DiCello Levitt Wins $5.7M Verdict Against Hitachi in Breach of Contract Trial

In February 2024, DiCello Levitt secured a trial victory for our client Bridgeway Diagnostics LLC when a jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a verdict totaling more than $5.7 million in damages against Hitachi Healthcare Americas Corporation Inc. The lawsuit was brought by Bridgeway Diagnostics and its founder, Dr. Jason Hoover, after Hitachi promised to supply the diagnostic radiology practice with a like-new, refurbished MRI device but instead delivered an older, defective, lower-quality machine.

In preparation for trial, DiCello Levitt’s trial team conducted numerous focus groups to develop our courtroom presentation and winning strategy, focusing on Hitachi’s breach of contract, misrepresentations, and fraud. In discovery and trial, our attorneys showed that Hitachi made promises about its refurbished MRI sales process that it did not keep. Specifically, Hitachi sales representatives indicated to Bridgeway that it would receive a refurbished MRI system with the “newest-generation” magnet of the highest strength, which provides for more precise image quality. Instead, Hitachi breached its deal with Bridgeway and committed fraud when Hitachi delivered an older-generation MRI with significantly inferior capabilities, upending Bridgeway’s business and undermining the lifesaving diagnostic services its patients depend on. When Bridgeway became suspicious that it had received an inferior MRI, Hitachi fraudulently attempted to conceal the true nature of the MRI it had delivered.

Following about one day of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of over $3.7 million in compensatory damages and an additional $2 million in punitive damages.

The market to repurchase, repair, and resell MRI and other diagnostic machines is large and often presents the opportunity for manufacturers like Hitachi to sell refurbished machines for a significant profit margin without reference to the age of the underlying technology and ignoring major improvements over the years. The outcome of this trial is likely to create ripples across the industry, leading to greater transparency in contracts and fairer pricing structures, in which these essential diagnostics providers know what they are buying and get what they paid for.

The DiCello Levitt team was led at trial by Peter Soldato and Justin Abbarno and also included Ken Abbarno and Justin Hawal.