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Before the foregoing adverse publicity, the Totem Lake
dealerships had been very profitable. However, due to this
adverse publicity, the dealerships sustained losses in 1986 and
1987.
In late January or early February of 1988, Mr. Richardson,
Mr. Turner, and Mr. Blewett were in the market to acquire a
dealership in San Antonio, Texas. While the group was in San
Antonio, Texas, investigating a possible purchase, Mr. Turner
received a call from Bobbie Koller (Ms. Koller), who was the
Western Regional Manager of Ford Motor Co. Ms. Koller told Mr.
Turner that the Totem Lake Ford-Toyota dealership was in severe
financial trouble; furthermore, she wanted Mr. Richardson, Mr.
Turner, and Mr. Blewett to consider purchasing the dealership.
Mr. Richardson, Mr. Turner, and Mr. Blewett flew directly
from San Antonio, Texas, to Seattle, Washington, to examine the
dealership. After arriving in Seattle, Washington, Mr.
Richardson, Mr. Turner, and Mr. Blewett met directly with Mr.
Wright to discuss the possible acquisition of the assets of the
Totem Lake dealerships from Mr. Wright's corporations; they did
not want to purchase Mr. Wright's corporations because of the
potential liabilities against the corporations.
At the time of this first meeting, Mr. Wright was offering
to sell the Totem Lake dealerships' assets for the same price he
had negotiated with another potential buyer, Douglas Spedding
(Mr. Spedding). Although Mr. Wright had apparently reached a
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