NOEL L. HILLMAN, District Judge.
This matter concerns the lease of space in a mall by a Hollywood Tans franchise. Before the Court are a motion for partial summary judgment filed by defendants Hollywood Tanning System, Inc., David R. Rahn, Ralph Venuto, Jr., and Ralph Venuto, Sr.
Plaintiff alleges that this Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 because there is complete diversity of citizenship between the parties and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. Plaintiff, Rowen Petroleum Properties, LLC is a Wisconsin limited liability company maintaining a principal place of business in Wisconsin. Brendan Rowen is a citizen of Wisconsin and the sole member of Rowen Petroleum Properties, LLC ("Rowen").
The factual background of this case has been stated in previous Opinions and is repeated, in part, in this Opinion.
On or about April 18, 2007, HTS entered into an asset purchase agreement ("APA") with Tan Holdings, LLC ("Tan Holdings") whereby HTS agreed to sell all of its assets, including the Lease, and whereby Tan Holdings agreed to assume certain HTS liabilities, including but not limited to those under the Lease. According to the terms of the Lease, HTS was permitted to assign the Lease, upon the landlord's prior written consent, to another tenant "whose demonstrable net worth is equal to or exceeds" that of HTS.
On or about April 26, 2007, HTS sent plaintiff, as well as other landlords, a letter requesting consent to the assignment of the Lease to the purchaser pursuant to the APA. Included with the letter was a document titled "Tan Holdings, LLC (formerly Hollywood Tanning Systems, Inc.) Projected Opening Balance Sheet," dated May 31, 2007, showing total assets in the amount of $62,497,314, total liabilities in the amount of $23,997,064, and owner's equity in the amount of $38,500,250, as well as a "Form of Assignment and Assumption Agreement." The agreement, between HTS and Tan Holdings, assigned to Tan Holdings all of HTS's rights under the Lease with Tan Holdings agreeing to assume and be bound to perform the obligations of the tenant under the lease.
Prior to the closing of the deal, HTS contacted Rowen for approval of the assignment of their Lease. There was at least one telephone call and several emails between David Rahn, HTS's CFO, and Brendan Rowen. Unlike the original packet of materials sent to Rowen, the emails messages clearly state that the assignment was to be between HTS and HT Systems, LLC, not between HTS and Tan Holdings. Plaintiff, however, maintains that throughout the email and telephone conversations neither Rahn nor any of the other defendants specifically called his attention to the fact that HT Systems had been substituted for Tan Holdings as the proposed assignee of the Lease, and that HT Systems was not the same entity as Tan Holdings. Further, plaintiff claims that neither Rahn nor any of the other defendants provided plaintiff with any financial information pertaining to HT Systems, as they had done with respect to Tan Holdings in accordance with the requirements of the Lease. Plaintiff also did not request any financial information pertaining to HT Systems. Plaintiff argues that he was given the impression by HTS that whatever entity was on the assignment was the entity that would be inheriting HTS's assets, whether that was Tan Holdings or some other entity. Plaintiff states that had he known HT Systems would not be receiving HTS's assets, he would have never approved HT Systems as an assignee of the Lease because HT Systems was essentially a shell company, was undercapitalized, and lacked the financial resources to assume and discharge its obligations under the Lease. Plaintiff claims that defendants knew this, and that they pulled a "bait and switch."
On May 14, 2007, Rowen received the Assignment of Lease and a form "Acknowledgement, Agreement and Consent" for his signature. According to Rowen, he signed these documents based on the parties' prior conversations and prior documents he reviewed and his belief that the assignee was to inherit HTS's assets. On or about May 31, 2007, the deal closed and HTS sold its assets to defendant Tan Holdings pursuant to the APA, and the Lease was assigned to HT Systems.
Rowen came to discover that the assignment of lease did not indicate an assignment between HTS and Tan Holdings, but rather between HTS and HT Systems. Rowen claims that he was fraudulently induced into approving the assignment, and that it also constituted a fraudulent conveyance. He brings fraud claims against HTS and the individual members of HTS. Rowen also asserts a breach of contract claim against HTS for HTS's breach of the Lease by assigning the Lease to a company that did not have a demonstrable net worth equal to or exceeding that of HTS. He also asserts a breach of contract claim against HTS for liability for rent. At some point following the assignment of the Lease, HTS and HT Systems failed to pay rent and other charges of more than $950,000, and Rowen claims that pursuant to the Lease, HTS remained primarily liable for the remainder of its term. Plaintiff also seeks to hold the individual defendants liable for breach of the Lease.
