The Oklahoman
A Tulsa jury has awarded insurance company First Trinity Financial Corp. and its CEO $4.3 million in a defamation case against former state legislator and former First Trinity director Wayne Pettigrew.
When Pettigrew left the company in April 2013, he issued a news release calling for an investigation of First Trinity CEO Gregg Zahn related to stock purchases.
The jury last week found Pettigrew defamed both the company and Zahn and breached his fiduciary duties to the company. It awarded First Trinity $800,000. The jury also awarded Zahn $3.5 million, saying Pettigrew intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon him.
Pettigrew told The Oklahoman on Wednesday that his attorneys are preparing an appeal.
Zahn’s attorney, Keith Ward, praised the jury decision.
“For both the company and Mr. Zahn, this is a vindication for what Mr. Pettigrew said in the press release,” Ward said. “The jury and the trial court each did a good job. I’m confident the appeals court will not reverse the decision at all.”
Pettigrew’s letter to Securities Department Director Irving Faught and subsequent news release requested an investigation into whether Zahn violated the law or illegally used insider status when he placed 130,000 shares with family members so he could buy them back for 10 cents per share following his divorce. The transactions were disclosed to shareholders.
The letters also said Zahn was vice president of a company in Montana that was cited with multiple charges of securities fraud and that criminal proceedings were brought against him personally.
“The last four years since Mr. Pettigrew’s press release have been extremely difficult for me because of the misinformation that was communicated to my board of directors, the company’s shareholders and the hundreds of people I deal with on a day-to-day basis,” Zahn said in a statement this week. “I am extremely happy that the jury understood the truth and firmly stated that Mr. Pettigrew’s attempts to harm me and the company were unjustified and were defamatory.”
