UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

FORT LAUDERDALE DIVISION

CASE NO.: 0:22-cv-62268-BB

JESSE IWUJI MOTORSPORTS, LLC,

Plaintiff,

v.

EQUITY PRIME MORTGAGE, LLC,

Defendant.

______________________________________/

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT

Plaintiff, JESSE IWUJI MOTORSPORTS, LLC, by and through undersigned counsel, files 

this First Amended Complaint against Defendant EQUITY PRIME MORTGAGE, LLC and states 

as follows:

PARTIES

1. Plaintiff, JESSE IWUJI MOTORSPORTS, LLC (“JIM”), is an active Florida limited 

liability company, which owns and operates an American stock car racing team that competes in 

the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

2. Defendant, EQUITY PRIME MORTGAGE, LLC (“EPM”), is an active Georgia limited 

liability company, which provides mortgage loan solutions to consumer clients and serves as a 

sponsor of JIM’s American stock car racing team.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

3. This action is a civil action over which this Court has original jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1332(a), because there is diversity of citizenship among the parties and the amount in controversy 

Case 0:22-cv-62268-BB Document 5 Entered on FLSD Docket 12/06/2022 Page 1 of 6
exceeds the sum of $75,000, exclusive of costs and attorneys’ fees. Plaintiffs’ members, Emmitt 

James Smith II is a citizen of the State of Texas, Michael P. Antonucci is a citizen of the State of 

Florida, and Mariana Holdings LLC is a citizen of Wyoming. The Defendant’s only known 

member, Eduardo G. Perez, Jr., is a citizen of the State of Georgia. Thus, there is thus complete 

diversity between the parties under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

4. Pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 48.193, this Court has personal jurisdiction over EPM, because at 

all relevant times EPM conducted, engaged in, and carried on business in Florida, which includes 

but is not limited to sponsoring JIM’s American stock car racing team when it competed at races 

held in Daytona and Homestead, Florida.

5. The November 30, 2021 “Sponsorship Agreement” between JIM and EPM (attached hereto 

as Exhibit “A” and referred to herein as the “EPM Agreement”) is a material element of the 

dispute. Said document indicates that it “shall be governed by the laws of the State of Florida, 

without regard to the conflicts/choice of law provisions of any jurisdiction.” Further, venue is 

proper in this judicial district given that the Sponsorship Agreement states that, “Each Party agrees 

that any dispute that arises out of or relates to this Agreement shall brought in the state or federal 

courts located in Broward County, Florida, hereby expressly submits to the exclusive personal 

jurisdiction and venues of such courts, and hereby expressly waives any claim of objection or 

defenses thereto.”

6. All conditions precedent to the filing of this action, including but not limited to Plaintiff 

providing Defendant a thirty (30) day opportunity to cure its material breach of the EPM

Agreement, have been satisfied, have been performed or have been waived.

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS

Case 0:22-cv-62268-BB Document 5 Entered on FLSD Docket 12/06/2022 Page 2 of 6
7. On November 30, 2021, JIM and EPM entered into the EPM Agreement wherein EPM

guaranteed JIM compensation in accordance with the payment terms set forth in an attached 

Statement of Work (“SOW”).

8. In Year One of the Term (defined as beginning on November 30, 2021 and continuing for 

a period of two years thereafter), EPM was required to pay JIM $2,250,000.00 on a monthly basis 

starting December 1, 2021 at the monthly payment amount of $187,500.00 paid on the first day of 

each month.

9. In Year Two of the Term, EPM was and is required to pay JIM $3,750,000.00 on a monthly 

basis starting December 1, 2022 at the monthly payment amount of $312,500.00 paid on the first 

day of each month.

10. EPM made the required monthly payment of $187,500.00 to JIM beginning on December 

1, 2021 through September 1, 2022.

11. On or about September 27, 2022, less than a week prior to EPM’s obligation to make its 

monthly payment to JIM (with the next payment due October 1, 2022) an executive at EPM told 

an executive at JIM that EPM got “margin called” and was suffering due to mortgage rate hikes, 

and thus EPM could not make any additional compensation payments to JIM under the EPM 

Agreement.

12. On or about September 29, 2022, an executive at EPM texted an executive at JIM to 

confirm that EPM would not be making the October 1, 2022 payment to JIM under the EPM 

Agreement or any payments to JIM thereafter.

