That’s really something – Andrea McElroy (previously Andrea Young), candidate in the special election to fill the Area 5 seat on the Newport-Mesa USD this month, Andrea whose ballot designation is “businesswoman,” was sued TWELVE TIMES in the 16 years between 2007 and ’23.

Who gets sued THAT often, and by all sorts of businesses and people? And apart from two cases that were settled or dismissed, and the latest one (still ongoing) asking for $4.5 million, she’s had to pay out nearly a million in judgments against her!

Is this the kind of “businesswoman” Newport Beach voters want making budget decisions for their schoolchildren and hard-pressed schools? We’ll see next month; I’d think Kristin Walsh would be a much wiser choice.

But this is a countywide blog, so before we get to examining Andrea’s lawsuits AND her questionable designation as “businesswoman,” let’s look at how did we get here? Why IS the NMUSD having a special election this month?

The Path to an Expensive Special Election.

This-all started when one member of the seven-member school board, Michelle Barto, got elected to the Newport Beach City Council, leaving a vacancy. The majority of the remaining Board, after an open process interviewing all applicants, voted 4-2 to appoint 53-year-old Kristin Walsh (right), a mother and occupational therapist, to that vacancy, and things seemed fine.

But some of the folks in Area 5, the area including and around Balboa/Lido, did not take kindly to Kristin’s appointment and passed around a petition to have a special election instead. And they got 361 signatures – 361! Somehow only 361 signatures was enough to force Kristin out and waste nearly half-a-million dollars on a special election.

These 361 voters must have had a real problem with Kristin, who’s now running to get her seat back, and they must really (we assume) have a much better candidate in mind, to be spending this kind of district money on all this. Except, apparently, that candidate turns out to be this “businesswoman” Andrea McElroy (previously Andrea Young.)

Ballots get mailed out this Monday, May 12, and election day is June 10. So let’s get back to all the problems we’ve discovered with this McElroy/Young, let’s just call her Andrea.

Why do we put “Businesswoman” in quotes?

We’ll get to all those dozen lawsuits real soon, but first, why the “scare quotes” around Andrea’s ballot designation “businesswoman?” Is it because we are snotty? No it is not. It’s just that, we question whether Andrea really makes her living as a “businesswoman,” when her business has reported absolutely no profits (OR losses) over the last 12 months?

HERE IS A LINK TO ANDREA’S FORM 700, filed with the OC Registrar of Voters, see for yourselves. You will notice, the one and only economic interest disclosure she lists, on Schedule A-2, is “Flair Play Active LLC” (not Fair Play as the dimwitted Register has it) – Flair Play, of which Andrea claims to be “Co-founder – CEO.”

And, as you’ll see, she listed NO gross income, checked “none” on sources of Flair Play’s income exceeding $10k, and included a totally blank Schedule C – which is supposed to include any income over $500 including spousal income.

FLAIR PLAY MADE ABSOLUTELY ZERO INCOME THESE PAST TWELVE MONTHS? That is awful, what is wrong with people? Don’t they want “flirty, fun, sophisticated and chic” FOXY shirts to “elevate their FLAIR on and off the court?” Don’t they want to help “empower women?” Andrea’s campaign site claims that her foxy activewear does exactly that!

I will endeavor to help by sharing some of the FlairPlay website, least I could do…

This Flair Play is actually the pet project of Andrea and her most recent husband, Thom McElroy, who was formerly with Volcom, and I’d guess – wouldn’t you? – that they made more than zero money this year with their “activewear brand.”

I’d guess, and so might you as well, that this is just a case of Andrea being very sloppy and careless while filling out her Form 700 (signed under penalty of perjury.)

The kind of sloppiness and carelessness that’s led to Andrea being SUED TWELVE TIMES SINCE 2007, but we’ll get to that. Meanwhile here is hubby Thom last year, explaining the McElroys’ “CockRoach” Mentality:

Before Flair Play: The Paper House

No one-trick pony, “businesswoman” Andrea also boasts on her website of owning and operating, for TWENTY YEARS, a “beloved retail store in Newport Beach” named The Paper House. Um, hate to say, twenty years not so much – the business filed in 2004, it first shows up as Andrea Young’s co-defendant in 2007 and 2008 lawsuits, the Yelp reviews are all from 2010-11, and the Franchise Tax Board suspended the business in 2013. Still, almost ten years, that’s SOMETHING.

