Polaris Medical Academy v. Allen CA4/3

California Court of Appeal·Decided June 24, 2014·No. G045800·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed 6/24/14 Polaris Medical Academy v. Allen CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

POLARIS MEDICAL ACADEMY, LLC, et al., G045800 Plaintiffs, Cross-defendants and Respondents, (Super. Ct. No. 30-2008-00110096)

v. OPINION

MICHAEL ALLEN,

Defendant, Cross-complainant and Appellant;

POLARIS MEDICAL ACADEMY CORPORATION,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Robert J. Moss, Judge. Affirmed as modified. Request for judicial notice. Granted. Wellman & Warren, Scott W. Wellman and Derek Banducci for Defendant, Cross-complainant and Appellant and for Defendant and Appellant. Law Offices of Allan E. Perry and Allan E. Perry for Plaintiffs, Cross-defendants and Respondents. * * * INTRODUCTION Polaris Medical Academy, LLC (Polaris LLC), Touraj Jahangiri (T. Jahangiri), Reza Jahangiri (R. Jahangiri), and Farid Larijani (collectively referred to as Plaintiffs) sued Michael Allen and Polaris Medical Academy Corporation (Polaris Corp.) for various legal and equitable causes of action. Allen pursued a cross-complaint against Plaintiffs. Following a jury trial on the legal causes of action and a bench trial on the equitable causes of action, a judgment was entered awarding $400,000 in damages to Polaris LLC and $50,000 in damages to Allen, and issuing an injunction against Allen and Polaris Corp. The judgment stated Polaris LLC, T. Jahangiri, and Larijani “shall recover . . . attorneys’ fees in the amount of _____.” Allen and Polaris Corp. appeal from the judgment. They did not file a separate notice of appeal from the postjudgment orders denying Allen’s motion for attorney fees and granting Plaintiffs’ motion for attorney fees in the amount of about $498,000. We conclude (1) we have jurisdiction over Allen’s challenge to the portion of the judgment stating Polaris LLC, T. Jahangiri, and Larijani shall recover attorney fees, and affirm that portion of the judgment; (2) the trial court did not err by granting nonsuit on Allen’s causes of action for intentional misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation; and (3) there is no evidence to show the existence of several items which the injunction requires Allen and Polaris Corp. to return. Accordingly, we modify the injunctive relief portion of the judgment and, in all other respects, affirm the judgment as so modified. FACTS Polaris LLC was formed as a California limited liability company in February 2007. Its primary purpose was to provide certified instruction to cardiologists in the use of radiological equipment to diagnose cardiovascular conditions.

2 Allen, T. Jahangiri, R. Jahangiri, and Larijani entered into an operating agreement for Polaris LLC (the Operating Agreement). Under the Operating Agreement, T. Jahangiri received a 51 percent interest, R. Jahangiri received a 29 percent interest, Allen received a 10 percent interest, and Larijani received a 10 percent interest, in Polaris LLC. Allen became the chief financial officer and chief operating officer and received a base annual salary of $120,000. According to Polaris LLC’s business plan, “Jahangiri Financing” was to account for $403,120 in financing. Such financing was not provided. In June 2007, Allen approached R. Jahangiri and asked him to prove he and T. Jahangiri had the funds to invest in Polaris LLC. R. Jahangiri showed Allen a compilation of bank statements that renewed Allen’s belief T. Jahangiri and R. Jahangiri could and would invest in Polaris LLC. Polaris LLC began conducting classes in July 2007. By March 2008, it had received more than $300,000 in gross revenue. However, in January 2008, Allen reported that Polaris LLC was “technically insolvent” and had a negative net worth. At a meeting on February 2, 2008, the members of the board voted to dissolve Polaris LLC and to terminate the employment of all employees, including Allen. The board tentatively divided the corporate assets among the members and agreed to meet later to discuss completing the dissolution. Allen understood his employment as an officer of Polaris LLC was terminated effective February 29, 2008. The locks to the entrances of the Polaris LLC corporate offices were changed so that Allen could not gain entry. Allen was locked out because Larijani had reason to believe that Allen had removed some items from the corporate offices and Larijani did not want him to remove anything else. Allen formed Polaris Corp., had it incorporated in March 2008, and served as its chief executive officer. Polaris Corp. offered classes to train cardiologists and radiologists in using medical imaging equipment. Allen used the Polaris LLC Web site

3 domain, teaching materials, and equipment and office furniture. He changed the street address of Polaris LLC to the new address of Polaris Corp. and changed the password settings of the Polaris LLC Web site.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY Plaintiffs’ second amended complaint (the Complaint) asserted causes of action against Allen and Polaris Corp. for, among other things, declaratory relief, conversion, breach of contract, and violations of California’s unfair competition law, Business and Professions Code section 17200 et seq. Allen pursued a cross-complaint (the Cross-complaint) against Plaintiffs for, among other things, declaratory relief, breach of oral contract, promissory estoppel, false promise fraud, intentional misrepresentation, and negligent misrepresentation. The legal and equitable causes of action were bifurcated, and the legal causes of action were tried to a jury. During the jury trial, the court granted Plaintiffs’ motions for nonsuit on the causes of action in the Cross-complaint for intentional misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation. On the Complaint, the jury found in favor of T. Jahangiri and Larijani and against Allen on the cause of action for breach of contract, and found in favor of Polaris LLC and against Allen and Polaris Corp. on the cause of action for conversion. The jury awarded no damages to T. Jahangiri and Larijani, and awarded $400,000 in damages to Polaris LLC. On the Cross-complaint, the jury found in favor of Polaris LLC and against Allen on the cause of action for breach of the employment agreement, and found in favor of Allen and against Polaris LLC on the cause of action for breach of an agreement to reimburse expenses. The jury awarded Allen $50,000 in damages. The jury found in favor of T. Jahangiri and R. Jahangiri and against Allen on a cause of action for breach of an agreement to invest at least $500,000 in Polaris LLC.

4 After receiving the jury’s verdict, the trial court decided the equitable issues. On the Complaint, the court found that Allen had engaged in unfair business practices in violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200 and issued an injunction requiring Allen and Polaris Corp. to cease certain practices and to relinquish possession of various items of both tangible and intangible property. On the Cross-complaint, the court found against Allen on the cause of action for promissory estoppel. In July 2011, a judgment was entered reflecting the jury verdict and the trial court’s decision on the equitable causes of action.

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