Tony Bobulinski Vs Adam Roseman Et Al Amended Complaint
Tony Bobulinski Vs Adam Roseman Et Al Amended Complaint
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13 TONY BOBULINSKI, an individual, Case No. 2:19-cv-02963-MWF-SSx
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Plaintiff, FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT
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16 vs. 1. FRAUD IN THE INDUCEMENT;
2. NEGLIGENT
17 ADAM ROSEMAN, an individual; and MISREPRESENTATION; AND
18 DOES 1-20, 3. BREACH OF FIDUCIARY
DUTY
19 Defendants. DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
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The Hon. Michael W. Fitzgerald
21 Courtroom: 5A
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1 This was also significant, because Bobulinski had planned to use the cash he invested
2 in CBG for a different investment opportunity. Based on Roseman’s representations,
3 Bobulinski was assured his CBG investment would be returned in time for
4 Bobulinski to make the other investment.
5 6. The gig was up shortly after Bobulinski entered into the Note. On April
6 28, 2016, CBG’s largest creditor presented a creditor’s winding up petition against
7 CBG because CBG continued to face financial difficulties. The petition was
8 submitted to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the “Cayman Court”) as CBG
9 is a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The Joint Official Liquidators of
10 CBG (the “JOLs”) were appointed pursuant to an August 28, 2016 winding up order
11 issued by the Cayman Court. Thereafter, on September 20, 2016, CBG entered into
12 an agreement, to sell all of its assets to another company, Remark Media Inc.
13 (“Remark”).
14 7. Based on his belief that he was a senior secured creditor of CBG, whose
15 loan was secured by the Collateral, Bobulinski submitted a Proof of Debt to the JOLs
16 during CBG’s liquidation proceedings in the Cayman Islands (the “Cayman
17 Liquidation”) for a total of $1,625,000, which included the principal Note amount
18 plus a 2.5x multiplier, as required by the Note and which Roseman promised
19 Bobulinski would receive.
20 8. Ultimately, the JOLs rejected Bobulinski’s Proof of Debt, claiming that
21 Bobulinski was only owed a balance of the principal $650,000 and that he was not
22 senior secured because CBG did not own the Collateral. This dispute was the basis
23 for a separate legal proceeding in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands entitled In
24 the Matter of China Branding Group Limited (In Official Liquidation), Cause No.
25 FSD 52 of 2016 (RMJ) (the “Cayman Litigation”).
26 9. The Cayman Litigation took nearly two and a half years. Bobulinski
27 litigated under the belief that he was a senior secured creditor with a security interest
28 in the Collateral. During this time, these difficult legal proceedings consumed
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1 Bobulinski’s life, but it was through these proceedings that Bobulinski ultimately
2 discovered the truth about the security interest in his investment – he learned he had
3 been duped. Ultimately, the Cayman Court accepted the JOLs’ argument that CBG
4 never owned the Collateral and that those assets were actually owned by RAAD –
5 contrary to everything Roseman promised in order to induce Roseman to enter into
6 the Note. Therefore, the Cayman Court found that Bobulinski never had a security
7 interest in the Collateral. Roseman’s deception had not only cost Bobulinski the
8 timely return of any funds invested, it also caused Bobulinski to waste thousands of
9 hours over two and a half years fighting to enforce Roseman’s false promises.
10 10. Bobulinski incurred significant damages as a result of Roseman’s lies.
11 Bobulinski has recovered nothing on his $650,000 loan. As explicitly provided in
12 the Note, and as falsely promised by Roseman, Bobulinski was owed the principal
13 amount of his loan plus a 2.5x return, for a total of $1,625,000, which should have
14 been paid on or before the sale of CBG to Remark. Instead of receiving the promised
15 payout, Bobulinski was forced to spend well over $700,0001 litigating in the Cayman
16 Islands, in a vain attempt to obtain the benefits Roseman had promised. Litigating in
17 the Cayman Islands was not only taxing on Bobulinski’s wallet, he also suffered
18 significant emotional distress. Unable to recover anything from his loan, Bobulinski
19 was unable to utilize the significant capital he thought he had temporarily loaned
20 CBG.
21 11. Bobulinski now seeks compensation for the damages he has incurred as
22 a result of Roseman’s misrepresentations, which amount to well over $1.5 million,
23 and to finally hold Roseman accountable for the distress he has caused.
