Dispute between the plaintiffs (IVANO POMA and BGP & Partners Limited) and the defendants (Jihua Group Co, Ltd, Changchun Jihua Investment & Construction Co., Ltd and Chongqing Jihua Destination Center Industrial Co., Ltd) over liability for fault in contract

Abstract of judgment:

Noting that the claims lodged by the plaintiffs in the case were tied to their independent steps, the court held that it was beyond expectation of the defendants to foresee relevant results and that there had been no malicious consultations or other unwanted behaviors by the defendants. Therefore, the court ruled that the defendants had no liability in contract as the plaintiffs had acted at their own will rather than at the request of the defendants to terminate their agreements with other business partners. The three defendants had never engaged in malicious consultations designed to sever those agreements. The plaintiffs brought a Hong Kong-based company solely owned by Marco Beffa into a joint venture held by Marco Beffa and plaintiff IVANO POMA via equity transfer, reopened a bank account, and used the bank account to cover expenses incurred by the new business venture without having signed a transitional deal with the defendants. In the result, the losses of anticipatory benefits by the plaintiffs in accordance with the termination of the new agreements could not be attributed to the actions of the defendants, and the claims of the plaintiffs were dismissed.