Entel v. Allen

270 F. Supp. 60
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJune 7, 1967
Docket64 Civ. 4048, 64 Civ. 3827
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 270 F. Supp. 60 (Entel v. Allen) 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
Entel v. Allen, 270 F. Supp. 60 (S.D.N.Y. 1967).

Opinion

OPINION

BONSAL, District Judge.

The defendants in the above named actions, except defendants Atlas Corporation (Atlas) and Northeast Airlines, Inc. (Northeast), move pursuant to Rule 56 (b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for an order dismissing the complaints and granting summary judgment in favor of the moving defendants, or, in the alternative, for an order pursuant to Rule 2 of the Civil Rules of this court requiring plaintiffs to post an original bond for costs in the amount of $5,000. In the Entel action, defendant Atlas moves pursuant to Rule 30(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for an order conditioning the taking of Atlas’s deposition upon plaintiffs’ first posting $75,000 security for the reasonable expenses which may be incurred by Atlas under Section 627 of the New York Business Corporation Law, McKinney’s Con-sol.Laws, c. 4 and staying all other proceedings on the part of the plaintiffs, except to review such order, until plaintiffs’ compliance therewith.

Plaintiffs are and, during the period complained of, were stockholders of Atlas or holders of negotiable stock purchase warrants issued by Atlas. Plaintiffs in both actions sue on behalf of themselves, representatively on behalf of all other stockholders of Atlas similarly situated, and derivatively on behalf of Atlas. The complaints allege that the defendants violated common law fiduciary duty and certain provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 1934 Act), the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act), and the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (the 1958 Act) in negotiating and consummating a sale by Atlas of its common stock and promissory notes of Northeast to Hughes Tool Company (Toolco).

It is conceded that from 1940 to July 16, 1962 Atlas was a registered investment company under the 1940 Act; that in December, 1961: (1) Atlas owned 996,226 shares of the common stock of Northeast, constituting approximately 56% of the total shares outstanding, and $16,251,744 principal amount of Northeast’s 5%% Subordinated Promissory Notes payable on demand; and (2) that defendant Howard R. Hughes (Hughes) was the beneficial owner of all of the outstanding stock of Toolco and was the beneficial owner of 1,060,179 shares of the common stock of Atlas, which constituted approximately 10% of Atlas’s outstanding voting stock. In December, 1961, Toolco agreed to purchase Atlas’s interest in Northeast for $5,000,000 in cash payable 30 days after notice of election to close, provided that such notice *64 could not be delivered before “all requisite consents, approvals and exemptions of all governmental agencies having jurisdiction in respect of the transactions * * * shall have been obtained and shall have become final.”

On January 8, 1962 Toolco, Atlas and Northeast filed a joint application under the 1958 Act with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for approval of the transaction, and approval was granted by order of the CAB on June 19, 1962. A subsequent petition by Eastern Air Lines and National Airlines for a rehearing of the CAB order was denied.

On March 7, 1962, Atlas filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursuant to Section 17(b) of the 1940 Act for an order exempting the transaction from the provisions of Section 17(a) and on June 20, 1962, the application was granted.

On March 21, 1962, Atlas filed an application with the SEC for an order of deregistration pursuant to Section 8(f) of the 1940 Act. It being necessary to obtain stockholder approval of deregistration, Atlas mailed a proxy statement to its stockholders dated April 14, 1962, which, among other things, sought such approval. Stockholder approval was obtained at a meeting held on May 15, 1962 and by order dated July 16, 1962 the SEC declared that Atlas had ceased to be an investment company. Approval by the stockholders of a restatement of Atlas’s accounts as a result of deregistration was sought, and a stockholders’ meeting was called for the purpose. The meeting was held on December 18, 1962, at which such approval was obtained. In connection with said meeting, Atlas circulated a proxy statement dated November 14, 1962.

On December 17, 1962, prior to the expiration of the right to judicial review of the CAB orders approving the original transaction and denying a rehearing, Atlas agreed to transfer its interest in Northeast to Toolco in exchange for a $5,000,000 promissory note of Toolco secured by a pledge of the Northeast stock and notes. It was further agreed that in the event proceedings were initiated for judicial review of the CAB orders, the Toolco note would not mature until 30 days after affirmance of the CAB orders and expiration or exhaustion of any right to further judicial review.

A petition for review of the CAB orders was filed by National Airlines with the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the orders were affirmed on July 3, 1963. The right to further judicial review expired on October 1, 1963, and the Toolco note was paid on October 31, 1963.

Plaintiffs allege that in the proceedings before the SEC and the CAB and in the proxy statements mailed to Atlas stockholders, the defendants failed to disclose that Hughes dominated Atlas’s Board of Directors, that the sale of Atlas’s interest in Northeast was not negotiated at arms length, that the fair value of Atlas’s interest in Northeast was much greater than $5,000,000, and that the true consideration received by Atlas was less than $5,000,000. Plaintiffs contend that the inadequacy of the consideration received by Atlas and the nondisclosures in connection therewith constituted violations of Sections 10(b) and 14(a) of the 1934 Act, Section 408 of the 1958 Act, Sections 17(a), 36, and 37 of the 1940 Act, and common law fiduciary duty. For the purposes of the motion for summary judgment, all factual inferences will be taken against the moving defendants and the motion will be granted only if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact. 6 Moore, Federal Practice, If 56, et seq. (2d ed. 1965).

The 19Si Act

Plaintiffs did not purchase or sell their stock or warrants in Atlas in reliance on representations made in connection with Atlas’s sale of its interest in Northeast and plaintiffs do not allege, nor does it appear that they could allege as the basis of a derivative action, that Atlas was deceived in negotiating the sale. Therefore, the complaints fail to state a cause of action under Section *65 10(b). O’Neill v. Maytag, 339 F.2d 764 (2d Cir. 1964); Birnbaum v. Newport Steel Corp., 193 F.2d 461 (2d Cir. 1952).

Stockholders of Atlas were not asked to approve the sale of Atlas’s interest in Northeast in the proxy statements dated April 14, 1962 and November 14, 1962. Therefore, there can be no claim under Section 14(a). J. I. Case v. Borak, 377 U.S. 426, 431, 84 S.Ct. 1555, 12 L.Ed.2d 423 (1964); Hoover v. Allen, 241 F.Supp. 213, 230 (S.D.N.Y.1965).

The 1958 Act

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Bluebook (online)
270 F. Supp. 60, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/entel-v-allen-nysd-1967.