Poland v. La Boxing Franchise Corp.
| Decision Date | 19 November 2012 |
| Docket Number | G045567,G045158 |
| Parties | CHRISTOPHER POLAND, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. LA BOXING FRANCHISE CORPORATION et al., Defendants and Appellants. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
OPINIONAppeal from a judgment and orders of the Superior Court of Orange County, James Di Cesare, Judge. Affirmed.
Ford & Harrison, Lyne A. Richardson, Julianne Pinter and Michelle B. Abidoye for Defendants and Appellants.
Mesisca, Riley & Kreitenberg, Dennis P. Riley and Rena E. Kreitenberg for Plaintiff and Appellant.
After a two-week trial, a jury returned a special verdict partly in favor of plaintiff Christopher Poland and partly in favor of his former employer defendant LA Boxing Franchise Corporation (LA Boxing) and its principal, defendant Anthony Geisler. The jury found LA Boxing had not retaliated against Poland when it fired him, did not owe him any overtime, and owed him $2,800 in unpaid wages. It also found that LA Boxing had not breached a contract it had with Poland, because he had not performed his part of the bargain. Both LA Boxing and Geisler, however, were liable to Poland for a false promise on which he had relied, and the jury awarded Poland $75,000 in damages for this reliance. The trial court tacked nearly $19,000 in prejudgment interest onto this award.
LA Boxing and Geisler have appealed from the award of prejudgment interest only. Poland, in turn, has appealed from various aspects of the judgment unfavorable to him and from the orders denying his posttrial motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) and for a new trial.
As to Poland's appeal, we affirm both the judgment and the orders denying the posttrial motions. Most of Poland's appeal reflects his dissatisfaction with the jury's verdict. It passed muster with the trial judge. We do not disturb either the jury's verdict or the lower court's evaluation of it after trial unless something went seriously wrong. Nothing of the sort occurred here. On LA Boxing's appeal, we affirm the trial court's award of prejudgment interest.
LA Boxing had its origins in a scruffy gym in Costa Mesa focusing on boxing instruction and workouts. Geisler joined the gym in 2002 and conceived the ideaof opening a chain of nonscruffy gyms catering to a suburban clientele. Geisler opened his first gym in Aliso Viejo in early 2003, having licensed the name from the original gym's two owners.2 Another location in Fullerton opened in late 2003, and still another opened in Anaheim shortly thereafter.
Poland began working at the Aliso Viejo gym in 2003 or 2004 as the sales manager, selling gym memberships. He also created "sales documents," scripts used to sell gym memberships to the public. After the Fullerton location opened, Poland held the same position there, and he may have also worked at the Anaheim location for a short time.
In the early stages, the gyms had only two types of employees - managers and instructors. The managers worked behind the front desk; their primary task was to sell gym memberships, but they also greeted members and guests and were in charge of keeping the gym clean. The instructors conducted classes.
In February 2004, Geisler incorporated LA Boxing and hired a franchising expert to assist in setting up the franchising operation. The Aliso Viejo and Fullerton gyms became franchised stores; another store opened in Albuquerque during that same period.
After Geisler sold the Aliso Viejo gym and it became a franchised store in late 2004, Poland continued to work there as a sales manager until he was terminated in 2005. In 2005 or 2006, he began working as an independent contractor for the franchise operation. He was paid $500 for each grand opening he attended, at which he would train the general manager, sell memberships, and assist the franchisees. He also developed the corporation's sales training program.
Eventually, as the company expanded, Poland became a full-time employee. In mid-2005, Geisler offered Poland a one percent commission on gross franchise receipts, "to keep [him] tied to the gyms forever." 3 Poland interpreted this offer to mean he would receive the commission for the rest of his life, regardless of whether he was working for LA Boxing. Geisler testified that Poland received this commission as national sales director "because [he] was very important to the franchise corporation," but denied that it was "for life." Poland began receiving the one percent commission in March 2006. He went on the company payroll as an employee in early 2006, with a base pay of $1,000 per month, plus his commissions.
By 2006, Poland was the only corporate representative to attend the grand openings of the franchised locations. He was also involved in "discovery days," when prospective franchisees would be given a tour of the company headquarters and meet the people involved in the franchise operation. On discovery days, Poland would speak with prospective franchisees as national sales director. He also traveled to troubled franchises to help them increase their sales, sales being the ultimate indicator of a franchise's success. Poland would be dispatched to these failing franchises to take over the sales department.
In early 2007, Poland's position was divided; someone else became national sales director, and Poland became national training director. The commission on the franchisee receipts was split as well, with each person getting half of one percent. Poland continued to earn a full commission on the sales he actually made, in addition to his base salary.
By 2007, Poland was flying all over the country to assist the franchisees as national training director. The company charged franchisees $500 plus expenses per day, provided Poland was able to hit certain sales figures. Of that amount, Polandreceived $400 per day as a bonus. Regardless of whether he gained the bonus, however, Poland received his base salary and a commission on his own sales.
Poland testified that in June 2003, Geisler promised him and a colleague each a 10 percent equity stake in LA Boxing. The reason for making this offer was to compensate them for not being able to pay them up front for all the work they would have to do to make the franchise operation successful. Poland testified he wrote training schedules, sample training classes, and sales scripts to prepare for franchise filings, as well as taking over the running of the additional franchise stores. He attended a franchise convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2003 or 2004, at which he "did the same as Mr. Geisler," which was to sell franchises, because he had "a vested interest in the company."
After the first few franchised stores opened up and the company offices moved to a new location, Poland continued to work on corporate documents, on getting a franchise up and going, on advertising, and finding building vendors. He also did franchisee training and was one of the three people who created the franchise training manual. Poland spent dozens of hours creating and refining the training manual. He reviewed franchise leases and did site approvals until LA Boxing hired someone for that specific task in November 2006. Poland trained the managers for the new locations and hired a new general manager for the Fullerton store. According to Poland, Geisler was grooming him to take over LA Boxing, once the company was running smoothly.
Poland testified to another conversation with Geisler in May or June 2007, in which Geisler once again promised him 10 percent of the corporation, saying he was close to a deal with the other stockholders to buy some of their stock to give to Poland. Poland testified that Geisler constantly put him off with excuses when he asked when he was going to get his stock. For his part, Geisler testified he had never offered Poland stock in the company.
Geisler testified to numerous problems and complaints regarding Poland's performance in dealings with franchisees and gym customers. One person complained of his tardiness and incompetence at a grand opening in Westminster in May 2007. A franchisee in Atlantic City complained that, while there for training in early 2007, Poland had taken the general manager out on the town, resulting in a two-day absence from work due to a hangover. In May 2007, Geisler received a serious complaint from a member of a Connecticut gym regarding an encounter with Poland, who had reportedly chewed the member out in very strong language for interfering with a sales presentation Poland was making to a potential customer. The member informed Geisler that he had called the police regarding what he perceived to be a threat of violence by Poland. Another member from the same gym complained to the general manager, who forwarded the complaint to Geisler, that Poland had made offensive and harassing remarks to her. Still another potential customer e-mailed LA Boxing after an encounter with Poland to inform the company that she would not join one of the gyms if there was a possibility of running into him. Geisler also received two complaints in July 2007 from a franchise owner in El Paso about Poland's using coarse and vulgar language in front of gym members, which had bad repercussions for the gym. Although Poland was supposed to be in El Paso for a multiple-day training session, the franchisee asked him to leave after one day.
Poland himself reported an altercation on an airplane going to a grand opening in Phoenix resulting in his being detained and questioned by airport security upon landing. Poland was wearing a polo shirt...
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