Jones

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA J effrey R. JONES, et al., Case No.: 23-cv-1102-AGS-MMP

Plaintiffs,

ORDER DENYING MOTION

v. TO DISMISS COUNTERCLAIMS (ECF 31) Steven R. BARRETT, et al., Defendants.

This case involves two competing narratives. Plaintiffs say it’s about wrongful termination; defendants, about embezzling employees. Only the second version is at issue in the present motion to dismiss certain counterclaims. BACKGROUND1 In 2013, California-based plaintiffs Jeff and Connie Jones formed a business relationship with Colorado-based defendants/counterclaimants Steven Barrett and Wayne Glasser. (ECF 19, at 7.) “Jeff Jones was hired to run the day-to-day operations of [certain franchise] restaurants in California,” known as the Harbor Foods entities, and his “wife, Connie Jones, was hired to perform bookkeeping and accounting for the restaurants.” (Id.) Jeff Jones also negotiated a buy-in arrangement that would…