Taburaza
Taburaza v. Zarate (In re Zarate)
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Efremsky, J.
Memorandum Decision on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs and Order Thereon
I. Introduction
On September 15, 2016, the court entered a stipulated judgment in favor of plaintiffs Joseph and Juliana Taburaza. The judgment states that defendants owe a non-dischargeable debt of $831,018.31 to plaintiffs. October 13, 2016, plaintiffs filed this motion for an award of attorney’s fees and costs as the prevailing party in the adversary proceeding. Defendants opposed this motion. The matter has been fully briefed and argued. This is the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7052.
II. Background
a. The 2005 Asset Purchase Agreement
In June 2005, the parties entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “APA”) by which defendants agreed to sell two skilled nursing facilities (the “Facilities”) to plaintiffs. Defendants operated the Facilities through Tru-Care, Inc., a California corporation. Defendants owned a 60% interest, and plaintiffs owned a 40% interest, in the Tru-Care shares and in the two pieces of real property (known as “Milpitas” and “Wisteria”) on which the Facilities operated. APA, Recital A.