EMA Financial, LLC v. AIM Exploration, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 30, 2020
Docket1:18-cv-00145
StatusUnknown

This text of EMA Financial, LLC v. AIM Exploration, Inc. (EMA Financial, LLC v. AIM Exploration, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
EMA Financial, LLC v. AIM Exploration, Inc., (S.D.N.Y. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK EMA FINANCIAL, LLC, Plaintiff, OPINION & ORDER – against – 18 Civ. 145 (ER) AIM EXPLORATION, INC. and AIM EXPLORATION, SA, Defendants. RAMOS, D.J.: EMA Financial, LLC (“EMA”) brings suit against AIM Exploration, Inc. (“AIM- Inc.”) and AIM Exploration, SA (“AIM-SA”), alleging breach of several agreements related to EMA’s purchase of a convertible promissory note from AIM-Inc. In a previous Order, the Court granted in part and denied in part EMA’s motion for summary judgment, and it denied Defendants’ cross-motion for judgment on the pleadings. Doc. 31. However, the Court could not decide the issue of damages on the record before it. Id. Before the Court is EMA’s supplemental motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of damages and fees only. Doc. 32. _e motion is unopposed. For the reasons stated below, the motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. I. BACKGROUND _e Court assumes familiarity with the facts and procedural history of the case, which are set forth in its previous decision. See EMA Fin., LLC v. AIM Expl., Inc., 18 Civ. 145 (ER), 2019 WL 689237 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 19, 2019). _e facts detailed below are only those relevant to the instant motion.1

