Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Calvin Davis and Senior Counsel Crystal Yu secured a complete dismissal of a breach of contract lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, along with its associated motion for a writ of attachment.
The plaintiff, a provider of live chat software, sued the firm's client, a subsidiary of one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world, claiming breach of a contract for services rendered. However, the subject contract, attached to the complaint, mandated exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Alabama.
After pointing this out to the plaintiff in a "meet and confer" discussion, they hurriedly amended the complaint to add a different contract with a Los Angeles venue selection provision. At the same time, the plaintiff filed an application for a writ of attachment against the firm’s client.
The Gordon & Rees team moved to dismiss, arguing that the claims in the complaint related solely to the contract with the Alabama choice of forum. In addition, they filed evidentiary objections to the declarations of the plaintiff which claimed that the defendant had agreed to the additional contract.
The court granted the evidentiary motions and the motion to dismiss and took the writ of attachment off calendar as moot. The Gordon & Rees team is now moving for recovery of attorneys' fees and costs.
The Los Angeles team acknowledges valuable assistance from Atlanta Partner Leslie Eason and Of Counsel DeWayne Pope.