ROBERT C. JONES, United States District Judge.
This case is a derivative shareholder suit arising out of several transactions made by a company's board of directors. Plaintiff Southport Lane Equity II, LLC makes five claims — direct and derivative — against directors and officers of Nominal Defendant Massive Interactive, Inc. Pending before the Court are five Motions to Dismiss, each filed by one or more of the eight Defendants (ECF Nos. 19, 28, 29, 30, 31).
Plaintiff Southport Lane Equity II, LLC ("Southport") is suing individually and derivatively on behalf of Massive Interactive, Inc. ("Massive") the following individuals it alleges are officers and/or directors of Massive: Ron Downey ("Downey"), Derek Ellis ("D. Ellis"), Max Ramsay ("Ramsay"), Monique Ellis ("M. Ellis"), Dominic De Lorenzo ("De Lorenzo"), Alex Drosin ("Drosin"), and Antaine Furlong ("Furlong"). Massive is a nominal defendant. Southport is a Delaware limited liability company with offices in New York City, and Massive is a Nevada corporation with executive offices and place of business in London and additional offices in New York, Sydney, and Prague. (Am. Compl. ¶ 5, ECF No. 6, at 14). Defendant Drosin resides in New York City, whereas the other individual Defendants reside in the United Kingdom. (Id. ¶¶ 7-13). Drosin is the president for Massive in North America, whereas Downey, Furlong, D. Ellis, and Ramsay are officers and directors of Massive. (Id.). M. Ellis is a senior vice president of Massive, and De Lorenzo is a director of product strategy. (Id.).
On November 7, 2013, Southport purchased 55,000,000 shares of common stock of Xtreme Oil & Gas, Inc. ("Xtreme"), a publicly traded Nevada corporation, which gave Southport ownership of ninety percent of Xtreme's common stock. (Id. ¶¶ 21-22). On November 15, 2013, Xtreme purchased the outstanding equity in Massive Media Pty. Limited ("Massive Media") for $4,167,190. (Id. ¶ 23). Simultaneously, Southport reverse merged Massive Media into Xtreme and directed Xtreme to change its name to Massive. (Id. ¶¶ 24-25). As a result, Southport owned ninety percent of Massive's outstanding shares. (Id. ¶ 26).
Southport alleges that Defendants "engage[d] in a series of transactions that were designed to loot the corporate treasury... in breach of their fiduciary duties... while diluting the shares of ... Southport." (Id. ¶ 32).
On May 1, 2014, Defendants caused Massive to purchase Wunderkind Group Pty. Ltd. ("Wunderkind"), an Australian company owned and controlled by Downey, M. Ellis, and De Lorenzo, in exchange for a convertible promissory note worth $5.5 million ("the Wunderkind Note"). (Id. ¶¶ 35, 37). Southport alleges the transaction took place without a formal meeting of the Board of Directors of Massive ("Board"), even though a letter of intent required the Board's approval and written consent. (Id. ¶¶ 41-42). On April 24, 2015,
On October 24, 2014, Defendants caused Massive to enter an agreement with Gil Orbach by which Orbach would pay $1,000,000 for a promissory note and warrants to purchase 100,000 shares of Massive's common stock. (Id. ¶ 53). The note is senior to obligations owed to other creditors and cannot be subordinated without Orbach's written approval. (Id. ¶ 54). Southport alleges that Defendants entered the transaction without convening a meeting of the Board, even though the issuance of stock requires Board approval. (Id. ¶¶ 57-58).
On March 23, 2015, Massive offered convertible promissory notes in the amount of $636,310 to multiple investors, including Downey and D. Ellis. (Id. ¶¶ 60, 64). The notes bear an interest rate of twelve percent and are secured by a first priority lien on Massive's assets. (Id. ¶ 61-62). The notes also contained provisions for a purchase premium in the event of liquidation, liquidated damages if the note remained unpaid after December 31, 2015, and an option to convert the principal and accrued interest into shares of securities sold during qualified financing, with a twenty percent discount. (Id. ¶ 63). Southport alleges the notes were "self-dealing by corporate insiders" and were entered into without a meeting or approval of the Board. (Id. ¶ 65).
