Cross v. Cross Marine, Inc.

822 So. 2d 193, 2001 La.App. 4 Cir. 1253, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 2196, 2002 WL 1424638
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 26, 2002
DocketNo. 2001-CA-1253
StatusPublished

This text of 822 So. 2d 193 (Cross v. Cross Marine, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cross v. Cross Marine, Inc., 822 So. 2d 193, 2001 La.App. 4 Cir. 1253, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 2196, 2002 WL 1424638 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

| ¡TERRI F. LOVE, Judge.

In the instant case, Plaintiff Earl Hill seeks to be added as a new party plaintiff, to a petition filed by Plaintiff Donald Cross. Additionally, Mr. Hill seeks to recover against defendant Dennis Cross and his company Cross Marine, Inc. for the value of Hill’s stock in Cross Marine, Inc., and for an alleged illegal dividend distributed to Dennis Cross. The trial court, at the hearing on exceptions, found that Hill’s claims did not relate back to the original petition and that his claims had prescribed. Further, the trial court found that Hill had no right of action as a shareholder of Cross Marine, Inc. For the reasons outlined below we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Dennis Cross is the sole shareholder of Cross Offshore Corporation. Cross Offshore Corporation is the parent corporation of Cross M Holding Corporation (“CMHC”) and Cross Marine, Inc. (“Cross Marine”).

On November 23, 1981, defendant Cross Marine, Inc. and others entered into articles of partnership, by document entitled “Articles of Partnership of Yahoux Partners — Mississippi,” forming a Louisiana Partnership in Commendam with Cross Marine appointed as the managing and sole general partner of Yahoux | ¡.Partnership in Commendam. The purpose of the partnership was the ownership and operation of one or more self-propelled jack-up vessels. Donald Cross and Mr. Hill were invited by Dennis Cross to become limited partners in the Yahoux partnership.

Concurrent with the formation of the Yahoux partnership, Dennis Cross, in his capacity as president and sole director of Cross Marine, the general partner in the Yahoux partnership, issued a letter to the limited partners of the Yahoux partnership confirming an agreement between Cross Marine and the limited partners, that Dennis Cross would cause Cross Marine to issue shares to the limited partners constituting a 5% interest in the common stock.

On December • 29, 1992, Dennis Cross transferred all his shares in Cross M Holding Corporation to Cross Offshore Corporation; thus, Cross Offshore Corporation became the sole shareholder of Cross M Holding Corporation. Dennis Cross was the sole shareholder of Cross Offshore Corporation. Also, on December 29, 1992, Dennis Cross transferred all his shareholder interest in Cross Marine to Cross M Holding Corporation and then merged Cross Marine into Cross M Holding Corporation on June 16, 1993. Cross M Holding Corporation then changed its name to Cross Marine. In December of 1998, Cross Marine, Inc. merged itself into a limited liability company and changed its name to Cross Marine, L.L.C.

This lawsuit arose when Donald Cross filed a suit against Dennis Cross, Cross Marine and Cross Offshore Corporation, alleging miscellaneous breaches of fiduciary duty allegedly committed by Cross Marine as the general partner of two limited partnerships: Yahoux Partnership in Com-mendam and Southern Cross One Limited Partnership. Donald Cross was a limited partner' in both of these | ¡¡partnerships. This lawsuit was filed on December 13, 1996, five years after the liquidation of the Yahoux limited partnership.

On January 16, 2001, Donald Cross filed an amended petition that sought to add [196]*196Mr. Earl Hill, Jr. (“Hill”) as a party plaintiff to the instant action.

The defendants then filed several exceptions’ to this amended petition, including exceptions of prescription and no right of action with respect to the claims of Mr. Hill. A hearing was held on these exceptions, at which the trial court granted the exception of no right of action, and also granted the exception of prescription with respect to two of Mr. Hill’s claims.

The exceptions of prescription asserted 1) Hill’s claims did not relate back to the original petition; 2) the claim for dividend distributions had prescribed under the two year prescription statute; 3) Hill’s claim for the value of his Cross Marine stock had prescribed under the five year prescription statute. Defendants also filed an Exception of No Right of Action, claiming that Hill had no right of action making claims as a shareholder of Cross Marine, Cross Offshore Corporation, and/or Cross Marine L.L.C. subsequent to the date of the upstream merger between Cross . Marine and Cross M Holding Corporation on June 16,1993.

The trial court ruled that: Hill’s claims did not relate back to the original petition, and that his claims are deemed filed as of June 16, 2001; Hill’s claims for the Value of any stock of Cross Marine, Cross Offshore Corporation and -Cross Marine, L.L.C. had prescribed; Hill’s claims regarding dividends received by Dennis Cross from Cross Marine prior to January 16, 1999 had prescribed; Hill had no right of action to assert his status as a shareholder of Cross Marine after the upstream merger of June 16, 1993, and had no right or cause of action to claim recovery as a shareholder of Cross Marine, Inc. after the upstream merger. The Rtrial court also pretermitted defendants’ exception of prescription with respect to Hill’s claims for breach of fiduciary duty and conversion of partnership assets, pending an evidentiary' hearing to be conducted oh May 17, 2001.

It is from this judgment that Donald Cross and Hill take the instant appeal.

DISCUSSION

In his first assignment of error, Hill argues that the trial court erred in finding that his claims do not relate back to the original petition.

Hill relies on Giroir v. South Louisiana Medical Center Division of Hospitals, 475 So.2d 1040 (La.1985) to support the argument that his claims relate back to the original petition. In Giroir, the Supreme Court established the four factors to be used in determining whether an amended petition, adding a new party plaintiff, relates back to the original. The four factors are 1) whether the claim arises out of the same conduct, transaction, or occurrence as in the original pleading; 2) whether the defendant knew or should have known of the existence and involvement of the new plaintiff; 3) whether the new and old plaintiffs are sufficiently related so that the added or substituted party is not wholly new or unrelated; and 4). whether the defendant will be prejudiced in preparing and conducting its defense. Id. at 1044.

The trial court found that the first and second prongs of Giroir were satisfied in that the claims of both Donald Cross and Hill were based on the same conduct of the defendant, and that the defendant knew of the existence and involvement of Hill in this matter. However, the trial court found that prongs three and four of the Giroir test were not satisfied. Donald Cross and Hill are both partners in Ya-houx and assert similar1 claims, but the trial court found significant differences between their claims such that they are not sufficiently related under Giroir. Donald Cross Lfiled claims related to Southern [197]*197Cross One limited partnership; Hill has no such claim because he was not a partner in Southern Cross One. Hill claims to have never been paid for his Cross Marine stock; Donald Cross does not assert this claim. The trial court also cited that several issues related to Donald Cross’ claims have already been ruled upon, which further demonstrates that Hill’s claims are distinct and separate from the claims asserted by Donald Cross.

Hill argues that this Court should follow its ruling in Small v. Baloise Ins. Co. of America, 96-2484 (La.App. 4 Cir. 3/18/98), 753 So.2d 234.

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Related

McCall v. McCall Enterprises, Inc.
578 So. 2d 260 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
Small v. Baloise Ins. Co. of America
753 So. 2d 234 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1998)
Giroir v. South Louisiana Medical Center, Division of Hospitals
475 So. 2d 1040 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1985)

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Bluebook (online)
822 So. 2d 193, 2001 La.App. 4 Cir. 1253, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 2196, 2002 WL 1424638, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cross-v-cross-marine-inc-lactapp-2002.