Gieringer v. Silverman

539 F. Supp. 498, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12484
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedMay 20, 1982
DocketCiv. A. 81-C-859
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 539 F. Supp. 498 (Gieringer v. Silverman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gieringer v. Silverman, 539 F. Supp. 498, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12484 (E.D. Wis. 1982).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

REYNOLDS, Chief Judge.

This is an action brought pursuant to § 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), Rule 10b-5, 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5, §§ 551.42(3) and 551.-59(3), Wis.Stats., and the common law of the State of Wisconsin for compensatory and punitive damages and for removal of the senior officers and directors of the Vilter Manufacturing Corporation (“Vilter”), arising out of a redemption offering made by Vilter in September 1979 for its own shares of stock.

The plaintiffs are minority shareholders of Vilter who owned stock on September 28, 1979, the date of the redemption offering, and who continue to own shares in the company. They seek to represent a class of all shareholders of Vilter as of September 28, 1979, with the exception of the defendants A. 0. Vogel, L. E. Loos, Norma Loos, Louise E. Fridl, the Vilter Employees’ Profit Sharing Plan Trust, A. A. Silverman, and E. J. Kocher, denominated in the complaint as the “controlling shareholders.” Plaintiffs allege that the redemption offering had no valid corporate purpose but was instead designed to increase the value and earnings of the shares held by the controlling shareholders without cost to themselves by forcing out the minority shareholders; that the $40 valuation put on the shares in the offering was below fair market value; that as a result of interest payable on the loan extended by the defendant M & I Marshall & Ilsley Bank (“M & I”) to Vilter for purchase of the shares redeemed, one result of the redemption was that no dividends were payable thereafter on corporate shares; and that a second result of the offering was to destroy any market for outstanding shares held by the minority shareholders and not sold to Vilter pursuant to the redemption offer.

The complaint has fourteen claims. Claims one through eight are founded on the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Claims one and two allege injury to the minority shareholders and Vilter, respectively, arising out of the failure to reveal in corporate mailings made prior to September 28, 1979, that the majority shareholders were causing the corporation to accumulate cash in order to make a redemption offering forcing out the minority shareholders. Claims three and five allege on behalf of the minority shareholders that the September 28, 1979 offer made omissions of material fact in that it failed to state that there was no valid corporate purpose for the offer, that the offer was instead made for the sole benefit of majority shareholders, and failed to reveal how Duff & Phelps, Inc., which was hired to evaluate the stock, went about its evaluation, and that the offer also contained false statements in that it stated that the tender of shares by minority shareholders was voluntary, that there was a potential for a future loss of dividends, that Silverman and Kocher would have a controlling interest in the corporation and could in future authorize a merger or sale *501 of assets, and that Duff & Phelps, Inc. made an independent evaluation. Claims four and six make the same allegations of omission and misstatement on behalf of the corporation. Claim seven alleges that Duff & Phelps, Inc. permitted the corporation to make false statements regarding Duff & Phelps’ independence in the offer. Claim eight is directed at the M & I. Claim nine raises allegations of violations of §§ 551.-42(3) and 551.59(3), Wis.Stats., by the controlling shareholders, and claims ten through fourteen allege breaches of common law fiduciary duty by the controlling shareholders.

In a decision and order issued on October 6, 1981, the court granted M & I’s motion for summary judgment based on the running of the applicable statute of limitations. Claim eight is therefore no longer at issue in this action.

Since that decision and order was issued, ten motions have been filed which are now before the court for decision: (1) the plaintiffs’ motion for joinder of Vilter Manufacturing Corporation as a party defendant; (2) the plaintiffs’ motion for the entry of final judgment under Rule 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in favor of M & I on claim eight; (3) the plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a notice of appearance of additional counsel; (4) Duff & Phelps’ motion for summary judgment; (5) Duff & Phelps’ motion for a protective order continuing the dates of certain depositions until after its summary judgment motion is decided; (6) plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery regarding Duff & Phelps; (7) plaintiffs’ motion brought pursuant to Rule 56(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to postpone decision on Duff & Phelps’ summary judgment motion pending discovery; (8) the motion of all defendants except Duff & Phelps for summary judgment; (9) the plaintiffs’ Rule 56(f) motion to postpone decision on the second summary judgment motion pending discovery; and (10) the plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery with respect to the deposition of the defendant Silverman.

The plaintiffs’ motion to add counsel is unopposed and is granted. Since certain of the plaintiffs’ claims are brought as derivative claims on behalf of the corporation their motion to add Vilter as a party defendant will also be granted. While the defendants in their briefs raise issues as to the adequacy of the plaintiffs’ representation of Vilter and the adequacy of the claims stated on behalf of Vilter, they concede that if derivative claims are asserted Vilter is a necessary party. The defendants’ summary judgment motions will also be granted on statute of limitations grounds. No additional discovery is required on that point. Therefore, the plaintiffs’ motions for further discovery will be denied, Duff & Phelps’ motion for a protective order is moot, and the plaintiffs’ motion for entry of a partial judgment is also moot.

The Statute of Limitations

Section 551.59(5), Wis.Stats., which all parties agree is the statute of limitations applicable to the plaintiffs’ Securities and Exchange Act claims and to their Wisconsin securities act claim, see Cahill v. Ernst & Ernst, 448 F.Supp. 84, 87-88 (E.D.Wis.1978), vacated and remanded 588 F.2d 835 (7th Cir. 1978), on remand 478 F.Supp. 1186 (E.D.Wis.1979), aff’d 625 F.2d 151 (7th Cir. 1980), provides in part:

“No action shall be maintained under this section unless commenced before the expiration of 3 years after the act or transaction constituting the violation or the expiration of one year after the discovery of the facts constituting the violation, whichever first expires * *

As noted in the previous decision and order in this case, “[t]he commencement of a statutory period of limitation ‘[does] not await appellant’s leisurely discovery of the full details of the alleged scheme.’ ” Turner v. First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust, 454 F.Supp. 899, 906 (E.D.Wis.1978), quoting from Klein v. Bower, 421 F.2d 338, 343 (2d Cir. 1970). See also

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Carlos Mercado v. Aviation Associates, Inc.
974 F.2d 1329 (First Circuit, 1992)
Esser Distributing Co. v. Steidl
426 N.W.2d 63 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1988)
Continental Assurance Co. v. American Bankshares Corp.
601 F. Supp. 277 (E.D. Wisconsin, 1985)
Gieringer v. Silverman
731 F.2d 1272 (Seventh Circuit, 1984)
Gygi v. Guest
344 N.W.2d 214 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
539 F. Supp. 498, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12484, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gieringer-v-silverman-wied-1982.