$20 Million Verdict in Principle Auto ‘Business Divorce’
The San Antonio Express-News reports a judge has ordered Abigail Kampmann to pay $20 million to Mark Smith, her soon-to-be former partner in the San Antonio-based Principle Auto group.
The enterprise includes four dealerships in Texas — BMW of Corpus Christi, Principle Hyundai Boerne, Principle Infiniti of Boerne and Principle Toyota Volkswagen of Grapevine — as well as Principle Toyota of Hernando in Northern Mississippi.
The partnership soured over a land dispute and dissolved into a series of five lawsuits. In the current case, a jury determined Kampmann excluded Smith from a “corporate opportunity” related to a property that hosts a BMW and MINI dealership.
Kampmann and Smith launched Principle Auto and a related property management company, Principle Auto Management, in 2014. Attorneys for Smith say his agreement gives him joint ownership rights for dealerships added to the group by Kampmann; Kampmann also separately owns or owned several “legacy” Principle stores given to her by her father, retired multistate dealer Jack Guenther Jr.
Kampmann’s attorneys say they will appeal the decision. One of Smith’s attorneys, Kenny Meixelberger, says the verdict brings the partnership one step closer to an overdue conclusion.
“At the end of the day, these two partners need to have full separation, and I think we’ll get there,” Meixelsperger tells the San Antonio Express-News’s Patrick Danner. “How long it takes, I don’t know. But my hope is, in short order, we can find a way to get this business divorce finalized and let them go on with owning and managing the dealerships that they each have.”
