T.S. ELLIS, III, District Judge.
At issue in this transferred
For the reasons that follow, because Virginia law governs, summary judgment must be granted in favor of defendants on the Maryland statutory fraudulent conveyance claims but denied as to the common law actual and constructive fraud claims.
Plaintiff MainStreet Bank ("MainStreet"), a community bank chartered in Virginia, brought this action against five defendants: (i) National Wrecking Corp. ("NWC"), (ii) National Excavating Corp. ("NEC"), (iii) National Excavating Corp. Employee Stock Ownership Trust ("NEC ESOT"), (iv) William Finagin, Jr., and (v) G. Rogers Smith in his capacity as trustee of NEC ESOT.
Finagin founded NEC in November 2007 with the intent to make NEC a successor to NWC. After NEC came into existence, NWC continued work on various projects but did not bid on new projects. NWC transferred several projects to NEC and also leased some, but not all of its equipment to NEC. In or around October 2008, Dynasty Capital Advisors ("Dynasty") represented to Finagin that Dynasty could sell Finagin's interest in NEC to the employees of NEC in a leveraged employee buyout through an employee stock ownership plan.
A leveraged employee buyout generally proceeds in three stages. First, the company establishes an employee stock ownership trust. Next, the trust borrows money from a lender to purchase the existing owner's shares of the company, thus transferring ownership of the company to the trust. This allows the existing owner to "cash out" of the company. The company then uses cash from its operating income to purchase the shares from the trust. As the company acquires its shares, it redistributes them to the company's employees. The cash paid to the trust to acquire the shares can be used by the trust to make loan payments. Over time, all of the company's stock is transferred from the trust to the company's employees, and the lender is fully paid on the loan. When this process is complete, the trust is terminated.
After conducting a study of NEC, Dynasty concluded that (i) an employee stock ownership plan would be a feasible means of buying out Finagin, and (ii) that the value of a 100% interest in NEC was approximately $11.42 million. Value Driven LLC, a business valuation firm hired to conduct an independent valuation of NEC, calculated the value of NEC's stock to be approximately $10.2 million. Accordingly, under the terms of the buyout, NEC ESOT was created to purchase all of Finagin's shares in the company for approximately $10 million, with $3 million to be provided to Finagin in cash and the remaining $7 million in the form of a note to
On May 27, 2009, MainStreet provided a commitment letter describing the terms of the deal. That letter—signed by MainStreet, Finagin, NWC, and NEC
Although Finagin and NWC were not parties to the secured credit agreement or promissory note, their role in the transaction was clearly referenced in those documents. Indeed, the secured credit agreement contained a covenant stating that the $3 million loan from MainStreet to NEC must be used "exclusively to finance the [employee buyout] of employer securities." Secured Credit Agmt. at 8 (Def. Ex. 16). It is undisputed that the employer securities in issue were Finagin's NEC shares.
The parties do not provide a pellucidly clear picture of how the $3 million was transferred from MainStreet to Finagin. Based on the wire transfers referenced in the parties' memoranda, it appears that MainStreet first wired the $3 million to a closing attorney for the transaction at the attorney's bank account located in the District of Columbia. That attorney was then instructed by NEC and Finagin to wire the money to the District of Columbia bank account of Finagin's attorney, who thereafter transferred the money to Finagin's personal bank account in Maryland.
The first payment to MainStreet on NEC's loan was due July 18, 2009. It was received late, on July 27. That same day, Finagin informed Dynasty,
MainStreet obtained a confessed judgment against NEC in the amount of $2,986,939.81 in Fairfax Circuit Court, Virginia. MainStreet then sold the NEC machinery and equipment in which it had taken a security interest for the loan, resulting in net proceeds of $565,702.66.
MainStreet brought this action for declaratory judgment and damages alleging four statutory fraudulent conveyance claims under Maryland law,
Finagin and NWC deny any wrongdoing and move for summary judgment. The remaining parties—NEC, NEC ESOT, and Smith—are in default but await ruling on the claims against Finagin and NWC before continuing with default judgment proceedings.
Because defendants seek summary judgment as to the fraud claims, a review of the record facts pertaining to the alleged misrepresentations is essential to the summary judgment analysis. According to MainStreet, the summary judgment record demonstrates, inter alia, two misrepresentations by defendants with respect to the buyout. First, MainStreet argues that defendants intentionally misled MainStreet into believing that all the assets of NWC would be transferred to NEC at or before closing.
For the second alleged misrepresentation, MainStreet contends that defendants misrepresented the financial state of NEC and NWC prior to closing. In particular, although NEC had not started any new projects in the months prior to closing, defendants communicated to MainStreet in an email that there were several projects in the "pipeline" that had been "awarded" to NEC. Although the parties do not dispute that NEC's business had stagnated several months before closing and never improved thereafter, defendants dispute the reasonableness of MainStreet's interpretation of the email referencing "awarded" projects. Defendants essentially contend that MainStreet did not ask to clarify the meaning of "awarded" projects, nor did MainStreet inquire as to the expected revenue from the projects listed; as such, defendants contend that MainStreet could not reasonably rely on the email as a representation of NEC's financial health.
