Humble Fitness Beaumont v. Bedazzling Beaumont CA4/3

Filed 5/7/25 Humble Fitness Beaumont v. Bedazzling Beaumont CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

HUMBLE FITNESS BEAUMONT, INC., G064547 Plaintiff and Appellant, (Super. Ct. No. CVRI2103510) v. OPINION BEDAZZLING BEAUMONT, LLC et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

Appeal from a judgment and postjudgment order of the Superior Court of Riverside County, Chad W. Firetag, Judge. Affirmed. Law Offices of Stephen B. Morris and Stephen B. Morris for Plaintiff and Appellant. Tiedt & Hurd, John E. Tiedt and Matthew Ferris for Defendants and Respondents.

This appeal arises from the sale of a gym franchise and the seller’s failure to inform the buyer about a rumor that a competitor might move into the area. Several months before listing the gym for sale, the seller, defendant Reid Bradley, heard a rumor that a larger gym might be built across the street, but he was unable to verify whether that was true. Bradley later agreed to sell the gym to plaintiff Humble Fitness Beaumont, Inc. When conducting due diligence for the transaction, Humble Fitness did not ask Bradley about current or potential competition in the area, and Bradley did not volunteer any information about the rumored future competitor. About 15 months after the sale closed, the larger gym opened for business across the street. Sometime thereafter, Humble Fitness went out of business. Humble Fitness sued Bradley and his company for fraud, and the jury returned a defense verdict. It found that although Humble Fitness would have “behaved differently” had the rumor been disclosed, the nondisclosure was not a substantial factor in causing Humble Fitness’s harm. We conclude substantial evidence supports the defense verdict, including the jury’s finding of no causation. We therefore affirm the judgment and the trial court’s postjudgment order denying Humble Fitness’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) and for new trial. FACTS I. THE SALE OF THE GYM Anytime Fitness is a boutique fitness coaching studio chain. Reid Bradley, who owns multiple Anytime Fitness franchises across the country, purchased an Anytime Fitness franchise in Beaumont, California in 2018 through his company, defendant Bedazzling Beaumont, LLC. In early 2019,