Casella
Casella v. SouthWest Dealer Services, Inc.
Opinion
Opinion
Fybel, J.
INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Zachary Casella sued his former employer, SouthWest Dealer Services, Inc. (SouthWest), and its president, Eric Hamann (collectively, defendants), for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, fraud, and fraudulent inducement of employment in violation of Labor Code section 970. Casella claimed his employment was terminated because he reported SouthWest’s participation in some of its car dealership clients’ fraudulent business practices. The parties refer to these practices as “payment packing.” The payment-packing practice in this case involved car dealership sales personnel quoting inflated monthly payment amounts for the cars to customers in order to hide the true cost of aftermarket products, thereby facilitating the sale of such products. Casella further alleged defendants wrongfully induced him to come to work for SouthWest by failing to disclose SouthWest’s involvement in these fraudulent activities.
SouthWest filed a cross-complaint against Casella for misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of the parties’ employment agreement. SouthWest dismissed its misappropriation of trade secrets claims before trial.