Accounting giant BDO Seidman won its bid for a new trial Wednesday when the 3rd District Court of Appeal overturned a record $522 million verdict for Espirito Santo Bank, finding the Chicago firm was placed in an unfair position to defend itself in an unusual three-phase trial.
It was a 180-degree turn in litigation that produced the largest award on record against a U.S. accounting firm in 2007 based on the collapse of E.S. Bankest. The Miami-based factoring firm turned into a $170 million fraud with the company producing false invoices and other documents.
