Opinion ID: 2123601
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: James Palmer

Text: James Palmer is, and at all times relevant to this action was, a baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles. Palmer was 25 years old when he and Lurie became acquainted at a Minneapolis restaurant one evening in the spring of 1971. On the following day, Palmer and Lurie met and discussed various investments, including the Stone House partnership. Palmer testified that Lurie mentioned that with my income going up and becoming more successful    it might be a good idea of maybe going into a cattle deal which was a tax shelter. Palmer had previously made investments in stocks and bonds. Later in 1971, Palmer and Lurie discussed Stone House in greater detail. According to Palmer, Lurie's description of the investment was that I would give him $20,000 in two payments and that at the end of the five years, not only would I get the tax write-offs that I would receive during the deal, but I would also receive probably twenty-eight to thirty-four thousand dollars in return. Palmer testified that Lurie told him that the cattle deal was a good investment    along with being a tax shelter. When asked whether the subject of risk to the investment was discussed during the meeting, Palmer said: I asked him if I could lose any money, and he said no, he didn't really see any way. We were going to buy the cattle, I think he said at thirty-eight cents a pound and the market value was forty-two cents. And he mentioned at that particular time along with the $20,000 that we may have to borrow some money, and I became concerned over that. I then said, well, you know, If you have got to borrow money, am I going to be liable for it? He said, Don't worry about that because the cattle are always used for the collateral for the money you borrow. So I said, That sounds good to me, and left it at that. Palmer received a copy of the Stone House pro forma statement, a document prepared by Lurie and Wert that set forth financial projections for the partnership. Barry Robinson, Palmer's attorney, reviewed the pro forma statement for Palmer and discussed the investment with Lurie. Robinson told Palmer the pro forma statement's financial projections looked pretty good. When Palmer received the partnership agreement, Robinson advised him to sign it. Palmer testified that he did so after brows[ing] through the partnership agreement. He also stated that he signed the partnership agreement in reliance on Robinson's recommendation.