24 THE PARTIES
25 12. Plaintiff Tony Bobulinski is an individual residing in the State of
26 California.
27 1
On top of his own legal fees, the JOLs are now claiming that Bobulinski must pay
28 their legal fees amounting to $634,393.52.
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1 21. In or around 2015, CBG was running out of money. CBG suffered
2 significant cashflow difficulties from its inception as a result of the need to find
3 working capital to fund its growth. As a result, Roseman urgently sought further
4 funding, and was looking for ways to quickly infuse funding into the company.
5 22. On or about March 5, 2015, Roseman sent an email to Bobulinski. The
6 email was intended to provide an update about CBG and to ask for a short-term
7 bridge loan “to allow [CBG] to acquire some additional top licenses that will help
8 increase our value in a sale.” The loan was to be a “a senior secured loan to be paid
9 off in first priority.” The email also stated the following: “Senior secured bridge
10 loan, secured by all our assets (content licenses, our production library and our fixed
11 production equipment in our 10k square foot studio in Culver City) and all bridge
12 loan principal and interest secured in first position.”
13 23. In response, Bobulinski expressed some interest in helping Roseman.
14 Consequently, Roseman followed up on March 10, 2015, when he emailed
15 Bobulinski stating “would there be a bridge structure that would incentivize you to
16 come in and then I would use that structure for all that are participating? Thanks!”
17 24. Roseman and Bobulinski then coordinated to meet in person to further
18 discuss CBG and the bridge loan. In an email on March 20, 2015, Roseman even
19 asked Bobulinski if he would “want to come see the Culver studio.”
20 25. Roseman and Bobulinski agreed to meet in person on March 25, 2015,
21 at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. During this sit-down meeting,
22 Roseman went into further detail explaining CBG’s financial difficulties, including
23 CBG’s lack of sources of capital, and he discussed CBG’s purported assets.
24 Roseman explained the company’s desperate need for money and asked whether
25 Bobulinski could provide CBG with a loan. Roseman informed Bobulinski that
26 Roseman would take a loan on whatever terms Bobulinski asked for or needed in
27 order to move quickly. Neither the meeting nor the request was uncommon, as
28 Roseman had asked Bobulinski for financial assistance on multiple occasions over
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1 the course of their professional relationship. Therefore, Bobulinski did not have any
2 reason to believe Roseman’s representations during this meeting about CBG or its
3 assets were untrue.
4 26. Bobulinski informed Roseman that in order for him to provide a loan, he
5 would need the loan to be senior secured by all of CBG’s assets. Roseman assured
6 Bobulinski that any loan he provided would be senior secured by all of CBG’s assets
7 through a pledge agreement. Roseman outlined CBG’s purported assets, including
8 certain studio operations and license agreements. Roseman stated that those assets
9 were owned by CBG and would secure Bobulinski’s loan. On information and
10 belief, those assets included all of CBG’s assets in the United States.
11 27. Roseman also assured Bobulinski that if CBG failed, Bobulinski would
12 be protected because his note would be senior in order of funding. Desperate for
13 funding and wanting to move quickly, Roseman assured Bobulinski that their
14 understanding would be properly documented by the law firm Sheppard Mullin,
15 counsel for CBG. In fact, Roseman recommended against Bobulinski retaining
16 separate counsel, as Roseman felt it would slow down the process of obtaining
17 Bobulinski’s loan. Roseman assured Bobulinski that Sheppard Mullin would
18 properly document the deal with both of their interests in mind. Again, because
19 Bobulinski trusted his longtime friend and business partner, and because Roseman
20 expressed an urgency in obtaining the loan, Bobulinski did not secure his own
21 separate counsel to negotiate or review the terms of the purported security interest in
22 CBG’s assets.
23 28. Following the March 25 meeting, and based on Roseman’s serial
24 misrepresentations, which Bobulinski had no reason to disbelieve at the time,
25 Bobulinski agreed to lend CBG $500,000. Over the next few weeks after the
26 meeting, Roseman and Bobulinski negotiated the terms of the loan. Roseman
27 assured Bobulinski that his security interest would encompass all of CBG’s assets in
28 the United States.
