Frutico, S.A. de C.V. v. Bankers Trust Co.

833 F. Supp. 288, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12682, 1993 WL 365100
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 13, 1993
DocketNo. 91 Civ. 7262 (RWS)
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 833 F. Supp. 288 (Frutico, S.A. de C.V. v. Bankers Trust Co.) 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
Frutico, S.A. de C.V. v. Bankers Trust Co., 833 F. Supp. 288, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12682, 1993 WL 365100 (S.D.N.Y. 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

Defendants Bankers Trust Company (“BTCo”) and Bankers Trust New York (“BTNY”) (collectively, “Bankers Trust”) have moved pursuant to Rule 56, Fed.R.Civ. P., for an order granting summary judgment in their favor and against the plaintiffs Fruti-co, S.A. de C.V. (“Frutico”), Itex, Inc. (“Itex”), and Grupo Reynosa, S.A. (“Grupo”), dismissing the latter’s complaint in its entirety.

For the reasons set forth below, Bankers Trust’s motion is granted.

Parties

Frutico and Grupo are corporations organized and existing under the laws of Mexico. Itex is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Texas with its principal place of business in Hidalgo County, Texas. At all times materially relevant to this action, Frutico was the majority shareholder in Itex, and Grupo was a major shareholder in Frutico.

BTCo and BTNY are corporations organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York and doing business in the State of Texas. BTCo is a subsidiary of BTNY.

Prior Proceedings

This diversity action was commenced in Texas state court in December 1990. It then was removed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and subsequently was transferred to this Court on October 10,1991. This Court granted the Plaintiffs leave to amend the original complaint, and an amended complaint (the “Amended Complaint”) was filed on February 10, 1992.

By Stipulation and Order, entered by this Court on January 18, 1993, the pretrial discovery period ended on February 15, 1993. Bankers Trust now moves for summary judgment on the ground that discovery has established that no genuine issues of material fact exist which can prevent it from obtaining a judgment as a matter of law on each claim set forth in the Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint.

Bankers Trust filed this motion on March 4, 1993. Oral argument was heard on June 2, 1993, and the motion was considered submitted as of that date.

Facts

The gravamen of this action is the purported breach of an alleged agreement (the “Alleged Agreement”) in which Bankers Trust was to make $2,265,000 available to Frutico in the form of either a loan or an investment.

At all times materially relevant to this action, Frutico operated a fruit juice processing business in Reynosa, Mexico and was the majority shareholder in Itex. Grupo was a major shareholder in Frutico and owned the land on which Frutico’s plant was located. Itex sold products produced by Frutico in Mexico to purchasers in the United States and elsewhere.

I. Initial Negotiations

The negotiations with Bankers Trust were conducted for Frutico by Garrison Valentine (“Valentine”), the de facto principal of Fruti[292]*292co, Grupo, and Itex.1 During the period from January through November 1988, Valentine and Bankers Trust discussed various transactions that were to involve Interfruit Holdings, Inc. (“Interfruit Holdings”) as the investment vehicle and/or borrower. Inter-fruit Holdings had been formed in the Cayman Islands for the purpose of holding shares of a new Mexican corporation that was going to buy the assets of Frutico.

BTCo had made loans to the Mexican Government and to related entities that had gone unpaid. During 1986 and 1987, the Mexican Government instituted a variety of programs through which public sector debt could be converted into investments in privately owned companies in Mexico. In late 1986, BTCo began conducting discussions with Valentine regarding a potential investment in Frutico through a “debt-for-equity” program sponsored by the Mexican Government. Frutico alleges that Bankers Trust initially agreed to finance the expansion of Frutico and another Valentine company, Frutindust-rias de Mexicali (“Frumex”), with $4,200,000 in late 1987. This transaction was contingent on the Mexican Government’s debt-for-equity program, and when that program was subsequently terminated so too was the proposed transaction involving the full amount of $4,200,000. According to Valentine, at that time, the proposed transactions were “changed by circumstances beyond the bank’s and our control.” Valentine Dep. at 306.

II.The Alleged Agreement

After the debt-for-equity swap program was suspended by the Mexican Government, discussions continued between Valentine and Bankers Trust regarding a possible term loan or investment transaction. The Plaintiffs contend that the Alleged Agreement became binding in early 1988 and resulted from a continuing commitment by Bankers Trust to Frutico which had its origin in a meeting between Valentine and Bankers Trust at that time. However, although Fru-tico contends that the Alleged Agreement was entered into at that time, Valentine acknowledges that it had not been determined whether the transaction was to take the form of a loan or an investment.

In light of the “changed circumstances” the terms and conditions of the Alleged Agreement went through several transformations, including alterations of the assets of Valentine’s companies that were to be included in the proposed transactions. Originally, the assets of both Frutico and Frumex were to be included, but Valentine then removed Frumex from the proposal, and Bankers Trust correspondingly reduced its proposed commitment from $4,200,000 to $3,500,000.

III. The Short-Term Loans

During the course of the continuing discussions begun in 1987, BTCo made three loans (the “ShorL-Term Loans”), which Frutico characterizes as “bridge loans” and Bankers Trust characterizes as “short-term extensions of credit,” to Frutico. Under the terms and conditions of the Short-Term Loans, Frutico incurred the following obligations to BTCo: $270,000 pursuant to drawings made against a letter of credit issued by Bankers Trust in August 1988; $700,000 pursuant to a loan agreement executed in November 1988; and $200,000 pursuant to a loan agreement executed in January 1989. Frutico further asserts that Bankers Trust agreed that the Short-Term Loans were to be used to finance equipment purchases until a reorganization agreement was drawn up.

IV. The Continually Evolving Terms Of The Alleged Agreement

Frutico alleges that in June 1988 the amount of funding under the Alleged Agreement was reduced to $2,350,000 because of changes in an equipment order. This amount was to be spent on machinery and equipment and infrastructure at Frutico to accommodate the new equipment. Frutico reduced the amount further to $2,200,000 upon realizing that it had calculated into the [293]*293transaction an unnecessary piece of equipment.

Despite asserting that the Alleged Agreement was binding as of early 1988, Valentine admitted that he “didn’t feel absolutely confident that the bank and I had a total commitment until they made the first bridge loan,” to wit, the letter of credit transaction of August 3, 1988. Valentine Dep. at 301; accord id. at 281. Furthermore, the structure of the offshore holding company, the establishment of the product invoicing and collection systems, and the terms of collateral to protect Bankers Trust were not agreed upon until December 1988.

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833 F. Supp. 288, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12682, 1993 WL 365100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frutico-sa-de-cv-v-bankers-trust-co-nysd-1993.