In re Evergreen Mutual Funds Fee Litigation

240 F.R.D. 115, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13253, 2007 WL 442158
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 5, 2007
DocketNo. 04 Civ. 4453 RWS
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 240 F.R.D. 115 (In re Evergreen Mutual Funds Fee Litigation) 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
In re Evergreen Mutual Funds Fee Litigation, 240 F.R.D. 115, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13253, 2007 WL 442158 (S.D.N.Y. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

Plaintiffs, a putative class including Blanchard D. Smith, William Smith, Sergio Grobler, Gene F. Osburn, and Linda M. Allison (the “Plaintiffs”), and other holders of Evergreen Mutual Funds during the period of June 14, 1999 through November 17, 2003 (the “Class Period”) have moved to amend or alternatively set aside the Court’s March 27, 2006 Order and the judgment entered in this action on March 28, 2006, dismissing the Complaint in its entirety. Plaintiffs have also moved for an order granting Plaintiffs leave to file a Second Amended Derivative Complaint. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is denied.

Prior Proceedings

Plaintiffs filed their initial complaint on June 14, 2004, and an amended consolidated complaint (the “Complaint”) on November 29, 2004. Pursuant to Rule 12(b), Fed.R.Civ. P., Defendants moved to dismiss the Complaint on February 15, 2005. That motion was heard and marked fully submitted on May 17, 2005. In an opinion and order dated March 24, 2006, and entered on March 27, 2006 (the “March 2006 Order”), this Court granted Defendants’ motion and the Complaint was dismissed in its entirety. In re Evergreen Mut Funds Fee Litig., 423 F.Supp.2d 249 (S.D.N.Y.2006). A judgment to this effect was filed on March 28, 2006.

On April 11, 2006, pursuant to Local Civil Rule 6.3 and Rules 59(e), 60(b), and 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiffs filed this motion to: (1) amend or alternatively set aside the Court’s March 2006 Order and the judgment entered in this action on March 28, 2006, which granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss the Complaint in its entirety; and (2) grant Plaintiffs leave to file a second amended derivative complaint. This motion was heard and marked fully submitted on September 27, 2006.

Dismissal of Plaintiffs’ Claim for Violations of Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act

In the Complaint, Plaintiffs had alleged violations of Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act (the “ICA”). Specifically, in Count Three of the Complaint, Plaintiffs had alleged that Defendants violated Section 36(b)’s proscription against the payment of excessive fees by charging Rule 12b-l fees, soft dollar payments, and directed brokerage commissions, which allegedly benefited Defendants rather than the holders of the Funds. Defendants moved to dismiss this claim, in part, on the grounds that Plaintiffs’ allegations were outside the scope of Section 36(b) and that Plaintiffs had failed to allege excessive fees.

The March 2006 Order applied the standard for an excessive fee claim under Section 36(b) as articulated by the Second Circuit in Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F.2d 923 (2d Cir.1982):

“... whether the fee schedule represents a charge within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in the light of all of the surrounding circumstances.” In order to demonstrate that Section 36(b) has been violated, a plaintiff must show that “the adviser-manager charge[d] a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered.”

In re Evergreen, 423 F.Supp.2d at 257-58 (citing Gartenberg, 694 F.2d at 928; Strougo v. BEA Assocs., No. 98 Civ. 3725(RWS), 1999 WL 147737, at *7-8 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 18,1999)) (internal citations omitted). It also acknowledged the six Gartenberg factors to be weighed in determining whether fees charged by an investment adviser were disproportionate to the services rendered, including: “(a) the nature and quality of services provided to fund shareholders; (b) the profitability of the fund to the adviser-manager; (c) fall-out benefits; (d) economies of scale; (e) comparative fee structures; and (f) the independence and conscientiousness of the trustees.” In re Evergreen, 423 [117]*117F.Supp.2d at 258 (citing Krinsk v. Fund Asset Mgmt., Inc., 875 F.2d 404, 409 (2d Cir.1989) (citing Gartenberg, 694 F.2d at 929-30); In re Eaton Vance Mut. Funds Fee Litig., 380 F.Supp.2d 222, 237 (S.D.N.Y.2005) (quoting Gartenberg, 694 F.2d at 929-30)).

Comparing the facts of this case to those asserted in In re Goldman Sachs Mutual Funds Fee Litigation, No. 04 Civ. 2567(NRB), 2006 WL 126772 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 17, 2006), and In re Eaton Vance, 380 F.Supp.2d 222, it was concluded that just as in those cases, Plaintiffs here-had alleged that the fees at issue were used improperly and not that the fees themselves were excessive. See In re Evergreen, 423 F.Supp.2d at 258-59. Accordingly, it was determined that Plaintiffs had not sufficiently alleged excessive investment advisory fees under Section 36(b) and the cause of action was dismissed. Id.

Discussion

1. Plaintiffs Have Failed to Meet the Standard for Granting a Motion to Reconsider Under Local Civil Rule 6.3 and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 59(e)

a. Applicable Standard

Motions to alter or amend judgments under Rule 59(e), Fed.R.Civ.P.,1 and for reconsideration under Local Civil Rule 6.32 are evaluated under the same standard. See Word v. Croce, No. 01 Civ. 9614(LTS), 2004 WL 434038, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 9, 2004); Williams v. New York City Dep’t of Corr., 219 F.R.D. 78, 83 (S.D.N.Y.2003); Griffin Indus., Inc. v. Petrojam, Ltd., 72 F.Supp.2d 365, 368 (S.D.N.Y.1999). To receive reconsideration, “ ‘the moving party must demonstrate controlling law or factual matters put before the court on the underlying motion that the movant believes the court overlooked and that might reasonably be expected to alter the court’s decision.’” Word, 2004 WL 434038, at *2 (quoting Parrish v. Sollecito, 253 F.Supp.2d 713, 715 (S.D.N.Y.2003)); see also Williams, 219 F.R.D. at 83.

Rule 59(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure should be “narrowly construed and strictly applied so as to avoid repetitive arguments on issues that have been considered fully by the Court,” Williams, 219 F.R.D. at 83, and “to prevent the rule from being used as a substitute for appealing a final judgment.” USA Certified Merchants, LLC v. Koebel, 273 F.Supp.2d 501, 503 (S.D.N.Y.2003). Furthermore, “[r]eeonsideration of a court’s previous order is an ‘extraordinary remedy to be employed sparingly in the interests of finality and conservation of scarce judicial resources.’ ” Montanile v. Nat’l Broad. Co., 216 F.Supp.2d 341, 342 (S.D.N.Y.2002) (quoting In re Health Mgmt. Sys. Inc. Sec. Litig., 113 F.Supp.2d 613, 614 (S.D.N.Y.2000)).

b. The Court Did Not Overlook Controlling Law or Factual Matters Warranting a Different Outcome

In support of their motion for reconsideration, Plaintiffs assert their allegations that the Evergreen Fund advisory fees were excessive, and not merely wrongful, were overlooked in the March 2006 Order.

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Bluebook (online)
240 F.R.D. 115, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13253, 2007 WL 442158, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-evergreen-mutual-funds-fee-litigation-nysd-2007.