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1 33. Section 5(c) of the Pledge Agreement states: “[CBG] represents and
2 warrants as follows… [CBG] is duly formed and has full power, authority and legal
3 right to…pledge the Collateral pursuant to this Agreement and perform its
4 obligations under this Agreement.”
5 34. Section 6(b) of the Pledge Agreement states: “[CBG] agrees that at any
6 time and from time to time, at the expense of [CBG], [CBG] will promptly execute
7 and deliver all further instruments and documents, obtain such agreements from third
8 parties, and take all further action, that may be necessary or desirable in order to
9 perfect and protect any security interest granted hereby or to enable [Bobulinski] to
10 exercise and enforce its rights and remedies hereunder, under the Note, or under any
11 other agreement related to any Collateral.”
12 35. Section 7 of the Pledge Agreement states: “[CBG] agrees that it will not
13 sell, offer to sell, dispose of, convey, assign or otherwise transfer, grant any option
14 with respect to, restrict, or grant, create, permit or suffer to exist any mortgage,
15 pledge, Lien, security interest, option, right of first offer, encumbrance or other
16 restriction or limitation of any nature whatsoever on, any of the Collateral or any
17 interest therein except as expressly provided for herein or with the prior written
18 consent of [Bobulinski], which may be granted or withheld in its sole and absolute
19 discretion.”
20 36. Bobulinski would not have agreed to enter into the loan transaction
21 documented in the Note and the Pledge Agreement but for his understanding of the
22 assets comprising the Collateral at the time he entered into the agreements, April 15,
23 2015, as misrepresented by Roseman up to that point. The Note and Pledge
24 Agreement are governed by California law.
25 37. Bobulinski was one of eight noteholders (the “Noteholders”) who
26 entered into promissory notes with CBG starting in or about April 2015 in order to
27 help CBG meet its working capital requirements.
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1 38. In February 2016, CBG needed additional cash to meet its payroll costs.
2 Roseman, again, asked Bobulinski for a loan to CBG. Bobulinski agreed to provide
3 an additional $150,000 pursuant to a second note, dated February 1, 2016, which
4 provided the same terms as the first Note.
5 39. On or about April 11, 2016, Bobulinski signed an amendment to the
6 Note reflecting the increase in the loan amount from $500,000 to $650,000. Nothing
7 in this amendment was intended to affect either CBG’s or Bobulinski’s rights or
8 obligations under the Note or the Pledge Agreement.
9 RAAD Productions LLC
10 40. RAAD Productions LLC (“RAAD”), another entity controlled by
11 Roseman, owned certain license agreements and media content. Roseman was the
12 sole member or manager of RAAD. Furthermore, RAAD had three shareholders
13 including Tapirdo Enterprises, LLC, which is owned by Roseman’s wife and a
14 family trust. Before September 19, 2016, RAAD was a completely separate entity
15 from CBG and was not affiliated with CBG in any way.
16 41. RAAD owned the very license agreements and media content Roseman
17 had purported to pledge in the Note and Pledge Agreement. In other words, at the
18 time Bobulinski entered into the Pledge Agreement, the Collateral was owned by
19 RAAD, not CBG. Those assets were never owned by CBG, although Roseman
20 would later transfer certain RAAD ownership interests to CBG to facilitate CBG’s
21 sale.
22 42. Bobulinski was not aware of the existence of RAAD or its ownership of
23 the Collateral that purportedly secured his Note until long after Bobulinski entered
24 into the Note and Pledge Agreement. Had Roseman made Bobulinski aware that the
25 Collateral was owned by RAAD and not CBG, Bobulinski would not have entered
26 into the Note. At all times during Roseman’s solicitation of Bobulinski and during
27 the negotiation of the Note and Pledge Agreement, Roseman never mentioned
28 RAAD and acted as if the Collateral was owned by one company, CBG.
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1 Bobulinski’s Proof of Debt, claiming that Bobulinski was only owed a balance of the
2 principal $650,000 and concluding that Bobulinski’s Note was not secured by the
3 Collateral. This dispute was the basis for a separate legal proceeding in the Grand
4 Court of the Cayman Islands entitled In the Matter of China Branding Group Limited
5 (In Official Liquidation), Cause No. FSD 52 of 2016 (RMJ) (the “Cayman
6 Litigation”).
7 52. It was during the Cayman Litigation that Bobulinski first discovered
8 CBG did not actually own the Collateral, which was supposed to secure his Note.
9 Bobulinski first discovered Roseman’s misrepresentation on or about September 1,
10 2017 when Mark C. Dosker of Squire Patton Boggs provided a report on behalf of
11 the JOLs in the Cayman Litigation analyzing issues under California law. Mr.
