Nicole A. Westbrook and Javier J. Heres win complete jury verdict for their client.
Jones & Keller, P.C. announced today that a jury in Adams County District Court returned a complete verdict in favor of its clients, Russell Miller, CRNA, and his company Summit Comfort Anesthesia, LLC, on all four claims asserted against Dr. Darin Rentz and Anesthesia Consulting Partners, PLLC. After hearing a week of evidence and argument, the jury found in favor of Mr. Miller on his claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, civil theft, and unjust enrichment. Counsel successfully defeated Defendants’ claim for conversion on a Rule 50 motion and the jury rejected Defendants’ counterclaim for tortious interference.
The case, Miller v. Rentz, Case No. 2025CV30462, arose from an oral partnership agreement under which Mr. Miller agreed to recruit and
clinically manage a hospital anesthesia services contract at North Suburban Medical Center in exchange for a 40 percent share of the venture’s profits. After building the practice from the ground up over two years, Mr. Miller was terminated thirteen days after formally
demanding access to the venture’s financial records.
Trial counsel Nicole A. Westbrook and Javier J. Heres of Jones & Keller, P.C. presented evidence that defendants systematically underpaid Mr. Miller through inflated and fabricated expenses, including a $20,000 payment to Dr. Rentz’s sister that defendants’ own sworn discovery responses admitted was not a legitimate consulting expense.
“Russ Miller spent two years building a practice from nothing,” said trial counsel Nicole A. Westbrook. “He recruited every provider, managed every schedule, and maintained the hospital relationship that made this venture possible. When he asked to see the books, he was fired. The jury saw through every attempt to recharacterize what the documents plainly showed: this was a partnership, and Russ Miller was owed his share.”
The five-day jury trial was presided over by the Honorable Toni Jo Wehman of the Adams County District Court, Division W.
Jones & Keller, P.C. is a Denver-based litigation firm representing individuals and businesses in complex commercial disputes, business
litigation, and civil trials throughout Colorado.
Nicole Westbrook, an attorney with Jones & Keller P.C., litigates complex business matters, achieving outcomes that improve lives, and is a trial instructor and frequent writer on legal issues. Nicole can be reached at nwestbrook@joneskeller.com.
Javier Heres is a litigator with Jones & Keller whose practice focuses on commercial litigation, securities and employment matters. He has experience in every stage of litigation. Having clerked for two Colorado district court judges, Javier is familiar with the inner-workings of courtroom management and the preparation it takes to secure favorable judgments. Javier can be reached at jheres@joneskeller.com.