- 51 -- 51 -
claim of blind faith reliance on Hertan to be unconvincing.
Fishbach has not established that his purported reliance on
Hertan was reasonable, in good faith, or based upon full
disclosure.
d. Steele, Cohen, and Porter
Fredericks contends that, in addition to relying on Becker,
he also relied on Steele, Cohen, and Porter. Neither Steele,
Cohen, nor Porter testified at trial.
Steele was the accountant at Becker Co. primarily
responsible for handling the Fredericks' account. With respect
to the Plastics Recycling transactions, Fredericks testified that
he spoke to Steele "about what effect [the investment would] have
on [the Fredericks'] estimated tax and things of that nature",
but he did not ask Steele "about the economics of the situation."
Steele never represented to Fredericks that he was an engineer or
expert in plastics recycling. Other than the alleged explanation
of the impact the investment would have on the Fredericks' taxes,
there is nothing in the record suggesting the exact nature of the
advice, if any, that Fredericks received from Steele about the
Plastics Recycling transactions.
Cohen is an attorney whom Fredericks hired in October of
1981 to negotiate the settlement of an employment contract.
Fredericks asked Cohen whether he was familiar with the Plastics
Recycling transactions and whether he could review the SAB
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