U.S. Supreme Court throws out $43 million damages award against Dewberry firm

The United Supreme Court has invalidated lower court rulings that required a firm associated with Atlanta real estate developer John Dewberry to pay $43 million in damages to another firm that shares the same name.

The unanimous ruling was handed down on February 26 and sends the matter of the award back to the lower court. At issue is whether Dewberry’s assets held by other companies could be used to calculate damages that stem from a trademark violation.

Dewberry Engineering of Fairfax had not specifically listed those other Dewberry assets in a lawsuit against the Dewberry Group. A divided appeals court ruled they didn’t have to in order to factor in the total profits.

The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed.

“Under the pertinent statutory provision, the court could award only profits properly ascribable to the defendant itself,” reads the opening opinion authored by Justice Elena Kagan.

In all, Dewberry has around 30 companies that own various properties including the unfinished Landmark Hotel on Charlottesville’s hotel. Deerfield Square Associates bought the property at auction in August 2012 for $6.25 million. Since then property value has increased from $3,631,600 to $9,083,900.

“According to its tax returns, the Group has operated at a loss for decades; it survives only through occasional cash infusions from John Dewberry himself,” reads the opinion. “Meanwhile, the affiliates—which, recall, he also owns—have racked up tens of millions of dollars in profit.”

The opinion confirms that Dewberry Engineering’s trademark had been violated when John Dewberry reneged on a previous agreement between the two entities. However, the appeal was related solely to how the damages were calculated. The case is now remanded back to the lower court for another calculation of damages.

For more background, take a look at a story I wrote last summer.

Before you go: This post was originally published in the February 27, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter powered by Substack since July 2020. The idea is to get as many stories out as possible each day, and then some of the material ends up here. Sometimes stories are posted here first. All of this is an experiment powered by Town Crier Productions, currently a one-person company that seeks to be as prolific as possible.