[Cite as Bunta v. Mast, 2020-Ohio-5500.] COURT OF APPEALS HOLMES COUNTY, OHIO FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT VASILE BUNTA : JUDGES: : : Hon. W. Scott Gwin, P.J. Plaintiff-Appellee : Hon. William B. Hoffman, J. : Hon. Patricia A. Delaney, J. -vs- : : Case No. 20CA006 : FIRMAN D. MAST : : : Defendant-Appellant : OPINION CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING: Appeal from the Holmes County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 2017 CV 030 JUDGMENT: AFFIRMED DATE OF JUDGMENT ENTRY: December 2, 2020 APPEARANCES: For Plaintiff-Appellee: For Defendant-Appellant: THOMAS D. WHITE GRANT A. MASON MATTHEW A. KEARNEY The Lincoln Building 209 N. Washington St. 88 S. Monroe St. Millersburg, OH 44654 Millersburg, OH 44654 Holmes County, Case No. 20CA006 2 Delaney, J. {¶1} Defendant-Appellant Firman D. Mast appeals the February 21, 2020 judgment entry of the Holmes County Court of Common Pleas journalizing the jury verdict in favor of Plaintiff-Appellee Vasile Bunta. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Creation of Superior VacuPress, LLC {¶2} In December 2013, Plaintiff-Appellee Vasile Bunta and Defendant- Appellant Firman D. Mast were introduced during a long car trip to Kansas. Firman Mast owned a successful roofing business located in Holmes County, Ohio. Bunta, an electrical engineer, worked for Mt. Eaton Lumber company and operated his own lumber exporting business named Dim X-Port, LLC. Dim X-Port purchased lumber from companies in Ohio and sold the lumber to foreign markets. During the car ride, Bunta explained to Firman Mast the concept of drying lumber with vacuum kilns. When trees are cut for lumber, they are full of moisture. To prevent the cut lumber from splitting and warping, it is dried. The lumber can be air dried which can take months and can lead to increased splitting and warping. If the cut lumber is placed in a vacuum kiln, the heat and vacuum from the kiln pulls the moisture from the lumber, requiring less drying time and less warping or splitting. {¶3} In January 2014, Bunta and Firman Mast entered into an oral agreement to purchase a vacuum kiln and start a wood drying business named Superior VacuPress, LLC (“VacuPress”). Bunta did most of the planning, which included the plant layout, electrical design, and business plan. Bunta introduced Firman Mast to Jim Parker, Bunta’s contact at Vacutherm, where VacuPress was going to purchase the vacuum kiln. The Holmes County, Case No. 20CA006 3 VacuPress building was going to be built on the property of Defendant Dennis Mast, Firman Mast’s father. {¶4} Firman Mast and Bunta consulted with Commercial and Savings Bank to obtain financing. The bank recommended that Bunta not be a partner in VacuPress due to his credit issues. Bunta was a Romanian immigrant, educated in the United States and a green card holder. As Bunta was working on establishing VacuPress, he did not focus on Dim X-Port. In 2015, Dim X-Port experienced financial difficulties due to foreign market instability in lumber. As a result, Dim X-Port was unable to fully pay its outstanding balances to the lumber companies. One company, ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals