Wrongful Termination Cases

Summary judgment agency apparent authority successor in interest statute of frauds equity fraudulent misrepresentation unjust enrichment civil conspiracy deposition. Plaintiff-appellant loaned over $400,000 dollars to the owner of Barker Products, which began suffering financial difficulties. The defendant-appellee approached the members of the company with a plan to purchase the company. The parties dispute whether the defendant promised the plaintiff employment and/or an equity share as part of the defendant's ownership in order to pay off the plaintiff's debt. The defendant purchased the assets of the company and renamed it Cleveland Plating. Plaintiff brought suit against the defendant alleging that the defendant had agreed to repay the loans through employment and/or the equity share. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment as to all claims. The court granted the motion and dismissed all the claims. We found that the motion was improperly granted as to two claims and that there were genuine issues of material fact as to whether the defendant, and an individual acting as his agent, had bound Cleveland Plating to pay off the plaintiff's loans.