This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The children of La Caille restaurant founders David Johnson and Steven Runolfson have appealed a verdict that awarded $4.7 million to former partner Mark Haug.
The court award, handed down in March, forced the iconic restaurant to be put up for sale and may have led to Saturday's murder-suicide of Runolfson and his wife, Lisa.
Managers at the Provo Marriott Hotel found the couple in the bed of their room on Christmas Day, police say. A preliminary autopsy found that Runolfson shot his wife, then himself, in a death pact.
A news release issued Wednesday afternoon through their lawyer was signed by Eric Johnson, Sam Johnson, Mary Runolfson, Lacie Runolfson and Alex Runolfson. "La Caille meant the world — is the world — to our families," said the family members. "The lawsuit instigated by Mr. Haug became an extraordinary personal assault that threatened to destroy that world."
In an email, Magleby responded to the families' statement: "The jury system is the great equalizer in this country. It doesn't matter how much power or money someone may have when a jury of our citizens are empowered to hear the evidence and pass judgment on a criminal or civil defendant. These wealthy defendants hired some of the best, well known lawyers in the state, delayed justice for more than a year by filing the criminal charges against Mr. Haug which were finally dismissed, and were found by the trial court to have attempted to suborn perjury and false testimony (among other things). Justice was done by the jury in this case, and no amount of money, self-righteous indignation, or even tragedy, can change that fact."
In March 2010, a 3rd District Court jury found that Runolfson and Johnson breached their 1993 partnership agreement with Haug and unlawfully took control of his share. The jury awarded Haug $4.7 million, including punitive damages, after the jury found that Johnson and Runolfson breached a partnership agreement, breached their fiduciary duties to Haug, and were responsible for a 2005 "malicious prosecution" scheme that resulted in Haug facing felony criminal charges for over a year for purportedly misappropriating La Caille money. The charges against Haug later were dismissed.
The family release said the case has been appealed: "We believe there were serious constitutional, procedural and other legal errors in the trial."