On April 29, 2015, Massive issued restricted shares of common stock to Furlong, Ramsay, Drosin, and M. Ellis. (Id. ¶ 69). Southport alleges Defendants used their position as directors and officers to issue the stock to themselves without a meeting or vote of the Board, even though the company was experiencing financial difficulty. (Id. ¶¶ 66-67, 70).
Massive's bylaws require the Board to hold an annual meeting of stockholders on or about November 20, 2014, which it failed to do as requested by Southport. (Id. ¶¶ 72-74). Andrew Scherr ("Scherr"), Southport's designee to the Board, contacted Downey about holding a Board meeting and called for a special meeting of the Board by no later than March 10, 2015. (Id. ¶¶ 75-77). Massive's counsel informed Scherr it did not consider him to be a sitting director and asked him to provide facts showing he was a director. (Id. ¶ 80). Southport argues the failure to recognize Scherr as a director violates Massive's bylaws, as well as its failure to hold a board meeting or annual shareholder meeting in 2014 or 2015. (Id. ¶¶ 82-84). Southport argues that a demand that the Board sue Defendants for breach of fiduciary duty would have been futile because it "would not be able to exercise its independent and disinterested business judgment." (Id. ¶¶ 87-88).
Southport brings five causes of action: (1) breach of fiduciary duty (derivative); (2) breach of fiduciary duty (direct); (3) request to declare Scherr as a member of
A defendant may move to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2). Jurisdiction exists if: (1) provided for by law; and (2) the exercise of jurisdiction comports with due process. See Greenspun v. Del E. Webb Corp., 634 F.2d 1204, 1207 (9th Cir.1980). When no federal statute governs personal jurisdiction, a federal court applies the law of the forum state. See Boschetto v. Hansing, 539 F.3d 1011, 1015 (9th Cir.2008). Where a state has a "long-arm" statute providing its courts jurisdiction to the fullest extent permitted by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as Nevada does, see Arbella Mut. Ins. Co. v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 122 Nev. 509, 134 P.3d 710, 712 (2006) (citing Nev. Rev. Stat. § 14.065), a court need only address federal due process standards, see Boschetto, 539 F.3d at 1015. Technically, Nevada's long-arm statute restricts extra-territorial jurisdiction to the limits of both the U.S. and Nevada Constitutions. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 14.065(1). But Nevada's Due Process Clause is textually identical to the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in relevant respects, compare U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1, with Nev. Const. art. 1, § 8(5), and the Nevada Supreme Court reads the state clause as coextensive with the federal clause, see, e.g., Wyman v. State, 125 Nev. 592, 217 P.3d 572, 578 (2009). Until the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in 1868, no federal due process clause applied to the states. See Barron v. City of Baltimore, 32 U.S. 7 Pet. 243, 250-51, 8 L.Ed. 672 (1833) (Marshall, C.J.). The Declaration of Rights comprising Article I of the Nevada Constitution, which was adopted in 1864, was included in order to impose certain restrictions on the State of Nevada that were already imposed against the federal government under the Bill of Rights, and the Nevada Supreme Court has not interpreted the protections of the Declaration of Rights to exceed the scope of their federal counterparts. Michael W. Bowers, The Sagebrush State 43-44 (3rd ed., Univ. Nev. Press 2006); Michael W. Bowers, The Nevada State Constitution 24 (1993). In summary, the exercise of personal jurisdiction in Nevada need only comport with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
There are two categories of personal jurisdiction: general jurisdiction and specific jurisdiction. In the mid-to-late-Twentieth Century, the federal courts developed
Even where there is no general jurisdiction over a defendant, specific jurisdiction exists when there are sufficient contacts with the forum state such that the assertion of personal jurisdiction "does not offend `traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.'" Int'l Shoe Co., 326 U.S. at 316, 66 S.Ct. 154 (quoting Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S.Ct. 339, 85 L.Ed. 278 (1940)). The standard has been restated using different verbiage. See World-wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 297, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980) ("[T]he foreseeability that is critical to due process analysis is not the mere likelihood that a product will find its way into the forum State. Rather, it is that the defendant's conduct and connection with the forum State are such that he should reasonably anticipate being haled into court there."); Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 253, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958) ("[I]t is essential in each case that there be some act by which the defendant purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum State, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws."). From these cases and others, the Court of Appeals has developed a three-part test for specific jurisdiction:
Boschetto, 539 F.3d at 1016 (quoting Schwarzenegger v. Fred Martin Motor Co., 374 F.3d 797, 802 (9th Cir.2004)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Id. (citations omitted).