12 Dosker reported the following:
13 “To the extent that any ‘content library’, ‘license
agreements’ and/or ‘production equipment’ existed but
14 were not located ‘in the United States’ as of the date the
JOLs took control of CBG, or were assets of a subsidiary or
15 affiliate of CBG rather than of CBG, they are not within the
definition of ‘Collateral’ and under California law the
16 security interest created by the Pledge Agreement does not
apply to such ‘content library’, ‘license agreements’ and/or
17 ‘production equipment’. Accordingly, a court applying
California law would not recognize a security interest in
18 such assets.” (See Cayman Judgment ¶ 108, a true and
correct copy of which is attached as Exhibit 4).
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53. Mr. Dosker also commented on the Second Amended and Restated
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Asset and Securities Purchase Agreement by and among China Branding Group
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Limited (In Official Liquidation) and The Joint Official Liquidators and Seller
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Management and Target Entities and KanKan Limited and Remark Media, Inc. (the
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“APA”). The APA was the agreement by which all of CBG’s assets and interest in
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its subsidiaries were sold to Remark. Mr. Dosker reported the following:
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“To the extent, if any, that CBG previously owned any
26 assets in the United States consisting of ‘content library’,
‘license agreements’ or ‘production equipment’, they were
27 sold as part of all the assets sold pursuant to the APA as
approved by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. The
28 APA does not identify any such assets of CBG in the
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1 57. While Roseman also testified that CBG’s content library and license
2 agreements were in the United States, he failed to distinguish which “content library
3 and license agreements” in the U.S. belonged to RAAD as opposed to CBG. At a
4 minimum, Roseman continued to conflate the two entities, as he did with Bobulinski,
5 failing to distinguish between the two companies.
6 58. Bobulinski’s counsel later questioned Roseman about whether CBG’s
7 sale of assets to Remark constituted a breach of section 7 of the Pledge. Of note,
8 Roseman’s Cayman counsel, objected to the questioning and commented:
9 “Mr. Smith: I’m sorry, I intervene because [Bobulinski’s
counsel] is confusing here the license agreement and the
10 media content with what was actually sold to Remark,
which is what we have been previously which is the shares
11 in the subsidiaries and the intercompany receivables. The
two are quite different. They are being completely
12 conflated here, and in my submission the witness is being
misled in a quite unfair way
13 …
Mr. Smith: My Lord, to be clear, my point isn’t that the
14 witness doesn’t understand the question. It’s that the
question is misleading because he put to the witness that
15 what was being sold to Remark was the media content, the
license agreements and so on. We know that isn’t the case.
16 My learned friend is putting a question on a wholly
misleading and incorrect basis.”
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59. Ultimately, the Cayman Court accepted the JOLs’ argument that CBG
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never owned the Collateral and therefore Bobulinski never had a security interest in
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the Collateral. The Cayman Court issued a judgment (the “Cayman Judgment”),
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rejecting Bobulinski’s appeal on January 23, 2019, which agreed with the arguments
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made by the JOLs. Specifically, the Cayman Court held:
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“…there is no evidence that the Company had any assets
23 falling within the operative part of the definition of
Collateral in the Pledge, i.e., content library, license
24 agreements, and physical assets such as production
equipment in the United States. Instead, the JOLs maintain
25 that the Company carries on business as au investment
company. It was a parent company for the Group. As such,
26 the Company had relatively few assets.
…
27 …in fact, there is no evidence that the Pledge attached to any
assets of the Company, But, even if had attached to any
28 “content library, licence agreement, and physical assets such
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1 total investment. When Bobulinski could not recoup the amounts he was owed from
2 CBG, Purchasing Group was forced to reallocate part of his share to other
3 individuals.
4 63. Since 2017, Investment Company has continued to rise in value.
5 Because Bobulinski was forced to reduce his original intended investment,
6 Bobulinski lost out on the opportunity to obtain a much more valuable share of
7 Purchasing Group’s investment.
8 FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
9 (Fraud in the Inducement against all defendants)
10 64. Bobulinski repeats and re-alleges each preceding paragraph as if set
11 forth in full herein.
