Deckebach v. La Vida Charters, Inc.

867 F.2d 278, 1989 U.S. App. LEXIS 805
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 1, 1989
DocketNo. 87-3836
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 867 F.2d 278 (Deckebach v. La Vida Charters, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deckebach v. La Vida Charters, Inc., 867 F.2d 278, 1989 U.S. App. LEXIS 805 (6th Cir. 1989).

Opinion

WELLFORD, Circuit Judge.

R. Alan and Connie M. Deckebach, plaintiff/appellants, seek reversal of the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of the defendant/appellees, La Vida Charters, Inc. and La Vida Management, Inc. (sometimes referred to collectively as “La Vida”); Robert M. Dixon, Julia Dixon and A.V. Slack, shareholders and directors of the two La Vida corporations; Caribbean Ventures, Inc., a successor corporation of La Vida Charters, Inc.; B & H Yacht Ventures, a partnership, and its four partners, George Bell, Pamela Bell, J.C. Hartney and Dorothy Hartney. The two La Vida corporations, the Dixons and George Bell are the primary focus of the Deckebachs’ state and federal securities law and RICO claim arising out of the purchase of a yacht from La Vida Charters, Inc. to be operated and managed by La Vida Management, Inc.

The district court dismissed plaintiffs’ claims of violations of state and federal securities laws and their RICO claim predicated on violations of federal securities laws, because it concluded that plaintiffs’ yacht and management agreement purchase did not constitute a “security” for purposes of either state or federal securities laws.1 The district court concluded that the Deckebachs failed to demonstrate the element of horizontal commonality, a prerequisite to constitute a “security” under the Sixth Circuit’s interpretation of federal law, and that the “investment” plaintiffs made failed also to comport with the requirements of a security under Ohio law. The Deckebachs appeal the grant of partial summary judgment against them.2 We affirm.

The facts, virtually undisputed, indicate the following scenario. The Deckebachs initiated negotiations with Bell in 1982 to purchase a Pearson 36 Cutter yacht owned by B & H Yacht Ventures. The yacht was at that time harbored in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, under a management program with La Vida. The Deckebachs had been supplied Bell’s name by the Dixons, from whom the Deckebachs had previously chartered yachts. Dixon had provided the Deckebachs with La Vida promotional materials, including a document entitled “Should You Cruise Your Invéstment,” describing yacht management as a combination of the sale of a yacht and then the placement of the yacht in charter service. Those materials explained that La Vida would exercise significant day to day managerial control on behalf of the yacht “owner.”

Bell also furnished the Deckebachs with a variety of information, including financial projections and statements of actual income and expenses from his own yacht ownership experience with B & H Yacht Ventures. After consulting with their own tax advisor and legal counsel, plaintiffs decided to purchase the yacht offered. It is clear that they planned to utilize the [280]*280management program designed and offered by La Vida to acquire the yacht by using rental income to finance its purchase. Ultimately, the goal was to use the yacht solely for personal purposes. The Decke-bachs, however, could not deny that neither La Vida nor Bell could make any guaranty as to the amount of income the charter of their yacht to third parties would generate. The Deckebachs also understood that they were not required to have their yacht managed by La Vida, or by any management company. (It was not, in sum, a “tie-in” arrangement.)

As part of the arrangement, the parties agreed that Bell would trade-in the yacht in question to La Vida Charters, Inc. as a downpayment on the purchase of a new yacht and then that La Vida entity would sell the yacht to the Deckebachs. The sale was structured in this way to obtain favorable tax treatment for B & H Yacht Ventures. On September 6, 1983, the Decke-bachs entered into an agreement with La Vida to purchase the yacht for $120,500, contingent upon the Deckebachs entering into a management contract with La Vida. The agreement, drafted by the Deckebachs' counsel, also provided that the management contract would extend for five years, but this provision was eliminated at La Vida’s insistence. Instead, the management agreement, which was actually executed on October 3, 1983, was terminable by either side upon 60 days written notice by either party. La Vida Management would harbor and maintain the yacht and arrange for its charter to third parties under the agreement. La Vida would receive a monthly management fee and a commission on each charter arranged for the yacht.

La Vida managed a number of other vessels for owners other than plaintiffs, classifying the vessels by type and size. La Vida gave priority to vessels in each class which had been available for charter the longest period of time. Personal use of the vessels was not restricted except in the case involving a pre-existing charter contract. The management agreement also provided that La Vida was an independent contractor, not a partner, joint venturer or employee of the Deckebachs, and La Vida made no claim to ownership, title, or property interest in the vessel. The Decke-bachs did not claim that they were involved in a joint venture with La Vida or any of the other defendants. It was clear that other boat owners using La Vida did not have an ownership interest in the Deeke-bach yacht, and the contrary applied as well.

The Deckebachs never placed money in a common fund with other owners and the income generated by charters of each yacht was segregated and applied towards its expense of maintenance and operation. Although some expense was directly attributable to the Deckebachs’ yacht, expenses generally were allocated pro rata among the boats in a particular class or among all the boats in the fleet. There was no sharing or pooling of funds by the various yacht owners dealing with La Vida under the management arrangement..

In March, 1984, Dixon advised the Decke-bachs that another boat had erroneously been assigned a charter which should have been assigned to their boat in accordance with the standard rotation policy. Dixon assured plaintiffs that the mistake would be rectified by giving them a charter “out of turn.” In October, 1984, Bell, who by then had become associated with La Vida, wrote the Deckebachs and explained to them that because other boats in the same class as the Deckebachs’ yacht had been removed from the fleet; it had, in effect, been moved ahead in the rotation. He claimed no other feasible way to compensate for the mistaken lost charter because one could not “go back and remove charter income from one of the 36’s that have left our fleet at this date.”

The Deckebachs’ yacht never operated at a profit. They ceased making required payments to La Vida Management in early 1986 and La Vida terminated the management agreement. The yacht is now listed for sale. The Deckebachs contend that they have unsuccessfully attempted to place the yacht with other charter management companies.

[281]*281I. Federal Securities Law Claims

The Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. § 77b(1) defines a “security” as:

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867 F.2d 278, 1989 U.S. App. LEXIS 805, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deckebach-v-la-vida-charters-inc-ca6-1989.