DC Media Capital v. Imagine Fulfillment Services CA2/1

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 30, 2013
DocketB239081M
StatusUnpublished

This text of DC Media Capital v. Imagine Fulfillment Services CA2/1 (DC Media Capital v. Imagine Fulfillment Services CA2/1) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DC Media Capital v. Imagine Fulfillment Services CA2/1, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 9/30/13 DC Media Capital v. Imagine Fulfillment Services CA2/1

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

DC MEDIA CAPITAL, LLC, B239081

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC408418) v. ORDER MODIFYING OPINION IMAGINE FULFILLMENT SERVICES, (CHANGE IN JUDGMENT) LLC,

Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT: It is ordered that the opinion filed on August 30, 2013 is modified by inserting a new sentence following the first sentence of the Disposition to read: The trial court shall reduce the award of prejudgment interest in this matter to the extent that it is based on an award of damages for defendant’s failure to provide respondent with accurate sales revenues. This modification constitutes a change in the judgment.

____________________________ _______________________________ MALLANO, P.J. CHANEY, J. Filed 8/30/13 DC Media Capital v. Imagine Fulfillment Services CA2/1 (unmodfied version) NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC408418) v.

IMAGINE FULFILLMENT SERVICES, LLC,

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Zaven V. Sinanian, Judge. Affirmed in part; reversed in part. Dinsmore & Sandelmann, LLP, Frank Sandelmann and Scott D. Dinsmore for Defendant and Appellant. Law Offices of Jon A. Kodani, John A. Kodani and Jeffrey J. Williams for Plaintiff and Respondent. __________________________________________ Following a bench trial, defendant Imagine Fulfillment Services, LLC (IFS) was found liable to plaintiff DC Media Capital, LLC (DC Media) for breach of a contract to provide inventory, billing, shipping and related services to a third party, Shopflash, Inc., the manufacturer of vacuum cleaners. On appeal, IFS argues: (1) it had no contract with DC Media; (2) even if IFS had a contract, it didn’t breach the contract; and (3) even if it breached the contract, DC Media suffered no damage. IFS further maintains that the trial court failed to provide an adequate statement of decision on material controverted issues.1 We reverse as to damages for failure to provide accurate sales revenues. In all other respects, we affirm. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW This lawsuit stems from a sales campaign by Shopflash to market its vacuum cleaners through the Internet and “infomercials.” Shopflash and DC Media entered into a contract in which DC Media provided the financing for Shopflash to buy media time for its advertising. Shopflash also entered into a contract with IFS to receive the vacuums into stock, ship them to customers, process credit cards, provide customer service and deal with returns. IFS refers to itself as a part of the “direct response industry.” Shopflash fell behind in its payments to IFS and IFS suspended its services to Shopflash. When DC Media learned of Shopflash’s failure to make payments to IFS it “took over” the sales campaign and began dealing directly with IFS. By mid-June 2006, DC Media paid IFS all that it was owed by Shopflash. In June 2006, Andy Arvidson, a principal of IFS, sent an email to Robert Hanington, a principal of DC Media which stated in relevant part: “Hi, Bob! Here is your agreement as promised!” Arvidson attached to the email a five-page document entitled “Fulfillment Service Contract.” No one representing IFS or DC Media ever signed the document. Nevertheless, between June 2006 and January 2007 IFS billed DC

1 In its opening brief IFS states that it also appeals the order denying its new trial motion. Its brief contains no argument on this issue so the issue is abandoned. (Salas v. Department of Transportation (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 1058, 1074.) 2 Media just over $1 million for its services to Shopflash, and DC Media paid those invoices. IFS sent financial reports to DC Media and consulted it on operational issues such as whether to switch shipping companies for the vacuums. In February 2009, DC Media brought this action against IFS for breach of contract and negligence. DC Media contends that the document IFS sent it in June 2006 constituted a contract between it and IFS and that IFS breached this contract and acted negligently by overcharging DC Media for shipping vacuums, failing to credit DC Media for shipping charges it paid in advance, overstating sales revenue, and providing unsatisfactory customer service. IFS responded that it had no contract with DC Media and denied that it overcharged or failed to credit DC Media for shipping and denied that it overstated sales revenue or furnished unsatisfactory customer service. Following a bench trial, the court entered judgment in favor of DC Media and thereafter denied IFS’s motion for a new trial. IFS filed a timely notice of appeal. DISCUSSION I. CONTRACT FORMATION IFS contends that it cannot be held liable to DC Media for breach of contract because the parties did not have a contract. The trial court found otherwise and we agree. A. Standards of Review The trial court found that the document IFS submitted to DC Media constituted an offer by IFS to provide specified services to Shopflash in return for DC Media’s payment of the fees and costs for those services and that DC Media accepted the offer by paying IFS those fees and charges. On appeal, IFS argues that the document was a draft proposal for a contract, too vague to constitute an actual offer, but even if it was an offer, as a matter of law it could only be accepted by an authorized signature on behalf of DC Media which was never provided. Whether the document was sufficiently certain to constitute an offer to make a contract was a question of fact for the trial court. (See discussion at p. 6, post.)

3 Whether the offer could be accepted by performance was a mixed question of law and fact. (See discussion at pp. 6-9, post.) We review questions of law independently and we review questions of fact for sufficient evidence. In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence our task begins and ends with a determination whether any substantial evidence exists, contradicted or uncontradicted, that supports the trial court’s conclusions. (Hellman v. La Cumbre Golf & Country Club (1992) 6 Cal.App.4th 1224, 1229.) Here there was conflicting evidence on the question whether DC Media’s performance after receiving IFS’s contract offer constituted acceptance. A reviewing court will not find the trial court’s factual conclusions unsupported “merely because it might reasonably draw different inferences from those the trial court reasonably drew.” (Ibid.) An appellate court will only interfere if “it clearly appears that under no hypothesis is there substantial evidence to support the [court’s] finding.” (Ibid.) B. The Document Was An Agreement, Not Merely A Draft IFS contends that the document Arvidson emailed to Hanington was merely a draft proposal for a contract as evidenced by its failure to name DC Media as the offeree. This contention lacks merit. The offer that Arvidson emailed to Hanington referred to IFS as the “vendor” but did not refer by name to DC Media.

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Bluebook (online)
DC Media Capital v. Imagine Fulfillment Services CA2/1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dc-media-capital-v-imagine-fulfillment-services-ca-calctapp-2013.