Chesapeake Investment Services, Inc. v. Olive Group Corp.

15 Mass. L. Rptr. 708
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedJanuary 30, 2003
DocketNo. 022654BLS
StatusPublished

This text of 15 Mass. L. Rptr. 708 (Chesapeake Investment Services, Inc. v. Olive Group Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chesapeake Investment Services, Inc. v. Olive Group Corp., 15 Mass. L. Rptr. 708 (Mass. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

van Gestel, J.

This matter is before the Court on a motion by the defendants, The Olive Group Corporation (“OGC”) and Omega III, LLC (“Omega III”) (collectively the “Defendants”), seeking summary judgment pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. Rule 56 on the second amended complaint of the plaintiff, Chesapeake Investment Services, Inc. (“Chesapeake”).

BACKGROUND

The facts that are not in dispute follow.

OGC is currently the sole member of Omega III. The Defendants were previously operated jointly by James Cafarelli (“Cafarelli”) and Todd English (“English”). Currently, they are being operated exclusively by English.2

On August 23, 1999, the Defendants, and other related entities, entered into a Revolving Credit and Term Loan Agreement with BankBoston, N.A., now Fleet Bank (the “Fleet Note”), in the amount of $1.3 million. The purpose of this arrangement was to provide working capital and start-up costs associated with certain restaurant openings in Washington, D.C., Westport, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts.

The Fleet Note was secured by, inter alia, an all-asset interest in OGC and in Omega III, including a security interest in the general intangibles of OGC.

In April 2000, it became apparent that the restaurant being constructed for OGC in Washington, D.C., to be known as “Olives D.C.,” had construction cost overruns of approximately $420,000. A frequent patron of the Olives restaurant in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Frank Gangi (“Gangi”), president of Chesapeake, offered to OGC to loan funds with which to finance these construction cost overruns.

Neither Gangi nor Chesapeake is in the regular business of making loans to restaurants or any other entities.

On April 19, 2000, Gangi, by and through Chesapeake, made a personal loan to Cafarelli and English to cover the Olives, D.C. expenses. Cafarelli and English signed a secured promissory note in the amount of $420,000 (the “April 19, 2000 Note”). This note was secured by a pledge of 25% of the ownership interest in Olives D.C., LLC.

In the summer of 2001, a restaurant in Boston that Cafarelli was developing and constructing for OGC also had significant construction cost overruns. It became necessary to request another loan from Gangi, this time to pay certain cost overruns that were due to CAFCO Development, Inc. (“CAFCO”). CAFCO is a restaurant construction company that Cafarelli founded. On July 11, 2001, Chesapeake loaned Omega III $450,000, represented by a promissory note (the “July 11, 2001, Note”).

The July 11, 2001 Note specifies that the Defendants shall “execute instruments conveying to [Chesapeake] ONE HUNDRED PERCENT (100%) interest in Omega III, LLC, which shall be held by [Chesapeake] in escrow as security for this note ...”

As a result of the impending July 11, 2001 Note transaction, in July of 2001, the Fleet Note was amended by a “Second Amendment to Revolving Credit Term Loan Agreement” (“Amended Revolver”). In this amendment Fleet gave its assent to the July 11, 2001 loan but imposed a number of conditions upon the Defendants and Chesapeake.

Section 12 of the Amended Revolver is where most of the conditions are found. In relevant part, Section 12 reads as follows:

As a condition to [Fleet’s] agreement to entering into this Second Amendment, BORROWERS have advised [Fleet] that BORROWERS, . . . are obtaining funds in the amount of [$450,000] from . . . Chesapeake ... in order to pay in full all indebtedness owing from BORROWERS to . . . [CAFCO] for construction of Omega III, LLC’s Kingfish Hall restaurant at Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston... [T]he securiiy therefor . . . shall consist solely of an all asset security interest in the personal property of Omega III, LLC, and a pledge of all of the membership interests of said LLC . . . The closing of said transaction wherein the occurrence of not less than full completion of all of the following is referred to herein as the “Subordinate Lender Closing”: loan and security documents are executed and delivered from Omega III, LLC to Chesapeake; UCC-1 financing statements are filed of record in appropriate [709]*709filing offices; loan funds are paid in hand to [CAFCO]; and no deviations of any kind from the aforesaid loan term sheet shall have occurred . . . Concurrently herewith, Chesapeake, Omega III, LLC and [Fleet] shall execute and deliver a Subordination Agreement in form and substance acceptable to [Fleet] . . . Concurrently herewith, Chesapeake shall execute and deliver an agreement in form and substance satisfactory to [Fleet] which shall provide that until all of the OBLIGATIONS owing to [Fleet] have been paid in full, Chesapeake, pursuant to the pledge given to it of all of the membership interests in Omega III, LLC, whether as pledgee, or foreclosing secured party, or in any other capacity, shall take no action to amend, alter or change in any way the terms of that certain management agreement dated as of May 23, 2001 between Omega III, LLC in favor of The Olive Group Management, LLC without [Fleet’s] prior written consent.

Apparently, onNovember26,2002, for the first time since the July 11, 2001 loan transaction, Chesapeake filed UCC-1 financing statements naming OGC as the debtor in Delaware, the state in which Omega III is registered, and in Massachusetts.

On July 11, 2001, Omega III and Chesapeake executed the Fleet Subordination Agreement (the “Subordination Agreement”) called for in Section 12 of the Amended Revolver. Among other things, the Subordination Agreement provides as follows:

To secure the performance of this Agreement, [Chesapeake] hereby assign[s], transferís] and set[s] over to [Fleet] the Subordinated Debt, whether evidenced by negotiable or non-negotiable instruments, securities or other writings, book entries or otherwise, together with any collateral therefor, and [has] endorsed or assigned to [Fleet] and herewith deposit the following:
Secured Promissory Note from Omega III, LLC to Chesapeake Investment Services, Inc. dated July 11, 2001.

Notably, in the WHEREAS clause of the Subordination Agreement, it is provided as follows:

WHEREAS, [Omega III and [Chesapeake] have requested [Fleet] ... to grant financial accommodations to [Omega III], and [Fleet] has indicated that it is unwilling to do so unless [Omega III] and [Chesapeake] shall join in this Agreement and [Chesapeake] shall subordinate, to the extent and in the manner hereinafter set forth, the indebtedness hereinbefore referred to [the July 11, 2001, loan] and also all other indebtedness of [Omega III] to [Chesapeake], direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising ... to all indebtedness of [Omega III] to [Fleet], direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now existing or hereafter arising . . .

The Subordination Agreement also permits Chesapeake to receive from Omega III only “regularly scheduled payments of principal and interest” on the July 11, 2001 Note until such time as Fleet is paid in full.

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Bluebook (online)
15 Mass. L. Rptr. 708, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chesapeake-investment-services-inc-v-olive-group-corp-masssuperct-2003.