Capital Source Finance, LLC v. Delco Oil, Inc.

625 F. Supp. 2d 304, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98711, 2007 WL 3119775
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedSeptember 17, 2007
DocketCivil Action No. DKC 2006-2706
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 625 F. Supp. 2d 304 (Capital Source Finance, LLC v. Delco Oil, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Capital Source Finance, LLC v. Delco Oil, Inc., 625 F. Supp. 2d 304, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98711, 2007 WL 3119775 (D. Md. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DEBORAH K. CHASANOW, District Judge.

Presently pending and ready for resolution in this case arising from the breach of a loan agreement are motions filed by Defendants DeLuca Properties, Inc.; Gas Properties, Inc.; Al-Star Sports Camp (collectively “the DeLuca entities”); Stephen B. DeLuca; Denise DeLuca; Steven J. Markus, Jr.; Richard R. Thames; and Stutsman Thames & Markey, P.A. (the “Stutsman firm”) seeking to dismiss or to transfer this action to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, where all of the Defendants reside or have their principal places of business. (Papers 39, 48, 49, 50, 52, 55). Defendants move to dismiss based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, and failure to state a claim.1 The motions to transfer are based on improper venue, the doctrine of forum non conveniens, and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1404(a) & 1406(a). The issues related to the motions to dismiss or transfer have been briefed fully and the court now rules, no hearing being deemed necessary. Local Rule 105.6. For the following reasons, Plaintiffs claims in counts VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, and XIII of the amended complaint will be dismissed, and Plaintiffs claim in count V of the amended complaint will be dismissed in part. The pending motions to dismiss or to transfer will otherwise be denied.

I. Background

Defendant Delco Oil, Inc. (“Delco”), a distributor of petroleum products, entered into a financing arrangement with Plaintiff Capital Source Finance LLC pursuant to a lengthy written agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) that was ultimately executed by Delco’s President, Stephen DeLuca, on April 26, 2006. Stephen DeLuca also executed a personal guarantee (the “Guarantee Agreement”) of Delco’s obligation to repay the revolving line of credit balance on the same day. Under the Loan Agreement, Plaintiff provided Delco with a revolving line of credit, and Delco pledged all [308]*308of its current and after-acquired personal property as security for the line of credit. In particular, Delco pledged its accounts receivable and inventory. Payments made on Delco’s accounts receivable are referred to under the Loan Agreement as Plaintiffs “Cash Collateral,” and Plaintiff acquired a first priority lien over these payments. Delco was required, under the Loan Agreement to deposit these collections immediately into an account, referred to as the “Blocked Account,” from which only Plaintiff could make withdrawals. These payments would be credited against Del-co’s outstanding balance under the line of credit, thus allowing Delco to make further withdrawals to continue operating its business. The Loan Agreement also provided that the revolving line of credit extended to Delco would be capped at the lower of $18 million, or the result of a formula based on the value of certain of Delco’s accounts receivable and a portion of its inventory. Before making withdrawals from the revolving line of credit, Stephen DeLuca was required to submit and personally certify the accuracy of periodic statements of Delco’s accounts receivable and inventory, referred to in the Loan Agreement as “Borrowing Base Certificates.” Based on the initial documentation submitted by Delco, its fine of credit was capped at $14,322,760.89 as of the date the Loan Agreement and Guarantee Agreement were executed, and Delco began withdrawing funds from the line of credit.

Plaintiff contends that Delco, through Stephen DeLuca, had submitted and continued to submit fraudulent documentation in association with its application for credit and with the Borrowing Base Certificates. Stephen DeLuca allegedly created false invoices reflecting transactions that did not occur, and which were allegedly flagged with the letters “bb,” in order artificially to inflate the cap on Delco’s revolving line of credit.2 Plaintiff also alleges that at Stephen DeLuea’s direction, Delco inflated its inventory reports with the same purpose of artificially inflating the cap on Delco’s line of credit. Plaintiff explains that it did not learn of either aspect of the alleged fraud until October 2006.

As of September 2006, Plaintiff contends that Delco was in default under the Loan Agreement. Plaintiff sent Delco a written notice of default on September 26, 2006, indicating that Delco had defaulted on the Loan Agreement by failing to deposit its cash collections into the Blocked Account, failing to deliver required Borrowing Base Certificates and other required certifications, and failing to notify Plaintiff of the other defaults pursuant to the terms of the Loan Agreement. Delco requested a post-default advance from Plaintiff, in the amount of $633,213.65 on approximately October 5, 2006, and Plaintiff granted this advance, after requiring Delco, through Stephen DeLuca, to acknowledge the occurrence of the default events noted in the September 26, 2006 notice, requiring the provision of additional collateral, and requiring Delco to sign a waiver for any defenses, causes of action, or other claims against Plaintiff. Plaintiff funded a second post-default advance on October 6, 2006.

Plaintiff also asserts that after the Loan Agreement was executed, DeLuca, acting in concert with other Defendants, diverted cash collections and either held them in cash, or in some instances, deposited them in bank accounts in Delco’s name that Plaintiff was not aware of at the time. Plaintiff contends that these funds were used to the benefit of the DeLuca entities.

[309]*309Plaintiff filed the present action, along with a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) on October 13, 2006. Plaintiffs initial complaint alleged only two breach of contract actions, against Delco for breach of the Loan Agreement and against DeLuca for breach of the Guarantee Agreement. The court granted Plaintiffs TRO motion and entered a TRO on October 16, 2006. Delco filed a bankruptcy petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida the next day, October 17, 2006.3 The bankruptcy petition was prepared by Mr. Thames and the Stutsman firm. Delco continued to operate under DeLuea’s direction as a debtor-in-possession until a trustee was appointed by the bankruptcy court. On January 19, 2007, Plaintiff filed a motion for leave to amend the complaint, which was granted on January 22, 2007. The amended complaint adds seven additional defendants and twelve additional counts to the initial complaint. Counts I and II of the amended complaint assert breach of contract claims against Delco for breach of the Loan Agreement and against Stephen DeLuca for breach of the Guarantee Agreement, respectively. Counts III and IV of the amended complaint allege fraud against Stephen DeLuca with respect to the inaccurate financial documents and certifications provided with respect to Delco’s line of credit. Count V alleges that Stephen DeLuca converted Plaintiffs Cash Collateral by diverting Delco’s cash collections rather than having them deposited directly into the Blocked Account. Count VI claims that Mr. Markus and Stephen DeLuca conspired to convert the Cash Collateral. Counts VII and VIII allege that Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
625 F. Supp. 2d 304, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98711, 2007 WL 3119775, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/capital-source-finance-llc-v-delco-oil-inc-mdd-2007.