Memoryten, Inc. v. LV Administrative Services, Inc.

942 F. Supp. 2d 1157, 2013 WL 1828305
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedApril 30, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 12-cv-0993-WJM-BNB
StatusPublished

This text of 942 F. Supp. 2d 1157 (Memoryten, Inc. v. LV Administrative Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Memoryten, Inc. v. LV Administrative Services, Inc., 942 F. Supp. 2d 1157, 2013 WL 1828305 (D. Colo. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

WILLIAM J. MARTÍNEZ, District Judge.

Plaintiff MemoryTen, Inc. (“Plaintiff’) has brought this action against Defendants LV Administrative Services, Inc., Laurus Master Fund, Ltd., Laurus Capital Management, LLC, Valens Capital Management, LLC, Valens Investment Advisers, L.P., (collectively the “LV Defendants”), Silicon Mountain Holdings, Inc. (“Silicon”), Silicon Mountain Memory, and WayTech, LLC, alleging breach of contract and related claims. (Second Am. Compl. (“SAC”) (ECF No. 125).) Before the Court is the LV Defendants’ Renewed Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) (“Motion”). (ECF No. 129.) For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs claims arise out of the alleged breach of a Subscription Agreement con[1161]*1161tract dated August 12, 2008 (“Subscription Agreement”). (SAC ¶ 1.) Plaintiff, Defendant Silicon, and Defendant LV Administrative Services were signatories to the Subscription Agreement, which included an agreement for Plaintiff to invest in Silicon in exchange for Silicon stock warrants and the first right to negotiate to acquire Silicon’s Memory Component Distribution Business. (SAC ¶¶ 24-26; Subscription Agreement (ECF No. 1 Ex. A; ECF No. 18-2) ¶¶ 3, 8.) Defendant LV Administrative Services’ role in the Subscription Agreement was “as agent for [Silicon]’s senior secured creditors,1 the Laurus/Valens Funds.” (Subscription Agreement ¶ 8.1.) The Subscription Agreement made Plaintiffs first right to negotiate to acquire Silicon’s Memory Component Distribution Business “subject to the rights of’ the Laurus/Valens Funds as Silicon’s senior secured creditors, and provided that they would not “unreasonably withhold consent or approval” for the subject transactions between Silicon and Plaintiff.2 (Id. ¶¶8.1-8.4.) The Subscription Agreement also contained a provision indicating that it would be governed by and construed in accordance with Colorado law. (Id. ¶ 10.)

In 2011, Silicon’s assets were transferred to the LV Defendants, who then sold Silicon’s assets to Defendant Way-Tech, allegedly without granting Plaintiff its right to negotiate to purchase the Memory Component Distribution Business. (SAC ¶¶ 45-49.) Plaintiff then filed its initial Complaint against Silicon and the LV Defendants on April 13, 2012, alleging breach of the Subscription Agreement and related claims. (ECF No. 1.)

On June 1, 2012, the LV Defendants filed their initial Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction Pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2). (ECF No. 18.) Plaintiffs brief in Response and supporting affidavits were filed on July 2, 2012. (ECF Nos. 29, 30, 31, 34.) The LV Defendants filed -their Reply on July 20, 2012. (ECF No. 36.) With leave of Court, Plaintiff filed a Supplemental Response to the Motion on November 28, 2012 (ECF No. 85), and the LV Defendants filed a Supplemental Reply on December 14, 2012. (ECF No. 91.)

The LV Defendants and three affiliated parties (collectively “Counterclaimants”) also filed Counterclaims on September 17, 2012, in their Answer to Plaintiffs Complaint, alleging Counterclaims against Plaintiff and one additional party (collectively “Counter-Defendants”). (ECF No. 45.) Counter-Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the Counterclaims Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(6) on October 8, 2012. (ECF No. 57.) After a Response, a Reply, and a Supplemental Response to the Counter-Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss were filed (ECF Nos. 72, 77, 87), Counterclaimants filed their First Amended Counterclaims on March 15, [1162]*11622013. (ECF No. 135.) Counter-Defendants then filed a Renewed Motion to Dismiss on April 15, 2013, recognizing that Counter-Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss was moot due to the filing of the First Amended Counterclaims. (ECF No. 143.) Accordingly, the Court dismissed as moot Counter-Defendants’ original Motion to Dismiss, and ordered a Response and a Reply to be filed to Counter-Defendants’ Renewed Motion to Dismiss. (ECF No. 144.)

Similarly, Plaintiff filed its First Amended Complaint (ECF No. 98) on December 20, 2012, and on January 17, 2013, the LV Defendants filed a Renewed Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction (ECF No. 106), recognizing that their initial Motion (ECF No. 18) was also moot. Accordingly, the Court denied the initial Motion as moot, but because the First Amended Complaint did not affect the merits of the Motion, the Court ordered that the parties’ briefs filed with respect to the original Motion would be considered in evaluating the renewed Motion. (ECF No. 110.)

On March 5, 2013, Plaintiff filed its SAC. (ECF No. 125.) As a result, the LV Defendants again renewed their Motion. (ECF No. 129.) Consequently, the Court denied the LV Defendants’ prior Renewed Motion as moot, and once again ordered that the parties’ filings with respect to the original Motion would be considered in evaluating the LV Defendants’ second Renewed Motion. (ECF No. 144.) The Motion is therefore fully briefed and ripe for resolution. (ECF Nos. 18, 34, 36, 85, 91, 129.)

II. LEGAL STANDARD

The purpose of a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2) is to test whether the Court has personal jurisdiction over the named parties. The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing personal jurisdiction over a defendant. Behagen v. Amateur Basketball Ass’n, 744 F.2d 731, 733 (10th Cir.1984). When the district court does not hold an evidentiary hearing before ruling on jurisdiction, “the plaintiff need only make a prima facie showing” of personal jurisdiction to defeat a motion to dismiss. Id. (citing Am. Land Program, Inc. v. Bonaventura Uitgevers Maatschappij, N.V., 710 F.2d 1449, 1454 n. 2 (10th Cir.1983)). A prima facie showing is made where the plaintiff has demonstrated facts that, if true, would support jurisdiction over the defendant. OMI Holdings, Inc. v. Royal Ins. Co. of Can., 149 F.3d 1086, 1091 (10th Cir.1998). To defeat the plaintiffs prima facie ease, a defendant “must present a compelling case demonstrating ‘that the presence of some other considerations would render jurisdiction unreasonable.’ ” Id. (quoting Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 477, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985)).

“To obtain personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant in a diversity action, a plaintiff must show that jurisdiction is legitimate under the laws of the forum state and that the exercise of jurisdiction does not offend the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Benton v. Cameco Corp., 375 F.3d 1070, 1075 (10th Cir.2004) (quoting Soma Med. Int’l v. Standard Chartered Bank,

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Bluebook (online)
942 F. Supp. 2d 1157, 2013 WL 1828305, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/memoryten-inc-v-lv-administrative-services-inc-cod-2013.