Kdw Restructuring & Liquidation Services LLC v. Greenfield

874 F. Supp. 2d 213, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81459, 2012 WL 2125986
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJune 12, 2012
DocketNo. 12 Civ. 258
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 874 F. Supp. 2d 213 (Kdw Restructuring & Liquidation Services LLC v. Greenfield) 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
Kdw Restructuring & Liquidation Services LLC v. Greenfield, 874 F. Supp. 2d 213, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81459, 2012 WL 2125986 (S.D.N.Y. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SHIRA A. SCHEINDLIN, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

KDW Restructuring & Liquidation Services LLC, trustee of the litigation trust held on behalf of debtor Jennifer Convert[218]*218ibles, Inc. (“Jennifer”), brings this action to recover losses stemming from 2009 transactions between Jennifer and Jara Enterprises, Inc. (“Jara”). Defendants include members of Jennifer’s 2009 Board of Directors (Greenfield, Bonn, Coyle, Abada, and Berman); and Jennifer’s corporate officers (Seidner, Mattler, and Falchook). All defendants now move to dismiss plaintiffs breach of fiduciary duty claim. For the reasons stated below, the motions of Mattler, Falchook, Seidner and Abada are granted, while the motion of Greenfield is denied. The motions of Bohn, Coyle, and Berman are granted in part and denied in part.

II. BACKGROUND

A. The Directors and Officers of Jennifer and Jara

Jennifer, a Delaware corporation, is the largest sofa bed and leather specialty retailer in the United States.1 Jara is a private company that operates under Jennifer’s brand name.2 Greenfield, Seidner, and Fred Love founded Jennifer and Jara.3 Upon Love’s death, Jane Love, Greenfield’s sister and Love’s widow, became Jara’s President and was the controlling shareholder of Jara during 2009.4 Greenfield and Seidner owned shares in Jara prior to 2009, but had sold them to Love.5 Abada, Falchook, and Mattler had been employees of Jara prior to 2009.6

Greenfield, Bohn, Coyle, Abada, and Berman comprised Jennifer’s Board of Directors in 2009.7 Greenfield remains Jennifer’s Chief Executive Officer.8 Abada remains Jennifer’s President.9 Seidner, though often present at Jennifer’s board meetings,10 is not a board member, but an Executive Vice President.11 Falchook and Mattler are Vice Presidents of Jennifer who were never present at board meetings during 2009.12

B. 1995 SEC Investigation

In 1995, the SEC commenced a formal investigation into Jennifer’s business.13 This investigation was accompanied by several class action and derivative suits against Jennifer’s directors, which resulted in several settlement agreements in 2005.14 These agreements required a “restructuring” of the relationship between Jennifer and Jara, and the creation of a “monitoring committee” to scrutinize the dealings between the two companies.15 Other agreements stipulated a price for merchandise, created a warehousing fee, and required Jara to contribute a minimum of $150,000 per month to cover advertising costs.16

[219]*219C. Financial Difficulties

In early 2009, Jennifer was experiencing financial difficulties—expected revenue increases had not materialized.17 Jara was also experiencing financial difficulties and was indebted to Jennifer.18 Jennifer’s board allowed Jara to continue to accumulate debt and created an “allowance for debt” of $3,167,000 for a thirteen-week period ending November 28, 2009.19

D. The 2009 Transactions

In a three-day meeting, beginning on November 23, it was agreed by the members of the Board, with the exception of Abada, that Jara would begin to function as an agent of Jennifer, taking a thirty-five percent commission.20 Jara defaulted on this agreement.21 Abada sought the expertise of an investment firm, TM Capital, regarding a Jara acquisition.22 TM Capital indicated that an acquisition of Jara would add only “marginally” to Jennifer’s marketability.23 Abada expressed his concern regarding the limited potential of an acquisition, most notably in an email prior to the November 23 meeting.24 He also expressed concerns regarding Greenfield’s presence in Jara-focused meetings, and was informed by the company’s counsel that Greenfield should refrain from voting.25 Greenfield recused himself on some occasions when Jara was discussed,26 but remained in the November 23 meeting without voting.27 However, Greenfield did vote to continue to ship products to Jara on one occasion.28 Greenfield also spoke with Jara’s representative on behalf of the Board,29 and expressed his consent to the final 2009 transaction, although he did not vote.30

On December 31, 2009, Jennifer acquired Jara’s business assets, paying $635,000 for Jara’s inventory.31 This final agreement relieved Jara of its obligation to pay $301,000 due under the previous agreement,32 and permanently relieved Jara of $4,000,000 in prior obligations.33 All directors approved this agreement.34 However, Abada expressed consistent reservations about any deal -with Jara,35 and approved the final deal reluctantly.36

[220]*220Jara provided no financial information prior to the agreements.37 The 2009 transactions caused Jennifer to suffer great financial loss—a net loss of $11.008 million dollars at the end of the 2009 fiscal year.38 Losses also totaled $6.8 and $6.4 million in the first and second quarter of 2010, respectively.39

III. LEGAL STANDARD A. Motion to Dismiss

On a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court must assume “all well-pleaded, nonconclusory factual allegations in the complaint to be true”40 and “draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor.”41 On the other hand, “threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.”42 To survive a motion to dismiss, therefore, the allegations in the complaint must meet a standard of “plausibility.”43 A claim is facially plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.”44 Plausibility “is not akin to a probability requirement,” rather, plausibility requires “more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.”45

The plaintiff in support of her claim may allege “upon information and belief’ facts that are “peculiarly within the possession and control of the defendant.”46 Conversely, the plaintiff should not allege upon information and belief matters that are presumptively within her personal knowledge, unless she rebuts the presumption.

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Bluebook (online)
874 F. Supp. 2d 213, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81459, 2012 WL 2125986, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kdw-restructuring-liquidation-services-llc-v-greenfield-nysd-2012.