was blatantly breaking.
“HCA had the size, the scale and the power and felt they could do what they wanted. The hospital contract with Fondren was for 57 years, and about halfway through, they just decided they would no longer honor the contract,” said lead lawyer and AZA co-founder Joe Ahmad. “HCA owned 60% of the hospital with Fondren, but owned 100 percent of their improperly opened competing hospitals and sent business to their fully owned places.”
The AZA team included partners Mr. Ahmad, Kyle Poelker, Paul Turkevich and Kelsi Stayart White, associate Karina Sanchez-Peralta and of counsel Hilary Greene.
The case was covered by Texas Lawbook in “Houston Jury Finds HCA Healthcare Owes Doctors $25.6M” (subscription required) and Texas Lawyer covered the case in “Harris County Jury Returns $25.6M Verdict Over Noncompete Agreement” (subscription required).
Judge Jeralynn Manor oversaw the three-week trial. HCA was represented by a team from Latham Watkins, including former Enron lead prosecutor Sean Berkowitz.
The case is Fondren Orthopedic Ltd vs. Columbia Hospital Corporation, Harris County case number 2021-68404.
AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, healthcare, intellectual property and business dispute cases. AZA was recognized again by Chambers USA 2025 as among the best in Texas in commercial law and intellectual property; the firm has been listed by Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms for 13 years; has been named Litigation Department of the Year by Texas Lawyer three times; and was previously dubbed a Texas Powerhouse law firm by Law360.