Articles Posted in damages

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Outside reverse veil piercing differs from traditional veil piercing, which is permitted due to the “‘The alter ego doctrine prevents individuals or other corporations from misusing the corporate laws by the device of a sham corporate entity. Traditional veil-piercing permits a party to pierce the corporate or limited liability company (LLC) veil so that an individual shareholder [or LLC member] may be held personally liable for claims against the corporation [or LLC However reverse veil piercing, rather than seeking to hold an individual responsible for the acts of an entity, seeks to satisfy the debt of an individual through the assets of an entity of which the individual is an insider. Outside reverse veil piercing arises when the request for piercing comes from a third party outside the targeted business entity. In a recent decision out of SLO County, where the wrongdoer was the owner of an LLC that owned land in Cambria. The trial court amended a judgment against the wrongdoer to reverse veil pierce and add the LLC. Sacramento-reverse-veil-piercing-attorney

The trial court’s adding the nonparty alter ego to the judgment was an equitable procedure based on the theory that the court is not amending the judgment to add a new defendant but is merely inserting the correct name of the real defendant.

The wrongdoer appealed, arguing that a charging order under Corporations Code section 17705.03 provides the sole remedy available, but the courts state otherwise. [T]he key is whether the ends of justice require disregarding the separate nature of the LLC under the circumstances. In making that determination, the trial court should, at minimum, evaluate the same factors as are employed in a traditional veil piercing case, as well as whether the plaintiff has any plain, speedy, and adequate remedy at law. Outside reverse piercing is permissible in the context of a limited liability company because, unlike a corporation, a limited liability company does not issue shares on which a creditor may levy and creditors do not have sufficient alternative remedies at law.

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Generally, one who is unjustly enriched at the expense of another is required to make restitution. The law has created this remedy d to restore the aggrieved party to his or her former position by the return of the thing or its equivalent in money. However, if the benefits are conferred on another by unjustified interference in the other’s affairs, the interferer is not entitled to restitution. It must ordinarily appear that the benefits were conferred by mistake, fraud, coercion, or request; otherwise, though there is enrichment, it is not unjust. In a recent decision, a party who was aware of a benefit conferred on a property owner acquired the property in foreclosure but acted surprised when the plaintiff sought restitution.

Sacramento-unjust-enrichment-attorneyIn Professional Tax Appeal v. Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc, the plaintiff (“Tax Appeal”) pursued property tax refunds on behalf of commercial property owners, on a contingency fee basis. If it is successful, it is entitled to a percentage of the property taxes saved. Plaintiff entered a contract with Victory Glen to reduce its taxes property on Victory Blvd in Los Angeles. They were successful, reducing taxes over $140,000, and were owed over $41,000. But Victory Glen went into default and the property was foreclosed.

Defendant obtained title to the property, paid the delinquent taxes, and benefited from the reduced property tax. Before they did that, they investigated the property, were aware of the past due taxes and the obtained records indicating that the tax valuations had been challenged by the property owner.

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California recognizes a cause of action against noncontracting parties who interfere with the performance of a contract. If you and I have a contract, and John Doe (not part of our contract) tells you that I’m a bum and will never be able to perform the contract, and convinces you to terminate or breach our contract, Joe Doe may be liable. Sacramento attorneys see this issue arise where it comes down to whether there was merely competition – aggressive, but not wrongful, tortuous conduct. The elements of a cause of action for intentional interference with contractual relations are “(1) the existence of a valid contract between the plaintiff and a third party; (2) the defendant’s knowledge of that contract; (3) the defendant’s intentional acts designed to induce a breach or disruption of the contractual relationship; (4) actual breach or disruption of the contractual relationship; and (5) resulting damage.” In a recent decision the court found that the stranger to the contract could have a financial interest in it but still be stranger enough to be liable for intentional interference.

Sacramento-intentional-interference-attorneyIn Wayne Redfearn v. Trader Joe’s Company, Redfearn owned a food brokerage business. It represented manufacturers of food products to place their goods in Trader Joe’s. When a Trader Joe’s rep met with one of Redfearn’s clients, and falsely accused Redfearn of spreading Rumors that paying bribes to Trader Joe’s employees was the only way to get their product in the stores, and that the client must terminate its relationship with Redfearn or Trader Joe’s would replace them with a different supplier. The clients split with Redfearn, and this interference lawsuit followed.

