DeJesus v. Bertsch, Inc.

898 F. Supp. 2d 353, 2012 WL 4889985, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148421
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedOctober 16, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 11-11563-WGY
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 898 F. Supp. 2d 353 (DeJesus v. Bertsch, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DeJesus v. Bertsch, Inc., 898 F. Supp. 2d 353, 2012 WL 4889985, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148421 (D. Mass. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

YOUNG, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This is a products liability case brought under a successor liability theory. The main issue presented to this Court is whether the successor corporation, Park Corporation (“Park”), is liable for the torts of its predecessor, Bertsch, Inc. (“Bertsch”), under the de facto merger or “mere continuation” exceptions to the usual rules of successor liability.

Park argues that the de facto merger doctrine is inapplicable to the facts of this case because there was neither continuity of shareholders nor was there any other indicia of Bertsch shareholders’ control after Park purchased Bertsch’s assets. Plaintiff Edwin DeJesus (“DeJesus”) argues that continuity of shareholders is not a dispositive factor in the de facto merger analysis. Alternatively, DeJesus alleges that Park expressly or impliedly assumed Bertsch’s liabilities.

A. Procedural Posture

DeJesus and his spouse, Maria L. Cartagena (“Cartagena”), filed an amended complaint in state court against Park as [356]*356successor to Bertsch, alleging that DeJesus suffered serious personal injuries resulting from the dangerous and defective condition of a “roll-pinch” machine manufactured by Bertsch. First Am. Compl. (“Compl.”) ¶¶ 5-6, ECF No. 1-1. Cartagena’s claims rest on a loss of consortium theory. Compl. ¶ 29. Park removed the case to this Court on September 6, 2011. Notice Removal, ECF No. 1. On March 15, 2012, Park filed a motion for summary judgment. Def. Park Corp.’s Mot. Summ. J. Successor Liability, ECF No. 14; Def. Park Corp.’s Mem. Law Supp. Mot. Summ. J. Successor Liability (“Park’s Mem.”), ECF No. 15; Def. Park Corp.’s Statement Uncontested Material Facts (“Park’s SOF”), ECF No. 17. On April 5, 2012, DeJesus and Cartagena filed their opposition. Pis.’ Mem. Opp’n Park Corp.’s Mot. Summ. J. Issue Successor Liability (“DeJesus’s Opp’n”), ECF No. 20; Pis.’ Statement Contested Material Facts (“Dejesus’s SOF”), ECF No. 21.1 On April 12, 2012, Park filed a reply. Def. Park Corp.’s Reply Supp. Mot. Summ. J. Successor Liability (“Park’s Reply”), ECF No. 23. On May 16, 2012, after hearing from the parties, the Court took the matter under advisement. Elec. Clerk’s Notes, May 16, 2012.

B. Facts2

DeJesus and Cartagena allege that DeJesus suffered serious personal injuries re-suiting from the dangerous and defective condition of a “roll-pinch” machine manufactured by Bertsch. Compl. ¶¶ 5-6.

The machine that injured DeJesus was a plate-bending roller, serial number 8826, manufactured by Bertsch and sold to Cambridge Corporation of Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1957, and subsequently purchased by James Russell Engineering in 1962. Park’s SOF ¶¶ 1-3.

Bertsch was a family-owned business until 1978, when Deem International, Inc. purchased 80 percent of the shares of Bertsch. Id. ¶¶ 4-5. The remaining shareholders of Bertsch — James Worl, Robert Wonsetler, Norm Bond, and the Estate of John Worl — were descendants of the Bertsch family, and the three surviving descendants continued to work for Bertsch after the Deem acquisition. Dejesus’s SOF ¶ 3. Prior to November 30, 1984, the date of the execution of an Asset Purchase Agreement, Park entered into negotiations to acquire Bertsch. Park’s SOF ¶ 11. Park and Bertsch agreed to Bertsch’s liquidation through a Bankruptcy Protection Plan and then proceed according to the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement. Id. ¶¶ 12, 15; see Deck Benjamin R. Zimmermann, Esq. Supp. Pis.’ Opp’n Park Corp.’s Mot. Summ. J. Successor Liability (“Zimmermann Deck”), Ex. 18, Asset Purchase Agreement (“Purchase Agreement”) [357]*3574, ECF No. 22-18. Bertsch ceased operations as of May 3, 1985. Dejesus’s SOF XI ¶ 22. As part of the Purchase Agreement, Park acquired Bertsch’s engineering, engineering drawings, patents, copyrights, licenses, know-how, the trade name “Bertsch,” trademarks, customer lists, addresses and .contact persons. Dejesus’s SOF ¶ 17; Purchase Agreement 1-2. With respect to liabilities, the Purchase Agreement states that Park is not “undertaking the assumption of any of the liabilities of Seller.” Dejesus’s SOF XI ¶ 23; Purchase Agreement 3.

No ownership interests or stock were exchanged in the transaction between Bertsch and Park. Dejesus’s SOF XI ¶ 20; see Purchase Agreement. None of the directors or officers of Bertsch became directors or officers of Park. Dejesus’s SOF XI ¶ 21. Instead, two of three living Bertsch family shareholders at the time of the transaction, James Worl and Norm Bond, were employed by Park post-transaction. Id. ¶¶50, 51. The third living Bertsch family shareholder at the time of the transaction was Robert Wonsetler, who left his job as a head of the engineering department after the transaction. Id. ¶ 52.

Park retained some of the long-time employees who managed the sales, services, and engineering divisions after the transaction. Id. ¶49. Among the employees who stayed after the transaction are: Terry Smith and Mike Fink, senior employees at Bertsch’s engineering department, id. ¶ 50; Gary Ventress and Deb Weilenman, Sales Department managers, id.; and Carroll Downing, Service Department manager, id. ¶ 56.

After the transaction, Park held itself out to customers as Bertsch in its written advertisements, noting that Bertsch now is “a division of Park Corporation.” Dejesus’s SOF ¶¶ 25-28. The Bertsch phone number stayed the same and employees continued to answer incoming phone calls with the phrase “Thank you for calling Bertsch.” Id. ¶ 39. The products offered by Bertsch and the process for creating them also remained the same. Id. ¶¶ 37-38. Both before and after the transaction, Park assumed Bertsch’s liabilities under backlogged purchase orders and was “in the process of starting to manufacture most of [Bertsch’s] current machines in backlog,” even before the date of the Purchase Agreement. Id. ¶ 59 (citing Zimmermann Deck, Ex. 3, Nov. 21, 1984, Letter 3, ECF No. 22-3). Immediately after the bankruptcy order, Park asked that purchase orders, initially made to Bertsch, be reissued to Park and that outstanding invoices be resubmitted to Park. Id. ¶¶ 60-61. Exclusive distributor contracts for Bertsch dealers and “the Park Corporation, doing business as Bertsch” were also renewed, and Bertsch’s terms with vendors like UPS and FedEx were “reset” and assumed by Park. Id. ¶¶ 62, 63-64. In 2003, Mega Manufacturing, Inc., entered into an asset purchase agreement with Park to acquire from Park assets formerly owned by Bertsch. Dejesus’s SOF XI ¶ 60.

C. Federal Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. There is diversity among the parties, and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Legal Standard

Summary judgment is proper where “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c).

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Bluebook (online)
898 F. Supp. 2d 353, 2012 WL 4889985, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148421, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dejesus-v-bertsch-inc-mad-2012.