Prevailed at trial while representing the sellers of a high performance automotive business. The sellers turned the business over to the buyers, and they began to run the business. Shortly thereafter, the buyers claimed that they discovered fraud on the part of the sellers about the business. As a result, the buyers refused to pay the full purchase price, abandoned the business, and stopped paying rent to the landlord. The landlord sued both the sellers and the buyers for unpaid rent. The sellers sued the buyers for the remaining amount of the purchase price of the business. Thereafter, the buyers sued the sellers for their money back.
The landlord settled its case with the buyers for $50,000 before trial. Also before trial, the landlord dismissed its lawsuit against the sellers. Ms. Selfridge obtained a defense verdict in favor of the sellers with respect to each of the buyers’ causes of action against them. In addition, the sellers obtained a $152,450.46 judgment against the buyers on their breach of contract cause of action. The sellers were also awarded $223,137.50 in contractual attorney fees and $7,694.65 in costs, for a total of $383,282.61, plus interest.
The buyers were a Limited Liability Company and an individual. Notably, the trial court pierced the corporate veil of the LLC, and found that the individual buyer was liable for the full amount of the judgment.