On March 15, 2010, plaintiff Utz Claassen, 47, the chief executive officer and chairman of the supervisory board of Solar Millennium AG, which was the German parent company of American subsidiaries Solar Trust of America LLC and Solar Millennium Inc., resigned from his position. Prior to his resignation, Claassen attempted to make changes to the companies’ solar energy technology and business prospects, but could not do so. He claimed that after his resignation, false and derogatory statements were made about him to the press, in press releases, in shareholders’ meetings and in news articles. Claassen sued Solar Millennium AG; Solar Millennium Inc.; Solar Trust of America LLC; and a member of both Solar Trust of America’s board of directors and Solar Millennium AG’s supervisory board, Hannes Kuhn, who was a founder of Solar Millennium AG. Claassen alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted libel and slander. Solar Millennium AG and Kuhn were dismissed from the case, and the matter only continued against Solar Trust of America and Solar Millennium Inc. Defense counsel for Solar Trust of America and Solar Millennium Inc. argued that Claassen failed to prove both liability and damages. Counsel argued that any statements allegedly made about Claassen were made in Germany by Solar Millennium AG, Claassen’s employer in Germany, and that Solar Trust of America and Solar Millennium Inc. had nothing to do with the alleged statements. Counsel also argued that Solar Trust of America and Solar Millennium Inc. were exclusively focused on getting approval for and the building of solar power plants in California and that the companies had nothing to do with anything that allegedly occurred in Germany., Claassen claimed that, prior to the alleged defamatory statements, he was a high-profile corporate manager and had been in CEO positions since a young age. However, he claimed that after the statements were made, he has been unable to obtain comparable employment or obtain employment worldwide. Claassen alleged that he lost work and opportunities with different companies due to the alleged defamatory statements. Specifically, he testified about alleged talks for him to become CEO of a company that was owned by an American company for which he worked as a consultant. However, he claimed that the defamatory statements caused him to lose the opportunity. Thus, Claassen maintained that there is proof that the defamatory statements caused him great damage. Claassen sought recovery of at least $155 million in past and future lost wages. He also sought recovery of damages for his loss of employment opportunities and for his emotional distress. At the time of trial, both Solar Trust of America and Solar Millennium Inc. had been through bankruptcy and were defunct. Defense counsel noted that Claassen stipulated that he would limit his recovery to Solar Trust of America’s and Solar Millennium Inc.’s liability insurance proceeds, which were $5 million. Defense counsel contended that Claassen was famous in Germany and that Claassen’s public persona and reputation were there, where he spent his life and did his work, and not in the United States of America. As a result, counsel argued that Claassen’s reputation was not damaged as a result of any action on the part of Solar Trust of America and Solar Millennium Inc. Counsel also argued that Claassen had not proven any damages, as no one other than Claassen himself testified about Claassen having allegedly been damaged by the statements. The defense’s damages expert, a recruiter and executive search consultant in Germany, testified by means of a video deposition. He testified that Claassen is a brilliant businessman, but that Claassen has a very strong personality that can be somewhat polarizing. The expert also testified that the fact that Claassen was paid $9 million by Solar Millennium AG, most of which was a “signing bonus,” and the fact that Claassen worked as CEO of Solar Millennium AG for only eight weeks, damaged his reputation with the German public. Defense counsel contended that Claassen did not prove that he had looked for work in executive functions since he resigned from Solar Millennium AG, and noted that Claassen did not have an expert testify about recruiting. Counsel argued that instead of looking for work, Claassen had actually focused on his family and personal interests, including purchasing a professional soccer team, which he had sold by the time of trial.