Clarke

Filed 3/16/

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

JOHN CLARKE et al., D085636

Plaintiffs and Appellants,

v. (Super. Ct. No. 37-2023- 00019476-CU-BC-CTL) JIN-QUAN YU et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Gregory W. Pollack, Judge. Affirmed. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Stephen P. Blake and Jonathan C. Sanders, for Plaintiffs and Appellants. Keker, Van Nest & Peters, R. James Slaughter, Bailey W. Heaps and Niharika Sachdeva, for Defendants and Respondents. The parties, a venture capitalist and two scientists who had worked together on past companies, discussed and took steps toward forming a new company—CHange Pharma, Inc.—to develop and commercialize carbon- hydrogen bond activation, known as C-H activation, technology. When disagreements arose over the amount of initial funding needed, the scientists ultimately obtained funding from other sources. Plaintiffs CHange and John Clarke, the venture capitalist, appeal the summary judgment entered in favor of Defendants Jin-Quan Yu and Benjamin…