Del Masso v. Mark Technologies
Filed 5/26/06 Del Masso v. Mark Technologies CA1/4
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION FOUR
ALBERT B. DEL MASSO, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. MARK TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION et al., Defendants and Respondents. | A109482 (San Francisco County Super. Ct. No. 319928) |
Plaintiff Albert B. Del Masso, individually and as trustee of the Albert B. Del Masso Living Trust dated January 8, 1989 (Del Masso), appeals the judgment entered upon a jury verdict in favor of defendants Mark Technologies Corporation (MTC) and Mark G. Jones. He contends the trial court should have granted his motion for a new trial, that he should have been granted leave to amend his complaint, and that he did not receive a fair trial. We affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
This dispute arises out of the sale of Del Masso's limited partnership interest in a wind energy facility to MTC, the general partner, in anticipation of the sale of the partnership's interests to a third party. Among Del Masso's contentions is that MTC, acting through Jones, its president, breached its fiduciary duties to him by failing to disclose that it would receive a loan from the third party buyer as part of the purchase price and failing to disclose that royalties from the wind energy facility might increase significantly in the future.
Del Masso was a limited partner in Alta Mesa Wind Partners, a California limited partnership (Wind Partners), with an approximately 13 percent interest in the partnership that he purchased for $270,000 in 1995. Wind Partners was formed to become a limited partner in another partnership, Alta Mesa Phase III Partners, which was constructing a new wind generating facility near Palm Springs in order to produce electrical energy for sale. MTC was the general partner of Wind Partners. Jones was the president of MTC and its majority shareholder.
In late 1996, Jones had discussions with Danish companies that were interested in acquiring the partnership interests.[1] He sent a letter to Del Masso on January 30, 1997, regarding the proposed acquisition. The letter began: â€
