Vu

I. INTRODUCTION

The trial court found Kevin Tran defrauded real estate investors Matthew Vu and Thanh Duc Lai by taking their money and spending it on himself rather than using it for the various projects in which they thought they were investing. The ensuing judgment awards Vu $769,000 and Lai $1.6 million. In this appeal, Tran presents a potpourri of arguments, some based on an asserted lack of substantial evidence to support aspects of the judgment, some based on more specific legal points. The centerpiece argument is standing. Tran claims Lai had no standing to seek recovery of about $915,000 of the $1.6 million awarded Lai because that $915,000 came from 23 investors who should have had to sue Tran separately, or at least give Lai an assignment of their rights. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 367 [“Every action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest, except as otherwise provided by statute.”].) Tran’s standing argument fails because there was substantial evidence the 23 investors loaned Lai their money, and he in turn invested it with Tran. There is one matter that requires minor modification of the judgment. The judgment includes an order that, literally,…