Chiquita Fresh North America, LLC v. Long Island Banana Corp.

27 F. Supp. 3d 340, 2014 WL 2854483, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85783
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJune 23, 2014
DocketNo. 14-CV-982 (ADS)(AKT)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 27 F. Supp. 3d 340 (Chiquita Fresh North America, LLC v. Long Island Banana Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chiquita Fresh North America, LLC v. Long Island Banana Corp., 27 F. Supp. 3d 340, 2014 WL 2854483, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85783 (E.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

On February 14, 2014, the Plaintiffs Chiquita Fresh North America, LLC; Dole Fresh Fruit Company; S. Katzman Produce Inc.; and Katzman Berry Corp. (collectively, the “Plaintiffs”) commenced this action against Long Island Banana Company (“LIB”), Suffolk Banana Co. (“Suffolk”), and Thomas J. Hoey (collectively, the “Defendants”) to enforce the trust provisions of Section 5(c) of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 7 U.S.C. § 499e(c) (“PACA”). The Plaintiffs allege that they sold and delivered to the Defendants in interstate commerce wholesale quantities of produce worth $719,515.85 [343]*343and that the Defendants failed to pay for the goods when payment was due.

Also, on February 14, 2014, the Court entered a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) prohibiting the dissipation or alienation of any assets of LIB and Suffolk pending a hearing on the Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. The Court required the Plaintiffs to post a bond of $25,000.

On March 7, 2014, the parties agreed to a consent preliminary injunction placing various restrictions on the Defendants’ assets and properties and agreeing to a procedure to assert PACA claims. The Court approved the consent preliminary injunction on March 8, 2014 (the “Consent Injunction”). Less than a week later, on March 14, 2014, the Court directed the release of the bond.

On March 26, 2014, the Plaintiffs submitted a letter contending that the Defendants were negotiating the sale of certain real property located at 596 Merrick Road in Lynbrook, New York (the “596 Property”) without the approval of the Plaintiffs or the Court. In particular, the Plaintiffs had learned that the Defendant Brook Enterprises Ltd. (“Brook”), a company that is apparently wholly owned by Hoey, was in the process of selling the 596 Property. The Plaintiffs requested an order directing the Defendants’ counsel to deposit the proceeds from the sale of the 596 Property into the LIB escrow account established pursuant to the Consent Injunction. The Plaintiffs asserted that the 596 Property, even if not owned by LIB or Suffolk, was a PACA trust asset.

By letter dated March 27, 2014, the Defendants opposed the relief sought by the Plaintiffs with regard to the 596 Property. The Defendants contended that the acquisition of the 596 Property was never funded with any PACA proceeds or with any proceeds that could possibly be connected to the current PACA plaintiffs. Therefore, the Defendants asserted that the 596 Property was not a PACA asset. The Defendants further asserted that the PACA claims in this matter were likely to be satisfied in full, so that no risk of irreparable harm existed in the event the 596 Property was excluded from the terms of the Consent Injunction.

On that same day, March 27, 2014, the Court scheduled a hearing for April 4, 2014. Pending the hearing, Brook apparently concluded the sale of the 596 Property and distributed the proceeds of the sale to individuals and entities other than the Defendants in this case.

According to the Plaintiffs, in preparing for the April 4, 2014 hearing, they learned about the connection between LIB, Suffolk, Brook, HB Realty Corp. (“HB”) and Stuls Holding Corp. (“Stuls”).

On April 4, 2014, the Court held a hearing, at which the parties brought to the Court’s attention the fact that on April 3, 2014, LIB and Suffolk filed separate petitions seeking relief from their creditors pursuant to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. During the April 4, 2014 hearing, the Court expressed its intention to refer some of the outstanding issues to United States Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tom-linson. The Plaintiffs requested that, pending such a hearing, the Defendants deposit the proceeds from the sale of the 596 Property into the LIB escrow account. However, the Defendants indicated that the attorney for the party in control of such proceeds, Lawrence Omansky, Esq., was not present in Court. The Court then directed Omansky to appear in this Court on Monday April 7, 2014 for a continued hearing regarding whether the proceeds of the sale of the 596 Property constituted a PACA asset.

[344]*344During the afternoon of April 4, 2014, the Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, adding Brook, HB, Stuls, and Yolanda Hoey as defendants. In the amended complaint, the Plaintiffs allege that the newly-added Defendants unlawfully retained PACA trusts assets and that they were alter egos of LIB and Suffolk. In particular, the amended complaint alleges that the proceeds from the sale of produce by LIB and Suffolk were transferred to Hoey Jr., Yolanda Hoey, Brook, HB, and Stuls; such transfers were made in breach of the PACA trust; and Hoey Jr., Yolanda Hoey, Brook, HB, and Stuls continue to hold such PACA assets.

On April 7, 2014, the Court continued the hearing that was commenced on April 4, 2014. The Court acknowledged that since LIB and Suffolk had filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on April 3, 2014, an automatic stay pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(a) was in effect with respect to those two corporate Defendants. Also, the Court granted the Plaintiffs’ request for an evidentiary hearing as to (1) the present location of the proceeds from the sale of the 596 Property and (2) whether the 596 Property is a PACA asset subject to the Consent Injunction. The Court referred the evidentiary hearing to Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson. That'hearing is currently scheduled to take place on June 23 and June 24, 2014.

On May 2, 2014, Brook, HB, and Stuls (the “moving defendants”) moved pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ.P.”) 12(b)(6) to dismiss the amended complaint as against them for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The Plaintiffs oppose the motion.

In order to survive a motion to dismiss, Fed.R.Civ.P. 8 requires that a plaintiff proffer “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “A pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions’ or ‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders ‘naked assertion[s]’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancement.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. The plausibility standard requires “more than a sheer possibility that defendant has acted unlawfully.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

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27 F. Supp. 3d 340, 2014 WL 2854483, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chiquita-fresh-north-america-llc-v-long-island-banana-corp-nyed-2014.