On September 9, 2009, defendant HT Systems was administratively terminated due to a filing of suggestion of bankruptcy and then subsequently dismissed by plaintiff on June 22, 2011. Additionally, on June 22, 2011, judgment by consent was entered against defendant Tan Holdings, LLC in favor of plaintiff, and defendant Hollywood Tans LLC was dismissed upon plaintiff's voluntary dismissal of all claims. Named defendants remaining in the case are: Hollywood Tanning Systems, Inc., ("HTS") (The Estate of) Ralph Venuto, Sr., Ralph Venuto, Jr., and David N. Rahn. The remaining defendants filed a motion for partial summary judgment seeking to dismiss plaintiff's claims of fraud and fraudulent conveyance, as well as plaintiff's claim that the individual members of HTS should be held liable as set forth in plaintiff's fourth amended complaint.
Summary judgment is appropriate where the Court is satisfied that "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law."
An issue is "genuine" if it is supported by evidence such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict in the nonmoving party's favor.
Initially, the moving party has the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.
If review of cross-motions for summary judgment reveals no genuine issue of material fact, then judgment may be entered in favor of the party deserving of judgment in light of the law and undisputed facts.
Plaintiff's cross motion for partial summary judgment will be addressed first because it raises a threshold issue regarding which state's law should be applied to the Lease. As explained below, this issue was raised by the Court in its previous Opinion, yet it remains unaddressed by both parties in their motions. Thus, certain common law claims that turn on whether Ohio law, New Jersey law, or some other state's laws,
Plaintiff filed a cross motion for partial summary judgment on its breach of contract claims against defendant HTS (Counts One and Three). The contract at issue is the Lease agreement dated June 26, 2005 entered into between plaintiff's predecessor and HTS. Rowen acquired the Lease after purchasing the shopping mall where the HTS store was located, and Rowen and HTS became landlord and tenant, respectively.
In this Court's Opinion regarding the defendants' previous motion to dismiss plaintiff's breach of contract claims, the Court found that:
This Court then engaged in a brief discussion of choice of law issues and some of the underlying facts surrounding the contract at issue in this matter. Ultimately, this Court found that since the parties did not address the choice of law and venue provision in the Lease, and since it appeared that the application of Ohio law and venue in Ohio as to plaintiff's breach of contract claims was questionable, it denied without prejudice HTS's motion to dismiss the contract claim but advised that if HTS moved again to dismiss the claim, it should address the choice of law and venue issue.
Although the defendant did not move again to dismiss plaintiff's contract claim, the plaintiff filed a motion for partial summary judgment asking the Court to rule in its favor. Regardless of who the movant is, the Court's previous Opinion makes clear that the choice of law and venue issues regarding the Lease should be expressly addressed by the parties.
Other than noting the general proposition that a federal court sitting in diversity applies the forum's substantive law, Plaintiff did not provide any choice of law or venue analysis and did not refer to the Court's previous Opinion. Instead, the plaintiff merely cited to New Jersey law. As such, the Court instructs again that before the breach of contract claim can be decided, the moving party must address the choice of law and venue issue and provide analysis as to which state's law applies to the breach of the Lease, and whether Ohio or New Jersey is the proper venue, as per the Court's instructions in its previous Opinion.
Accordingly, plaintiff's cross motion for partial summary judgment on the breach of contract claim will be denied without prejudice with leave to re-file its motion addressing these issues.
Defendants seek to dismiss plaintiff's claims of fraud (Counts Six and Seven), plaintiff's claim that the Lease should be rescinded due to fraud (Count Two), plaintiff's claim that the individual members of HTS should be held liable for the lease (Count Five) and plaintiff's claim that the conveyance of assets to HTS shareholders was a fraudulent conveyance (Count Eight). One aspect of this motion, like Plaintiff's breach of contract claim, is clouded by the unresolved issue of whether New Jersey law, Ohio law, or some other state's law applies to these claims. More specifically, whether the individual defendants should be held liable for breach of contract could be said to turn on the Court's application of contract law and other common law to these facts. Therefore, the individual member liability claim will be denied without prejudice, to allow the parties to expressly address the choice of law issues. The fraud claims are addressed below.
