Konjoyan v. Der Zakarian

SHEPARD, J. This is an appeal by defendant from a judgment for plaintiff in the amount of $6,125, for services rendered.

Viewing the evidence, as we must, in the light most favorable to the judgment (Smith v. Bull, 50 Cal.2d 294, 306 [11] [325 P.2d 463]), the facts in general substance, as shown by the record before us, are as follows: Defendant was a trader in market commodities, primarily in soy beans. He not only handled his own investments in the market but also investments for a considerable number of other people. In June 1955, plaintiff became acquainted with defendant, and invested $2,500 in the commodity market through defendant. In the following months the acquaintance ripened. About September 1, 1955, plaintiff started coming regularly to defendant’s office, charting market quotations for defendant, answering the telephone, picking up money from clients and taking it to brokerage houses, introducing prospective investors to defendant, explaining transactions to investors, running miscellaneous errands, and otherwise handling miscellaneous details so as to give defendant more free time to study and calculate market movements. On one occasion plaintiff went with defendant on a business trip to Chicago, where defendant introduced plaintiff to others as being associated with defendant. During the time spent at Chicago, a similar routine was followed, plaintiff assisting in answering the telephone, transmitting orders to brokers, recording market quotations, and introducing defendant to some of plaintiff’s friends who thus became investors through defendant.

Plaintiff himself sometimes invested further money through defendant. On at least two occasions plaintiff and defendant invested on a joint-venture basis or partnership basis in special pools. There were some losses and some profits on plaintiff’s investments, but the net result appears to have been on the profit side.

In the fall of 1955 and the spring of 1956, plaintiff borrowed a total of $5,800 from defendant, of which $5,000 was later repaid on defendant’s demand. The evidence is in dispute as to whether or not the $5,800 was a loan or an advance on an undetermined compensation to be ultimately paid in the future. During some of this time defendant made large [112]profits from the business and had serious worries over income tax adjustments. One profit figure for a limited period was mentioned in the sum of $500,000. At times for short periods plaintiff was in sole charge of the office, but made no independent market investments for defendant’s clients.