Justice Ramirez tells you everything you need to know in the first three paragraphs of this opinion. Just look how crisp, clean, and comprehensive those paragraphs are:
"Defendants Charles and Stella Ohaeri (Ohaeris) leased space for a thrift store in a
shopping center owned by plaintiff AP-Colton LLC (AP-Colton). The thrift store was
not a success, and the Ohaeris stopped paying rent. According to the Ohaeris, AP-Colton
had fraudulently induced them to enter into the lease by stating that a church was going to
move into the space next to theirs, but a competing store moved in instead.
AP-Colton originally filed the case as a limited civil action, in which damages are
limited to $25,000. The Ohaeris filed a cross-complaint seeking more than $25,000, but
they did not pay the $140 fee required to reclassify the case as an unlimited civil action.
Thereafter, AP-Colton filed an amended complaint seeking more than $25,000; as the
Ohaeris should already have paid the reclassification fee, AP-Colton did not pay it. After
a bench trial, the trial court rejected the Ohaeris’ fraud claims and awarded AP-Colton
$126,437.25.
The Ohaeris now contend, among other things, that the case remained a limited
civil action, and thus, the trial court erred by awarding damages of more than $25,000.
We do agree that the case should have remained a limited civil action. The Ohaeris,
however, took the position below that the case had become an unlimited civil action, and
the trial court accepted this position by awarding AP-Colton damages in excess of
$25,000; we will hold that, as a result, the Ohaeris are judicially estopped to deny that the
case was an unlimited civil action. Accordingly, on condition that it pays the $140
reclassification fee, AP-Colton can recover the full award."
How awesome of a summary is that?
Beautiful
