Akerson Advertising & Marketing, Inc. v. St. John & Partners Advertising & Public Relations, Inc.

89 F. Supp. 3d 341, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22371, 2015 WL 792029
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 25, 2015
DocketNo. 1:13-CV-43 (FJS/CFH)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 89 F. Supp. 3d 341 (Akerson Advertising & Marketing, Inc. v. St. John & Partners Advertising & Public Relations, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Akerson Advertising & Marketing, Inc. v. St. John & Partners Advertising & Public Relations, Inc., 89 F. Supp. 3d 341, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22371, 2015 WL 792029 (N.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER

SCULLIN, Senior District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Currently before the Court is Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ amended complaint. See Dkt. No. 27. .

II. BACKGROUND

On August 2, 2013, the Court heard, oral argument in support of, and in opposition to, Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint and Plaintiffs’ cross-motion [345]*345for leave to amend their complaint. At the conclusion of the argument, the Court denied both motions without prejudice and with leave to renew. In an Order dated. August 5, 2013, the Court ordered that, “within twenty (20) days of the date of this Order, Plaintiffs may file an amended complaint. As the Court noted at oral argument, in any such amended complaint that Plaintiffs file, they may not replead their fraud claim[.]” See Dkt. No. 23 at 2. The Court further ordered that, if Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint within the required time frame, Defendant was to file its response, either an answer or an appropriate motion, to the amended complaint within the time frames set forth in Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.' See id.

Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, in which they asserted five causes of action and to which they attached five exhibits. See Dkt. No. 25. According to the amended complaint, Plaintiff Akerson is the principal of Plaintiff Akerson Advertising and Marketing, Inc. (“AAMI”), which is a small advertising firm in Upstate New York. See id. at ¶ 4. Plaintiff AAMI’s largest account was the Upstate Ford Dealers Advertising Association (“UFDAA”), a group of twenty-two Ford Dealers in Upstate New York. See id. Plaintiff Akerson first met St. John, the principal of Defendant, in 1978. See id. at ¶ 8. Plaintiff Akerson formed Plaintiff AAMI and St. John formed Defendant at about the same time. See id. at ¶ 9. St. John, Plaintiff Akerson, and a few others helped form the National Organization of Independent Advertising Agencies (“1AA”), which worked for Ford Dealer Groups across the country in sharing ideas and operational procedures. See id. By the beginning of 2012, Defendant had grown significantly and had four major Ford Dealer Groups as clients in the South, Michigan, and Pittsburgh with five offices in Jacksonville, Atlanta, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Detroit. See id. at ¶10.

Ford Motor Company put a plan together, in Spring 2009, to eliminate all of the Independent Ad Agencies, of which Plaintiff AAMI and Defendant were two. See id. at ¶ 11. By Fall 2009, Ford Motor Company had pushed the Ford Dealer Groups using independent advertising agencies to permit J. Walter Thompson (“JWT”) to give presentations. See id. Plaintiff AAMI was the only independent ad agency that did not have to make a presentation against JWT; UFDAA was not interested and would not let JWT-present. See id. at ¶ 12. After the JWT presentations, Defendant was able to retain its dealer groups. See id. at ¶ 13.

In Fall 2009, Ford Motor Company completely changed the Ford Dealer Group rules and regulations to commence January 15, 2010. See id. at ¶ 15. Ford set the new rules up so that the independent ad agencies would get considerably less ad agency commissions than their counterparts at JWT. See id.

Also in Fall 2009, Plaintiff Akerson began to consider an exit strategy for himself and UFDAA as he was nearing retirement. See id. at ¶ 18. Plaintiff Akerson’s relationship with the members of UFDAA and his years of work made him committed to making his exit mutually agreeable to UFDAA and Plaintiff AAMI. See id. Plaintiff Akerson knew that UFDAA was committed to its independent status and wanted to ensure that this status was retained. See id.

Since Defendant was so clearly committed to independent advertiser status, Plaintiff Akerson was led to believe that entering into an asset transfer agreement between Plaintiff AAMI and Defendant would be perfect. See id. at ¶ 19. Plaintiff Akerson would be able to retire, UF-[346]*346DAA would be able to maintain independent advertising, and Defendant would have another Ford Dealer Association as a client. See id. Defendant did not have the money for an immediate buyout. See id. at ¶ 20.

Plaintiff Akerson knew he was going to need additional support in the media and creative arenas to meet all of Ford’s new requirements; therefore, he approached Defendant for use as a “supplier” to provide the support needed. See id. at ¶ 21. This need manifested into the first letter agreement among Plaintiff AAMI, Defendant, and UFDAA. See id. and Exhibit “A” attached thereto. This agreement was designed to keep Plaintiff AAMI viable, in all areas, while Defendant and Plaintiff Akerson could hammer out a deal acceptable to all parties. See id. at ¶ 22.

On or about November 2010, Plaintiff Akerson traveled to Defendant’s home office to hammer out all of the details of how to keep Plaintiff AAMI operational until the assets of Plaintiff AAMI were sold to Defendant. See id. at ¶ 23. The final agreement, which was reflected in a January 10, 2011 letter, was a result of the November 2010 meeting in Jacksonville. See id. at ¶24. The agreement entered into at the November 2010 meeting, included the following terms: (1) on December 24, 2010, Plaintiff AAMI would transfer all responsibility to Defendant for the management and execution for all aspects of the UFDAA account, including but not limited to account management, media, creative, billing and accounting; (2) the purchase price of the assets of Plaintiff AAMI would be independently assessed at fair market value as of the first quarter of 2013 and paid on or before March 31, 2013; (3) for each month between January 2011 and January 2013, Defendant would pay Plaintiff AAMI at the end of each such month 10% of gross revenue; and (4) Defendant agreed not to transfer responsibility for the management and execution of all aspects of the UFDAA account to Retail First, Inc.1 See id. Plaintiff Akerson did not require a formal contract as a result of the 'confidential relationship between him and St. John; and, in any event, the January 10, 2011 letter contained all essential terms of the agreement. See id. at ¶ 25 & Exhibit “B” attached thereto.

From the end of the November 2010 meeting in Jacksonville to the receipt of the letter dated January 10, 2011, there were no further discussions between Plaintiff AAMI and Defendant. See id. at ¶ 26. Based on the terms of the January 10, 2011 letter, Defendant took over operational control as ad agency of record for UF-DAA at its Annual Meeting on Friday, January 14, 2011. See id. at ¶ 26. To this end, Defendant and UFDAA entered into a contract, which evidenced the transfer of control of the UFDAA account from Plaintiff AAMI to Defendant starting January 1, 2011. See id. & Exhibit “C” attached thereto.2

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89 F. Supp. 3d 341, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22371, 2015 WL 792029, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/akerson-advertising-marketing-inc-v-st-john-partners-advertising-nynd-2015.