Affirmed and Memorandum Opinion filed January 14, 2020. In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals NO. 14-18-00679-CV GREAT SOUTHWEST REGIONAL CENTER, LLC, Appellant V. ACSWD, LP, Appellee On Appeal from the 53rd District Court Travis County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. D-1-GN-15-000558 MEMORANDUM OPINION Appellee ACSWD, LP sued appellant Great Southwest Regional Center, LLC asserting claims arising from an investment venture. After a bench trial, the trial court signed a judgment in favor of ACSWD awarding it $500,000 in damages. Great Southwest appealed and raises issues challenging (1) ACSWD’s standing to pursue its claims; (2) the trial court’s interpretation of ACSWD’s partnership agreement; (3) the sufficiency of the evidence supporting certain findings of fact; and (4) the trial court’s awards for damages, attorney’s fees, and prejudgment interest. For the reasons below, we affirm.1 BACKGROUND I. Overview of the EB-5 Investment Program and the Parties Involved in the Underlying Dispute The investment venture at issue sought to capitalize on the EB-5 immigrant investor program administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). The EB-5 program permits foreign investors to obtain a green card by investing in a U.S. business that creates 10 jobs. To accomplish this objective, the foreign investor’s funds are invested in a new commercial enterprise which, in turn, deploys the funds to a job-creating entity. This process is administered by a regional center approved by the USCIS. Operating as a regional center, Great Southwest sponsored an EB-5 project involving salt water disposal wells in west Texas. Great Southwest is 100% owned by Frost Rains Holdings, LLC. Robert Frost is the Chief Executive Officer of Frost Rains Holdings and owns 66% of the company; his brother, Kenneth Frost, serves as the company’s president. Great Southwest organized ACSWD as a limited partnership to serve as the new commercial enterprise for the salt water disposal project, with Great Southwest serving as ACSWD’s general partner. Great Southwest contracted with Atlantic Investment International Group, Ltd. to locate immigrant investors for ACSWD. ACSWD was advertised to potential investors as a $500,000 investment in exchange for a limited partnership interest in ACSWD. The partnership 1 This case was transferred to this court from the Third Court of Appeals by the Texas Supreme Court Transfer Order Misc. Docket No. 18-9083, issued June 19, 2018. Because of the transfer, we must decide the case in accordance with the precedent of the Third Court of Appeals if our decision otherwise would have been inconsistent with that court’s precedent. See Tex. R. App. P. 41.3. 2 interests were offered pursuant to the terms of ACSWD’s partnership agreement and private placement offering memorandum (the “Memorandum”). In relevant part, these documents state: ACSWD was organized solely for the purpose of operating as an investment limited partnership for EB-5 immigrant investors. ACSWD would loan 100% of its EB-5 investments to 3:16 Disposal Systems, Series LLC, which would manage the EB-5 project’s salt water disposal facilities. Lu Jun is a Chinese citizen who sought to obtain a green card through the ...
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