A verdict has been reached on the case of WoofersEtc and partners against Sundown Audio, and new owner Systematic Audio. A jury found that Sundown Audio breached its contract with Woofers, Etc and it awarded punitive damages, a ruling which Sundown Audio plans to appeal.
The jury found that Scottie Johnson, which heads Systematic Audio and Jacob Fuller, former owner of Sundown Audio, and current President and Lead Product Designer at Systematic Audio, created an appearance of a company going out of business via liquidation to avoid paying creditors including David Soleymani.
Systematic attorney Camden Webb stated, “For my part, I can say that we were disappointed in the jury’s verdict, but certain pretrial rulings prevented us from presenting critical evidence. We are looking forward to the appellate proceedings so we can successfully challenge those pretrial rulings.”
The Jury on May 18 awarded plaintiffs Woofer Etc, and partners including David Soleymani over $16 million in punitive damages and millions of dollars in damages for breach of contract, fraud and wrongful interference with a contract.
The case was originally filed in 2023. WoofersEtc and partners alleged they invested $260,000 in exchange for 25 percent ownership interest in Sundown Audio, with a right to receive 25 percent of the gross sales price if the company were sold.
The suit claimed that when Sundown, owned by Jacob Fuller, was sold to Systematic Audio, led by Scottie Johnson, in 2022, the sale price was over $17.8 million. It claimed Fuller concealed the true sale price and structured the deal to avoid paying WoofersEtc. It also claims WoofersEtc was cut off from its exclusive distribution rights to Sundown.
Systematic and Sundown disputed many of the plaintiffs’ claims, and Systematic filed counterclaims alleging that WoofersEtc unlawfully used the Sundown trademark, breached a non-disclosure agreement, tortiously interfered with Systematic’s relationships with its customers, and that David and Joshua Soleymani violated the California Penal Code by illegally recording a telephone call with Fuller and Johnson. The jury found in favor of Fuller and Johnson on their claim regarding the illegal recording.
The case 23CVS001091-170 was filed in the State of North Carolina, Catawba County Superior Court here. It named Blue Building, LLC, Krubim 26 International, Inc dba WoofersEtc, David Soleymani, Joshua Soleymani and Daniel Soleymani as plaintiffs vs Sundown Audio, LLC, Jacob A Fuller, Scottie Johnson, Systematic Audio, LLC dba Sundown Audio, Jared Nugent and Second Wind Consultants as defendants.
