Apace Communications, Ltd. v. Burke

17 F. Supp. 3d 238, 2014 WL 1672618, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58740
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedApril 28, 2014
DocketNo. 07-CV-6151L
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 17 F. Supp. 3d 238 (Apace Communications, Ltd. v. Burke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Apace Communications, Ltd. v. Burke, 17 F. Supp. 3d 238, 2014 WL 1672618, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58740 (W.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

DAVID G. LARIMER, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Apace Communications, Ltd. (“Apace”) brought this action asserting fraud and other claims against a number of defendants, alleging that Apace was fraudulently induced by defendants to invest in a company named NetSetGo.

The Court has issued several decisions in this case, granting plaintiff leave to amend the complaint, 522 F.Supp.2d 509 (W.D.N.Y.2007), granting leave to file a second amended complaint, 584 F.Supp.2d 591 (W.D.N.Y.2008), and dismissing plaintiffs claims against a particular defendant, David Klein. 2009 WL 1748711 (W.D.N.Y. June 19, 2009). Several of the remaining defendants — Steven and Lori Levine (“Le-vines”) (Dkt. # 168) and Clint Campbell, Cephas Capital Partners, LP, and Jeffrey Holmes (“Cephas defendants”) (Dkt. # 173), have now moved for summary judgment.

The underlying facts of this case have been set forth in the Court’s prior decisions, particularly the 2007 decision granting leave to amend, 522 F.Supp.2d at 512-13. The gist of plaintiffs claim is that Apace, acting mostly through one of its principals, Rakesh Aggarwal, was fraudulently induced by defendants to invest millions of dollars in NetSetGo, an internet service provider, and that Apace lost its investment as a result of that fraud.

The Levines and the Cephas defendants were secured creditors of NetSetGo. They, together with the other defendants, allegedly led Aggarwal to believe that Net-SetGo’s financial condition and outlook were in far better shape than they were. Defendants allegedly convinced Aggarwal that an infusion of cash was all that Net-SetGo needed to yield significant profits down the road. Plaintiff alleges that defendants’ true purpose in inducing Apace to make further “investments” was not to strengthen NetSetGo, but to recoup their own investments, at Apace’s expense.

Plaintiff alleges that on behalf of Apace, and based on assurances and enticements made to Apace by defendants, Aggarwal, for a while, continued to sink Apace’s money into NetSetGo. In March 2002 — by which time Aggarwal had become the chairman of the board of Apace, Aggarwal Deposition Transcript (“Tr.”) (Dkt. # 168 Ex. C) at 448-50 — Apace agreed to lend NetSetGo $2.5 million, under a “Bridge Line of Credit Agreement,” Dkt. # 236-10, and Aggarwal, on behalf of Apace, agreed that Apace’s security interest created by that loan would be subordinate to that of Cephas Capital Partners.

At some point, Aggarwal, apparently coming to believe that he was throwing good money after bad, refused to invest more money in NetSetGo. NetSetGo never did become profitable, and its assets were sold at a UCC Article 9 foreclosure sale in December 2002 and bought by defendant Cephire Corp., a company that had been formed by defendants for the purpose of acquiring NetSetGo’s assets. Apace sent an “observer” to the sale, and could have but did not bid on NetSetGo’s [241]*241assets. Plaintiff claims that the sale was not conducted in good faith and was fraudulent, and that Apace lost virtually its entire investment.

Plaintiff also alleges, as explained in more detail below, that defendants led it to believe that if Apace invested in NetSetGo, NetSetGo would engage in substantial business with Cresco Technologies, a sister company of Apace. Plaintiff alleges that NetSetGo never did business with Cresco, and that defendants never intended that it would; those alleged promises, plaintiff alleges, were intended only to induce Apace to invest in NetSetGo.

The second amended complaint (“SAC”) asserts eight causes of action: (1) fraud; (2) constructive fraud; (3) negligent misrepresentation; (4) breach of fiduciary duty; (5) conspiracy to commit fraud; (6) agency; (7) fraudulent conveyance; and (8) successor liability. Plaintiff seeks $8 million in damages.

DISCUSSION

The fundamental basis for plaintiffs claims is a theory of fraud. To make out a fraud claim, plaintiff must allege and prove “a material misrepresentation of an existing fact, made with knowledge of the falsity, an intent to induce reliance thereon, justifiable reliance upon the misrepresentation, and damages.” McMorrow v. Angelopoulos, 113 A.D.3d 736, 739-40, 979 N.Y.S.2d 353 (2d Dep’t 2014); see Eurycleia Partners, LP v. Seward & Kissel, LLP, 12 N.Y.3d 553, 559, 883 N.Y.S.2d 147, 910 N.E.2d 976 (2009). Judging plaintiffs claims against that standard, plaintiffs claims fail.

I. Cephas Defendants

Aggarwal’s deposition testimony shows that he became interested in investing in NetSetGo based on the recommendation of “one of [his] close friends, Dr. Chellappa.” Tr. at 67. See also Plaintiffs Response to Cephas Defendants’ Statement of Material Facts (Dkt. # 236-1) ¶ 14 (describing Chellappa as a “good friend of Aggarwal”). Chellappa (who is not a party to this action), whom Aggarwal considered to be “an ‘insider,’ a shareholder, and director of NETSETGO” who “had firsthand knowledge of NETSETGO,” Dkt. # 236-1 ¶ 17, advised Aggarwal that NetSetGo “was a good company with a good track record, excellent management, technology, customers and honorable people behind it who honored their obligations.” Id. at 106, 107.1

Prior to deciding whether to invest in NetSetGo, Aggarwal (who has extensive business experience, see id. at 29-44), was cautioned by NetSetGo, in a written offering document, that any investment in the company would carry a “high degree of risk.” Id. at 382. Aggarwal ultimately decided, nonetheless, to invest $500,000 in NetSetGo, without reviewing any of Net-SetGo’s financial data. He mostly relied on Chellappa’s advice. Id. at 108. He “did not engage anyone else” to look into [242]*242whether NetSetGo was a wise investment. Id.

Aggarwal subsequently decided to invest millions of dollars more in NetSetGo. But the record demonstrates that he did not do so based on any misrepresentations by the Cephas defendants.

In fact, the record is clear that Aggar-wal was in possession of substantial information about NetSetGo’s financial situation, and that he could have, but did not, obtain more such information. Following Apace’s initial $500,000 investment, Net-SetGo provided Aggarwal and Apace with NetSetGo’s consolidated financial statements for 1999 and 2000. Those statements showed quite plainly that NetSetGo had lost millions of dollars and was over $20 million in debt. See SAC Ex. A; Tr. at 164.

Nevertheless, in 2001, Aggarwal decided to invest a further $5 million in NetSetGo, in exchange for sixty percent of its stock. Aggarwal testified that he made that decision based in part on statements made to him by defendant Jeffrey Burke about an alleged merger proposal that would have substantially increased the value of Net-SetGo. Tr. at 138. When asked whether he undertook any investigation into whether $5 million was a fair price for sixty percent of NetSetGo, Aggarwal replied, “At the time, no.” Tr. at 139.

Aggarwal went on to say that Chellappa had put him in touch with Burke and another defendant, David Klein, both of whom Chellappa had described to him as a “very good management team, very strong people who always honored their obli-gations_” Tr. at 141.2 Aggarwal testified that he “trusted Mr. Burke and Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
17 F. Supp. 3d 238, 2014 WL 1672618, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58740, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/apace-communications-ltd-v-burke-nywd-2014.