Funes v. Sutton CA3

Filed 5/18/23 Funes v. Sutton CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Placer) ----

CHELSEA FUNES,

Plaintiff and Appellant, C095990

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCV0044429)

ASHLEY SUTTON,

Defendant and Respondent.

Larry Svardal and Marie Svardal were brother and sister.1 Ashley Sutton is Larry’s daughter, and Chelsea Funes is Marie’s daughter. Marie died before this dispute arose and, on her death, Chelsea became beneficiary of the irrevocable trust that had been established for Marie’s benefit. To resolve disputes between Chelsea and Larry

1 We will refer to family members by their first names for clarity.

1

regarding Larry’s management of trusts and a corporation, Larry and Chelsea entered into a settlement agreement. After Larry’s death, Chelsea sued Ashley for breach of contract, claiming Chelsea did not receive what she was owed under paragraph 3(d) of her agreement with Larry. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Ashley, ruling there was no basis to hold Ashley responsible for the promises made by Larry in the settlement agreement. The trial court denied Chelsea’s oral request to amend her first amended complaint. Chelsea now contends triable issues exist as to whether Ashley is bound by the settlement agreement under various legal theories, such as that she accepted benefits under the agreement, took control of proceeds and payments, performed under the agreement, and became Larry’s assignee. Because Chelsea has not supported many of her factual assertions with citations to the record and has not met her burden to show a triable issue of material fact, we will affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND Larry and Marie’s parents (the grandparents) established separate trusts for the benefit of their children and transferred certain real properties to those trusts. The grandparents also formed Pinnacle, Inc. (Pinnacle). The properties held in the trusts were then transferred to Pinnacle, which issued stock in equal amounts to each trust. Chelsea became the beneficiary of the trust established for Marie’s benefit upon Marie’s death. Larry became the successor trustee of the trusts in 2006. He was also president of Pinnacle. Chelsea was not involved in managing the trust established for Marie’s benefit and was not a shareholder, officer, or director of Pinnacle. Nevertheless, there were disputes between Chelsea and Larry regarding Larry’s management of Pinnacle and the trusts. Attorneys negotiated a settlement of Chelsea and Larry’s disputes in mid-2018 through March 2019. Ashley, a certified public accountant, assisted Larry with issues