Centro Empresarial Cempresa S.A. v. America Movil, S.A.B. de C.V.

Plaintiffs claimed they were fraudulently induced to sell their ownership interests in a company they co-owned with one of the defendants, and fraudulently induced to release defendants from claims arising out of that ownership. At issue was whether the appellate court erred in finding that plaintiffs' claims were barred by the general release they granted defendants in connection with the sale of their interest. The court held that the release was intended to bar the very claims that plaintiffs have brought and that plaintiffs failed to allege that the release was induced by any fraud beyond that contemplated in the release. The court also held that the fraudulent statements plaintiffs point to could not support a conclusion that the release was fraudulently induced, since plaintiffs alleged that they released defendants from claims relating to the sale of their Telmex Wireless Ecuador LLC units without conducting minimal diligence to determine the true value of what they were selling. The court further held that the appellate division majority was therefore correct in concluding that, fully crediting plaintiffs' allegations, they would not be able to prevail as a matter of law. Accordingly, the order of the appellate division was affirmed. View "Centro Empresarial Cempresa S.A. v. America Movil, S.A.B. de C.V." on Justia Law