A California independent contractor is embroiled in a legal battle over unpaid commissions, leading to significant courtroom drama. Adrienne Doustkam filed a complaint against Pejman J. Sage and his company, Tax Credit Group, in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County on February 26, 2019.
The dispute centers around Doustkam's claim that she was not paid the commissions she earned while working as a "Client Relationship Executive" for Tax Credit Group between February and December 2018. Doustkam alleges that despite her efforts to solicit clients for the company, she was not compensated according to their agreement. The plaintiff claims that she was promised a commission of 30% of whatever amount Tax Credit Group collected from the businesses she solicited. However, Doustkam asserts that after her employment ended, Sage informed her that only three out of the sixty businesses she had solicited paid any commission to Tax Credit Group.
Doustkam initially sought $747,000 in unpaid commissions through a complaint filed with the California Labor Commissioner in October 2016. However, the Labor Commissioner declined jurisdiction over her claim on the grounds that Doustkam was an incorporated business. Subsequently, Doustkam filed a lawsuit against Tax Credit Group on February 26, 2019. In her second amended complaint filed on June 4, 2021, she asserted twelve claims including breach of contract, quantum meruit (a claim for payment for services rendered), unjust enrichment, failure to pay earned but unpaid wages, statutory penalties under Labor Code section 208, failure to pay overtime wages, failure to provide meal and rest periods, failure to provide accurate itemized wage statements, misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor, failure to reimburse business-related expenses and unfair business practices.
Tax Credit Group moved for summary adjudication on nine of these claims in September 2021 but later withdrew its request for adjudication of four claims. The trial court granted summary adjudication on December 18, 2021 for breach of contract and derivative claims like quantum meruit and unjust enrichment due to lack of evidence supporting Doustkam’s claims. The court also found no merit in Doustkam’s claims for failure to pay wages and statutory penalties because there was no evidence suggesting that Tax Credit Group willfully withheld wages or failed to pay advances against commissions.
Before a mini-trial scheduled for March 2022 could take place regarding whether some of Doustkam’s remaining claims were time-barred or if she was an independent contractor or employee under California law, Doustkam voluntarily dismissed all her remaining claims with prejudice.
Following this dismissal, Tax Credit Group sought costs and attorney fees totaling $245,531. The trial court awarded these costs and fees after determining that Doustkam brought her action in bad faith since there was no objective factual basis supporting her claims. Judge Helen Zukin affirmed this decision stating that Doustkam relied solely on unsupported beliefs rather than concrete evidence.
Attorneys involved in this case include Ramin Azadegan and Michael Yellin from Azadegan Law Group representing Adrienne Doustkam while Mark L. Share from De Castro West Chodorow Mendler & Glickfeld represented Pejman J. Sage and Tax Credit Group.