Clinton O. & Lura Curtis Jones Memorial Trust Ex Rel. Myers v. Tsai Investment Services, Inc.

367 F. Supp. 491, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10897
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 28, 1973
Docket71 Civ. 3712
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 367 F. Supp. 491 (Clinton O. & Lura Curtis Jones Memorial Trust Ex Rel. Myers v. Tsai Investment Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clinton O. & Lura Curtis Jones Memorial Trust Ex Rel. Myers v. Tsai Investment Services, Inc., 367 F. Supp. 491, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10897 (S.D.N.Y. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION, FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

LEVET, District Judge.

This is an action by the above-named four trustees (“Trustees”) against defendant Tsai Investment Service, Inc. (“TISI”).

After plaintiff’s case had been submitted and with the consent of plaintiff’s counsel the Complaint against the two individual defendants, Gerald Tsai, Jr. and Robert Campbell, Jr., was dismissed, leaving TISI as the sole defendant.

Jurisdiction is based on diversity. Plaintiff filed this action under the “anti-fraud provisions of the Investment Adviser’s Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. § 80b-6(1), (2), and (4)), New York General Business Law § 352-c and New York State common . law.” Frederick M. Myers, Frederick T. Francis, James C. Hart and H. George Wilde sued as trustees of the “Clinton O. and Lura Curtis Jones Memorial Trust” (“Trust”). The Trust is said to be a “tax exempt charitable Trust created by a Trust Agreement on August 18, 1966 to award college scholarships to students from Berkshire County, Massachusetts.” TISI is an “investment advisory company.”

Plaintiff claims to be entitled to damages based upon the difference between the fair market value of the securities in the Trust’s portfolio on or about November 27, 1968, to wit, $1,006,507, when TISI began performing its investment advisory services pursuant to contract with the Trust, and the fair market value of the securities in the Trust’s portfolio on or about December 31, 1970, when the Trust terminated its contract with TISI, to wit, $643,757, less allowance of a credit for profits gained in the Trust’s portfolio during the period June 1, 1970 to December 31, 1970. (85-86, 88-89, 315-316.) 1

DEFENSES

The defenses raised by the Answer of TISI include denials and certain affirmative defenses, including;

(1) That the Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted (¶ 38 of Answer);

(2) That the trustees gave prior approval of, acquiesced in, had knowledge of and/or ratified the transactions of which they now complain and thereby waived the claims asserted in the Complaint (¶[¶ 39-42 of Answer);

(3) That “By reason of such prior approval, acquiescence, knowledge and/or ratification the plaintiff is estopped from asserting the claims contained in the Complaint” (¶ 44 of Answer);

(4) That for the reasons asserted in (3) hereinabove the doctrine of ratification bars plaintiff from asserting the claims alleged in the complaint;

*494 (5) Other defenses relating to plaintiff's lack of standing to sue and lack of jurisdiction are raised in defendant’s Answer (j[|f 47 and 48); neither of these defenses is valid;

(6) Another affirmative defense is stated in paragraph 51 of’ the Answer and is as follows:

“51. With respect to any transaction complained of, the plaintiff agreed with TISI as follows:
“* * * we agree that you will not incur any liability in respect to any recommendation, act, or failure to act, made,' taken or omitted hereunder in good faith, and we and our successors hereby agree to indemnify you and your successors and to hold harmless you and your successors from and against all loss, damage and cost incurred by you or your successors by reason of any action taken hereunder or in reliance hereon prior to the receipt by you of written notice of revocation of this authorization by us.”

The case was tried to the court without a jury.

After hearing the testimony of the parties, examining the exhibits and the Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law submitted by counsel, this court makes the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. This court has jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties to this action. 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

2. The Trust is a tax-exempt trust created by Clinton 0. Jones for the purpose of making loans to college students from Berkshire County, Massachusetts. (6, 12, 22-24; Ex. 3, f[ 3, Ex. D. 2 ) Said Trust was created by a Trust Agreement dated August 18, 1966. (Ex. 3, |f 3.) Frederick M. Myers (“Myers”), Frederick T. Francis (“Francis”), James C. Hart (“Hart”), and H. George Wilde (“Wilde”) are the Trustees of the Trust. (5, 9-10; Ex. 3, f[4; Ex. D.) All four Trustees are citizens and residents of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. (3, 9-10; Ex. 3, |f 4.) The original Trust corpus was $100. Subsequently it was increased by a bequest of approximately $1,000,000 from said set-tlor Clinton O. Jones, who died in the fall of 1967. (12-13; Ex. 3, |f 3.)

3. At all relevant times to this action, TISI was a corporation chartered in the State of New York with its principal place of business in the State of New York and was a registered broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a registered investment advisor under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. (Ex. 3, |f 7.)

4. At all times relevant to this action Gerald Tsai, Jr., Robert T. Campbell, Jr. (“Campbell”) and Paul H. Jenkel (“Jen-kel”) were employed by TISI. (Ex. 3, |f|f 10, 12, 13.) At the time that Campbell and Jenkel began working on the Trust’s portfolio they were both experienced in recommending investments for client’s discretionary accounts. (165, 253, 255; Ex. 3, |f|f 12-15.) Campbell and Jenkel were the agents of TISI in all their dealings with the Trustees. (Ex. 3, If 32.)

5. Goodbody & Co. are stock brokers with an office in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, managed by Francis (one of the Trustees). Goodbody has other offices nationwide. (10, 226-228, Ex. 3, |f 6, Ex. 12, p. 2.) At all times relevant to this action Goodbody, at the Trust’s direction, maintained actual custody of the Trust’s securities including those purchased for the Trust upon TISI’s recommendation. (59-60; Ex. 3, |f 28; Ex. 12, p. 2.)

6. On or about November 5, 1968 the Trust and TISI entered into a written contract pursuant to which TISI, as an entity, was to provide the Trust with investment advice. Said written contract required TISI, as an entity, to use its actual knowledge of the Trust’s investment objectives and its actual knowledge *495 of stock market conditions in recommending such investments to the Trust as it, as an entity, considered “advisable.” (Exs. 10,11.)

7. Said written contract further required TISI to follow certain unusual procedures in submitting its recommendations to the Trust, in that said contract required TISI to obtain approval from Trustee Francis or Trustee Myers of proposed recommendations prior to execution of a transaction. If either Francis or Myers was unavailable, TISI was authorized to obtain approval from either Trustee Wilde or Trustee Hart to fulfill said condition. If none of the four Trustees was available and TISI felt “that action must be taken * * *» TISI was authorized to proceed without obtaining such prior approval. (Ex.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
367 F. Supp. 491, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clinton-o-lura-curtis-jones-memorial-trust-ex-rel-myers-v-tsai-nysd-1973.