Blue Citi, LLC v. 5barz Int'l Inc.

338 F. Supp. 3d 326
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedSeptember 19, 2018
Docket16-CV-9027 (VEC)
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 338 F. Supp. 3d 326 (Blue Citi, LLC v. 5barz Int'l Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blue Citi, LLC v. 5barz Int'l Inc., 338 F. Supp. 3d 326 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

VALERIE CAPRONI, United States District Judge:

Plaintiff Blue Citi LLC has sued Defendant 5Barz International, Inc. for specific performance, breach of contract, conversion, and attorneys' fees. See Compl., Dkt. 1. In an order dated August 28, 2017 (the "Prior Order"), the Court granted Plaintiff summary judgment on its claim for specific performance and awarded Plaintiff attorneys' fees. See Prior Order, Dkt. 54. The Prior Order also directed Plaintiff to move for summary judgment on its remaining claims or those claims would be dismissed. See id. at 14. Plaintiff now moves for summary judgment on its breach of contract claim, seeking monetary damages. See Pl.'s Notice of Mot., Dkt. 55; Pl.'s Mem. of Law, Dkt. 59 at 2. Plaintiff also seeks attorneys' fees and expenses incurred in connection with this motion. See Pl.'s Mem. of Law, Dkt. 59 at 2. Defendant cross-moves, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 60(b)(4) and 12(c), to vacate the Prior Order and for judgment on the pleadings. See Def.'s Notice of Mot., Dkt. 68.

For the following reasons, Defendant's cross-motions are DENIED, and Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. The Court awards Plaintiff $180,204.36 in damages, $116,950.00 in prejudgment interest, and $5,837.12 in attorneys' fees and expenses. All claims for which Plaintiff did not move for summary judgment are DISMISSED.

BACKGROUND1

I. The Note

The Court assumes familiarity with the facts of this case. See generally Prior Order.

*331In brief, in August 2015, Defendant sold Plaintiff a Convertible Redeemable Note (the "Note") with a principal face value of $110,000, a maturity date of August 2016, and an interest rate of 10 percent per annum. See id. at 1-2; Malin Decl., Ex. A ("Note"). Plaintiff purchased the note for $100,000 (a 10 percent discount). See Prior Order at 2; Malin Decl., Ex. B.

The Note contained a conversion option, pursuant to which Plaintiff could convert the Note's outstanding principal and interest into shares of Defendant's common stock. See Prior Order at 2; Note § 4(a). The Note set the conversion price at a 60 percent discount of the stock's lowest trading price during a 20-day "look back" period. See Note § 4(a). The Note required Defendant to deliver the converted shares to Plaintiff within three business days of Defendant's receipt of a Notice of Conversion and provided that Defendant's failure to do so would be an "Event of Default." See id. Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default, the Note would become immediately due and payable, and default interest would begin accruing at a rate of 24 percent per annum. See id. § 8.

Additionally, the Note required Defendant to place into a reserve four times the number of shares that would be required if the Note were fully converted. See id. § 12. Finally, the Note required Defendant to pay "all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses, which [were] incurred by [Plaintiff] in collecting any amount due under the Note," id. § 7, in addition to attorneys' fees incurred in any "action or proceeding to enforce any provision of [the] Note," id. § 8.

II. Defendant's Breach of the Note

On December 30, 2015, Plaintiff sent a Notice of Conversion to Defendant, seeking to convert $83,600 of the Note's outstanding value into 1,857,777 shares of Defendant's common stock. See Prior Order at 2; Malin Decl. ¶ 4; Malin Decl. Ex. C; Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 3. The Notice of Conversion set the conversion price at $0.045 per share, based on a 60 percent discount of the stock's lowest trading price during the "look back" period (specifically, its price of $0.0751 per share on December 4, 2015). See Malin Decl. Ex. C. Defendant failed to timely deliver the shares to Plaintiff.

*332See Prior Order at 2; Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 4.2

In March 2016, the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement. See Prior Order at 3. The Settlement Agreement required Defendant to pay Plaintiff $168,065 in eight monthly installments of $21,008. See id. at 3, 10. While it is not entirely clear how the parties arrived at the $168,065 figure, the amount appears to represent principal, interest, and default interest due under the Note, along with an additional 40 percent "spicer." See id. at 3 n.5. After entering into two addenda to the Settlement Agreement, Defendant paid Plaintiff one installment in cash and three installments in shares, for a total value of $84,033 (i.e. , approximately half of the amount due under the Settlement Agreement). See id. at 3-4, 10; Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 6; Pl.'s Reply Mem. of Law at 15. Defendant has not paid the remaining amount due under the Settlement Agreement. See Prior Order at 10.

III. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed this action on November 21, 2016, and subsequently moved for summary judgment, seeking an order directing Defendant to deliver the shares requested in the Notice of Conversion. See Pl.'s Prior Notice of Mot., Dkt. 28; Prior Order at 1, 11. The Court granted Plaintiff's motion, holding that the Note was a valid contract and that Defendant had breached it by failing to deliver the requested shares. See Prior Order at 12 ("There is a valid contract in place, and Blue Citi performed its obligations thereunder."); id. at 2 ("There is no dispute between the parties that 5Barz breached the Note."); id. at 10 (same); id. at 11 (same). The Court also awarded Plaintiff $18,988.33 in attorneys' fees. See id. at 12-14. Defendant subsequently delivered the shares as ordered. See id. at 12-13; See Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 6; Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 6.

The Prior Order also held that the Settlement Agreement was an executory accord to the Note, meaning that Defendant's obligations under the Note remain in force unless and until Defendant materially fulfills its obligations under the Settlement Agreement (and its addenda). See Prior Order at 5-9.

Plaintiff now moves for summary judgment on its breach of contract claim, seeking damages for the reduction in the value of Defendant's shares between the date on which Defendant was first required to deliver the shares (which Plaintiff alleges was December 30, 2015) and the date that Defendant finally delivered the shares as required by the Prior Order (September 1, 2017). See Pl.'s Mem. of Law at 2. Plaintiff also seeks reimbursement for attorneys' fees and expenses incurred in connection with this motion. See id.

Defendant cross-moves to vacate the Prior Order and for judgment on the pleadings, seeking to dismiss the Complaint in its entirety. See Def.'s Cross-Mot. Mem. of Law at 1, 24.

DISCUSSION

I. Defendant's Cross-Motion to Vacate and Cross-Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings Are Denied

A. Defendant's Cross-Motion to Vacate Is Denied

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
338 F. Supp. 3d 326, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blue-citi-llc-v-5barz-intl-inc-ilsd-2018.