Feldman v. Lifton

64 F.R.D. 539, 19 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 469
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 7, 1974
DocketNo. 72 Civ. 741
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 64 F.R.D. 539 (Feldman v. Lifton) 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
Feldman v. Lifton, 64 F.R.D. 539, 19 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 469 (S.D.N.Y. 1974).

Opinion

OPINION

ROBERT L. CARTER, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Herbert Feldman and Richard and Jennie Gagliano move to amend their complaint in this consolidated action under the securities laws. Plaintiffs also renew an earlier motion for an order pursuant to Rule 23, F.R.Civ.P., declaring this to be a proper class action.1 Both motions are denied.

On February 22, 1972, Feldman and the Gaglianos filed separate actions against defendant Transcontinental' Investing Corporation (TIC) and several of its subsidiaries; Omega-Alpha, Inc. (O-A); Touche Ross & Co. and Hertz, Herson & Co., auditors and accountants for TIC; and several past and present officers and directors of TIC and O-A. In March 1972, plaintiff Feldman’s motion for a class action determination was denied without prejudice to its renewal. Shortly thereafter, the two actions were consolidated by stipulation, and on May 26, 1972, plaintiffs filed their amended consolidated complaint.

More than a year later, in August 1973, plaintiffs renewed their motion for a determination that the putative class defined in the amended consolidated complaint of May 1972 was a proper class. Plaintiffs did not indicate at that time that they intended to amend their complaint. Consideration of the class action motion was adjourned to await the Supreme Court’s decision in Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974), and it was not until June 26, 1974, that plaintiffs moved to amend the complaint, changing the membership of the proposed class as described below.

The presently effective complaint of May 1972 alleges a series of misrepresentations in the financial statements and other documents which TIC circulated among investors and filed with the SEC over the ten-year period, 1962-72. This series of misstatements is alleged to constitute a “course of conduct” in violation of Section 17 of the Securities Act of 1933; ^Sections 10, 14, 18 and 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; Sections 7, 36 and 37 of the Investment Company Act of 1940; and common law principles.

A. Motion to Amend the Complaint

(1) The Proposed Amendment.

Paragraph 4 of the June 1972 complaint states that the class consists of two groups which together number approximately 12,000-15,000 investors: (a) those who purchased securities of TIC from January 1, 1962, to February 15, 1972, in reliance upon allegedly false financial statements; and (b) those who purchased securities during some period, otherwise unspecified, in which TIC should have been registered as an in[542]*542vestment company under the Investment Company Act. Paragraph 5 states that plaintiff Feldman purchased TIC stock on October 10, 1967, and that the Gaglianos’ decedent purchased “in or about 1968.” Thus both plaintiffs are members of the class.

Plaintiffs’ proposed amendment would redefine the class to include only those who purchased TIC stock from January 1, 1968, to March 8, 1972. The amendment would, however, add to the class all investors who purchased Omega-Alpha securities from October 22, 1971, to August 31, 1972.2

(2) Requirements for Leave to Amend under Rule 15(a).

Despite the liberal amendment policy of Rule 15(a), F.R.Civ.P., the Supreme Court has stated that leave to amend may be denied, inter alia, on a showing of any of the following: (i) undue prejudice to the opposing party; (ii) undue delay; (iii) futility of the amendment. Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 83 S.Ct. 227, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962).

(a) Prejudice:

Defendant Touche Ross & Co.’s claim of prejudice as a result of plaintiffs’ two-year delay is not sufficiently particularized to be credited. Green v. Wolf Corp., 50 F.R.D. 220, 223 (S.D.N.Y. 1970).

We think it proper, however to consider the possibility of prejudice to Omega-Alpha shareholders who are not presently class members, but would be added to the class by the proposed amendment.3 It is charged that the reason that Omega-Alpha shareholders are to be added to the class is to bind them to any court-approved settlement with Omega-Alpha and its principal officer, James J. Ling. This would preclude or limit them from asserting claims against their company and Ling in the future. As consideration for the proposed amendment and contemplated settlement, the class will apparently receive ten per cent of any recovery by Omega-Alpha against Touche Ross & Co. and Hertz, Herson & ' Co. in a separate suit now pending in this court.

We think it likely that such a settlement would be prejudicial to Omega-Alpha shareholders, and that the possibility of prejudice has been increased by plaintiffs’ delay. The Omega-Alpha shareholders would have no representation in the settlement negotiations. At this late date, it is unlikely that Omega-Alpha shareholders will intervene. In the absence of such representation, proper consideration could not be given to the interests of the Omega-Alpha shareholders in respect of the terms of any settlement proposed.

(b) Undue Delay

Leave to amend should also be denied where all of the facts on which the proposed amendment is based were known to the moving parties at an earlier date, yet the motion to amend was delayed for a substantial period of time without adequate excuse. Christophides v. Porco, 289 F.Supp. 403, 408 (S.D.N.Y.1968) ; 6 Wright and Miller, supra, § 1488.

Here plaintiffs state that purchasers of Omega-Alpha shares from October 22, 1971, to August 31, 1972, were added to the class because the latter date was the day that Omega-Alpha made full and final disclosure of TIC’s alleged fraudulent statements. Plaintiffs thereby ad[543]*543mit that they waited almost two years after they learned the information necessary to the definition of the class before amending their complaint to include purchasers of O-A.

Plaintiffs also state that they eliminated from the class purchasers of TIC stock from 1962 to 1967 because the alleged misstatements “basically took place or had its [sic] greatest impact, in the period January 1, 1968 to March 8, 1972 * * *»

That explanation is difficult to reconcile with the fact that plaintiffs do not propose to amend any of the allegations of fraud, all of which refer to a course of conduct over the ten-year period, 1962-72.

(c) Futility of the Amendment

Where plaintiff’s proposed amendment advances a claim or defense that is legally insufficient on its face or otherwise clearly without merit, this court has denied leave to amend. Christophides v. Porco, 289 F.Supp. 403, 408 (S.D.N.Y.1968); Johnson v. Partrederiet Brovigtank, 202 F.Supp. 859, 867 (S.D.N.Y.1962); 6 Wright and Miller, supra, § 1487.

We think that it would be equally futile for a plaintiff in a class action to amend the complaint such that the proposed amendment would, on its face, violate class action requirements, and that in such a case, leave to amend should be denied. In this case, since neither named plaintiff is a purchaser of Omega-Alpha shares, neither can represent the Omega-Alpha investors whom plaintiffs propose to add to the class. Bailey v.

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Bluebook (online)
64 F.R.D. 539, 19 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 469, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/feldman-v-lifton-nysd-1974.