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denies that the only way anyone could possibly profit from the
putative research or experimentation was from harvesting the
seeds from the mature jojoba plants. Indeed, Drs. Glassley and
Houser admitted in effect at the trial that they would never have
participated in JDP had they thought that farming activities
would not be conducted on Turtleback I. Yet, no valuation was
made of the fair market value of any rights conveyed by the
option and joint venture agreement or the option and farm lease
agreement.
We believe that Gross did not value the other rights
purportedly conveyed to JDP, in particular through the option and
joint venture agreement, even after we suggested at the trial
that he do so, because such valuations would have shown that the
purported value of the R & D Agreement was overstated. In our
view, in light of the manner in which the arrangement was
structured, JDP could not have found a willing buyer for the R &
D Agreement at any price, let alone the $360,000 it agreed to pay
HJI, because JDP received no substantive ownership rights to the
results of the putative research or experimentation.
Furthermore, we consider Gross' valuation of the purported
benefits of HJI's putative research and development as highly
exaggerated. The only way he was able to arrive at his $380,000
cost-savings estimate was arbitrarily to apply the alleged per
acre savings to 1,000 acres. As the transaction was structured
in 1981, however, JDP could only reap any profits from the 60
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