Conroy v. Andeck Resources '81 Year- End Ltd.

484 N.E.2d 525, 137 Ill. App. 3d 375, 92 Ill. Dec. 10, 1985 Ill. App. LEXIS 2547
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 10, 1985
Docket84-1704
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 484 N.E.2d 525 (Conroy v. Andeck Resources '81 Year- End Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Conroy v. Andeck Resources '81 Year- End Ltd., 484 N.E.2d 525, 137 Ill. App. 3d 375, 92 Ill. Dec. 10, 1985 Ill. App. LEXIS 2547 (Ill. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

JUSTICE LINN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiffs, purchasers of a private offering of securities, filed a multicount complaint against defendants, securities sellers and the Oklahoma law firm representing them, seeking (1) in count I rescission of the sale pursuant to section 13 of the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 121 1/2, par. 137.13) for failure to register the sale, and (2) charging in count II negligence against defendant law firm for its failure to register the transaction.

Defendant sellers moved to dismiss count I of the complaint, maintaining that, based largely on plaintiffs’ previous trades of futures contracts based on financial instruments (financial futures), plaintiffs were “dealers” in securities and the sale to them therefore fell within the sale to dealers registration exemption. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 121 1/2, par. 137.4(C).) Defendant law firm moved to quash summons and dismiss counts I and II for lack of personal jurisdiction.

The trial court granted both defendants’ motions, and plaintiffs’ appeal, asserting that (1) because financial futures are not “securities” they are not “dealers” in securities, and the exemption does not apply, and (2) that the law firm’s failure to register the sale was a jurisdictional act sufficient to bring it within the scope of the Illinois long-arm statute (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 110, par. 2 — 209).

We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

Background

In December 1981, plaintiffs Martin T. Conroy, Francis X. O’Donnell, John Burrell, and Thomas Gorman, purchased as a private securities offering units in the oil and gas limited partnership of defendant, Andeck Resources ’81 Year-End Ltd. (Andeck). Andeck retained defendant, McAfee and Taft (McAfee), an Oklahoma law firm, to perform legal services in connection with the sale, including the preparation of a private placement memorandum.

Plaintiffs are all full and regular members of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), a registered futures exchange and contract market, not a registered securities exchange. Plaintiffs are in the business of trading commodities futures on the CBOT and, prior to the Andeck sale, all have traded both agricultural and financial futures, i.e., contracts for the future sale or purchase of U.S. Treasury Notes and Bonds. Both O’Donnell and Burrell are registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal regulatory agency that administers the Securities Exchange Act and has jurisdiction over dealings in securities, as “broker-dealers” and have exercised their automatic right to become members of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), a national securities exchange. From October 1981 through 1982 O’Donnell made a series of securities trades from his own account on the CBOE. None of the plaintiffs are registered as a “dealer” in securities with the Illinois Secretary of State.

Sometime subsequent to the Andeck sale, McAfee obtained a 4G report of sale form from the office of the Illinois Secretary of State in order to register the Andeck units. In 1983, plaintiffs learned that the units had never been registered in Illinois.

Pursuant to section 13 of the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 121 1/2, par. 137.13), plaintiffs, upon learning that the units had not been registered, elected to rescind the sale, notified Andeck of their election, and tendered back the limited partnership units. Plaintiffs then filed a multicount complaint seeking rescission and alternate relief against Andeck and Andeck’s legal counsel, McAfee.

Defendant McAfee filed a special and limited appearance and, in conjunction, a motion to quash summons and dismiss counts I and II of the complaint for want of personal jurisdiction. A hearing on McAfee’s motion was held, and it was denied. McAfee then filed a motion for reconsideration. Following the reconsideration hearing, the trial court, in an order entered June 8, 1984, reversed its former ruling, finding that the legal services McAfee performed for Andeck in Oklahoma did not constitute such jurisdictional acts as to bring the nonresident defendant within the personal jurisdiction of the Illinois courts and, accordingly, granted McAfee’s motion to dismiss.

Defendant Andeck similarly filed a motion to dismiss count I of the complaint, asserting that plaintiffs were “dealers” in securities under Illinois law and that, consequently, the sale to plaintiffs of the Andeck units fell within the sale to dealers exemption from registration set forth in section 4(C) of the Illinois Securities Law and was therefore not subject to rescission. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 121 1/2, par. 137.4(C).) The trial court, finding that plaintiffs were “dealers” under the Illinois Securities Law and that the sale to them of the An-deck units was therefore exempt from registration, granted Andeck’s motion and dismissed with prejudice count I of plaintiff’s complaint.

Plaintiffs moved for reconsideration, and on reconsideration, the Chicago Board of Trade moved for leave to intervene. The CBOT’s motion was denied, but leave to file an amicus brief was granted. The trial court then conducted a hearing for reconsideration, during which arguments by the parties and the CBOT were heard. After taking the matter under advisement, the trial court, on June 20, 1984, entered a written order, dismissing with prejudice count I, for rescission, of plaintiffs’ amended complaint. The order contained the special finding pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 304(a) (73 Ill. 2d R. 304(a)), certifying that there was no just reason for delaying enforcement of or appeal from the order.

Plaintiffs take the instant interlocutory appeal from the trial court’s orders of June 8 and June 20, 1984, respectively dismissing counts I and II against defendant McAfee and dismissing with prejudice count I for rescission against defendant Andeck.

Opinion

I

The instant appeal presents this reviewing court with two issues: (1) whether plaintiffs are entitled to the statutory remedy of rescission set forth in section 13 of the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 121 1/2, par. 137.13), and (2) whether any act or omission to act by McAfee in connection with the Andeck sale was sufficient to bring the non-resident defendant within the purview of the Illinois long-arm statute (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 110, par. 2 — 209). We will address each of these issues in turn.

PLAINTIFFS’ RIGHT TO RESCISSION

The foundational inquiry here, as recognized by the able trial court, is whether plaintiffs are “dealers” under the Illinois Securities Law so as to exempt from the'Act’s registration requirements the sale of An-deck units, thereby precluding plaintiffs’ right to rescission. Section 2.7 of the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 defines a “dealer” as follows:

“Sec. 2.7.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Szkoda v. ILLINOIS HUMAN RIGHTS COM'N
706 N.E.2d 962 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1998)
Szkoda v. Human Rights Comm'n
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1998
Dilling v. Sergio
635 N.E.2d 590 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
Lamkin v. Towner
563 N.E.2d 449 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1990)
McGowen v. Woodsmall Benefit Services, Inc.
554 N.E.2d 704 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
Zanders v. Jones
680 F. Supp. 1236 (N.D. Illinois, 1988)
Greycas, Inc. v. Theodore S. Proud
826 F.2d 1560 (Seventh Circuit, 1987)
Gordon v. Tow
498 N.E.2d 718 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
484 N.E.2d 525, 137 Ill. App. 3d 375, 92 Ill. Dec. 10, 1985 Ill. App. LEXIS 2547, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/conroy-v-andeck-resources-81-year-end-ltd-illappct-1985.