Haith ex rel. Accretive Health, Inc. v. Bronfman

928 F. Supp. 2d 964, 2013 WL 788214
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 1, 2013
DocketNos. 12 C 6781, 12 C 6798
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 928 F. Supp. 2d 964 (Haith ex rel. Accretive Health, Inc. v. Bronfman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Haith ex rel. Accretive Health, Inc. v. Bronfman, 928 F. Supp. 2d 964, 2013 WL 788214 (N.D. Ill. 2013).

Opinion

Memorandum Opinion and Order

GARY FEINERMAN, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Robert Haith and Jeffrey Goodwin brought these state law shareholder derivative actions on behalf of Accretive Health, Inc., a Delaware corporation, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6781); Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6798). Although the suits have not been consolidated, they are materially identical for purposes of this opinion. The individual defendants, who are directors and officers of Accretive Health, removed the suits to federal court under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441. Doc. 1 (12 C 6781); Doc. 1 (12 C 6798). Defendants do not assert that the case falls within the federal courts’ diversity jurisdiction, see 28 U.S.C. § 1332, or that Plaintiffs’ claims were created by federal law. Rather, they contend that the claims, although created by state law, fall within the federal courts’ “arising under” jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1331, under the standard set forth in Grable & Sons Metal Products, Inc. v. Darue Engineering & Manufacturing, 545 U.S. 308, 314, 125 S.Ct. 2363, 162 L.Ed.2d 257 (2005). Plaintiffs disagree, and each has moved to remand his case to state court under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c). Doc. 17 (12 C 6781); Doc. 14 (12 C 6798). The motions are granted, but Plaintiffs’ request for an award of attorney fees and costs is denied.

Background

Haith’s and Goodwin’s complaints make substantially similar factual allegations and legal claims. Plaintiffs are Accretive Health shareholders and were shareholders at all relevant times. Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6781) at ¶ 13; Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6798) at ¶ 11. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants made numerous public statements, in press releases and SEC filings, that made false or misleading statements and omissions about Accretive Health’s operations and financial prospects. Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6781) at ¶¶ 3, 8, 38, 40, 42, 49, 54; Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6798) at ¶¶ 3, 28-31, 33-34, 36-37, 43. In particular, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants concealed their knowledge that Accretive Health was violating consumer privacy standards imposed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1320d et seq., the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HI-TECH Act”), 42 U.S.C. § 17921 et seq., state consumer protection laws, and its contract with a large client. Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6781) at ¶ 54; Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6798) at ¶ 43. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants’ alleged misstatements and omissions had the effect of artificially inflating the price of Accretive Health’s stock and then, when the truth came out, of causing that price to fall substantially, to the detriment of shareholders. Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6781) at ¶¶ 5, 7, 9, 50; Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6798) at ¶¶ 4, 6, 32, 38-39, 42. Plaintiffs further allege that Accretive Health’s violations led the Attorney General of Minnesota to file a lawsuit against it and to release a report detailing its unsavory debt collection practices; led the New York Times to publish an article that put the company’s debt collection practices in bad odor, see Jessica Silver-Greenberg, “Debt Collector Is Faulted for Tough Tactics in Hospitals,” New York Times (April 24, 2012); led the Minnesota Department of Commerce to temporarily suspend the company’s Minnesota debt collection license; and led a group of plaintiffs to sue the company for violating federal securities law. Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6781) at ¶¶4, 6, 9, 44-46, 51-52; Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6798) at ¶¶ 35, 40-41.

[968]*968Because Accretive Health is a Delaware corporation, the internal affairs doctrine provides that Delaware law governs Plaintiffs’ claims. See Nagy v. Riblet Prods. Corp., 79 F.3d 572, 576 (7th Cir. 1996). Haith asserts three counts of breach of fiduciary duty, one count of unjust enrichment, one count of abuse of control, one count of gross mismanagement, and one count of waste of corporate assets. Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6781) at ¶¶ 94-123. Goodwin asserts a single count of breach of fiduciary duty. Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6798) at ¶¶ 83-88. Neither Haith nor Goodwin made a demand on Accretive Health’s Board of Directors to bring this action against Defendants; both allege that demand would be futile and thus is excused. Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6781) at ¶¶ 59-93; Doc. 1-1 (12 C 6798) at ¶¶ 64-82; see Braddock v. Zimmerman, 906 A.2d 776, 784-85 (Del. 2006) (describing the demand futility doctrine); In re Abbott Labs. Derivative Shareholders Litig., 325 F.3d 795, 803-04 (7th Cir.2003). One other derivative suit alleging essentially the same misconduct by the same group of defendants, and also alleging demand futility, is pending before the undersigned judge. MAURRAS REVOCABLE TRUST v. BRONFMAN, 12 C 3395, 2012 WL 1669908 (N.D.Ill. May 3, 2012). Unlike Haith’s and Goodwin’s suits, the MAURRAS TRUST suit falls within the court’s diversity jurisdiction. Defendants in MAURRAS TRUST there have moved to dismiss on the ground, among others, that the plaintiffs there did not adequately allege demand futility under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.1. Id., Doc. 93.

Discussion

I. Whether Plaintiffs’ Claims “Arise Under” Federal Law

As mentioned, Defendants contend that Haith’s and Goodwin’s suits fall within the federal courts’ “arising under” jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Grable held that “arising under” jurisdiction extends to state law claims that “necessarily raise a stated federal issue, actually disputed and substantial, which a federal forum may entertain without disturbing any congressionally approved balance of federal and state judicial responsibilities.” 545 U.S. at 314, 125 S.Ct. 2363. Defendants assert that Plaintiffs’ claims necessarily raise the following issues of federal law: (1) whether Accretive Health violated two federal privacy statutes, the HIPAA and the HI-TECH Act; (2) whether Accretive Health violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., as incorporated into Minnesota law; and (3) whether Defendants made or caused to be made misleading statements and omissions in SEC filings, in violation of federal securities law. Grable

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928 F. Supp. 2d 964, 2013 WL 788214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haith-ex-rel-accretive-health-inc-v-bronfman-ilnd-2013.