Janvey v. Alguire

846 F. Supp. 2d 662, 2011 WL 7047035, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152198
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedSeptember 6, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 3:09-CV-0724-N
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 846 F. Supp. 2d 662 (Janvey v. Alguire) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Janvey v. Alguire, 846 F. Supp. 2d 662, 2011 WL 7047035, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152198 (N.D. Tex. 2011).

Opinion

ORDER

DAVID C. GODBEY, District Judge.

This Order addresses various former Stanford employees’ (the “Employee Defendants”) 1 motions to dismiss [201, 203, 204, 211, 234, 305, 387, 403, 407, 408, 427, 488]. For the reasons that follow, the Court denies the motions.2

I. Origins op the Receiver’s Asset Recovery Action

This dispute arises out of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) ongoing securities fraud action against R. Allen Stanford, his associates, and various entities under Stanford’s control (the “Stanford Defendants”). As part of that litigation, this Court appointed a receiver (the “Receiver”) and authorized him to commence any actions necessary to recover assets of the Receivership Estate. See Second Am. Order Appointing Receiver, July 19, 2010 [1130] (the “Receivership Order”), in SEC v. Stanford Int’l Bank, Ltd., Civil Action No. 3.09-CV-0298-N (N.D.Tex. filed Feb. 17, 2009). Pursuant to those powers, the Receiver filed this action to recover approximately $760 million in alleged Stanford International Bank, Ltd. (“SIB”) certificate of deposit (“CD”) proceeds paid to certain Stanford investors (the “Investor Defendants”) and the Employee Defendants. See First Am. Compl. Against Certain Stanford Investors (the “Investor Complaint”) [128]; Investor Compl. App. [129]; Second Am. Compl. Against Former Stanford Employees (the “Employee Complaint”) [156]; Emp. Compl. App. [157].

The Receiver alleges that the Employee Defendants, through their work, furthered [667]*667the Stanford Defendants’ scheme and in return received compensation in the form of “salaries[,] Loans, SIB[] CD commissions, SIB[ ] Quarterly Bonuses, Performance Appreciation Rights Plan (“PARS”) Payments, Branch Managing Director Quarterly Compensation, and Severance Payments (collectively, CD Proceeds).” Employee Compl. at 2. The Receiver attributes to the Employee Defendants a minimum of approximately $215 million in CD Proceeds. See Employee Compl. at 16. Various Employee Defendants now move to dismiss the Employee Complaint under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8(a), 9(a), 12(b)(1), 12(b)(2), 12(b)(6).

II. The Court Has Jurisdiction Over the Receiver’s Claims and the Parties

Various Employee Defendants move to dismiss under Rule 12, almost exclusively arguing that the Receiver fails to state claims. As mandated by Fifth Circuit caselaw, however, the Court first addresses Defendant Crimmins’s contention that the Court lacks both subject matter and personal jurisdiction under Rules 12(b)(1) and (b)(2). See Ramming v. United States, 281 F.3d 158, 161 (5th Cir.2001) (citing Hitt v. City of Pasadena, 561 F.2d 606, 608 (5th Cir.1977) (per curiam)).

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction Standard

“A case is properly dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction when the court lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate the case.” Home Builders Ass’n of Miss., Inc. v. City of Madison, 143 F.3d 1006, 1010 (5th Cir. 1998) (citing Nowak v. Ironworkers Local 6 Pension Fund, 81 F.3d 1182, 1187 (2d Cir.1996)). “In examining a Rule 12(b)(1) motion, the district court is empowered to consider matters of fact which may be in dispute,” Ramming, 281 F.3d at 161 (citing Williamson v. Tucker, 645 F.2d 404, 413 (5th Cir.1981)), and should “grant[] [the motion] only if it appears certain that the plaintiff cannot prove any set of facts in support of his claim that would entitle plaintiff to relief.” Id. (citing Home Builders, 143 F.3d at 1010).3 In reality, “the federal courts have followed a general practice of granting jurisdiction in most cases and dismissing for lack of subject matter jurisdiction only under narrow circumstances.” Nowak, 81 F.3d at 1188. The plaintiff bears the burden of proof in the Rule 12(b)(1) context. See Ramming, 281 F.3d at 161.

B. The Court Has Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Crimmins proceeds pro se, and the Court liberally construes his objections. Even liberally construed, however, Crimmins’s subject matter jurisdiction argument consists of a conclusory statement that “the Receiver has ... failed to establish subject matter jurisdiction.” Crimmins’s Mot. to Dismiss and Answer at 2[488]. Crimmins does “admit[] that as the Court that appointed the Receiver, this Court may have jurisdiction over any claim brought by the Receiver to execute his Receivership duties.” Id. at 3. The Court therefore construes Crimmins’s argument as one directed at the Receiver’s standing given parallel liquidation proceedings in Antigua, a contention raised in this case primarily by Investor Defendants. The Receiver lacks standing to prosecute this action, the argument goes, because he stands in SIB’s shoes, and SIB is a foreign entity subject to the jurisdiction of Antiguan courts and regulatory entities. Because those authorities have placed SIB in [668]*668liquidation in separate proceedings, comity allegedly precludes the Receiver from asserting SIB’s choses of action because bringing claims on SIB’s behalf inherently conflicts with the Antiguan liquidators’ and receivers’ authority.

To the extent Crimmins makes this argument, it depends on a cramped interpretation of the Receiver’s authority. In denying the Employee Defendants’ motions to compel arbitration, the Court adopted the Fifth Circuit’s withdrawn arbitrability ruling in Janvey v. Alguire, 628 F.3d 164 (5th Cir.2010), superseded by 647 F.3d 585 (5th Cir.2011) (publication pending). See also Order of Aug. 26, 2011, at 3-7. Under the reasoning in that opinion, the Receiver’s hybridized powers allow him to stand in the shoes of the Stanford Defendants and also represent creditors in their recovery efforts. See id. at 3-7 (observing that receivers are “legal hybrids” who “stand[ ] in the shoes of the person for whom [they] ha[ve] been appointed,” serve as “instrument[s] of the court ... acting also for the stockholders ... and creditors of the corporation,” and “are imbued with rights and obligations analogous to the various actors required to effectively manage an estate in the absence of the ‘true’ owner” (internal quotation marks and citations omitted)). In that capacity, the Receiver has standing to bring creditors’ TUFTA claims. The Court therefore need not address Crimmins’s potential comity-based arguments. As the Receivership Court, it properly exercises subject matter jurisdiction over this ancillary asset recovery action brought on behalf of the Stanford Defendants’ creditors.

C. The Court Has Personal Jurisdiction over Crimmins and any Property in His Custody or Control Traceable to the Receivership Estate

Crimmins also “moves that the Receiver’s complaint be dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction.” Crimmins’s Mot. to Dismiss and Answer at 2.

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846 F. Supp. 2d 662, 2011 WL 7047035, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152198, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/janvey-v-alguire-txnd-2011.