Wells Fargo argued that Mr. Weinberg drained the corporation's assets before dissolving it. Mr. Weinberg then began operating under the name of "Steven J. Weinberg a Trial Lawyer" and continued the same practice at the same location as the previous corporation. Mr. Weinberg had also drafted 200 checks identified as "loan repayments" from the corporation to himself and his wife. The amount of the checks disbursed was $420,982. The court found for Wells Fargo under the alter ego theory stating, "[b]ecause it looks to me that you did a fairly obvious thing. You starved the corporation of revenue, continued your practice, and left, arguably, yourself, and your wife, and Wells Fargo holding the bag." The court also found that "when the corporation needed money, you wrote a check to the corporation and when you needed money, the corporation wrote you back a check."
It was apparent the corporate was a shell. Mr. Weinberg did not produce any corporate minutes, resolutions, or authorizations. Simply put, the corporate formalities were lacking.