The "purposeful direction" option of the first prong uses the "Calder-effects" test, under which "the defendant allegedly must have (1) committed an intentional act, (2) expressly aimed at the forum state, (3) causing harm that the defendant knows is likely to be suffered in the forum state." Brayton Purcell LLP v. Recordon & Recordon, 606 F.3d 1124, 1128 (9th Cir.2010) (quoting Yahoo! Inc. v. La Ligue Contre Le Racisme Et L'Antisemitisme, 433 F.3d 1199, 1206 (9th Cir.2006) (en banc)). The tortious activity must be aimed at a forum state to create personal jurisdiction over a defendant in that state; it is not enough that the activity occurs in another state but causes harm known or expected by the defendant to be felt by a resident of the forum state in the forum state. The second and third prongs of the Calder-effects test are conjunctive, not disjunctive. That is, a defendant must not only cause harm to a person who he knows will feel a "judicially sufficient amount of harm" in the forum state (the third prong), see Yahoo! Inc., 433 F.3d at 1207, the intentional activity must be directed to the forum state itself (the second prong). Activity is not "aimed at" a forum state merely because it is expected that its effects will be felt there, otherwise the third prong of the Calder-effects test would swallow the second. The prongs are distinct and conjunctive.
The Supreme Court has recently reaffirmed that "purposeful direction" or "express aiming" is not satisfied merely by a defendant committing an intentional tort against a plaintiff he knows is a resident of the forum state and that the effects of the act will be felt in that state. See Walden v. Fiore, ___ U.S. ___, 134 S.Ct. 1115, 1124, 188 L.Ed.2d 12 (2014) (reinstating Judge Reed's ruling, after reversal by the Court of Appeals, that there was no personal jurisdiction in Nevada over Georgia defendants who allegedly committed an intentional tort in Georgia against a person they knew was a Nevada resident where the tortious activity had no other connection to Nevada) ("[T]he relationship must arise out of contacts that the `defendant himself' creates with the forum State." (quoting Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 475, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985)) (emphasis in Walden)). In Calder itself, not only was it known that the effects of the libelous article would be felt in California (because the defendant knew the plaintiff resided there), but the article was also expressly aimed at California (because the defendant in fact circulated the article there). See Calder v. Jones, 465 U.S. 783, 784, 789-90, 104 S.Ct. 1482, 79 L.Ed.2d 804 (1984). That is, the effects of the libel did not merely find their way to the California plaintiff in a way the defendant should have anticipated after libeling her in another state; rather, the defendant actually libeled the plaintiff in California by causing the circulation of the article in that state. See id.
The third prong is a seven-factor balancing test, under which a court considers:
Menken v. Emm, 503 F.3d 1050, 1060 (9th Cir.2007) (quoting CE Distrib., LLC v. New Sensor Corp., 380 F.3d 1107, 1112 (9th Cir.2004)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
The individual Defendants argue this Court lacks personal jurisdiction over them because their contacts with the State of Nevada are insufficient for either general or specific jurisdiction. Southport asserts only that the Court has specific jurisdiction over Defendants.
Southport argues the Court does have personal jurisdiction based on the Nevada Supreme Court's holding in Consipio Holding, BV v. Carlberg, 282 P.3d 751 (2012). In Consipio, the shareholders of a Nevada corporation, with its principal place of business in Spain, brought a derivative action in the Nevada district court against the former CEO and other officers and directors of the company, alleging they were guilty of misfeasance, malfeasance, and breach of their fiduciary duties. Id. at 753-754. The court held that Nevada courts "can exercise personal jurisdiction over nonresident officers and directors who directly harm a Nevada corporation." Id. at 757. It reasoned:
Id. at 755 (internal quotation omitted). The court distinguished Consipio from Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186, 97 S.Ct. 2569, 53 L.Ed.2d 683 (1977), saying Shaffer was different because the Supreme Court held that Delaware courts had no personal jurisdiction over the defendant simply because the defendant's property was located in Delaware. Consipio, 282 P.3d at 755. According to the court, "the property was not the matter of the litigation and the plaintiff did not `identify any act related to his cause of action as having taken place in Delaware.'" Id. (quoting Shaffer, 433 U.S. at 213, 97 S.Ct. 2569).