13. After failing to make the $187,500.00 monthly payment to JIM on October 1, 2022 and 

November 1, 2022, JIM sent to EPM a Notice of Intent to Terminate Sponsorship Agreement 

Case 0:22-cv-62268-BB Document 5 Entered on FLSD Docket 12/06/2022 Page 3 of 6
Between EPM and JIM (attached hereto as Exhibit “B” and referred herein as the “JIM Notice to 

Terminate”).

14. The JIM Notice to Terminate provided EPM with notice, in compliance with the EPM 

Agreement, that it was JIM’s intention to cause a termination of the EPM Agreement based on 

EPM’s material breach of the EPM Agreement for failure to make the required payments of 

$187,500.00 each on October 1, 2022 and November 1, 2022, and offered EPM with thirty (30) 

days to remedy the issues.

15. EPM confirmed its receipt of the JIM Notice to Terminate but took no actions to cure or 

otherwise remedy the stated material breaches.

16. Instead, during the cure period and after EPM was in default of its compensation 

obligations under the EPM Agreement, EPM continued to fully exploit and receive the benefits it 

sought under the EPM Agreement, which included EPM making promotional posts on social 

media that featured EPM’s logo on the hood of an official JIM stock car, EPM having its logo 

prominently featured on a JIM stock car for the October 2, 2022 NASCAR race at Talladega 

Superspeedway in Alabama, and EPM requesting its guests be placed on a guestlist and receiving 

special access for the race at Talladega Superspeedway.

17. As of the filing of this Complaint, EPM has now also failed to make payment of the 

required additional payment to JIM in the amount of $312,500.00 and JIM expects that EPM will 

fail to pay to JIM the remainder of the $3,750,000.00 due to JIM for Year Two of the Term under 

the EPM Agreement.

18. While JIM has elected to terminate the EPM Agreement, EPM acknowledged, based on 

the plain language in Section 7(c) of the EPM Agreement, “that it shall remain responsible for 

paying JIM the entirety of the compensation set forth in the SOW.”

Case 0:22-cv-62268-BB Document 5 Entered on FLSD Docket 12/06/2022 Page 4 of 6
19. In addition to the compensation owed by EPM to JIM, EPM must also reimburse JIM for 

its reasonably incurred attorney’s fees and costs, as stated in Section 12(a) of the EPM Agreement.

20. EPM’s failure to make payments to JIM under the EPM Agreement, particularly without 

any reasonable advance notice, has greatly impacted JIM’s operational cash flow and served as a 

total blindside to JIM’s ownership group and race partners. The damages sustained by JIM far 

exceed the remainder of the monies owed by EPM to JIM under the EPM Agreement.

COUNT I – BREACH OF CONTRACT (EPM AGREEMENT)

21. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations set forth in the foregoing paragraphs as if 

fully set forth herein.

22. JIM and EPM entered into a contract that contained compensation by EPM to JIM as a 

material element. EPM has materially breached the EPM Agreement by failing to make 

compensation payments to JIM beginning as of October 1, 2022.

23. JIM performed all of its duties and obligations to the Defendant under the EPM Agreement.

24. JIM offered EPM an opportunity to cure its material breach of the EPM Agreement and 

EPM failed to cure or remedy the material breach, which continues through the date of the filing 

of this First Amended Complaint.

25. JIM has suffered damages and continues to suffer increasing damages as a result of the 

material breach.

WHEREFORE, JIM is entitled to recover damages in an amount no less than $4,125,000.00, 

which accounts for the two (2) months of compensation unpaid under Year One of the Term 

($375,000.00), plus the entire twelve (12) months of compensation due under Year Two of the 

Term ($3,750,000.00), as well as a reimbursement from EPM of its reasonably incurred attorney’s 

Case 0:22-cv-62268-BB Document 5 Entered on FLSD Docket 12/06/2022 Page 5 of 6
fees and costs, post-judgment interest at the maximum statutory rate, and any other relief that the 

Court deems reasonable and just.

DATED this 6th day of December 2022.

HEITNER LEGAL, P.L.L.C

Attorney for Plaintiff

215 Hendricks Isle

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Phone: 954-558-6999

Fax: 954-927-3333

 By: 

DARREN A. HEITNER

Florida Bar No.: 85956

Darren@heitnerlegal.com

Case 0:22-cv-62268-BB Document 5 Entered on FLSD Docket 12/06/2022 Page 6 of 6