In Re Parmalat Securities Litigation

381 F. Supp. 2d 283
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided August 5, 2005·No. Master Docket No. 04 MD 1653(LAK), No. 05 Civ. 4015 (LAK)·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

381 F.Supp.2d 283 (2005)

In re PARMALAT SECURITIES LITIGATION.
This document relates to: 05 Civ. 4015.
Enrico Bondi, Plaintiff,
v.
Bank of America Corporation, et al., Defendants.

Master Docket No. 04 MD 1653(LAK), No. 05 Civ. 4015 (LAK).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

August 5, 2005.

*284 *285 John B. Quinn, R. Brian Timmons, Loren Kieve, Michael B. Carlinsky, Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, Oliver & Hedges LLP, for Plaintiff.

Joseph B. Tompkins, Jr., Alan C. Geolot, Mark P. Guerrera, Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood LLP, for Defendant Banc of America Securities Limited.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KAPLAN, District Judge.

Defendant Banc of America Securities Limited ("BASL")[1] moves to dismiss this action for lack of personal jurisdiction.[2] The case is described in detail in a separate opinion issued today (the "Main Opinion"), familiarity with which is assumed.

Facts

The following facts are taken from the complaint and presumed true.

BASL is a limited liability company organized under the laws of the United Kingdom with its principal place of business in London. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation.[3] Like all of the BoA[4] defendants, BASL's "finances, policies and business *286 practices... were dominated, controlled and directed by the Bank of America entities and their officers and employees headquartered in North Carolina."[5]

BoA maintains an "integrated global organization."[6] The Bank's website states that BoA's Global Corporate and Investment Banking group provides a broad range of financial services through a network of offices in 31 countries.[7] BoA does not break down the revenue from Global Corporate and Investment Banking by business unit, but reports the revenue as a consolidated figure.[8]

BASL played supporting roles — roles that the complaint does not always spell out clearly — in several of the international financial transactions at issue, in particular the December 1997 $80 million credit arrangement with a Venezuelan Parmalat subsidiary,[9] the September 1998 $100 million credit agreement with a Brazilian Parmalat subsidiary,[10] the October 1999 $25 million agreement with a Mexican Parmalat subsidiary,[11] and the December 2001 $80 million loan.[12]

BoA employee Luca Sala devised and helped implement some of the transactions at issue,[13] including the September 1998 $80 million credit agreement with the Venezuelan subsidiary,[14] the $300 million equity investment in Administracao,[15] and the December 2001 $80 million loan.[16] Sala "received the support of" and "was supervised by" Bank of America employees in a number of locations, including North Carolina, New York, Chicago, and London.[17] There is, however, no indication that Sala worked for BASL, as opposed to some other BoA entity.

More generally, "the conduct, transactions, acts and omissions that form the basis of th[e] complaint were structured, overseen, implemented and monitored by ... the Bank of American [sic] entities and their officers and employees headquartered in North Carolina."[18] The transactions were "approved at the top levels of Bank of America and required the coordination of" BoA management committees in locations throughout the world, including North Carolina, New York, England, and Italy.[19]

The transactions in question allegedly had effects in North Carolina. Investors in North Carolina purchased Parmalat's securities and were harmed by the frauds.[20] Furthermore, the complaint alleges that BoA's conduct "has substantially affected Parmalat's operations in North Carolina, including without limitation its dairy operations and its ability to conduct financial operations in North Carolina."[21]

*287 Discussion

A. Standards

On a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, the plaintiff bears the burden of showing jurisdiction. The applicable standard depends upon the procedural context in which the jurisdictional challenge is raised.[22] Where, as here, no discovery has taken place, the plaintiff need make only a prima facie showing of jurisdiction "by pleading in good faith, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 11, legally sufficient allegations of jurisdiction."[23] If affidavits are submitted, the Court is to resolve factual disputes in the plaintiff's favor.[24]

BASL has submitted an affidavit stating in substance that it has no office or property in North Carolina, never has filed documents with the Office of the Secretary of State of North Carolina, and complies with United Kingdom regulatory requirements regarding corporate governance "by having an independent Board of Directors that establishes the approval process for all business it conducts."[25] The affidavit does not contradict the allegations in the complaint.

Analysis of personal jurisdiction requires a two-step inquiry. A court first must determine whether the law of the state in which the action was commenced would permit the exercise of personal jurisdiction by courts of general jurisdiction in that state. Second, the court must determine whether the exercise of jurisdiction in such a case would be permissible under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.[26]

This action was filed in the Western District of North Carolina and then transferred here for pretrial proceedings by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. The relevant state law therefore is that of North Carolina, not New York.

The parties assume that the allegations against BASL satisfy the requirements of North Carolina's long-arm statute, which the North Carolina courts have held should be construed to extend to the fullest extent permitted by the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.[27] The only issue therefore is whether a North Carolina court's exercise of personal jurisdiction over BASL would comport with due process.[28]

The question whether due process permits an exercise of jurisdiction requires "an analysis consisting of two components: the `minimum contacts' test and the `reasonableness' *288 inquiry."[29] The former looks to "whether the defendant has certain minimum contacts [with the forum] ... such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice."[30] The latter asks "whether it is reasonable under the circumstances of the particular case" to assert personal jurisdiction.[31]

B. Minimum Contacts

Contacts with the forum state may confer two types of jurisdiction — specific and general.[32] Specific jurisdiction exists when a state "exercises personal jurisdiction over a defendant in a suit arising out of or related to the defendant's contacts with the forum."[33] General jurisdiction, on the other hand, "is based on the defendant's general business contacts with the forum state and permits a court to exercise its power in a case where the subject matter of the suit is unrelated to those contacts."[34]

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In Re Parmalat Securities Litigation, 381 F. Supp. 2d 283 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).

381 F. Supp. 2d 283 (In Re Parmalat Securities Litigation) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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