Loya v. Loya

507 S.W.3d 871, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 12597, 2016 WL 6962313
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 29, 2016
DocketNO. 01-15-00197-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 507 S.W.3d 871 (Loya v. Loya) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Loya v. Loya, 507 S.W.3d 871, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 12597, 2016 WL 6962313 (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

Terry Jennings, Justice

Appellant, Leticia B. Loya, challenges the trial court’s orders granting the motions of appellees, Miguel Loya, Vitol, Inc. (“Vitol”), Michael Metz, and Antonio “Tony” Maarraoui, to dismiss, under contractual forum-selection clauses, her lawsuit against them for conspiracy, fraud, negligence, and breaches of fiduciary duty. In her sole issue, Leticia contends that the trial court erred in granting appellees’ motions and dismissing her lawsuit.

We affirm the orders of the trial court.

Background

In her second amended petition, Leticia alleged that prior to 2006, she and her husband, Miguel, were “major shareholders” in Vitol Holding II S.A. (“VHIISA”), which is based in Luxembourg and “one of the world’s largest independent energy trading companies.” Miguel was a member of its board of directors, and he was employed by Vitol, an affiliated entity in Houston, Texas. In 2006, Leticia and Miguel exchanged their VHIISA shares for shares in Tinsel Group, S.A. (“Tinsel”), a “newly created entity” affiliated with VHI-ISA and based in Luxembourg.1

In 2008, Leticia and Miguel began di[874]*874vorce proceedings.2 Leticia claimed a community property interest in the Tinsel shares, and Miguel filed a sworn inventory listing the value of the shares at $29,500,000. Leticia argued that Miguel’s valuation was “false” because he failed to include the value of certain rights included in the Tinsel shares and disclose that he and the other appellees were “actually in negotiations for Vitol to acquire ... equity in [Shell Oil Company’s] downstream business in approximately nineteen ... countries in Africa” for approximately “$1,000,000,000.” Leticia asserted that this information would have “significantly and materially impacted the value of the shares” that she had agreed to sell to Miguel in the divorce; he “had a duty to disclose this information and refrain from acting on it, but did not do so,” before she executed a June 13, 2010 mediated settlement agreement (“MSA”) in the divorce; “about one month” after she signed the MSA,” Shell announced that it was in “negotiations” with Vitol; and “the next year, Vitol increased its revenue, and Tinsel stock significantly increased in value.”

Leticia brought claims for conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and negligence in a stock transaction against Miguel, Vitol, and Tinsel directors, Michael Metz and Antonio Maarraoui. She alleged that they “conspired to aid and facilitate [Miguel’s] scheme to defraud” her by “concealing]” the “imminent acquisition of West African assets by Vitol.” And they breached their fiduciary duties to her by failing to “apprise her of all material information necessary for her to make an informed decision regarding a sale [of shares] to an insider [Miguel]”; “implement appropriate safeguards to ensure stockholders, like [her] are not unfairly disadvantaged”; and “establish appropriate internal controls to protect non-insider shareholders.” She argued that they owed her both formal and informal fiduciary duties because they had “dealt -with each other” for such a long period of time that such duties were owed. They “intentionally plotted and carried out a plan to actually defraud [her] personally and the community estate.” They “made material misrepresentations and omitted material facts regarding the valuation of Tinsel stock and the [appurtenant] rights to [her],” on which she relied to her detriment. And their conduct constituted “fraud in a stock transaction.”3 Leticia sought actual damages, punitive damages in the amount of $400,000,000, and attorney’s fees.

Vitol, Metz, and Maaraoui collectively filed an amended “Motion to Dismiss Based on Mandatory Forum Selection Clauses.” To their motion, they attached copies of the VHIISA and Tinsel shareholder’s agreements. In their motion, they asserted that “[a]s a shareholder of VHII-SA, [Miguel] signed the VHIISA shareholder’s agreement, which contains a mandatory forum-selection clause,” which states as follows:

10.11 Any dispute arising out of or [i]n connection with this Agreement or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof shall be submitted exclusively to the jurisdiction of the courts of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The agreement further provides that the parties intended for spouses to be bound as follows:

[875]*87510.6-All obligations of Shareholders with respect to any shares covered by this Agreement shall, as the context requires, bind Shareholder’s spouse and the divorce or death of such spouse shall not vitiate the binding nature of such obligation.

In 2006, when Miguel exchanged his VHII-SA shares for shares in Tinsel, he signed Tinsel’s shareholder’s agreement, which contains an identical clause and provision.

Vitol, Metz, and Maaraoui further asserted that Leticia’s claims are “based on her alleged status as a VHIISA and Tinsel shareholder and arise from the Shareholder’s Agreements.” And, “to the extent [she] claims she is a shareholder or claims any rights to the shares registered in [Miguel’s] name, she is bound by the forum-selection clauses” in the shareholder’s agreements. The forum-selection clauses unambiguously vest exclusive jurisdiction in the courts of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for “any dispute rising out of or in connection with the Shareholder’s Agreements.” And Leticia’s claims “fall squarely within the scope of the mandatory forum-selection clauses.”

Miguel also filed a “Motion to Dismiss Based on a Mandatory Forum Selection Clause.” To his motion, he attached Tinsel’s shareholder’s agreement. In his motion, he asserted that on June 22, 2010, “over four years ago,” the trial court entered a final decree of divorce on the MSA and Leticia did not appeal. And she now sues him “on property that was valued and divided in the decree,” claiming that he had a duty to “independently disclose potential future operations of his employer” and “failed to tell her about the existence of a potential business transaction,” which did not “e[o]me to fruition” until “approximately 14 months after the [decree] became final.” Miguel further asserted that a potential future business transaction had no bearing on the value of the community assets at the time they were divided. He argued that Leticia’s claims against him should be dismissed based on the forum-selection clause in Tinsel’s shareholder’s agreement, which governs the shares about which Leticia sues.

In her collective response, Leticia argued that she is not bound by the forum-selection clauses in the agreements because she “never signed” them, her claims do not fall within their scope, and exceptions apply to their enforceability. In his reply, Miguel argued that Leticia is bound by the contractual forum-selection clauses because she “characterizes herself as a shareholder of VHIISA and Tinsel and asserts her rights based on that status.” To his reply, Miguel attached copies of VHIISA’s and Tinsel’s shareholder’s agreements.

After a hearing, the trial court granted appellees’ motions to enforce the forum-selection clause and dismissed Leticia’s claims against them.

Standard of Review

We review a trial court’s decision regarding the validity and enforcement of a forum-selection clause for an abuse of discretion. In re AIU Ins. Co., 148 S.W.3d 109, 121 (Tex. 2004);

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507 S.W.3d 871, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 12597, 2016 WL 6962313, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loya-v-loya-texapp-2016.