Confidential

Facts

The plaintiff is a national interior design company. Its administrative headquarters had been located in San Francisco for 25 years. The property was owned successively by the two defendants. During the sale of the property by the defendant Brucia to the defendant Flaherty, an environmental assessment uncovered the existence of substantial toxic waste from the buildings' former use as a battery manufacturing facility. The plaintiff claimed that this information was fraudulently concealed from its managers and employees. Eventually, a waste clean-up was undertaken that resulted in business interruption losses to the plaintiff.