STEPHEN P. FRIOT, District Judge.
Before the court is Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment, filed May 1, 2019 (doc. no. 44), as supplemented.
Plaintiffs, The Striker Group, LLC, Striker Development LLC, and Striker Entities, LLC, (collectively "Striker"), bring this breach of contract action against defendant, Susan A. Drawdy ("Drawdy"), seeking to collect on five promissory notes executed by either Drawdy, her former husband, Jeffrey Drawdy, or both of them in 1999, 2000,
Drawdy opposes summary judgment, arguing that genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether the notes are enforceable due to lack of consideration and fraudulent inducement. With respect to lack of consideration, Drawdy asserts that her core interest and expectation in investing in the oil and gas drilling partnership was to obtain valid, ongoing tax deductions. Because of an Internal Revenue Service audit conducted on a similar Striker drilling program (which found that the program could not support the claimed tax deductions), together with Striker's inability to produce any supporting records for the programs, Drawdy contends that her claimed tax deductions based upon the notes were, at best, unsupported and potentially invalid. Drawdy thus asserts any benefit allegedly conferred pursuant to the notes is illusory. Consequently, Drawdy argues that all of the notes fail for lack of consideration.
As to the defense of fraudulent inducement, Drawdy asserts that Richard Romine, Striker's manager, made material, false representations which induced Drawdy to execute the notes. Specifically, Drawdy asserts that Romine told her the notes would be fully repaid from revenues from the drilling programs, and that in any event, Striker would not pursue Drawdy for repayment of any note balance.
Even if the notes were enforceable, Drawdy argues that summary judgment is not appropriate because there are genuine issues of material fact as to amount due on the notes. Drawdy maintains that Striker has not produced any contemporaneous accounting that would support its damages claim. According to Drawdy, the summary Schedule K-1's prepared annually by Striker and provided to Drawdy are not sufficient evidence to establish its damages.
In reply, Striker argues that the IRS audit of the other Striker drilling program, Program 2007-A, is completely irrelevant to the enforceability of Drawdy's notes. Striker points out that the subject programs have never been audited and the IRS made no findings in the referenced audit about the programs, the notes at issue or the validity of the tax deductions for the notes. According to Striker, Drawdy has presented no evidence that the specific features of Program 2007-A that the IRS found objectionable are also features of the other programs. In addition, Striker contends that the notes are supported by consideration because Drawdy accepted and kept all the tax benefits. Moreover, it asserts that the notes recite numerous mutual promises of future performance. These promises, Striker argues, are sufficient consideration for the notes. Striker further points out that nothing in the notes require it to produce any documentation before the notes can be enforced against Drawdy. Further, Striker asserts that Drawdy's fraud arguments fail because she accepted all the benefits of the notes, and under 12A O.S. 3-305(a)(1), fraud can be a defense to a promissory note only where it induced the obligor to sign the instrument with neither knowledge nor reasonable opportunity to learn of its character or its essential terms. Striker contends that Drawdy had reasonable opportunity to learn of the essential terms of the notes by reading them before their execution. Lastly, Striker argues that Drawdy's complaints about a lack of documents to prove the notes' balances are meritless because she never challenged the accuracy of the Schedule K-1s, she knowingly refused to give time to Striker to produce the supporting documents and Striker's summary judgment motion is timely under the court's scheduling order.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a) provides that "[a] party may move for summary judgment, identifying each claim or defense—or part of each claim or defense—on which summary judgment is sought." Rule 56(a), Fed. R. Civ. P. Summary judgment is appropriate if "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Id. In deciding whether summary judgment is appropriate, the court does not weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter asserted, but only determines whether there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial.
Upon review, the court finds that Drawdy has failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact with respect to a lack of consideration for the notes.
Although Drawdy has presented evidence of an IRS audit of another Striker drilling program, Program 2007-A, which disallowed the tax deductions of certain investors, Drawdy has not presented evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact that her tax deductions for investing in the subject programs are illusory. The IRS audit did not involve the subject programs, the notes or the tax deductions at issue. There is no evidence in the record that the IRS has audited or intends to audit the subject programs. The court is not satisfied that Drawdy's "concern[] that the IRS might audit the programs in which [she] had invested and that the IRS might reach similar conclusions about [her] investments in those programs," ex. 1 to Drawdy's response, ¶ 9, is adequate to raise a genuine issue of material fact that the notes at issue lack consideration.
As to the defense of fraudulent inducement, the court finds that Drawdy has proffered sufficient evidence to raise genuine issues of material fact to overcome summary judgment. Specifically, the evidentiary record is sufficient to raise genuine issues of material fact as to whether (1) Romine made a material, false representation — that the notes would be fully repaid from revenues from the drilling programs and that Striker would not pursue Drawdy for repayment of the balances of the notes;
Initially, the court rejects Striker's argument that Drawdy cannot rely upon her fraudulent inducement defense because 12A O.S. § 3-305(a)(1) only allows a defense of "fraud that induced the obligor to sign the instrument with neither knowledge nor reasonable opportunity to learn of its character or its essential terms."
In addition, the court rejects Striker's contention that the fraudulent inducement defense is eliminated because Drawdy accepted the benefit of the notes, i.e., the tax deductions. Striker cites 15 O.S. 2011 § 75 in support of this contention. That statute provides that "[a] voluntary acceptance of the benefit of a transaction is equivalent to a consent to all the obligations arising from it so far as the facts are known, or ought to be known to the person accepting." § 75 (emphasis added). In light of Drawdy's assertions as to Romine's material, false representation to Drawdy, a matter which for purpose of summary judgment must be viewed in Drawdy's favor, the court concludes that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the "facts [were] known, or ought to [have been] known" to Drawdy in accepting the tax benefit.
Lastly, in its papers, Striker argues that Drawdy cannot rely upon any prior oral representations purportedly made by Romine to her because the prior oral representations are directly contradictory of the plain language of the written contracts. The court recognizes that under the parol evidence rule, written agreements entered into by the parties supersede all pre-contract negotiations and prior oral communications. See,
Drawdy, in her briefing, also argues that summary judgment is not appropriate because there is a dispute between the parties as to the balance due and owing on the notes. In reply, Striker does not address this argument other than to say that production of documents is not a condition of the notes' enforceability. As the court is denying summary judgment based upon the fraudulent inducement defense, the court does not need to decide whether a genuine issue of material fact exists as to the balance for each of the notes because of an absence of documentation other than the Schedule K-1 documents.
Based upon the foregoing, Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment, filed May 1, 2019 (doc. no. 44), as supplemented, is
IT IS SO ORDERED.