Tentative ruling issued by Judge Timothy M. Casserly on Jan. 16, 2020 in San Diego County, CA - Case no: xxxxx-NC

The Motion for Relief From Judgment brought by plaintiffs/cross-defendants Mauro Salas and Soledad Gaytan (collectively, Plaintiffs) is DENIED.

Background

This is a business dispute concerning the ownership of a restaurant, Alfredo's Mexican Food, which is located in Oceanside, CA. According to the Complaint, the original owners were plaintiffs Salas and Gaytan. However, at some point over the course of owning the restaurant (which was originally located in Santee, CA and later relocated to Oceanside, CA) the original owners agreed to bring one of their long-time employees, defendant Gustavo Santiago (Defendant), as manager and part owner. To that end, Plaintiffs allege that they gave Defendant 20% of the shares of their business and retained 80% (40% to each of the two Plaintiffs). Defendant also worked as a manager for the business. However, the business relationship later began to break down, with allegations that Defendant forged documents to open business a….....