Graydog Internet, Inc. v. Giller

381 P.3d 903, 279 Or. App. 722, 2016 WL 4013713
CourtMultnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon
DecidedJuly 27, 2016
Docket130506470; A156539
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 381 P.3d 903 (Graydog Internet, Inc. v. Giller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Multnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Graydog Internet, Inc. v. Giller, 381 P.3d 903, 279 Or. App. 722, 2016 WL 4013713 (Or. Super. Ct. 2016).

Opinion

FLYNN, J.

In this appeal, which arises out of a dispute between the minority and majority shareholder of a closely held corporation, we are called upon to construe the scope of ORS 60.952(6), a provision that allows closely held corporations to resolve certain shareholder claims through the mechanism of a forced buyout of the complaining shareholder’s shares for fair value. The trial court granted a limited judgment declaring that the buyout election, which is available after “the filing of a proceeding under” ORS 60.952(1), does not apply to the third-party complaint filed by the minority shareholder, because that pleading did not commence an action and did not assert a claim of the type addressed in ORS 60.952(1). We conclude that the filing of the third-party complaint constitutes “the filing of a proceeding” for purposes of ORS 60.952(6). We also conclude that the real character of at least some of the third-party claims is a claim for oppression against the majority shareholder for purposes of ORS 60.952(1). Accordingly, we reverse the limited judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

Graydog Internet, Inc., founded in the mid-1990s, has two shareholders. Westervelt is the majority shareholder and Giller is the minority shareholder. In 2004, the parties signed a shareholder agreement that is at the heart of their current dispute. One provision of the agreement specifies that, if a shareholder’s employment ends, the terminated shareholder shall be deemed to have offered to sell all of his shares to the corporation and the other shareholders.

In 2013, Graydog filed a complaint against Giller in circuit court seeking a declaration that Giller is an at-will employee and that it has a right to terminate Giller’s employment. In his answer, Giller denied that he is an at-will employee, included counterclaims alleging that the shareholder agreement is unenforceable, and sought injunc-tive relief.

The following day, Giller also filed a third-party complaint against Westervelt, in which he incorporated the [725]*725allegations of his answer, affirmative defenses, and counterclaims against Graydog. The third-party complaint includes claims for (1) a declaration that the “shareholder agreement is void and unenforceable,” (2) “breach of contract” based on Westervelt allegedly violating the corporate bylaws by “tak[ing] unilateral action in his personal capacity and for his personal interests,” and (3) “breach of [the] contractual duty of good faith and fair dealing” based on Westervelt allegedly “having acted for the sole purpose of trying to force David Giller to unwillingly sell his shares to him.”1

Graydog and Westervelt took the position that Giller’s counterclaims and third-party complaint triggered the statutory buyout provision in ORS 60.952(6). Accordingly, Graydog elected, in writing and in the requisite timeframe, to purchase Giller’s shares for $300,000. Giller responded by amending his answer to add a fifth counterclaim that sought a “declaratory judgment that ORS 60.952(6) does not apply to this suit.” He then sought summary judgment on that counterclaim, and Graydog filed a cross-motion for partial summary judgment on the same issue.2 Following a hearing, the court issued a letter opinion granting Giller’s motion and denying Graydog’s motion. The court then entered a limited judgment in which it incorporated its letter opinion and declared:

“1. ORS 60.952(6) does not apply to this case because ORS 60.952(6) may be triggered only against one who commences an action, not against a party who files counterclaims or a third-party complaint.
“2. ORS 60.952(6) does not apply to this case for the further reason that the claims made by Mr. Giller are not of the type described in ORS 60.952.”

[726]*726Graydog and Westervelt (jointly, “appellants”)3 appeal from the entry of that limited judgment, assigning error both to the trial court’s granting of Giller’s motion for partial summary judgment and its denial of Graydog’s cross-motion for partial summary judgment.

II. DISCUSSION

In this appeal from a judgment addressing cross-motions for summary judgment, in which appellants have assigned error to the trial court’s rulings on both motions, both rulings are subject to review.4 Adair Homes, Inc. v. Dunn Carney, 262 Or App 273, 276, 325 P3d 49, rev den, 355 Or 879 (2014). “We review the record for each motion in the light most favorable to the party opposing it to determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and, if not, whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Id. (citing ORCP 47 C and Eden Gate, Inc. v. D&L Excavating & Trucking, Inc., 178 Or App 610, 622, 37 P3d 233 (2002)). As to the issues raised on appeal, the parties agree that there are no disputed issues of fact and that we should determine as a matter of law whether the buyout election of ORS 60.952(6) is available to Graydog.

Whether ORS 60.952(6) applies is a question of statutory construction that we resolve by applying the methodology articulated in State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 171-72, 206 P3d 1042 (2009). Under that methodology, we seek to determine the legislature’s intent by examining the text and context of the statute, followed by consideration of the legislative history to the extent it “appears useful to the court’s analysis.” Id.

Until 2001, corporate dissolution — authorized under ORS 60.661 — was the only statutory remedy to address claims of oppression or misconduct in closely held corporations. [727]*727Hickey v. Hickey, 269 Or App 258, 268-69, 344 P3d 512, rev den, 357 Or 415 (2015). The legislature addressed that perceived problem by asking an Oregon State Bar task force to draft the bill that became ORS 60.952.

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Related

Graydog Internet, Inc. v. Giller
Oregon Supreme Court, 2017

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
381 P.3d 903, 279 Or. App. 722, 2016 WL 4013713, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/graydog-internet-inc-v-giller-orccmultnomah-2016.