Guo v. American Plus Bank N.A. (2013)

In this appeal, Horvitz & Levy LLP represented American Plus Bank N.A., which was founded in 2007. Shortly after the bank opened for business, it lent money to a group of investors to acquire vacant land in Victorville for a commercial retail development. When the Great Recession hit in 2008, the project was no longer viable. Lawsuits erupted among the investors that included allegations of fraud. One group of investors named the bank as a coconspirator with other investors, and a jury awarded them as damages the $1.4 million that they had invested in the project. On the bank’s appeal, the California Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Eight) reversed, agreeing that there was no evidence the bank had joined a conspiracy to defraud.