Moncada

Filed 10/28/13 Moncada v. West Coast Quartz Corp. CA6

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

IRMA MONCADA et al., H036728 (Santa Clara County Plaintiffs and Appellants, Super. Ct. No. CV169097)

v.

WEST COAST QUARTZ CORP. et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

This case involves a dispute between former employees of a company and the company‟s sole shareholders over a promised retirement bonus that was never paid. Plaintiffs, Irma Moncada, Randy Morris and Everardo Serrano, worked for West Coast Quartz Corporation (West Coast). Defendants Paul Maloney and Nancy Tkalcevic were the owners and sole shareholders of West Coast. Defendants were preparing to sell West Coast, and wanted plaintiffs to continue to work for the company…

*772 Opinion

This case involves a dispute between former employees' of a company and the company’s sole shareholders over a promised retirement bonus that was never paid.

Plaintiffs, Irma Moncada, Randy Morris and Everardo Serrano, worked for West Coast Quartz Corporation (West Coast). Defendants Paul Maloney and Nancy Tkalcevic were the owners and sole shareholders of West Coast. Defendants were preparing to sell West Coast, and wanted plaintiffs to continue.to work for the company until the sale was complete. To accomplish that end, defendants repeatedly promised plaintiffs that if they continued to work for West Coast until the sale, they would be paid a bonus from the sale proceeds that would be sufficient for them to retire. Plaintiffs remained at West Coast for five years following defendants’ initial promise of the retirement bonus, rejecting job offers from other companies, and opportunities to move out of the area. When defendants sold West Coast in 2009 for approximately $30 million, they did not pay plaintiffs the promised bonus.

Plaintiffs filed suit against defendants for fraud and breach of contract, among other causes of action. Following the trial court…

I concur with the majority’s conclusion that plaintiffs have failed to state causes of action for negligent misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and estoppel in pais. I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion that plaintiffs have adequately alleged causes of action for breach of contract, misrepresentation-concealment, and promissory estoppel. I would therefore affirm the trial court’s February 15, 2011 judgment dismissing the entire action with prejudice after plaintiffs elected not to further amend their first amended complaint.

In this case, plaintiffs Irma Moncada, Randy Morris, and Everardo Serrano (hereafter, plaintiffs) brought a lawsuit against their former employer, defendant West Coast Quartz Corporation (West Coast) and defendants Paul Maloney, president and chief financial officer, and Nancy Tkalcevic, chief executive officer. Plaintiffs allege that defendants broke their promise to pay plaintiffs a retention bonus of enough money to retire and not work again if they continued to work for West Coast until the company was sold.

Plaintiffs were given the opportunity to amend their first amended complaint but were unable to allege…