Both parties cite unpublished cases from the District of Nevada to support their position that either Consipio applies in this case or does not. However, these cases are not binding on this Court and, in any event, they are inconclusive on the question. See, e.g., Advanced Vision Sols., Inc. v. Lehman, No. 2:14-CV-01597-APG, 2015 WL 316951, at *3 (D.Nev. Jan. 26, 2015) ("I find persuasive the Supreme Court of Nevada's reasoning in Consipio"); HPEV, Inc. v. Spirit Bear Ltd., No. 2:13-CV-01548-JAD, 2014 WL 6634838, at *3-4 (D.Nev. Nov. 21, 2014) (applying Consipio to a derivative shareholder suit); Andes Indus., Inc. v. Chen Sun Lan, No. 2:14-CV-00400-APG, 2014 WL 6611227, at *7 (D.Nev. Nov. 19, 2014) ("the undersigned believes that Consipio ... is contrary to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Shaffer v. Heitner, and that a court does not have personal jurisdiction over nonresident shareholders based solely on the fact that the plaintiff is incorporated in the forum"); Andes Indus., Inc. v. Cheng Sun Lan, No. 2:14-CV-00400-APG, 2015 WL 1397727, at *4 (D.Nev. Mar. 25, 2015) ("Consipio, a case Magistrate Judge Foley already cautioned against using, does not apply.").
The Court also rejected the plaintiffs' argument that Delaware should have jurisdiction over the defendants due to their positions as directors and officers of the corporation because of the state's strong interest in supervising a Delaware corporation; specifically, the state's role "in establishing the corporation and defining the obligations owed to it by its officers and directors." Id. at 213-214, 97 S.Ct. 2569. According to the Court, Delaware had asserted no such interest through state law; rather it based its claim to jurisdiction on the presence of property in the state.
In Consipio, the Nevada Supreme Court focused on the existence of Nevada's statute that "authorizes lawsuits `against the officers or directors of the corporation for violation of their authority.'" 282 P.3d at 756 (quoting Nev. Rev.
The case Walden v. Fiore, ___ U.S. ___, 134 S.Ct. 1115, 188 L.Ed.2d 12 (2014) buttresses this conclusion. In Walden, an officer in Atlanta, GA seized cash from airline passengers who were traveling to their home in Nevada. Id. at 1119. The passengers filed suit against the officer in the District of Nevada. Id. at 1120. The Supreme Court held that the defendant "lack[ed] the `minimal contacts' with Nevada that are a prerequisite to the exercise of jurisdiction over him." Id. at 1124. According to the Court, "the plaintiff cannot be the only link between the defendant and the forum. Rather, it is the defendant's conduct that must form the necessary connection with the forum State that is the basis for its jurisdiction over him." Id. at 1122. In other words, "a defendant's relationship with a plaintiff or third party, standing alone, is an insufficient basis for jurisdiction," id. at 1123; "the relationship must arise out of contacts that the `defendant himself' creates with the forum State," id. at 1122 (emphasis in original). In addition, the Court stated that "[d]ue process requires that a defendant be haled into court in a forum State based on his own affiliation with the State, not based on the `random, fortuitous, or attenuated' contacts he makes by interacting with other persons affiliated with the State." Id. at 1123.
Based on these findings, the Court held that the Nevada courts had no jurisdiction over the suit because
Id. at 1124. The Court continued, "Petitioner's actions in Georgia did not create sufficient contacts with Nevada simply because he allegedly directed his conduct at plaintiffs whom he knew had Nevada connections." Id. at 1125. Finally, the Court reaffirmed its holding in Calder:
Id. at 1125; see also Picot v. Weston, 780 F.3d 1206, 1214 (9th Cir.2015) (applying these principles from Walden).
The conclusion that injury to one of Nevada's corporate citizens alone is sufficient for personal jurisdiction is incorrect. A defendant's personal contacts with the forum state are the decisive factor; a mere connection between a defendant and a plaintiff that has contacts with the forum state or that has been injured in the state is insufficient for personal jurisdiction under the Due Process Clause. Subjecting the directors or officers of a corporation to jurisdiction in any forum in which a corporation operates or is incorporated when the directors or officers have no personal contacts whatsoever with the forum state denies them due process protection. To exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident officer or director of a Nevada corporation, a defendant must have some contact with the forum state that is related to or gave rise to the cause of action. Mere affiliation with the corporation is not enough.
