Baldwin
Curci Invs., LLC v. Baldwin
Opinion
lead Opinion
Thompson, J.
*217 Respondent James P. Baldwin (Baldwin), a prominent real estate developer, is no stranger to the complicated world of business entity structuring. Over the course of his lifetime, he has formed and held interest in hundreds of corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies. This appeal concerns one of those limited liability companies, JPB Investments LLC (JPBI).
Appellant Curci Investments, LLC (Curci) sought to add JPBI as a judgment debtor on a multi-million dollar judgment it had against Baldwin personally. Curci asserted Baldwin held virtually all the interest in JPBI and controlled its actions, and Baldwin appeared to be using JPBI as a personal bank account. Curci argued, under these circumstances, it would be in the interest of justice to disregard the separate nature of JPBI and allow Curci to access JPBI's assets to satisfy the judgment against Baldwin.
Citing Postal Instant Press, Inc. v. Kaswa Corp. (2008) 162 Cal.App.4th 1510 , 77 Cal.Rptr.3d 96 ( Postal Instant Press ), the court denied Curci's motion based on its belief the relief sought by Curci, commonly known as reverse veil piercing, is not available in California.