Berliner Cohen obtained a complete dismissal of claims asserted against our clients in federal District Court and then successfully defended the appeal in the Ninth Circuit.
When one of our clients tried to enforce a divorce judgment against her ex-husband, the ex-husband filed a new civil case alleging fraud from 14 years prior. He claimed that in 2008, his wife at the time (our client) told him that he was a minority owner of their jointly held corporation when he was actually the majority owner. The problem for him was that his attorney had his stock certificates the entire time, which showed his true ownership percentage. Nevertheless, he asserted claims of Fraud, Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Negligent Misrepresentation, and Negligence. His complaint demanded over $3.5 million in damages plus 14 years’ worth of interest, as well as attorney’s fees.
At the District Court level, Berliner attorneys Joshua Borger and Alan Law moved to dismiss the ex-husband’s claims on statute of limitations grounds, arguing that the ex-husband should not have waited 14 years to bring his lawsuit. The judge granted the motion to dismiss but as is typical, allowed leave to amend to give the ex-husband a chance to explain his 14-year delay. This resulted in the Berliner attorneys filing another motion to dismiss. This time when the judge granted the motion, he dismissed the case in its entirety.
The ex-husband then appealed to the Ninth Circuit, and Berliner attorneys Joshua Borger and Angela Shaw successfully defended the appeal. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of the case in its entirety, resulting in a victory for Berliner’s clients.
Joshua Borger, Alan Law, and Angela Shaw are attorneys in Berliner Cohen’s Litigation Department in San Jose. If you have questions regarding similar matters, please contact them at 408.286.5800.