Urban Decay Case Summary

" Holmes and Lehner together came up with the product ideas and the company ideas.
" Lehner recruited Soward as a business consultant for Urban Decay
" Holmes and Lehner together did market research and planned this company's direction
" Wendy Zomnir was hired and offered the position of COO and a stake in the company.
" Holmes confronted Lehner and Soward regarding her status as a founding member of Urban Decay numerous times in late 1995.
" Holmes was reimbursed for her mileage as part of her work with the warehouse sector of the company but did not receive a wage or salary.
" Lehner publically stated that Holmes assisted in the creation of Urban Decay. To the San Francisco Examiner and CNN.
" Holmes received agendas regarding board business

" Trial court found Lerner and Soward liable to Holmes for compensatory and punitive damages of over $1 million. Lerner and Soward appeal to the California Court of Appeals and the appellate court affirmed the trial court decision.
" Was there error in the determination that a partnership was formed?
" Was the agreement sufficiently definite?
" The partnership was not made in error.
" The agreement that was made and the subsequent acts of the parties supply sufficient certainty to that the agreement was sufficiently definite.
" The court cited the Universal Partnership Act that defined a partnership as "the association of two or more persons, for the purpose of carrying on as co-owners a business for profit.
" There was implicit understanding that Holmes and Lehner would operate their business to share profits and losses as any business owners would. Holmes birthed the idea which was developed jointly by Lehner and Holmes. There was intended profits to be made once the company matured.

" The court Lehner's own statements to Holmes and about Holmes o "We will do…everything" o "It's going to be our baby, and we're going to work on it