Waters Edge Wineries, Inc. v. Wine Vibes, LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

WATERS EDGE WINERIES, INC., Case No. 5:22-cv-01883-SB-SHK Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S

MOTION FOR PARTIAL

WINE VIBES, LLC et al., SUMMARY JUDGMENT [DKT.

NO. 39]

Defendants.

Plaintiff Waters Edge Wineries, Inc. is a franchisor of combination microwineries and wine stores. Defendants Sherifat Lawal, Tamesha Hampton, and Phelicia Colvin, as the owners and members of Defendant Wine Vibes, LLC (Wine Vibes), contracted with Plaintiff to open a Waters Edge franchise. After the relationship between Defendants and Plaintiffs designated construction management firm soured, Defendants opened an unapproved microwinery and wine store. Plaintiff brought this action for claims arising from Defendants’ alleged breach of the franchise agreement. Plaintiff moves for partial summary judgment on its breach of contract claim and claim for relief under California’s Unfair Competition Law (Cal. Bus. and Prof. Code § 17200, or UCL). Dkt. No. 39. Since Plaintiff has not demonstrated as a matter of law on this record that it exercised reasonable business judgment in refusing to allow Defendants to build…