IRVINE, Calif. – May 21, 2025 – A Greenberg Traurig, LLP Litigation team had a resounding trial victory for clients Kimberly Moffatt Jones and 150 Newport Center Drive, LLC (150 NCD) in a contentious real estate and partnership dispute over a property located at 150 Newport Center Drive in Newport Beach, California. (Jones et al. v. Estate of Ronald Soderling et al. Superior Court of the State of California, County of Orange, Case No. 30-2018-01037445-CU-FR-CJC)
Newport Center Anacapa Associates, LLC (NCAA) — led by former Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway, Ron Soderling, and Michael Lutton — is an entity formed for the purpose of purchasing the property and car wash business located at Fashion Island in Newport Beach and developing the property into a hotel. Lutton fraudulently induced Jones to invest in the property and then NCAA’s managers, including Soderling, engaged in a calculated scheme of fraud and concealment to oust her from her ownership position.
After a three-day bench trial, the court issued a 20-page Statement of Decision that sided with Jones and her business entity, finding that “those in control of NCAA perpetrated persistent and pervasive fraud and abuse of authority” against Greenberg Traurig’s clients. In its decision, the court found that NCAA’s fraudulent acts included, among other things, misrepresenting the timing of the entitlement process and the use of the car wash’s profits. The court also found that after 150 NCD was admitted as a member, NCAA continued the fraud by withholding information from Jones and an appraiser to force her out of NCAA at a discounted price.
The court further cited evidence that showed Ridgeway’s business partners referred to him as “unprofessional and unproductive,” and further complained that Ridgeway “continues to mismanage this process as he has from the beginning.” The court has ordered a reappraisal of the value of the property.
The Greenberg Traurig attorney team comprised Shareholders Ryan W. Smith and Julianna Simon and Associate Matthew P. Hoxsie.
A forthcoming jury trial is expected to resolve remaining claims.