Ferolito v. Vultaggio

99 A.D.3d 19, 949 N.Y.2d 356

This text of 99 A.D.3d 19 (Ferolito v. Vultaggio) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ferolito v. Vultaggio, 99 A.D.3d 19, 949 N.Y.2d 356 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

[22]*22OPINION OF THE COURT

Sweeny, J.

These are four related appeals from orders deciding motions made in the litigation involving the AriZona Iced Tea business and its principal operating company, Beverage Marketing USA, Inc. (BMU). The first order denied plaintiff/petitioner John M. Ferolito’s motion for a declaration that BMU’s election to purchase his shares of stock was invalid. Ferolito also appeals from the denial of his motion to disqualify Cadwalader, Wicker-sham & Taft LLP (Cadwalader) as counsel to BMU and from the order dismissing a common-law derivative dissolution proceeding brought against defendants. Lastly, Ferolito appeals from the order denying his motion to compel BMU to make cash distributions of profits to all shareholders. A review of the factual and historical background of this litigation is necessary to place these appeals in their proper context.

In 1992, plaintiff Ferolito and defendant Vultaggio formed the AriZona Iced Tea business, consisting of 21 entities known as the “AriZona Entities.” BMU, which conducts the preponderance of the business of producing, marketing and distributing the AriZona Iced Tea line of beverages, is one of those entities. All of the AriZona Entities are owned equally by Ferolito and Vultaggio, along with members of their respective families (Owners Groups).

In 1997, due to strained relations between Ferolito and Vultaggio, the parties agreed that Vultaggio would assume primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the AriZona Entities. Ferolito retained his voting rights and, as co-owner of BMU, his right to participate in corporate decision-making.

In 1998, Ferolito, Vultaggio and their respective Owner Groups entered into an “Owners’ Agreement.” Its purpose was to set out the method of corporate governance, to maintain appropriate and businesslike relationships among the parties, and to assure the continuity of ownership and management of the AriZona Entities.

Section 3.1 of the Owners’ Agreement provides that “all material matters respecting [the AriZona Entities] shall be resolved by mutual agreement of the [Owner Groups].” Section 2.1 provides that the general intent of the parties is that each Owner Group shall receive 50% of all distributions of profits. The Owners’ Agreement also limits the sale or transfer of interest in the enterprise to “Permitted Transferees” (the Transfer Covenants).

[23]*23In August 2008, the Ferolito Owners Group attempted to transfer a block of its shares in the AriZona Entities to an outside purchaser without Vultaggio’s consent. Ferolito commenced litigation in New York County, seeking, among other things, nullification of the Transfer Covenants to allow him to sell those shares without restriction. Vultaggio asserted counterclaims and both sides moved for summary judgment. The motion court dismissed Ferolito’s cause of action challenging the transfer restriction, finding that the Transfer Covenants were valid and enforceable, and we affirmed. The remaining causes of action for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, etc., are still pending (Main Action).

Ferolito also filed a separate action in Nassau County in which his personal corporation sued BMU for breach of a promissory note. This action was transferred to New York County and consolidated with the Main Action.

Thereafter, as part of the Main Action, Ferolito filed an amended petition pursuant to Business Corporation Law § 1104-a seeking a judicial dissolution of BMU, alleging that such dissolution was a necessary remedy given the provision in the Owners’ Agreement barring him from selling his interests in BMU without Vultaggio’s permission. He also alleged that Vultaggio’s oppressive conduct was part of a fraudulent scheme to exclude him from the corporate affairs of the AriZona Entities and force him to sell his shares below their fair value. On this issue, Ferolito alleged that in February 2008, as part of a scheme to pressure him to sell his shares of BMU at a low price, Vultaggio ordered a unilateral termination of a long-standing practice of distributing the vast majority of BMU’s annual profits to the shareholders. His request for relief included a “Final Order” compelling BMU to resume making distributions to each Owner Group consistent with past practice.

Ferolito’s Business Corporation Law § 1104-a petition triggered buyout rights on the part of Vultaggio, who notified the court and all parties of his election, pursuant to Business Corporation Law § 1118, to have BMU purchase its shares owned by Ferolito. This election stayed the Main Action. Ferolito moved to invalidate the Business Corporation Law § 1118 election, arguing that section 3.1 of the Owners’ Agreement precluded BMU from exercising its buyout rights without obtaining Ferolito’s consent. Vultaggio opposed, arguing that the Owners’ Agreement did not require Ferolito’s consent, particularly in light of his filing of the dissolution petition.

[24]*24Ferolito also moved for an order compelling the cash distribution of 60% of the AriZona Entities’ net income for the year 2010. Vultaggio opposed the motion, arguing that the decision not to distribute profits was necessitated by Ferolito’s actions. Additionally, he argued that the money would be necessary to purchase Ferolito’s BMU shares as a result of the Business Corporation Law § 1118 election made in response to Ferolito’s petition for judicial dissolution.

The motion court denied Ferolito’s motion to invalidate BMU’s election, finding that applying section 3.1 of the Owners’ Agreement as advocated by Ferolito under these circumstances would render the statutory scheme of Business Corporation Law §§ 1104-a and 1118 a nullity. The court also determined that the application for the cash distributions was tantamount to a request for a preliminary injunction compelling distributions on an interim basis pending final resolution of the actions. Since Ferolito could not meet the requirements for such relief, and since he was requesting the same relief as in part of the Main Action, the motion was denied.

Ferolito’s motion to disqualify Cadwalader also has its genesis in the commencement of litigation in 2008. At that time, BMU’s general counsel and CEO analyzed the potential conflict issue regarding one firm’s dual representation of BMU and Vultaggio. They determined that dual representation was desirable and retained Lou Solomon, Esq., who at the time was a member of Proskauer Rose, LLR and the attorney for Vultaggio. Ferolito objected to this arrangement. Nonetheless, in 2008, BMU entered into a Joint Defense and Prosecution Agreement (JDPA) between Vultaggio and the AriZona Entities in which BMU consented to the dual representation and “waived any and all potential conflicts that may arise” during the course of the litigations. When Solomon left Proskauer and joined Cadwalader, he continued his representation of both Vultaggio and BMU.

Ferolito first moved for disqualification in the Main Action in April 2009, but withdrew the motion without prejudice. He also moved for disqualification in the Nassau County action in 2009, which motion was denied. He once again moved for disqualification in Nassau County in 2010 after filing the initial dissolution petition, but, before a decision was rendered, the action was consolidated with the Main Action. Counsel ultimately withdrew the pending motion.

On March 4, 2011, following BMU’s election to buy his shares, Ferolito filed another motion for disqualification of Cadwalader, [25]

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99 A.D.3d 19, 949 N.Y.2d 356, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ferolito-v-vultaggio-nyappdiv-2012.