Defendants argue that plaintiff failed to plead his allegations of fraud with sufficient particularity as required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b), and failed to allege specific facts that would demonstrate any material misrepresentation by defendants or a reasonable reliance by plaintiff.
Of course, claims alleging fraud or mistake must meet the heightened pleading requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b), which requires such claims to be pled with "particularity."
We find this aspect of defendants' motion perplexing. Defendants had previously raised this argument in their motion to dismiss plaintiff's second amended complaint. The Court denied the motion to dismiss holding that plaintiff had adequately placed defendants on notice of the precise misconduct with which they were charged, and plead enough factual matter to suggest the required elements of a fraud claim. As explained in the Court's opinion deciding the motion to dismiss:
Of course, the standard of proof for a motion for summary judgment is higher than that for a motion to dismiss. The standard for a motion to dismiss is "... whether the claimant is entitled to offer evidence to support the claim,"
Here, Defendants also argue that plaintiff has failed to meet the elements of a fraud claim. In order to state a claim for intentional misrepresentation under New Jersey law, a plaintiff must allege: (1) a material misrepresentation of a presently existing or past fact; (2) knowledge or belief by defendant of its falsity; (3) an intention that the plaintiff rely upon the fact; (4) the plaintiff's reasonable reliance upon it; and (5) resulting damages.
Plaintiff must prove a claim of fraud by clear and convincing evidence.
It is not disputed that in April 2007, after an agreement of sale was signed between HTS and Tan Holdings, a packet containing a letter with various exhibits was sent to Rowen seeking his consent to the assignment of lease from HTS to Tan Holdings, or an affiliated entity. The letter stated that HTS had entered into a contribution and asset purchase agreement with Tan Holdings, pursuant to which it would assign substantially all of its assets to Tan Holdings or an affiliate, including the Lease. Included with the packet was a projected opening balance sheet for Tan Holdings, based on HTS's balance sheet as of March 31, 2007, which showed total assets in the amount of $62,497,314, and included an entry under its assets for "goodwill" valued at $41,891,756. Goodwill was by far Tan Holdings' largest asset. Removing goodwill from Tan Holding's total assets would leave generally cash and other tangible assets in the amount of $20,605,558 which amount was not enough to cover total liabilities in the amount of $23,997,064.
On May 4, 2007, Rahn sent Rowen an email requesting his consent to the assignment of lease from HTS to HT Systems, LLC.
Another email exchange occurred during May 11, 2007 to May 14, 2007, regarding the timing of the signing of the assignment. During that exchange, on May 11, 2007, Rowen writes to Rahn that he needs the assignment modified as discussed to have the assignee agree to be responsible for all the lease obligations "(before and after sale of assets)." On May 11, 2007, Rahn sent an email to Rowen stating that his request was added to Section 1 of the assignment, and attached a copy of the assignment. The attached assignment was between HTS as assignor and HT Systems LLC as assignee. The revised Section 1 appears to have the effect of making the assignee responsible for rents as if the assignee "had been the original party designed as `Tenant.'" Rowen appears to agree to the terms in the assignment of lease.
Although Rahn's email refers to "HT Systems, LLC" not "Tan Holdings," and although the assignee on the assignment of lease is "HT Systems, LLC" not "Tan Holdings," the issue appears not to be whether Rowen was advised that "HT Systems, LLC" was a substitute for "Tan Holdings," which it clearly was, and for which Rowen clearly had notice, but rather whether Rowen was advised that "HT Systems, LLC" was not going to inherit HTS's assets. Rowen has provided evidence that he believed the leases would be assigned to an entity that held HTS's assets and held this belief through the negotiations of the assignment. Rahn did not address Rowen's email requesting that the assignee agree to be responsible for all the lease obligations "(before and after sale of assets)" indicating that Rowen believed the assignee would inherit HTS's assets. Further, there is no evidence that plaintiff received any financial or other information regarding HT Systems that would have alerted him that it, rather than Tan Holdings, was going to assume the lease but not inherit HTS's assets.
Defendants argue that Rowen had notice of the change to "HT Systems, LLC" from Rahn's emails and from the assignment itself. Defendants further argue that there can be no fraud because the emails and assignment clearly state that "HT Systems, LLC" is the assignee and Rowen failed to read the agreement or notice the change. Although Rowen requested and negotiated certain changes in the lease, he did not raise any question at all regarding the change in assignee. Defendants point out that Rowen is a lawyer and a savvy businessman and, therefore, held to a higher responsibility to review contracts prior to signing. As stated in this Court's prior opinion, under New Jersey law, the general rule is that a party has a duty to read and examine a contract that he signs, and "one who does not choose to read a contract before signing it, cannot later relieve himself of its burdens."