12 65. As described above, Bobulinski entered into the Note because Roseman
13 led him to believe that the Note was secured by the Collateral. In his March 5, 2015
14 email, Roseman explained that a bridge loan to CBG would be senior secured by “all
15 our assets (content licenses, our production library and our fixed production
16 equipment in our 10k square foot studio in Culver City).” Roseman also acted as if
17 those assets were owned by CBG. For example, Roseman offered to have
18 Bobulinski “come see the Culver studio” in a March 20, 2015 email when they were
19 discussing a day and time to meet to discuss CBG and the loan. Roseman also
20 misrepresented that the Collateral was owned by CBG during his March 25, 2015
21 meeting with Bobulinski, when he explained the purported assets that would secure
22 Bobulinski’s loan. On information and belief, those assets included all of CBG’s
23 assets in the United States. Roseman never explained that those assets were actually
24 owned by RAAD. Furthermore, during the negotiation discussions for the Note
25 (between March and April 2015), Roseman never clarified that those assets were
26 owned by RAAD. In fact, at all times during Roseman’s solicitation of Bobulinski
27 and during the negotiation of the Note and Pledge, Roseman never mentioned RAAD
28 and acted as if the Collateral was owned by one company, CBG.
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1 66. Use of the terms “license agreements,” “content library,” and “physical
2 assets” in defining the Collateral in the Note and Pledge Agreement also led
3 Bobulinski, at the time he entered into the Note and the Pledge Agreement, to believe
4 that it was CBG that owned the referenced “license agreements” and “content
5 library” because the Pledge stated that they were assets of CBG.
6 67. Roseman represented and warranted to Bobulinski that CBG was the
7 sole and beneficial owner of the Collateral, when in fact, the assets Roseman
8 promised as security were owned by RAAD. As the sole member or manager of
9 RAAD, Roseman knew or should have known these representations to be false
10 and/or misleading. RAAD was a separate entity from CBG at the time Bobulinski
11 entered into the Note and CBG never owned RAAD’s assets.
12 68. Roseman’s misrepresentations were essential to Bobulinski’s decision to
13 enter into the Note and Pledge Agreement. Bobulinski informed Roseman that a
14 vital condition to providing a loan was that his loan needed to be senior secured by
15 CBG’s assets. Bobulinski was then led to believe that CBG owned the Collateral
16 that would secure his loan. Bobulinski would not have agreed to enter into the Note
17 and the Pledge but for this agreement that the Note would be secured by the
18 Collateral. In reality, the Collateral, which Roseman led Bobulinski to believe was
19 owned by CBG, was actually owned by RAAD.
20 69. Roseman’s misrepresentations were made with the intention to induce
21 Bobulinski to enter into the Note and Pledge Agreement, as evidenced by his stated
22 need to secure funding for CBG.
23 70. Bobulinski justifiably relied on the misrepresentations in entering into
24 the Note and Pledge Agreement. Bobulinski and Roseman had been business
25 partners and friends for over 16 years. And because Roseman was the CEO and
26 founder of CBG, Bobulinski had no reason to believe that Roseman’s
27 misrepresentations about the ownership of the Collateral were untrue.
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1 71. Roseman’s misrepresentations about the Collateral are the actual and
2 proximate cause of these damages because had Roseman been truthful about the true
3 ownership of the Collateral, Bobulinski would not have entered into the Note and
4 Pledge Agreement. And had Bobulinski not entered into the Note and Pledge
5 Agreement, there would have been no need for the Cayman Litigation on
6 Bobulinski’s Proof of Debt. Furthermore, if Bobulinski’s Note had actually been
7 secured by the Collateral, he would have had the contractual right to stop the Remark
8 deal, as the deal could not have closed without his signature, pursuant to Section 7 of
9 the Pledge Agreement. With this veto power, Bobulinski could have held up the
10 Remark deal and received further assurance and confirmation that he was getting his
11 2.5x return on the Note before the deal closed, which also would have rendered the
12 Cayman Litigation unnecessary. As it turned out, the Remark deal closed without his
13 consent because CBG did not own the Collateral, as Roseman misrepresented.