Where, as here, the claims involve activities that cross state lines, the threshold question that must be resolved is the choice of governing law. And here, because this case was transferred from the District of Maryland pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), the starting point in the analysis is the rule of Van Dusen v. Barrack, 376 U.S. 612, 84 S.Ct. 805, 11 L.Ed.2d 945 (1964), requiring the transferee forum to apply the choice of laws rules of the transferor forum. Id. at 632-37, 84 S.Ct. 805; see also Volvo Constr. Equip. N. Am., Inc. v. CLM Equip. Co., 386 F.3d 581, 599-600 (4th Cir.2004) (same). Thus, Maryland's choice of law rules govern here. In this respect, Maryland recognizes two choice of law rules pertinent to the analysis, each of which, by a distinct analytical path, leads in the end to the same result, namely that Virginia law governs plaintiffs tort claims, including the fraudulent conveyance claims found in Counts I-IV. Because MainStreet's fraudulent conveyance claims were brought under Maryland statutes, the conclusion that Virginia governs compels dismissal of the Maryland statutory fraudulent conveyance claims.
The first of the pertinent Maryland choice of law rules is that "parties to a contract may agree as to the law which will govern their transaction." Taylor v. Lotus Dev. Corp., 906 F.Supp. 290, 294 (D.Md.1995).
As to the first argument concerning the commitment letter, it is true that the commitment letter contains a choice of law provision selecting Virginia law, and that NWC, Finagin, and MainStreet were all parties to that agreement. Nevertheless, MainStreet argues that the commitment letter's obligations terminated at closing, such that the choice of law provision in that agreement is no longer enforceable. As a general matter, when parties agree to enter a contract that is later formalized in a written agreement, prior stipulations and understandings are generally deemed merged in the final contracts. See Rafferty v. Butler, 133 Md. 430, 432, 105 A. 530 (1919) ("the written instrument is the final consummation of the contract and all conversations and stipulations between the parties preceding or accompanying the execution of it are to be regarded as merged in it"). But this principle, typically invoked to bar offers of parol evidence, is not dispositive here, as this is not such a case; rather, defendants here assert that the commitment letter represents a formal agreement that continues to govern the parties even after the closing documents were signed.
Nevertheless, MainStreet is correct that the choice of law provision in the commitment letter is no longer enforceable. Although the closing documents do not contain an explicit merger clause, it is quite plain from reading the commitment letter and the closing documents together that the closing documents were intended to supersede and extinguish any obligations in the commitment letter. The commitment letter merely memorialized a promise by MainStreet to provide NEC a credit facility at certain terms, a promise that was fulfilled at closing when the secured credit agreement was offered by MainStreet and accepted by NEC. Furthermore, the closing documents recite terms for the credit facility that overlap and augment the terms outlined in the commitment letter. If the commitment letter continued to govern after closing, reconciling the parties' obligations based on the overlapping contracts would be a difficult, if not impossible, task. In sum, it is clear that the parties intended the closing documents to encapsulate fully their obligations and to supersede the obligations set forth in the commitment letter. Thus, the choice of law provision in the commitment letter cannot be enforced by Finagin and NWC here.
Although NWC and Finagin cannot enforce the choice of law provision in
The closing documents in this case make clear that NWC and Finagin—like the lessee in District Moving & Storage— were intended third party beneficiaries of MainStreet's loan to NEC. The closing documents explicitly require that NEC use the loan proceeds to complete the buyout of "employer securities," namely Finagin's stock in NEC. Had NEC failed to use the $3 million to buy Finagin's shares, Finagin could have brought suit against NEC based on covenants in the closing documents, despite the fact that he was not a signatory on those documents. Moreover, it is of no moment that Finagin and NWC took steps to ensure that they were not obligated under the closing documents to make any payments or otherwise guarantee the debts of NEC to MainStreet. The fact that Finagin and NWC are not obligated to repay the note to MainStreet has no bearing on whether they are intended third party beneficiaries of the loan to NEC.
MainStreet raises one additional consideration with respect to the contractual choice of law provisions. Specifically, MainStreet contends that even if Finagin and NWC have standing to enforce the choice of law provisions in the closing documents, the provisions themselves are not broad enough to cover MainStreet's tort
The same result obtains here. The choice of law provision in the promissory note required the parties to "submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of any Virginia state court or federal court sitting in the Commonwealth of Virginia with respect to any suit, action, or proceeding related to this Note." Promissory Note at 5 (Defs. Ex. 15). The reference to "any suit, action, or proceeding" is sufficiently broad to encompass MainStreet's fraud and fraudulent conveyance claims, which, as in Hitachi, bear a close relationship to the contracts in issue. Accordingly, because MainStreet
The second choice of law analytical path focuses on the well known principle of lex loci delicti, which operates both in Maryland and Virginia. Given the contractual choice of law provisions resolve the choice of law issue, it is unnecessary to consider the lex loci delicti doctrine. Yet, as a matter of completeness, it is appropriate to note that even if the contractual choice of law provisions did not apply, consideration of lex loci delicti would not alter the result reached here that Virginia law governs.