As further stated in the Court's earlier opinion, it cannot be concluded as a matter of law that plaintiff has failed to state a claim for reasonable reliance. The following paragraph was quoted from
Whether it was reasonable for plaintiff to rely on the prior writings and representations and not read the assignment of lease before signing the acknowledgment is a close question, but ultimately, a determination that cannot be made as a matter of law. Rather, it would be for a jury to weigh the testimony and make a credibility determination whether it was reasonable for Rowen to rely on representations that the lease would be assigned to an entity that would inherit HTS's assets rather than question the change in assignee or ask for further financial information, taking into consideration Rowen's business and law background, as well as his ability to negotiate certain terms regarding past due rents. Therefore, taking all inferences in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, there is a genuine dispute of material fact whether defendants made a material misrepresentation.
Plaintiff has requested rescission of the assignment of lease as an equitable remedy. "Where a party has gained an unfair advantage by virtue of a fraudulent misrepresentation, and monetary damages alone will not satisfy the injury sustained by the aggrieved party, courts have looked to the equitable remedy of rescission to eliminate the damage."
Defendants state that plaintiff's claim for rescission should be dismissed because plaintiff cannot prove its fraud claim. Since plaintiff's claim of fraud has not been dismissed, this is not a ground upon which to dismiss the claim at the summary judgment stage. Defendants also state that even where grounds for rescission exist, the remedy will not be granted where there has been substantial compliance. Defendants, however, have not set forth any facts in support of a claim that there has been substantial compliance with the terms of the contract. In order for the Court to engage in meaningful review, the defendant must outline what facts support its claim that the contract should not be rescinded on the ground that there has been substantial compliance. Defendants did not do this in their motion for summary judgment and, therefore, the motion to grant summary judgment on plaintiff's claim for rescission will be denied without prejudice.
Plaintiff has brought a claim for fraudulent conveyance against defendants under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 25:2-25, "A transfer made or obligation incurred by a debtor is fraudulent as to a creditor, whether the creditor's claim arose before or after the transfer was made or the obligation was incurred, if the debtor made the transfer or incurred the obligation: a. With actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any creditor of the debtor."
Under New Jersey law, to determine whether a transfer constitutes a fraudulent conveyance, there are two relevant inquiries: (1) "whether the debtor [or person making the conveyance] has put some asset beyond the reach of creditors which would have been available to them at some point in time but for the conveyance"; and (2) "whether the debtor transferred property with an intent to defraud, delay, or hinder the creditor."
In reviewing the specific circumstances surrounding an alleged fraudulent transfer, courts look to factors commonly referred to as "badges of fraud." These "badges of fraud" factors include:
Applying the above factors, the facts support:
Based on the above, there are adequate "badges of fraud" to permit plaintiff's claim of fraudulent conveyance to survive summary judgment. Although HTS remained liable on Rowen's lease if HT Systems defaulted, and HTS and the individual defendants knew of the past due rent owned by Rowen's tenant, no reserve for the default claim was set aside to cover the claim. Moreover, if Plaintiff prevails on its fraud claims, it would appear that the assets were transferred, and a shell corporation substituted, to leave Plaintiff "holding the bag" just as its principal has feared. Therefore, defendant's motion for summary judgment as to Count Eight, fraudulent conveyance, will be denied.
For the reasons expressed above, defendants' motion for partial summary judgment as to plaintiff's fraud claims (Counts Six, and Seven) and fraudulent conveyance claim (Count Eight) will be denied. Defendants' motion as to plaintiff's claim regarding rescission of the Lease (Count Two) will be denied without prejudice with leave to refile as to the substantial compliance issue. Defendants' motion as to plaintiff's claim of individual member liability (Count Five) will be denied without prejudice with leave to re-file which motion shall include an appropriate choice of law analysis. Plaintiff's cross motion for partial summary judgment as to its breach of contract claims (Counts One and Three) will be denied without prejudice with leave to re-file which motion shall include an appropriate choice of law and venue analysis.
An appropriate Order will be entered.