Here, Southport alleges only that "Massive is a Nevada corporation with its executive offices and place of business in London and additional offices in New York, Sydney and Prague." (Am. Compl. ¶ 14). Defendants argue that Massive is "a phantom Nevada corporation" and that "any injury to Massive would be felt in London, Sydney, and Prague." (Mot. to Dismiss, Alex Drosin, 14, ECF No. 19). They assert that "[a]lthough Massive is a nominal Nevada corporation, it does not maintain any offices in Nevada nor do any of its officers or director[s] reside in the state. Massive operates exclusively from its offices in London, Sydney, and Prague, and it does not keep any assets in Nevada." (Decl. of A. Drosin ¶ 11, ECF No. 20; Decl. of M. Ellis ¶ 9, ECF No. 29-1; Decl. of M. Ramsay ¶ 11, ECF No. 30-1; Decl. of A. Furlong ¶ 8, ECF No. 30-2; Decl. of R. Downey ¶ 11, ECF No. 21-1). They also declare that Massive's only connection to Nevada was its reverse merger into Xtreme, and that before the merger "Massive Media never conducted any business operations in Nevada." (Decl. of A. Drosin ¶ 12; Decl. of M. Ellis ¶ 10; Decl. of M. Ramsay, ¶ 12; Decl. of A. Furlong ¶ 9; Decl. of R. Downey ¶ 12). Southport retorts that "Massive is a publicly-traded U.S. company that has taken every advantage of the benefits and protections of the State of the Nevada and is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission." (Resp., 3, ECF No. 46). Importantly, what matters most in this analysis is not the corporation's own contacts with Nevada but the individual Defendants' contacts with the State. The Defendants' mere affiliation with Massive, a Nevada corporation, is insufficient.
Defendant Alex Drosin makes the following declarations pertaining to personal jurisdiction:
According to these declarations, the only connection Drosin has to Nevada is his annual attendance at the CES trade show. Drosin declares that the "overwhelming majority of these attendees come from outside Nevada" and that he does not "communicate with anyone in the state in a professional capacity." (Id. ¶¶ 8-9). Further, he declares, "I did not perform any of the alleged acts in Nevada." (Id. ¶ 17). Southport has made no allegations that Drosin has conducted any business in Nevada, or any allegations that its claims arise out of or are related to any of Drosin's forum-related activities, including attendance at the trade show. Nothing in the Amended Complaint or declarations gives the Court reason to believe Drosin has expressly aimed at Nevada any conduct associated with Southport's allegations.
Southport asks the Court to allow jurisdictional discovery to help determine whether the Court has personal jurisdiction over Drosin. "Discovery may be appropriately granted where pertinent facts bearing on the question of jurisdiction are controverted or where a more satisfactory showing of the facts is necessary." Boschetto v. Hansing, 539 F.3d 1011, 1020 (9th Cir.2008) (quoting Data Disc, Inc. v. Systems Tech. Assoc, Inc., 557 F.2d 1280, 1285 n. 1 (9th Cir.1977)). "Where a plaintiff's claim of personal jurisdiction appears to be both attenuated and based on bare allegations in the face of specific denials made by the defendants, the Court need not permit even limited discovery." Pebble Beach Co. v. Caddy, 453 F.3d 1151, 1160 (9th Cir.2006) (quoting Terracom v. Valley Nat'l Bank, 49 F.3d 555, 562 (9th Cir. 1995)). A plaintiff "seeking jurisdictional discovery must provide some basis to believe that discovery will lead to relevant evidence providing a basis for the exercise of personal jurisdiction and courts are within their discretion to deny requests based `on little more than a hunch that [discovery] might yield jurisdictionally relevant facts.'" Pfister v. Selling Source, LLC, 931 F.Supp.2d 1109, 1118 (D.Nev. 2013) (quoting Boschetto, 539 F.3d at 1020).
