Cornielsen v. Infinium Capital Holdings, LLC

168 F. Supp. 3d 1033, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27275, 2016 WL 826396
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 3, 2016
DocketNo. 14-cv-00098
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 168 F. Supp. 3d 1033 (Cornielsen v. Infinium Capital Holdings, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cornielsen v. Infinium Capital Holdings, LLC, 168 F. Supp. 3d 1033, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27275, 2016 WL 826396 (N.D. Ill. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Andrea R. Wood, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs are former employees of Defendants Infinium Capital Holdings, LLC (“Infinium Holdings”) and Infinium Capital Management, LLC (“Infinium,” and along with Infinium Holdings, “Infinium Defendants”). Plaintiffs had loaned money to the Infinium Defendants and subsequently participated in what was known as the “Infinium Employee Capital Pool program” or the “Employee Equity Incentive Plan” (“Employee Program”) in which Plaintiffs’ loans were converted into equity in the company. Soon after Plaintiffs participated in the plan, the Infinium Defendants failed. Plaintiffs subsequently filed the instant lawsuit against the Infinium Defendants, as well as Infinium board members Charles Whitman, Gregory Eick-bush, Brian Johnson, and Scott Rose (collectively, “Individual Defendants,” and along with Infinium Defendants, “Defendants”). Plaintiffs allege that Defendants violated securities laws, breached their fiduciary duties, and engaged in common law fraud. The Individual Defendants and the Infinium Defendants each filed a motion to dismiss the action.1 (Dkt. Nos. 14, 17.) For the reasons stated below, the Court grants the motions to dismiss.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are drawn from Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) and accepted as true for purposes of this motion.2

[1038]*1038Plaintiffs were all employees of Infini-um, a diversified alternative asset and risk management firm with offices in Chicago, Houston, New York, and London. (SAC ¶¶ 2, 7-47, 49, Dkt. No. 39.) The Individual Defendants were all Infinium officers or members of its Board of Managers. (Id. ¶¶ 50-53.) Whitman also served as CEO of Infinium. (See id. ¶ 78.)

According to Plaintiffs, the Employee Program was designed to meet two goals: first, to replace capital that had been withdrawn from Infinium, and second, to have sufficient funds on hand for Infinium to purchase the equity interests of several of its members. Beginning in late 2011, Whitman and Johnson began making private, undisclosed redemptions of Infinium equity. (Id. ¶ 79.) Additionally, in approximately November 2011, Infinium, through the Individual Defendants, began exploring the purchase of the equity interests of its member George Hanley, who served on the Advisory Board of Infinium, and his affiliates. (Id. ¶ 62.) Hanley and his affiliates owned a substantial equity stake in Infinium. (Id.) By November 2011, Infini-um had agreed to redeem the equity interest of its member Nathan Laurell, who also served on its Advisory Board, for $8,604,779. (Id. ¶ 63.)

Prior to March 2, 2012, Plaintiffs made ' loans to Infinium collectively in the amount of approximately $5,053,373.37. (Id. ¶ 61.) These loans ranged in amounts from $5,000 to. $550,000. (Id.) Beginning on or about January 1, 2012, Infinium and the Individual Defendants began to offer Plaintiffs an opportunity to participate in the Employee Program, under which Plaintiffs’ loans to Infinium would be converted into equity. (Id. ¶ 65.) According to Plaintiffs, this would allow Infinium and the Individual Defendants to replace a portion of the equity that Hanley, Laurell, and their affiliates were redeeming and to provide trading capital for the business. (Id. ¶ 65.)

Infinium first solicited participation in the Employee Program in an e-mail dated February 14, 2012. (Id. ¶ 66.) Infinium held three so-called “town-hall” meetings on February 16, 17, and 22, 2012, to discuss the details and merits of Plaintiffs participating in the Employee Program. (Id. ¶ 67.) Each Plaintiff attended at least one of these three town-hall meetings, all of which were organized by Infinium purportedly to “provide [Plaintiffs] a high level overview of the goals and mechanics of the Employee [Program].” (Id.) During these town-hall meetings, and at other times pri- or to March 2, 2012, Defendants represented that if Plaintiffs elected to convert their loans to Infinium into equity or purchase equity in Infinium, that there would be a single class of equity in Infinium and that all equity holders — current and future— would be treated equally in all respects and at all times. (Id. ¶ 68.) During the town-hall meetings* Defendants also touted the availability of an untapped, $20 million dollar credit facility from Fifth Third Bank that would be available after the offering to fund Infinium’s business and to pay down the debt due to Hanley, Laurell, and their affiliates. (Id. ¶ 71.)

Infinium prepared and disseminated on February 14, 2012 a “Private Placement Memorandum” (“PPM”) to Plaintiffs. (Id. ¶ 72.) The PPM purportedly disclosed the risks associated with acquiring equity in Infinium. (Id.) The PPM addressed Infini-um’s acquisition of the equity ownership of Hanley, Laurell, and their affiliates as follows:

Redemption Debt. In connection with the redemption debt of the equity of interests of ICM held by George Han-ley, Nathan Laurell, and their affiliates, which redemption was effective as of [1039]*1039January 1, 2012, the Company will issue secured debt of approximately $53,000,000. The debt owed to George Hanley, Nathan Laurell and their affiliates will be payable over a period of five (5) years....

(Id. ¶ 73.)

In the course of its soliciting the conversion of their loans to equity through the Employee Program, on March 2, 2012 Infi-nium wrote to Plaintiffs and explained that any monies converted from debt to equity (or otherwise invested) in the Employee Program would be redeemable 50% in the first year (2013) and 50% in the following year (2014). (Id. ¶ 74.) The March 2, 2012 correspondence also told Plaintiffs that they would be able, if they desired, to withdraw all of their equity investments from the Employee Program in just two years. (Id.) Prior to March 2, 2012, Defendants also provided certain Plaintiffs with documents that represented that after Hanley, Laurell, and their affiliates redeemed their equity, Infinium would have remaining equity of $49,987,424. (Id. ¶ 76.)

Based upon the representations made in the PPM, the town hall meetings, and other written communications, Plaintiffs each elected to convert their loans to equity and, in some cases, to invest additional funds and to participate in the Employee Program. (Id. ¶ 77.)

On or about March 8, 2013, Infinium suspended Plaintiffs’ redemption rights, claiming that Infinium was in default in its payment obligations to Hanley, Laurell, and their affiliates. (Id. ¶ 80.) On or about September 1, 2013, Infinium’s acting Chief Executive Officer, Mark Palchak, revealed during. an “investor call” with Plaintiffs (“Investor Call”) that their investments through the Employee Program prior to March 2, 2012 had become “worthless” and were valued at “negative $18,000,000.” (Id. ¶ 81.) Palchak further represented that to avoid a takeover by Hanley, Infinium had converted a portion of Hanley’s and Lau-rell’s debt to equity and agreed to eliminate the Plaintiffs’ right to redeem their investments in the Employee Plan. (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
168 F. Supp. 3d 1033, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27275, 2016 WL 826396, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cornielsen-v-infinium-capital-holdings-llc-ilnd-2016.