14 72. As an actual and proximate cause of these misrepresentations,
15 Bobulinski has been damaged in an amount to be proven at trial. Bobulinski has
16 suffered damages in an amount of $650,000 – the principal amount of the Note,
17 which he has lost and has been unable to recover3. Bobulinski has also suffered
18 financial damages due to the legal fees and costs he incurred litigating the Cayman
19 Litigation for nearly two and a half years – over $700,000. Finally, Bobulinski has
20 also suffered financial lost opportunity damages based on the difference between the
21 value of his actual share in Investment Company and the value of what his share
22 would have been had been able to invest the full amount of money he had originally
23 earmarked, but which was eventually used for CBG.
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25 3
To the extent that the Cayman Liquidation is ongoing, the fact remains that it is
26 highly unlikely that Bobulinski will ever recover his $650,000 or any part of it given
the multitude of creditor claims CBG is facing and CBG’s current insolvency.
27 Furthermore, the JOLs are now claiming that Bobulinski must pay their legal fees
amounting to $634,393.52. Therefore, even in the unlikely event that Bobulinski
28 recovered any amount, it would undoubtedly be reduced to satisfy the JOLs’ fees.
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1 73. Bobulinski, alternatively, seeks rescission of the Note and the Pledge
2 Agreement. Bobulinski is entitled to a rescission of the Note and the Pledge
3 Agreement, which should both be declared void based on Roseman’s fraudulent
4 misrepresentations. Bobulinski is also entitled to an order requiring Roseman to
5 restore Bobulinski to the pre-contractual status quo. Such an order should require
6 Roseman to return Bobulinski’s $650,000 and pay all costs incurred as a
7 consequence of Bobulinski signing the Note and Pledge, including but not limited to,
8 all attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with the Cayman Litigation.
9 74. Bobulinski is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, that
10 Roseman engaged in the conduct described above with fraudulent intent, and with a
11 conscious or reckless disregard for Bobulinski’s rights and welfare. Roseman
12 thereby acted toward Bobulinski with malice, oppression, and fraud. Accordingly,
13 Bobulinski is entitled to an award of punitive and exemplary damages against
14 Roseman in an amount sufficient to punish and make an example of Roseman and to
15 deter him and others similarly situated from engaging in similar wrongful conduct in
16 the future.
17 SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
18 (Negligent Misrepresentation against all defendants)
19 75. Bobulinski repeats and re-alleges each preceding paragraph as if set
20 forth in full herein.
21 76. As the CEO of CBG, Roseman was or should have been kept apprised
22 of all assets owned by CBG. And as the sole member or manager of RAAD,
23 Roseman knew or should have known that RAAD and CBG were separate entities
24 and that RAAD owned those “license agreements” and “content library” which
25 Bobulinski was led to believe would secure his Note. Roseman knew or should have
26 known that inclusion of the terms “license agreements” and “content library” within
27 the scope of the Collateral were misleading because those assets were owned by
28 RAAD.
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1 getting his 2.5x return on the Note before the deal closed, which also would have
2 rendered the Cayman Litigation unnecessary. As it turned out, the Remark deal
3 closed without his consent because CBG did not own the Collateral, as Roseman
4 misrepresented.
5 81. As a direct and proximate cause of Roseman’s actions, Bobulinski has
6 suffered damages in an amount to be proven at trial. Bobulinski has suffered
7 damages in an amount of $650,000 – the principal amount of the Note, which he has
8 lost and has been unable to recover. Bobulinski has also suffered financial damages
9 due to the legal fees and costs he incurred litigating the Cayman Litigation for nearly
10 two and a half years – over $700,000. Finally, Bobulinski has also suffered financial
11 lost opportunity damages based on the difference between the value of his actual
12 share in Investment Company and the value of what his share would have been had
13 he been able to invest the full amount of money he originally earmarked, but which
14 was eventually loaned to CBG without recovery.
15 82. Bobulinski is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges,
16 Roseman’s conduct was performed with a conscious disregard of Bobulinski’s rights,
17 such as to constitute oppression, fraud, or malice, thereby rendering Roseman liable
18 for punitive damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
19 THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
20 (Breach of Fiduciary Duty against all defendants)
21 83. Bobulinski repeats and re-alleges each preceding paragraph as if set
22 forth in full herein.