TJ’s argued that it was not a stranger to Redfearn’s contracts with its clients – performance of those contracts required TJ’s to buy products from these suppliers. TJ’s relied on a Supreme Court decision that the duty not to interfere falls only on interlopers who have “no legitimate in the scope or course of the contract’s performance.” In that case the issue was whether a party could be liable for conspiring with another to interfere in its own contract. (Applied Equipment)

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People buy real estate in California through nominal or “straw” buyers for many reasons. Sometimes to hide assets, or to launder money. Maybe it’s for legitimate reasons. Nonetheless, California real estate attorneys usually encounter these situations where the agreement between the parties is oral, and there is no documentation. But a recent decision out of Malibu concerned a written agreement between the parties. That was not enough, and the plaintiff sought to rescind the contract. In a rescission of a real estate contract the party who was harmed is required to offer to return everything of value they received under the agreement. A party seeking rescission wants to undo the transaction in its entirety, restoring both parties to the status quo ante. If successful they are entitled to restitution, i.e., to recovery of the consideration that he or she gave and any other compensation necessary to make him or her whole. A claim for damages is not inconsistent with rescission – the aggrieved party shall be awarded complete relief, including restitution of benefits, if any, conferred by him as a result of the transaction and any consequential damages to which he is entitled. In this decision, the plaintiff was not entitled to rescission, but still received damages.

sacramento-real-estate-rescission-attorneyIn Li Guan v. Yongmei Hu, Hu was aromatically involved with Chen. Chen got his buddy, plaintiff Guan, to loan $2.55 million to Hu so that she could buy a house in Malibu. Hu was entitled to receive a percentage of the property’s fair market value. Specifically, Hu would “get 20%” if the house was “sold from January 1, 2012,” and her percentage would increase by 20 percent each year the house was not sold until January 1, 2016. Thereafter, Hu would receive “100%” of the house “as a gift from Mr. Guan.”

In July 2012, Chen emailed Hu telling her that “ ‘it is over! Don’t you re[a]lize it with normal sense?! S[ell] the house as instructed by [Guan] so that you could stil[l] be benefited from the deal.’ ”

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In my prior post, I discussed a decision concerning a settlement that had had a large penalty for failing to make payments. The court found that it was an unenforceable illegal penalty, and not a legitimate liquidated damages provision. Liquidated damages are damages whose amount the parties agree during the formation of a contract (a settlement agreement is a contract) for the injured party to collect as compensation upon a breach. Sacramento business and real estate attorneys commonly see clients whom, in entering a settlement, want rigid penalties for failure to perform. In a recent decision the parties wisely tried, in a settlement agreement, to establish how their damages provision represented less than the total possible damages amount, and that the provision was to encourage the defendant to make the settlement payments. At the trial level, the defendant did not argue that an unenforceable penalty was involved, and the court ruled against him. On appeal, he tried to claim it was unenforceable. The appellate court, after a review of the law of unlawful penalty provisions, but did not decide whether this case involved a penalty – the defendant waived the argument by not making it in the trial court.

Sacramento-liqudated-damages-attorneyAisha A. Krechuniak v. Zia Jamal Noorzoy involved a brother and sister. The Sister owned property in Pebble Beach and entered a contract with her Brother for the Brother to develop it. He obtained money from investors, and she took out loans to fund the development. The Brother did not use any of the money for development or to pay the mortgages on the property. There was a default and foreclosure.

Sister sued, and at Mediation they entered a settlement that provided for Brother to pay $600,000 in installment payments (relevant settlement language at the end of this post). They also agreed that a stipulated judgment against the Brother in the amount of $850,000 would be executed and held unless and until there is a default in payment.

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Liquidated damages provisions in California Business and Real Estate contracts are an attempt to establish ahead of time what the damages for breach would be. Rather than have to prove to a judge what the damages are, the parties agree to what they would be. There are specific statutory restrictions for residential real estate contracts, but other agreements are governed by a more general rule that any penalty must bear a proportional relationship to the damages the might actually result from a breach. In addition, they must be reasonable under the circumstances that existed at the time the contract was entered. Any provision by which money or property is forfeited without regard to the actual damages would be an unenforceable penalty. Sacramento real estate and business attorneys see the issue pop up often in settlement agreements that require future performance – the plaintiff wants leverage to force the defendant to perform. In one decision it was clear that the plaintiff went too far, and the court found the leverage to be an unenforceable penalty provision.

Settlement-attorneyIn Greentree Financial Group, Inc. v. Execute Sports, Inc., Greentree Financial had a contract to provide financial advisory services to Execute Sports. Greentree sued because Execute failed to pay $45,000 in fees. Execute claimed prior breach of the contract by Greentree. On the day of trial they filed a notice of settlement.

The Stipulation for Settlement provides that Execute would pay Greentree a total of $20,000, in two installments. If Execute defaulted on either one of its installment payments, Greentree would be entitled to “immediately have Judgment entered against [Execute] for all amounts prayed as set forth in [Greentree]’s Complaint in the above-entitled action, including interest, attorney fees and costs, less any amounts already paid by [Execute]”

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California law takes trees seriously and provides enhanced damages when someone harms them. There is provision for doubling the damages incurred for harm caused to timber, trees, and underwood, and trebling it if the harm is intentional. (Civil Code section 3346.) Another provision allows doubling the damages for harm to trees. (Civil Procedure section 733, set out below). Sacramento real estate attorneys commonly get asked about neighbor trees with overhanging branches and troublesome roots. However, in a recent decision where a landowner with an abundance of chutzpah went onto their neighbor’s property and cut trees to improve their view, they were surprised to learn that not only were they liable for three times the $40,000 to restore the property, but also three times the $30,000 awarded noneconomic damages for annoyance and loss of enjoyment of the property.

