Frank Azar, the city’s most prominent personal injury attorney, did not defame a former top lawyer at his law firm after she was fired, Denver jurors ruled this week.

A jury of three men and three women instead determined that Ivy Ngo, who once led the class action division at Azar & Associates, breached employment and confidentiality contracts when she tried to recruit colleagues and clients away from the powerhouse firm.

“This was never about the money: it was about justice,” Azar said in a statement. “The jury decisively rejected the baseless allegations and unfounded personal attacks upon myself, my firm and my employees, finding instead that the defendant unlawfully breached her contracts.”

Jurors ordered Ngo to pay Azar & Associates $4,000 as a result of the breaches. Ngo must also pay the law firm’s legal fees, which are sure to be in the six or seven figures.

“From the beginning, this case has raised important issues, both for employees in Colorado generally and for those practicing law in particular,” said Ngo attorney Rob Marsh.

“At this point, it is not clear why the jury arrived at its conclusion, but we are disappointed with the verdict, of course, and evaluating possibilities for appeal to continue to shed light on these issues,” added Marsh, who is with the Denver firm Jester Gibson & Moore.

The verdict, delivered late in the day Tuesday after seven days of trial and a few hours of deliberation, is a tepid end to years of contentious litigation...

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