AML v. Idanta
Monetary damages expert in relation to aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duties
Served as Expert Witness in retrial for defendant Idanta Partners, Ltd. in Los Angeles Superior Court against claims by American Master Lease LLC for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty. Jury awarded $0 in damages.
American Master Lease LLC was established in 1998 to invest in real estate using an investment strategy known as 1031 FORT (Fractionalized Ownership in Real estate Tax deferred). AML and its members agreed to a noncompete provision which prohibited the sale of AML Products to other businesses and the direct or indirect competitive business without the approval of a Majority In Interest of the Class A and Class B Members. One of the members decided to open up a competing entity in 2004 called FORT Properties, Inc. (FPI) and purportedly received a grant to use AML’s products. AML discovered that the license granted to FPI was not authorized and members of AML breached their fiduciary duties under the operating agreement. FPI cancelled their license agreement with AML and began doing more transactions under the same investment strategy with investor, Idanta. In 2007, AML filed an action against the Idanta defendants alleging aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty and interference with contract. Force 10 was brought on to be the expert witness for the defendants, Idanta. Our responsibility was to analyze the amount of unjust enrichment that should be awarded. Following a nearly three-week retrial, the jury returned a complete defense verdict and awarded the plaintiff nothing.