And maybe it was beloved, it could very well have been beloved by some people. Just not, so much, the folks who review stores on Yelp, where it averaged a rating of one-and-a-half stars, one star being the lowest. (Many reviewers complained that there was no ZERO-star option.)

The reviewers really pick on Andrea personally, you almost feel sorry for her, and yet… I really don’t think you want to vote for this person to help run a school district, let her just continue to purvey Foxy activewear with her most recent husband:

• “…So, I asked ANDREA (the owner) for a refund back for what was not fulfilled and she said she’d do that right away. It’s been another month and a half and still no refund. ANDREA lied to me. I’ve called and left a message once every other week, cuz I thought I’d give her a chance (still no return calls). But so many people seem pissed that maybe she’s in hiding.”

• “…It took a couple emails and phone calls for Andrea to first respond to me back in mid-November. I figured she was busy with the holidays so I cut her some slack… Fast forward to the end of January when I emailed Andrea for an update since I hadn’t heard from her. No response. I emailed her again a week later. No response. In my last email to her (mid-February), I said if I didn’t hear back from her in two days, I was going to file for a refund from Groupon. Do you think she responded?”

• “…I’ve been wronged by The Paper House. No one should feel alone- Andrea lied to me too…. multiple times. After calling and emailing her relentlessly she FINALLY responded in December that my order would be fulfilled in January. On February 3rd i began contacting her again…”

• “…NEED A ZERO OR NEGATIVE STAR RATING! I just reported this company to the Better Business Bureau…”

A Door Closes, a window opens:

Union Market Tustin

When Andrea was Young: with earlier husband Russell!

A business project of Andrea’s & her earlier husband Russell Young that she DOESN’T boast about too much was known as the “Union Market” in Tustin’s “The District.” Maybe because the project led to the two most recent and costly lawsuits against her, for unlawful detainer, back rent, breach of contract, fraudulent conveyance, conspiracy… but we’ll get to the 12 lawsuits later.

It did seem like an ambitious, difficult project, a “marketplace within a mall,” necessitating the cat-herding of over 20 small businesses. The Register‘s Nancy Luna celebrated the 2014 opening with an “OC’s most influential” puff piece – yes, in 2014, Andrea Young was one of the “most influential!” But the project slow-imploded and Luna was condemned to cover the fallout in 2015 and 2017, the year Andrea and Russell finally called it quits.

As one disgruntled participant wrote in the Ripoff Report, apparently in late 2014 or 2015:

We were invited to be a part of a unique and fun space called the Union Market Tustin located at The Tustin District. We were told it would open in December 2013, then February 2014, Spring 2014, Summer 2014. The landlords Andrea Young, Russell Young and Cindy Avila as announced and promoted on website, magazines and social media. Union Market Tustin is not open still not complete and has no signs of completion any time soon.

Andrea Young, Russell Young and Cindy Avila are unethical Builders & Landlords that do not care about the small businesses they use and destroy to promote their latest project. They will tell you how amazing this is going to be but here are some things they forget to mention.

Common Kitchen provided by landlords fails to have hot water as required by the OC Health Department.

Landlords have kept rent and deposits illegally.

Landlords refuse to provide tenants with “Lease Agreements” and will only provide “Licensing Agreements”.

Landlords have given tenant illegal notice to move out in 7 days without reason.

Landlords use bullying tactics and demand money from their tenants as they see fit.

Landlords use other people projects and businesses to get new tenants to sign up for their projects. Projects and businesses that they have NOT built.

Landlords served more than one tenant at Union Market Tustin with legal notice from their attorney prior to opening.

Landlords stated in emails to tenants that rent would not be collected until restaurants were at least 70% open. Landlords stated several opening dates of restaurants from August 2014 to January 2015. Landlords are demanding rent and not one restaurant is open.