23 84. Roseman owed Bobulinski a fiduciary duty based on their long-standing
24 professional relationship as business partners and close friends. By virtue of their
25 16-year partnership, Roseman and Bobulinski formed a confidential relationship,
26 which is synonymous with a fiduciary relationship in that it gives rise to fiduciary
27 duties. Roseman and Bobulinski’s confidential relationship obligated Roseman to
28 act with the utmost good faith for the benefit of Bobulinski in their business dealings.
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1 89. Because Bobulinski trusted his longtime friend and business partner,
2 and because of the stated urgency of the needed loan, Bobulinski did not secure his
3 own separate counsel to negotiate or review the terms of the purported security
4 interest in CBG’s assets.
5 90. In sum, Roseman had superior knowledge about CBG’s assets, made the
6 decision to secure counsel to review and draft the terms of the Note while assuring
7 Bobulinski that he need not retain his own counsel, and took advantage of his sixteen
8 year business partnership with Bobulinski to induce Bobulinksi into entering into the
9 Note quickly. Roseman utilized his confidential relationship with Bobulinski to
10 Bobulinski’s detriment. The “essence” of a confidential relationship is “that the
11 parties do not deal on equal terms, because the person in whom trust and confidence
12 is reposed and who accepts that trust and confidence is in a superior position to exert
13 unique influence over the dependent party.” Richelle L. v. Roman Catholic
14 Archbishop, 106 Cal. App. 4th 257, 271 (2003).
15 91. Roseman took advantage of Bobulinski’s vulnerability by offering to
16 take a loan on whatever terms Bobulinski asked for or needed to move quickly,
17 knowing full well that neither he nor CBG could fulfill the terms Bobulinski
18 requested.
19 92. Yet, Roseman owed a fiduciary duty to Bobulinski to fully and frankly
20 disclose all relevant information necessary for just, equitable and open dealings
21 between the two business partners. Roseman failed to fully disclose all material facts
22 within his knowledge to Bobulinski about the Collateral and the purported security of
23 the Note. Roseman did not explain that the “license agreements” and “content
24 library” which purportedly secured Bobulinski’s Note were not actually owned by
25 CBG; rather, they were owned by RAAD. Had Roseman fully disclosed this
26 information, Bobulinski would not have entered into the Note.
27 93. Roseman knowingly undertook to act on behalf of Bobulinski and with
28 Bobulinski’s confidence and trust when he solicited Bobulinski for a loan to CBG.
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1 Roseman abused that trust when he fraudulently misrepresented that CBG owned the
2 Collateral.
3 94. Roseman’s breach of his fiduciary duty to fully disclose all relevant
4 information about the Collateral is the actual and proximate cause of these damages
5 because, had Roseman been truthful about the true ownership of the Collateral,
6 Bobulinski would not have entered into the Note. And, had Bobulinski not entered
7 into the Note, there would have been no need for the Cayman Litigation on
8 Bobulinski’s Proof of Debt. Furthermore, if Bobulinski had actually been secured by
9 the Collateral, he would have had the contractual right to stop the Remark deal as the
10 deal could not have closed without his signature, pursuant to Section 7 of the Pledge.
11 With this veto power, Bobulinski could have held up the Remark deal and received
12 further assurance and confirmation that he was getting his 2.5x return on the Note
13 before the deal closed, which also would have rendered the Cayman Litigation
14 unnecessary. As it turned out, the Remark deal closed without his consent because
15 CBG did not own the Collateral, as Roseman misrepresented.
16 95. As a direct and proximate cause of Roseman’s breach of his fiduciary
17 duty, Bobulinski has suffered damages in an amount to be proven at trial. Bobulinski
18 has suffered damages in an amount of $650,000 – the principal amount of the Note,
19 which he has lost and has been unable to recover. Bobulinski has also suffered
20 financial damages due to the legal fees and costs he incurred litigating the Cayman
21 Litigation for nearly two and a half years – over $700,000. Finally, Bobulinski has
22 also suffered financial lost opportunity damages based on the difference between the
23 value of his actual share in Investment Company and the value of what his share
24 would have been had been able to invest the full amount of money he had originally
25 earmarked, but which was eventually used for CBG.
26 96. Bobulinski is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges,
27 Roseman’s conduct was performed with a conscious disregard of Bobulinski’s rights,
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