Mente Group LLC v. Arnell Enterprises, Inc

I. BACKGROUND

1 A. Undisputed Facts 2 Unless otherwise indicated, the following facts are not disputed. 3 Mente is a Texas company that provides consulting and transactional services to private 4 aircraft owners and operators. Dkt. No. 37-1, Ex. A ¶¶ 2, 3. Arnell is a “diversified, multi- 5 divisional development company” incorporated in California. Dkt. No. 40-1, Ex. D ¶ 2. Arnell 6 has owned and operated aircraft as part of its business operations. Dkt. No. 40-1, Ex. D ¶¶ 2, 3. 7 In or around September 2017, Arnell’s Chief Executive Officer, Roger Burnell, began discussions 8 with Mente concerning Arnell’s potential acquisition of an Embraer Phenom 300E aircraft. Dkt. 9 No. 37-1, Ex. A ¶¶ 3, 11–12; Dkt. No. 40-1, Ex. D ¶¶ 2, 11; Dkt. No. 40-1, Ex. D ¶¶ 11–12. 10 Mente initially proposed to assist Arnell with acquiring the aircraft for a flat fee of $150,000.00. 11 Dkt. No. 37-1, Ex. A ¶ 4; Dkt. No. 40-1, Ex. D ¶ 11. Arnell did not accept Mente’s flat fee 12 proposal; instead, the parties agreed that Mente would be compensated based on a percentage of 13 the savings it obtained on Arnell’s behalf for the purchase of the aircraft. Dkt. No. 37-1, Ex. A 14 ¶ 5; Dkt. No.…