Chu

I. Background

2000 West was formed in March 2017 for the purpose of purchasing a commercial warehouse in Reading, Ohio. The three original owners of the company were Yun Zheng (30 percent), Jennifer Liu (20 percent), and Qingyu Zhang1 (50 percent). Zheng is also the manager of 2000 West. Zheng and her husband, Shaojie Zhang, are respondents in this case. Appellants’ claims arise out of judgments they obtained in two prior lawsuits in Los Angeles Superior Court. In June 2016, Chu, an attorney, filed an employment lawsuit on behalf of Qi. Qi sued a number of defendants, including New Diamond Trucking, Inc., a company owned by Qingyu. Following a bench trial, the court entered judgment on October 2, 2019 against New Diamond and others in an amount, according to appellants, totaling $426,513.24 In July 2020, Chu filed a malicious prosecution action on his own behalf against multiple defendants, including Qingyu. Chu obtained a default judgment against Qingyu for $500,534 in April 2021.

II. The Complaint

Appellants filed this action on March 14, 2022 against respondents and others, including New Diamond, Liu, and Qingyu. In the operative third amended complaint, appellants…