In those states in which it is still followed, the doctrine of lex loci delicti dictates that the law of the state in which the alleged tort occurred governs the substantive rights of the parties. See Philip Morris, Inc. v. Angeletti, 358 Md. 689, 745, 752 A.2d 200 (2000); White v. King, 244 Md. 348, 352, 223 A.2d 763 (1966). Both Maryland and Virginia law recognize the doctrine of lex loci delicti, even as other states have rejected the doctrine in favor of a "most significant relationship" test.
No Maryland court has analyzed how to determine where an injury is suffered for the purposes of a fraudulent conveyance claim.
In looking solely to the injury inflicted by a fraudulent conveyance, defendants assert that the injury occurs where the creditor is located because it is the creditor that suffers when the debtor becomes insolvent. Thus, because MainStreet is located in Virginia, defendants argue Virginia law governs. MainStreet, on the other hand, contends that the relevant legal injury imposed by a fraudulent conveyance is an injury to the debtor, having been left insolvent by the transfer. While it is true that, in some sense, a fraudulent conveyance imposes a self-inflicted wound on the debtor, MainStreet's view of the injury ignores the central fact that it is the creditor, not the debtor, that may claim injury and seek redress in a fraudulent conveyance action. It is appropriate, therefore, to consider the pertinent injury for choice of law purposes in a fraudulent conveyance action to be the injury to the plaintiff creditor. Because creditor here, MainStreet, is located in Virginia, Virginia law governs MainStreet's fraudulent conveyance claims.
In sum, whether the choice of law analysis is governed by the closing documents' contractual choice of law provisions or by the doctrine of lex loci delicti, the result is the same: Virginia law governs MainStreet's claims. Accordingly, MainStreet's fraudulent conveyance claims brought under Maryland statutory law—namely Counts I-1V of the amended complaint— must be dismissed. Therefore, only two claims remain for summary judgment analysis, namely the common law actual and constructive fraud claims, both of which must be analyzed under Virginia law.
The summary judgment standard is too well-settled to require elaboration here. In essence, summary judgment is appropriate under Rule 56, Fed.R.Civ.P., only
The elements of both actual and constructive fraud are well settled under Virginia law. To prove actual fraud, a plaintiff must prove by clear and convincing evidence (i) that the defendant made a knowing and intentional false representation of a material fact, and (ii) that the plaintiff suffered damage as a result of reasonable reliance on that misrepresentation. Davis v. Marshall Homes, Inc., 265 Va. 159, 165, 576 S.E.2d 504 (2003). Similarly, to prevail on a constructive fraud claim, a plaintiff must show by clear and convincing evidence (i) that the defendant negligently or innocently made a false representation of material fact, and (ii) that the plaintiff suffered damage as a result of his reasonable reliance on that misrepresentation. SuperValu, Inc. v. Johnson, 276 Va. 356, 367, 666 S.E.2d 335 (2008).
A brief review of the record makes clear that genuine disputes of fact exist as to MainStreet's actual and constructive fraud claims. For example, MainStreet contends that defendants and their agents misrepresented that all of NWC's assets would be transferred to NEC prior to closing, which led MainStreet to conclude that NEC would have sufficient collateral to cover its loan obligations to MainStreet. In support of this contention, MainStreet cites the sworn declaration of MainStreet's loan officer and the emails exchanged between the loan officer and defendants' agents. Defendants argue that the bill of sale provided just before closing put MainStreet on notice that not all of NWC's assets would be transferred to NEC inasmuch as MainStreet could have—and in defendants' view, should have—carefully scrutinized the bill of sale side-by-side with previously-disclosed documents listing NWC's total assets. MainStreet disputes this view of the bill of sale, contending instead that the bill of sale was understood to be merely a confirmation that all assets had been transferred. Whether defendants in fact misrepresented the asset transfers, and whether MainStreet was reasonable in relying on defendants' prior representations rather than scrutinizing the bill of sale more closely, are genuine factual disputes that must be put to a jury.
Additionally, MainStreet contends that defendants misrepresented that several projects had been awarded to NEC prior to closing even though, in reality, NEC had not been awarded any new projects in several months. Defendants counter that MainStreet was unreasonable in relying on references to "awarded" projects without asking for a definition of "awarded" or inquiring as to the expected revenue of the projects. Just as with the representations concerning the transfer of assets, the summary judgment record reflects a genuine dispute of fact as to whether defendants intentionally misled MainStreet into concluding that NEC had several revenue-generating projects pending when the reality was to the contrary.
In sum, defendants' motion for summary judgment must be granted in part and denied in pan. Because the choice of law analysis dictates that Virginia law governs MainStreet's claims, the Maryland statutory fraudulent conveyance claims must be dismissed. Yet, because genuine disputes of material fact exist as to the common law actual and constructive fraud claims, the fraud claims cannot be resolved on summary judgment.