Here, Drosin has specifically denied he has any contacts with Nevada other than the trade show, that the vast majority of the trade-show attendees come from outside Nevada, and that he did not perform
Defendant Monique Ellis makes the following declarations pertaining to personal jurisdiction:
According to these declarations, M. Ellis has had no professional contact with Nevada and did not perform any of the acts alleged against her in Nevada. As described above, nothing in the pleadings or declarations gives the Court reason to believe M. Ellis has had any contact with Nevada related to Southport's allegations, or even any professional contact with the state at all. The Court has no personal jurisdiction over Defendant M. Ellis and, for the reasons described above, denies Southport's request for jurisdictional discovery.
Defendant Max Ramsay makes the following declarations pertaining to personal jurisdiction:
Ramsay's declarations are nearly identical to Drosin's declarations. As described above, nothing in the pleadings or declarations gives the Court reason to believe Ramsay has had any contact with Nevada related to Southport's allegations. The Court has no personal jurisdiction over Defendant Max Ramsay and, for the same reasons described above, denies Southport's request for jurisdictional discovery.
Defendant Antaine Furlong makes the following declarations pertaining to personal jurisdiction:
Furlong's declarations are similar to the others. The only difference is he does not declare he does not conduct any business for Massive in Nevada or communicate with anyone in the state in a professional capacity. Still, he declares he did not perform any of the alleged acts in Nevada. As described above, nothing in the pleadings or declarations gives the Court reason to believe Furlong has had any contact with Nevada related to Southport's allegations. The Court has no personal jurisdiction over Defendant Antaine Furlong and, for the same reasons described above, denies Southport's request for jurisdictional discovery.
Defendant Ron Downey makes the following declarations pertaining to personal jurisdiction:
Downey's declarations are similar to the others, although he does not specifically state he did not perform any of the alleged acts in Nevada. The Court still finds no reason to believe Downey has had any contact with Nevada in connection with Southport's allegations. He has declared that he attends the trade show only as a visitor, and that he does not communicate with anyone in Nevada in a professional capacity on Massive's behalf. Given the allegations and Downey's declarations, the Court finds it highly implausible that any connection exists between Downey's attendance at the trade show and Southport's allegations. The Court has no personal jurisdiction over Defendant Ron Downey and, for the same reasons described above, denies Southport's request for jurisdictional discovery.
In summary, nothing in the pleadings or declarations leads the Court to believe any of the individual Defendants has a professional connection to Nevada, other than the attendance of Drosin, Ramsay, and Downey at the annual CES trade show. In addition, Defendants' state that "Massive's only connection to Nevada was exclusively caused by Southport Lane Equity reverse merging Massive Media into Xtreme and then renaming the entity. Even before this merger, Massive Media never conducted any business operations in Nevada." (Decl. of A. Drosin ¶ 12; Decl. of M. Ellis ¶ 10; Decl. of M. Ramsay ¶ 12; Decl. of A. Furlong ¶ 9; Decl. of R. Downey ¶ 12). Thus, nothing suggests that Massive, or its officers and directors, conduct any business in Nevada, other than attendance at the trade show. Given the allegations and Defendants' declarations, the Court finds it highly implausible that any connection exists between Defendants' attendance at the trade show and Southport's allegations. The Court holds that it has no personal jurisdiction over Defendants Alex Drosin, Monique Ellis, Max Ramsay, Antaine Furlong, or Ron Downey.
The individual Defendants have raised various other defenses in their motions to dismiss Plaintiff's claims. Because the Court has no personal jurisdiction over the individual Defendants, their other defenses are moot, and, thus, the Court need not address them.
Massive has filed a separate Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 28) which includes several arguments for dismissal. Because the Court has no personal jurisdiction over the individual Defendants, it has no jurisdiction to rule on the merits involved with Massive's motion to dismiss. Massive is merely a nominal defendant. Southport seeks to hold accountable the individual defendants to protect the corporation and its interests as a shareholder. Moving forward with Massive as the sole defendant could prevent Southport from obtaining a remedy, or it could serve only to harm the corporation and the interests the shareholders seek to protect. The Court denies the motion as moot.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motions to Dismiss (ECF Nos. 19, 29, 30, 31) are GRANTED, with leave to amend in part.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 28) is DENIED as moot.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Consipio, 282 P.3d at 757 (emphasis added).