KBL PROPERTIES, LLC v. Bellin

900 So. 2d 1160, 2005 WL 613354
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 17, 2005
Docket2004-CA-00785-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 900 So. 2d 1160 (KBL PROPERTIES, LLC v. Bellin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
KBL PROPERTIES, LLC v. Bellin, 900 So. 2d 1160, 2005 WL 613354 (Mich. 2005).

Opinion

900 So.2d 1160 (2005)

KBL PROPERTIES, LLC and Mazin A. Kalian
v.
Mark S. BELLIN.

No. 2004-CA-00785-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

March 17, 2005.
Rehearing Denied May 19, 2005.

*1161 John Barnett Turner, Jr., Matthew P. Cavitch, attorney for appellants.

Louis Ferree Allen, Oscar Clark Carr, III, attorneys for appellee.

Before COBB, P.J., DICKINSON and RANDOLPH, JJ.

DICKINSON, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. In this dispute between members of a Mississippi limited liability company the chancery court granted summary judgment for the defendant minority interest member. Concluding that the chancellor misconstrued the operating agreement under the Mississippi Limited Liability Company Act, Miss.Code Ann. §§ 79-29-101 to-1204 (Rev.2001 & Supp.2004), we reverse and remand this case for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND FACTS

¶ 2. KBL Properties, LLC was formed as a Mississippi limited liability company on December 31, 2001, with an LLC agreement entitled "Operating Agreement." KBL had three founding members, each of whom initially invested $1 of equity: Mazian A. Kalian, with a financial interest of 40%; Clay Lane, with a financial interest of 30%; and Mark S. Bellin, with a financial interest of 30%. Similarly, Kalian had a governance interest of 40%, Lane had a governance interest of 30%, and Bellin had a governance interest of 30%.[1] Kalian was the manager.

¶ 3. At a meeting of the LLC members on March 6, 2003, Kalian and Lane voted to authorize KBL to raise additional equity in the amount of $225,000, and invited all members to invest additional equity. Bellin abstained from the vote, while Kalian and Lane agreed to invest more equity and together invested $157,500. Bellin did not invest any new equity; and therefore, his contributed capital remained at $1. Under the terms of the operating agreement, Bellin's financial interest declined to 0.00063 percent as a result of the new contributions of equity capital.[2] Thereafter, Lane *1162 served Bellin with notice of a "buy-sell" offer.[3] Lane offered to buy Bellin's interest for $6.30 (Bellin's financial interest after Lane and Kalian's equity contributions) or to sell his own interest to Bellin for $428,569.60 (Lane's financial interest after his equity contribution). Bellin did not respond, but his attorney wrote to Kalian's counsel objecting to the March 6, 2003, resolution and threatening Lane and Kalian with personal liability if the resolution were implemented.

¶ 4. Kalian, Lane, and KBL filed suit against Bellin in the Chancery Court of DeSoto County for a declaratory judgment that KBL's raising of additional equity capital was lawfully authorized, Bellin's financial interest was lawfully reduced in accordance with the LLC agreement, Lane had lawfully exercised his buy-sell option, and that Lane was entitled to lawfully purchase Bellin's entire membership interest in accordance with his buy-sell offer. Bellin answered and filed counterclaims.[4] Bellin also filed a motion for summary judgment and argued that (1) that the cash call and dilution resolution of the March 6, 2001, meeting was void, and (2) that Lane's buy-sell offer to Bellin was void. KBL and Kalian filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, seeking dismissal of Bellin's claims, and judgment as a matter of law on all issues. The chancellor held a hearing on the competing summary judgment motions and granted summary judgment in favor of Bellin on both issues, that is, the chancellor found that the operating agreement and the Mississippi Limited Liability Company Act required unanimous consent of all parties before any mandatory capital contributions could be required, and that, therefore, the cash call resolution of March 6, 2003, was void on its face. The chancellor further found that Lane's "buy-sell" offer to Bellin was void.[5] The chancellor denied the cross-motion for summary judgment filed by KBL, Kalian, and Lane.[6] Subsequently, the chancellor *1163 certified as final the order granting summary judgment under Rule 54(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. KBL and Kalian[7] now appeal the chancellor's judgment.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 5. This Court reviews summary judgments de novo. Massey v. Tingle, 867 So.2d 235, 238 (Miss.2004) (citing Hardy v. Brock, 826 So.2d 71, 74 (Miss.2002); Heirs and Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Branning ex rel. Tucker v. Hinds Cmty. Coll. Dist., 743 So.2d 311, 314 (Miss.1999)). The facts are viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. (citing Robinson v. Singing River Hosp. Sys., 732 So.2d 204, 207 (Miss.1999)). The existence of a genuine issue of material fact will preclude summary judgment. Id. The non-moving party may not rest upon allegations or denials in the pleadings but must set forth specific facts showing that there are genuine issues for trial. Id. (citing Richmond v. Benchmark Constr. Corp., 692 So.2d 60, 61 (Miss.1997)).

ANALYSIS

I. Motion to Strike Attachment to Appellants' Brief

¶ 6. As a preliminary matter, we must address Bellin's Motion to Strike Attachment to Appellants' Brief.[8]

¶ 7. KBL and Kalian attached to their brief a transcript of a special joint meeting of members and manager of KBL that occurred on March 6, 2003. This transcript in its entirety[9] was not part of the original record, but Kalian submits it with the following comment:

(The Record contains an incomplete version of the court reporter's Transcript of the March 6, 2003 Special Joint Meeting of Members and Manager. The entire Transcript was admitted into evidence at the September 7, 2004 trial on Bellin's counterclaim. Accordingly, the entire Transcript is attached.)

Bellin argues that under Mississippi Rule of Appellate Procedure 10 the transcript pages were not part of the record in the chancery court, and therefore not considered by the chancellor when ruling on the summary judgment motions, should not be considered by this Court.

¶ 8. We will not consider the transcript pages not part of the record attached to KBL and Kalian's brief. Rule 10 of the Mississippi Rules of Appellate Procedure states:

(f) Limit on Authority to Add to or Subtract From the Record. Nothing in this rule shall be construed as empowering the parties or any court to add to or subtract from the record except insofar as may be necessary to convey a fair, accurate, and complete account of what transpired in the trial court with respect to those issues that are the bases of appeal.

The comment to Rule 10(f) states: "Subdivision (f) clearly states that the flexible procedures of this rule are not intended to permit a party to augment the record with matters entered ex parte." M.R.A.P. 10 *1164 cmt. This appeal is limited to the issue of whether the trial court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of Bellin, and these transcript pages were not available to the trial court when it determined the merits of the summary judgment motion. Therefore, we grant Bellin's motion to strike and will not consider either the additional transcript pages or address arguments made by Kalian and KBL that reference them.

II. The Summary Judgment Order

¶ 9.

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