A six-person jury on Wednesday found Clint Schuler responsible for two of the four counts in a civil lawsuit brought by former business partner Serge d'Elia over disputes about work on the upscale 303 Restaurant.

The jury awarded d'Elia more than $28,000 for the two claims.

The trial was scheduled for 10 days, but took 12 as jurors in the cramped small courtroom in the Natrona County Courthouse heard witnesses and tried to make sense of invoices, purchase orders, receipts and other business transactions.

The case went to the jury at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, and they reached the verdict by 11 p.m., according to Clerk of District Court Gen Tuma.

D'Elia claimed Schuler and his construction company failed to adequately renovate the former Prairie Publishing building at 303 S. Wolcott St. in late 2004, which significantly added to the cost of the project, according to the lawsuit.

The alleged unauthorized use of d'Elia's credit card numbers during the renovation also became a centerpiece of a six-count indictment on fraud charges against Schuler in late 2005.

In July 2006, a jury found Schuler guilty on one count and acquitted him of the rest.

In 2005, Schuler and his wife filed for bankruptcy, declaring nearly $1.9 million in assets and nearly $4.1 million in liabilities, according to their voluntary petition.

The bankruptcy continues to languish, which led to another lawsuit in October stating d'Elia reneged on his half of a joint venture that gave Schuler the right to build houses on 85 unimproved lots in two Sunrise Hills subdivisions owned by d'Elia. With 303, the 50-50 partnership entailed d'Elia owning the building with Schuler Construction doing the renovation.

In June 2004, d'Elia stopped financing the residential construction projects and forced the Schulers under duress to sell their 50 percent stake in the 303 Project as well as file for bankruptcy, according to the new lawsuit.

Like the former 50-50 partnership between d'Elia and Schuler, the jury also split on the four claims at stake in the trial presided over by District Court Judge Thomas Sullins:

* Breach of contract - Schuler Custom Homes Construction Inc. did not breach one or more contracts with d'Elia and his family trust.

* Breach of implied warranty - The company did not breach the implied warranty to remodel 303 in a workmanlike manner.

* Conversion - Schuler did unlawfully appropriate d'Elia's money and credit cards for his own and his company's use. The jury awarded d'Elia $16,848.07 in compensation for this claim.

* Fraud - Schuler did commit fraud against d'Elia. The jury awarded d'Elia $11,643.96 in compensation. However, the jury determined that Schuler did not act with "willful and wanton misconduct" so there were no punitive damages levied against him.

Neither Sedar nor d'Elia's attorney Judith Studer returned calls requesting comments.

The attorneys for d'Elia will prepare a judgment so the judge can order Schuler to pay what the jury said he owed, Tuma said.

If d'Elia decides to appeal, he will have 30 days after the judge's order to do so, she said.

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at Tom.Morton@trib.com.