Sacramento-tree-damage-attorneyIn Jeanette E. Fulle v. Kaveh M. Kanani, the defendant lived uphill from the plaintiff. Plaintiff Fulle’s trees blocked the defendant’s view of the San Fernando Valley, so the defendant had workers go onto the plaintiff’s property and cut down the limbs and branches of six trees. Of course, he did not ask permission first. This lawsuit ensued.

The jury awarded $47,000 in damages, plus another $30,000 for noneconomic loss “including annoyance and discomfort, loss of enjoyment of the real property, inconvenience and emotional distress.” The trial judge trebled the economic damages per section 3346, but would not apply the multiplier to the noneconomic damages. It reasoned that use of the phrase “actual determinant” in 3346 intended to narrow the multiplier to economic damages. This appeal followed.

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In California, equitable indemnity applies when there are two wrongdoers (‘tortfeasors’) who are both jointly and severally liable for harm to someone. They are entitled to have their liability split between them based on their comparable fault. Joint and several liability can apply to acts that are concurrent or successive or are joint or several, as long as they create a detriment caused by several actors. Equitable indemnity often arises when a person who has been harmed sues one, or both, of the tortfeasors. The tortfeasors then file a cross-complaint for equitable indemnity. Or, if only one tortfeasor is named in the lawsuit, that person brings in the second. In a prior post I discussed a case in which a real estate Buyer learned of an undisclosed easement, and sued both the seller & buyer brokers. The brokers cross-complained against each other for equitable indemnity. Ordinarily their joint liability would be apportioned at trial, but if one party settled out with the plaintiff there would be no apportionment without the cross-complaint. In a more recent decision, a defendant cross-complained for equitable indemnity in a breach of contract case. They were disappointed that the court would not stretch the doctrine that far.

Sacramento equitable indemnity attorney State Ready Mix, Inc. v. Moffatt & Nickol involved construction of marine pier. Bellingham hired Major as general contractor, and Moffatt to prepare plans. Major hired State Ready Mix to plan the concrete. Major asked Moffett to review the State concrete plan, which was not part of Moffett’s job, but Moffett agreed and did so. On the day of the concrete pour, State had equipment failure and had to add a chemical into the mix manually in a non-precise way (can you picture the laborer dumping stuff into the truck, say about 2 and a half bags of this and a third of a sack of that?). The concrete was bad, and had to be torn out and the job started over. State was sued for the cost of the concrete, and State cross-complained against Moffett for equitable indemnity.

The problem for State was that it could not allege that Moffett committed a tort. No facts were alleged that Moffett owed State a duty of care. Nor can State say that Moffett negligently performed its contract with Bellingham – review of the concrete mix was not within the scope of that contract.

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Often a party to a lawsuit will have great success at trial, resulting in a money judgment. Then the judgment holder tries to collect the judgment, and finds that the debtor is judgment – proof, has no assets, or files bankruptcy to avoid liability for that judgment. Sacramento business attorneys are frequently presented with the problem of an uncollectible judgment. One solution – A judgment may be amended to add additional judgment debtors on the ground that a person or entity is the alter ego of the original judgment debtor; it is an equitable procedure based on the theory that the court is not amending the judgment to add a new defendant but is merely inserting the correct name of the real defendant. That happened to a plaintiff in a recent decision, and the court found that the creditor met the test to nail the parties responsible for the damages, who were not originally named defendants.

sacramento business lawyer -judgment debtor.jpgIn Relentless Air Racing, LLC v. Airborne Turbine Ltd. Partnership, Relentless sued Airborne concerning purchase of a French military jet that was not certified for flight. Relentless won a money judgment for damages of one dollar ($1.00), plus was awarded attorney fees of over $174,000 and costs of over $6,000. Airborne limited partnership was a deadbeat, with no assets, so Relentless could not collect its judgment. Relentless the sought to add the husband and wife team behind Airborne, plus their two corporations, as judgment debtors.

The court first reviewed the law concerning adding additional judgment debtors. The theory that the court is not amending the judgment to add a new defendant but is merely inserting the correct name of the real defendant. The three-part test requires the judgment holder show:

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Standard in most form real estate contracts are provisions for liquidated damages. Not so common is the non-refundable deposit. A “liquidated damages” provision stipulates an estimate of what the damages would be in the event of a breach of a contract. It is generally valid, unless it can be shown that it was unreasonable under the circumstances at the time the contract was entered. A non – refundable deposit is generally not valid in a falling market. But there is an alternative!

nonrefundable deposit.jpgIn Bradford Kuish v. William W. Smith, Jr. There was a purchase contact for plaintiff to buy defendant’s Laguna Beach house for $14 million dollars. The contract required a non-refundable deposit, initially of $800,000; after some amendments to the escrow instructions, the deposit was reduced to $620,000, which was paid by the buyer. The parties extended the escrow a couple of times. Finally the buyer asked that the escrow be cancelled; the seller agreed. They then turned to a backup up offer to sell the property for $15 million, one million more than the plaintiff would have paid. The seller refused to refund the buyer’s $620,000 deposit, claiming that it was “non-refundable.” The buyer sued to recover the deposit.

The court started with Civil Code 3307: