California Court of Appeal

Goldman v. KPMG LLP, B195740

In a dispute involving allegedly fraudulent tax shelters, trial court's denial of defendant's motion to compel arbitration is affirmed where the doctrine of equitable estoppel has no application in these cases as the contractual obligations in the operating agreements were unrelated to the plaintiffs' claims against the nonsignatory accountants and lawyers, and thus, there is no basis in equity for preventing the plaintiffs from suing the accountants and lawyers in court.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/22/2009
• Published 04/22/2009

Judges

• RUBIN, Acting P.J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, James P. Clark, Cheryl D. Justice, Matthew D. Taggart, Los Angeles, Matthew C. Wickersham and Michael Anthony Brown, San Francisco, for Defendant and Appellant KPMG LLP., Munger, Tolles & Olson, Brad D. Brian, Richard E. Drooyan, Gregory J. Weingart, Allison B. Stein and Joseph J. Ybarra, Los Angeles, for Defendant and Appellant Sidley Austin LLP., Greene, Broillet & Wheeler, Bruce Broillet, Scott H. Carr, Santa Monica;  Stone, Rosenblatt, Cha, Ira H. Rosenblatt, Woodland Hills;  Esner, Chang & Ellis, Stuart B. Esner, Los Angeles, Gregory R. Ellis, Holly N. Boyer;  Eagan, O'Malley & Avenatti and Michael Avenatti for Plaintiffs and Respondents.