09/26/2025
Trial Win for Brown & Charbonneau, LLP! 🎉 Read more about the case below 👀
Gregory Brown and Mark Higuchi represented a sitting Superior Court Judge (“Client”) against his former law partner in connection with his buyout from the law partnership. After an 8-day trial, in a nearly unanimous verdict, the Riverside County jury found in the Client’s favor on both the Corporations Code section 16701 demand for buyout and the breach of oral contract to buyout the Client’s interest, once he was appointed as a Superior Court Judge.
Immediately after his appointment, the Client worked to ensure that his two large institutional clients remained with the new firm going forward. He was successful in keeping both clients.
Shortly thereafter, the Client and his then law partner entered into an oral agreement to hire a CPA/valuation specialist to determine the buyout price. The valuation professional determined the value to be used in the buyout. Quite literally while the law partner was leaving on his last day, his remaining partner sent an email suggesting they look at alternative valuations but no outright rejection of the prior valuation. Thereafter, the remaining partner did nothing to conclude the transaction, always putting off B&C’s client.
At trial, the original valuation professional testified on behalf of the remaining partner, changing his original $769,426 valuation down to $210,000. The Client’s expert CPA determined that the value at the time of dissociation was $804,640. The jury found in the Client’s favor on both the breach of oral contract and the Corporations Code claim. This included a specific finding that the remaining partner acted “arbitrarily, vexatiously, or not in good faith” since he never tendered any payment or provided the required documents. With this finding, the Client will be entitled to recovery of his attorney’s fees and expert costs.
