Sabbagh v. Isak
Plaintiff and appellant Joseph Sabbagh appeals a judgment entered against him following both a jury trial and statement of decision in his action against defendant and respondent Chukrala George Isak (Isak). The jury concluded that Isak did not breach the partnership agreement between appellant and him, and the trial court concluded that the jurys finding necessarily disposed of appellants remaining causes of action for dissolution of partnership and accounting, and required that judgment be entered in favor of Isak on his cross-complaint seeking cancellation of a note and deed of trust. Appellant asserts that the jury verdict form did not accurately reflect what the court and counsel had agreed to submit to the jury and that it erroneously and prejudicially precluded the jury from determining whether the parties entered into a separate buyout agreement constituting a novation and the terms of that agreement. He further asserts that the trial court improperly awarded attorney fees to Isak because the parties oral partnership did not include an attorney fees provision and he was not a signatory to the deed of trust which provided for an award of attorney fees.
Court affirm. Appellant cannot now challenge the verdict form because he took the position below that he was not aggrieved by it and stipulated to permit the court to determine the issues remaining after the jury verdict. But even if he could challenge it, appellant was not prejudiced by the verdict form. With respect to the award of attorney fees, the trial court properly construed the partnership agreement and deed of trust together as part of a single transaction and properly applied Civil Code section 1717 to award fees to Isak as the prevailing party.
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