Small Businesses Beware, like they say if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. If the landlord can’t provide an honest business experience and Lease Agreement they probably aren’t legitimate landlords. Shame on Vestar Management for allowing this to happen on their property. They were completely aware of this situation as it was occurring and did nothing.

EXCEPT, NOT.

Now as promised:

Twelve Lawsuits Against Andrea.

CASE #30-2007-00026978 SC-SC-HNB, Filed 11/19/07
Balboa Bay Club vs. Andrea Young (dba The Paper House)
Cause: Unpaid Contract, published advertisements
Judgment: $1,666 plus $75

CASE #30-2008-00223194 SC-SC-NJC, Filed 11/14/08
Marina Center vs. Andrea Young (dba The Paper House)
Unpaid rent and NSF Check
Judgment: $9,784

CASE #30-2009-00317766 CL-UC-HNB, Filed 11/05/09
Anne Michaelsen vs. Russell & Andrea Young     
Cause: Unlawful Detainer – Residence (2315 Holly Lane, N.B.)
Claim: $9,400.   Stipulated Judgment” $6,045 and vacate residence

CASE #30-2011-00440485 CO-PO-CJC, Filed 1/13/11
 Brosnan v. DeCinces (Owner) – Andrea Young (Lessee) named  by DeCinces as a Cross-Defendant  
Cause: Personal Injury (child hurt by non-crash glass window breaking at Young-leased premises at 402 Kings Rd. N.B.)
Settled, no details

CASE #30-2011-00447680 CL0CL-CJC, Filed 2/4/11
GCFS, Inc. v. Andrea D. Young
Cause: Unpaid Loan
Judgment: $13,112

CASE #30-2011-00481941 SC-SC-HNB, Filed 6/8/11
McAuliffe v. Russell & Andrea Young  
Cause: Unpaid residential rent (Premises at 901 Clay, N.B.)
Judgment: $2,675  

CASE #30-2011-00483478 CC-UD-HNB, Filed 6/14/11
Balboa Bay Club vs. Andrea Young (dba The Paper House)
Cause: McAuliffe v. Russell & /Andrea Young  
Judgment: $5,111, and surrender residence [Note in court file:  the Youngs tendered a $450 NSF check to the court!]

CASE #30-2012-00536764 SC-SC-HNB, Filed 1/11/12
DeCinces vs. Russell & Andrea Young 
Cause: Unpaid Rent; repairs, cleaning (Premises at 901 Clay, N.B.)
Judgment: $10,190

CASE #30-2013-00645294 CU-CO-CJC, Filed 4/11/13
South Coast Trade vs. Russell & Andrea Young      
Cause: Breach of contract &  fiduciary duty; conversion; tortious Interference with contract 
Claim:  $1,000,000 Case dismissed/ no info why.   Settled?

CASE #30-2014-00760918 CU-BC-CJC, Filed 12/10/14
Lee, Hernandez, Landrum et al v. Russell & Andrea Young   [Lee, Hernandez represented defendants Young in So.CoastTrade case.]
Cause: Breach of contract; non-payment of attorney’s fees
Judgment: $45,324 (Judgment amount at time of warrant issue 12/31/15)  

CASE #30-2022-01248230 CU-UD-CJC, Filed 3/3/22
Vestar/Kimco v. Union Market Tustin, LLC, Andrea Young and The OC Mart, a Wyoming LLC
Lessor of Union Market Tustin property sued for Unlawful Detainer on Union Market Tustin property and for back rent  
Judgment: For possession 4/17/2022 plus Judgement about $747,844

CASE #30-2023-00136442 CU-BC-CJC, Filed 3/29/23
Vestar/Kimco v. Union Market Tustin, LLC, Andrea Young aka Andrea McElroy, Thomas McElroy and Does  
Lessor of Union Market Tustin prop.  Sued for: Breach of contract; breach of guaranty; a Common Court; Fraudulent  Conveyance and Conspiracy
Vestar Claim = about $4,500,000 (Case ongoing. McElroy’s have retained counsel to oppose the allegations)