Business partner sues Cy-Fair resident over pharmacy

A Cy-Fair woman is being sued over allegations that she committed fraud to convince a potential business partner to invest $30,000 into her Northwest Harris County pharmacy.

Phong Trinh filed a lawsuit on March 16 in the Harris County District Court against Fatha Elmi of Cy-Fair, citing breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraud, misrepresentation, statutory fraud, and breach of fiduciary duties.

Trinh says that in the spring of 2010, Elmi asked him to join her in opening a pharmacy in Northwest Harris County, offering him a 40% interest in the partnership in exchange of $30,000 and an option to purchase 9% of the partnership interest for $15,000.

Trinh claims that the two parties met with an attorney to discuss the details of the business, but Elmi secretly contacted the attorney afterwards, telling him not to draft formal papers documenting the partnership. According to the brief, Trinh, unaware of Elmi’s plan, performed his duties as agreed, but Elmi unexpectedly terminated their partnership.

Trinh is seeking actual and exemplary damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs. He is being represented in the case by Houston attorney Paul Simon.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2011-16459.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.