No. 20-1492 ___________________________

White Communications, LLC; Jeffery N. White

Plaintiffs - Appellants

v.

Synergies3 Tec Services, LLC; Eric Atchley; Benton P. Odom, Jr.

Defendants - Appellees ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Central ____________

Submitted: January 12, 2021 Filed: July 7, 2021 ____________ Before LOKEN, GRASZ, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________

GRASZ, Circuit Judge.

Jeffery White, together with his parents, was part-owner of White Communications, LLC, a satellite installation company. After a merger, Jeffery White became a member and part-owner of Synergies3 Tec Services, LLC (“Synergies”), another satellite installer for DirecTV. After he sent a sexually explicit text message to a customer, the other members of Synergies expelled Jeffery White as a member of the company. Jeffery White and White Communications claimed the expulsion was a breach of the assumption agreement and the operating agreement between the parties, and they sued Synergies. At trial, the jury found in favor of White Communications on its breach of implied contract claim, but found in favor of Synergies on all other claims. Jeffery White and White Communications appeal several district court rulings, including (1) the denial of Jeffery White’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, (2) multiple evidentiary rulings, and (3) the denial of their requests for a new trial. We affirm.

I. Background

Both White Communications and Synergies install satellite television equipment for DirecTV. Prior to the merger between White Communications and Synergies, Jeffery White’s parents owned White Communications, and Jeffery White operated the company. In March of 2016, Jeffery White became part-owner of White Communications when he obtained a 30% interest.

Between late 2015 and early 2016, White Communications and Synergies both learned that AT&T would acquire DirecTV and expected that AT&T would seek to consolidate its installation-service firms. Before that point, White Communications and Synergies were two of the largest satellite television installation subcontracting companies. In anticipation of consolidation, White Communications and Synergies entered into an assignment and assumption agreement in which Synergies assumed White Communications. Under the assumption agreement, Synergies paid White Communications $400,000 in cash and promised to pay 4.5% of its future gross revenues, indefinitely.

After the White Communications assumption, Synergies purchased Dynamic Installations, another service provider. Then White Communications, Synergies, and Dynamic Installations merged into one company. Jeffery White, along with the two former owners of Synergies, and the two former owners of Dynamic Installations entered into an operating agreement (the “Operating Agreement”), which stated that each would be members of Synergies. The Operating Agreement -2- further provided that Jeffery White owned 29% of Synergies, and he would receive 4.5% of the company’s gross revenues. The Operating Agreement provided that a member could be removed “for cause” by a vote of the other four members.

Shortly after the merger, Jeffery White personally addressed a customer complaint regarding damage to the customer’s home by a technician. In the course of attending to the complaint, Jeffery White sent an explicit text message to the customer stating “I wanna f— you.” The customer complained