Blue Star Corp. v. CKF PROPERTIES, LLC

2009 ME 101, 980 A.2d 1270, 2009 Me. LEXIS 104, 2009 WL 3030399
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedSeptember 24, 2009
DocketDocket: Cum-08-621
StatusPublished
Cited by72 cases

This text of 2009 ME 101 (Blue Star Corp. v. CKF PROPERTIES, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blue Star Corp. v. CKF PROPERTIES, LLC, 2009 ME 101, 980 A.2d 1270, 2009 Me. LEXIS 104, 2009 WL 3030399 (Me. 2009).

Opinion

ALEXANDER, J.

[¶ 1] Blue Star Corporation appeals, and CKF Properties, LLC, cross-appeals, from a summary judgment of the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Delahanty, J.)\ (1) in favor of Blue Star on its claim for breach of contract against CKF; (2) in favor of CKF on Blue Star’s claim for lost profits damages resulting from the breach; and (3) in favor of CKF’s president, Timothy Flannery, as to all claims against him individually.

[¶ 2] CKF argues that Blue Star waived, or was equitably estopped from asserting, its claim for breach of contract. Blue Star argues that: (1) genuine issues of fact remain regarding (i) its claim for lost profits damages, and (ii) Flannery’s individual liability for CKF’s breach of contract; and (2) the court erred in ruling in limine that evidence regarding interest and insurance payments incurred by Blue Star was irrelevant to the breach. Because there remain genuine issues as to material facts regarding Flannery’s indi *1273 vidual liability for the breach of contract, we vacate that portion of the judgment. In all other respects, the judgment will be affirmed.

I. CASE HISTORY

[¶ 3] The parties’ statements of material facts indicate the following undisputed facts, except as indicated. Timothy Flan-nery was the president and sole owner of CKF. The only asset CKF owned was the former Sebago Moc Mill in Westbrook. On April 17, 2006, Blue Star, through its president Nicholas Kampf, and CKF, through its principal and sole member Timothy Flannery, signed a purchase and sale agreement in which Blue Star agreed to purchase the Sebago Moc Mill from CKF. Paragraph 21(c) of the agreement imposed an obligation on CKF to secure removal of tenants then occupying the mill within forty-five days after closing on the property. Paragraph 21(c) stated:

c. Purchase of the Property is contingent on the Property being free of any tenants in possession no later than 45 days after Closing. Seller shall obtain a binding commitment from any tenants to quit the Property on or before said 45th day following closing. If Seller is unable to obtain such binding commitments from each tenant within 45 days of the Effective Date, Purchaser may declare the Contract null and void by notifying Seller in writing, and said earnest money shall be returned to Purchaser, whereupon this agreement shall terminate. Seller may relocate tenants to any other property at any time during the term of this agreement or. [sic] Seller shall indemnify Purchaser for any loss suffered as a result of any holdover by a tenant beyond the 45th day after Closing.

[¶4] Kampf planned to convert the mill into residential condominiums or apartments. After unsuccessful attempts to secure bank financing for both the acquisition and the redevelopment of the property, Blue Star pursued private financing for the project. To that end, Blue Star approached Alpine Realty Corporation. Alpine agreed to provide acquisition financing for the project, but did not commit to finance the redevelopment of the mill. Subsequently, Blue Star approached Pioneer Capital Corporation, seeking redevelopment financing. Because Blue Star’s request exceeded Pioneer’s lending capabilities, Pioneer contacted Greystone USA to gauge Greystone’s interest in serving as a funding partner on the project with Pioneer. Redevelopment financing was discussed in September 2006, but no agreement was reached at that time.

[¶ 5] Blue Star and CKF closed on the property on August 18, 2006. At closing, both parties reaffirmed the rights and obligations contained in paragraph 21(c) — the holdover tenant provision — of the agreement. Pursuant to this provision, CKF was obligated to remove all tenants from the premises by October 2, 2006.

[¶ 6] At the time of the closing, two tenants remained on the property: F.A.W., Inc., d/b/a Postal Express, and Corporate Purchasing Resources, Inc (CPR). Postal Express was a tenant at will for a portion of the premises and was under a lease for another portion of the premises that it had assumed from a previous tenant well before the closing date. CPR was also a tenant at will.

[¶ 7] Soon after the closing, Flannery, acting for CKF, contacted both tenants and informed them that, as a result of the sale to Blue Star, they were required to vacate the premises by October 2, 2006. Nevertheless, on August 24, 2006, Flan-nery, for CKF, signed a side agreement with Postal Express indicating that its tenancy could terminate on October 31, 2006, or later if renovations to another Flan-nery-controlled property, to which Postal *1274 Express was relocating, were not complete. Both Postal Express and CPR paid rent to Flannery for the month of October and remained on the premises after October 2, 2006.

[¶ 8] On October 16, after becoming aware of the presence of the two holdover tenants, Kampf changed the locks on the property. Thereafter, the owner of Postal Express held a press conference regarding the lock-out and stated that Postal Express had a lease until the following year and that “Kampf recently purchased the building and under contract must honor the leases in place.” This was the first time that Kampf learned of the side agreement between Postal Express and Flan-nery extending the existing lease until October 31 or later. A local television station reported the press conference on television and on its website and identified Kampf as an individual who may be subject to criminal charges as a result of a highly-publicized family situation unrelated to the mill purchase.

[¶ 9] Following the press conference, both CPR and Postal Express were allowed back on the premises. At that time, counsel for CPR and Blue Star communicated regarding CPR’s continued presence at the mill, although the parties dispute the substance of those conversations. CKF alleges that CPR and Blue Star attempted to negotiate a short-term extension of their lease. Blue Star asserts that no such negotiation occurred and that it did not want holdover tenants.

[¶ 10] Representatives of Pioneer and Greystone saw the news reports of the press conference, including the reference to Kampfs pending criminal charges. Based on Kampfs notoriety, the Greystone loan committee rejected Blue Star’s request for financing. Greystone then indicated to Pioneer that to even consider financing, Blue Star would need to sell the property at arm’s length to an unrelated third party.

[¶ 11] Blue Star did not consider this option because, by the third week of October 2006, Kampf had decided to sell the property and forgo redevelopment. Postal Express vacated the property by October 31, 2006, and CPR vacated the property around November 14, 2006. Blue Star sold the property to the Westbrook Housing Authority in April 2007, for $2,000,000, resulting in an approximate $900,000 profit for Blue Star.

[¶ 12] In August 2007, Blue Star filed a complaint against CKF and Flannery alleging breach of contract, negligence, and fraud arising out of the side agreement and holdover tenancies of CPR and Postal Express.

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2009 ME 101, 980 A.2d 1270, 2009 Me. LEXIS 104, 2009 WL 3030399, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blue-star-corp-v-ckf-properties-llc-me-2009.