1 _ese facts are reproduced in part from the Court’s previous Order and summarized in part from EMA’s unopposed Rule 56.1 Statement, Doc. 35. A. 1e Note, SPA, and TA Letter On September 17, 2015, AIM-SA, AIM-Inc., and EMA executed a Securities Purchase Agreement (“SPA”). See Doc. 33, Ex. B (“SPA”). _e SPA provided for the purchase by EMA of a 12% Convertible Redeemable Promissory Note (the “Note”), issued on that same date, from AIM-Inc. Id. at 1. Pursuant to the Note, EMA tendered to AIM-Inc. $40,000. In exchange for the $40,000, AIM-Inc. promised to repay EMA $40,000, together with interest on the unpaid principal balance at the rate of 12% per annum, by September 17, 2016—the Note’s maturity date. Doc. 33, Ex. A (“Note”) at 1. In the SPA, AIM-SA guaranteed to EMA the “prompt and complete payment and performance” of AIM-Inc.’s obligations under the Note. SPA at 23. Notwithstanding that AIM-Inc. agreed to repay principal and interest owed to EMA by September 17, 2016, the Note and SPA contained several provisions that provided EMA with the option to convert the outstanding balance of the Note into shares of AIM-Inc. common stock in lieu of monetary repayment. Below, the provisions relevant to the instant motion are reprinted in summary fashion. 1. Conversion Rights As the title “Convertible Redeemable Promissory Note” suggests, in Section 1.1 of the Note the parties agreed that EMA would hold the right to convert any portion of the amount outstanding on the Note into shares of AIM-Inc. common stock. Specifically, AIM-Inc. agreed that EMA shall have the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, at any time and from time to time to convert all or any part of the outstanding amount due under this Note into fully paid and non-assessable shares of [c]ommon [s]tock . . . or any shares of capital stock or other securities of [AIM-Inc.’s] into which such [c]ommon [s]tock shall hereafter be changed or reclassified at the conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) determined as provided herein (a “Conver- sion”)[.] Note § 1.1. 2. Conversion Price In Section 1.2 of the Note, the parties agreed that the Conversion Price would be set as follows: _e conversion price . . . shall equal the lower of: (i) the closing sale price of the [c]ommon [s]tock on the Principal Market on the Trad- ing Day immediately preceding the Closing Date, and (ii) 55% of the lowest sale price for the [c]ommon [s]tock on the Principal Mar- ket during the twenty (20) consecutive Trading Days immediately preceding the Conversion Date, provided, however, . . . if the closing sale price at any time falls below [$]0.10 then such 55% figure . . . shall be reduced to 40%. Additionally, . . . if the Note cannot be converted into free trading shares after 181 days from the issuance date, an additional 15% discount will be attributed to the Conversion Price. Id. § 1.2. 3. Share Reserves and Transfer Agent Instructions In Section 1.3 of the Note, the parties agreed that AIM-Inc. would hold in reserve for EMA enough authorized and unissued shares of AIM-Inc. common stock to allow EMA to convert the outstanding balance on the Note into AIM-Inc. shares: [AIM-Inc.] covenants that [it] will at all times while this Note is outstanding reserve from its authorized and unissued [c]ommon [s]tock a sufficient number of shares, free from preemptive rights, to provide for the issuance of [c]ommon [s]tock upon the full conver- sion of this Note. [AIM-Inc.] is required at all times to have author- ized and reserved four (4) times the number of shares that is actually issuable upon full conversion of this Note. . . . Initially, [AIM-Inc.] will instruct the Transfer Agent to reserve seven hundred and thirty thousand (730,000) shares of common stock in the name of [EMA] for issuance upon conversion hereof. Id. § 1.3. To effectuate transfer of common stock upon conversion, Section 5 of the SPA required AIM-Inc. to provide certain “irrevocable instructions” to its transfer agent: Upon receipt of a duly executed Notice of Conversion, [AIM-Inc.] shall issue irrevocable instructions to its transfer agent to issue cer- tificates, registered in the name of [EMA] or its nominee, for the Conversion Shares in such amounts as specified from time to time by [EMA] to [AIM-Inc.] upon conversion of the Note, or any part thereof, in accordance with the terms thereof (the “Irrevocable Transfer Agent Instructions”). SPA § 5. To that end, on the same date of the Note’s execution, AIM-Inc. wrote a letter to its transfer agent that instructed it to register and reserve “a sufficient number of shares” (initially, 730,000) for EMA in case of conversion. See Doc. 33, Ex. C (the “TA Letter”). _e TA Letter also provides that [t]he amount of [c]ommon [s]tock so reserved may be increased, from time to time, by written instructions of [EMA] without any fur- ther action or confirmation by [AIM-Inc.]. [EMA] shall have the right to periodically request, without any further action or confirma- tion by [AIM-Inc.], that the number of Reserved Shares be increased so that the number of Reserved Shares at least equals 400% of the number of shares of [AIM-Inc.] common stock issuable upon con- version of the Note. Id. at 1 (emphasis omitted). On March 9, 2016, AIM-Inc. switched transfer agents, but failed to establish a share reserve with the new agent. Doc. 35 ¶ 11. 4. Notice of Conversion Pursuant to Section 1.4 of the Note, EMA may convert to common stock any portion of the amount owed to it under the Note by submitting to AIM-Inc. a Notice of Conversion. Note § 1.4(a). _is section also provides that AIM-Inc. was required to deliver the stock within three business days of receipt of a Notice of Conversion. Id. § 1.4(d). 5. Default Provisions and Injunctive Relief _e Note describes several events that would constitute default under the Note. Upon default, the Note becomes “immediately due and payable” to EMA. Id. § 3.16. Moreover, the Note provides that EMA could collect a “default sum,” defined as “the then outstanding principal amount of th[e] Note to the date of payment plus the amounts referred to in clauses (x), (y), and (z)” of the Note.2 Id. _e Note also provides that

2 “Clause (x)” of the Note refers to “accrued and unpaid interest on the unpaid principal amount of th[e] Note to the date of payment;” “clause (y)” refers to the default interest accrued on the then-outstanding principal and unpaid interest; and “clause (z)” refers to any amounts owed to EMA as a result of its conver- sion of principal to shares of common stock. See Note § 3.16. “[a]ny amount of principal or interest . . .

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