MP Associates Suffolk, Inc. v. Americana Petroleum Corp.

39 Misc. 3d 341
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 17, 2013
StatusPublished

This text of 39 Misc. 3d 341 (MP Associates Suffolk, Inc. v. Americana Petroleum Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
MP Associates Suffolk, Inc. v. Americana Petroleum Corp., 39 Misc. 3d 341 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Joseph C. Pastoressa, J.

A bench trial of action No. 1 was conducted before this court at which the court heard testimony from plaintiff Haluk Dincsalman, Erhan Kaatsiz, Bruce Vetri, and Frank Mascolo. Action No. 2 was resolved by stipulation. Based on the credible evidence adduced, including exhibits introduced into evidence and the parties stipulated facts, the court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

The plaintiffs commenced this action for a permanent injunction seeking an order enjoining defendant Americana Petroleum Corporation from taking any action to enforce an affidavit of confession of judgment (COJ) signed by plaintiff Haluk Dincsalman, individually and as the president of plaintiff MP Associates Suffolk, Inc. (MPA), and an assignment and assumption of lease signed by Dincsalman as president of MPA. In addition, the plaintiffs also seek a court order declaring the COJ and the assignment null and void.

Plaintiff Dincsalman is the president of MPA and Er-Hal Management Corp. Er-Hal is in the business of managing three retail gasoline stations in Shirley, New York. MPA manages one gas station located in Miller Place, New York, pursuant to a long-term lease MPA signed with defendant Miller Beach Commons, Inc. in October 1996. Dincsalman has a 50% co-owner in both Er-Hal and in MPA, Mr. Erhan Kaatsiz. Dincsalman has been purchasing gasoline for the subject gas stations from defendant Americana for the past 20 years, and he has become friendly with Americana’s principal officer, Frank Mascolo. Er-Hal fell behind in its payments to Americana, and as the amounts due and outstanding continued to mount Mascolo repeatedly telephoned Dincsalman who was out of the country in Turkey, demanding that he return home to make payment. [343]*343Dincsalman indicated that he could not return home for a few weeks but implored Mascolo to continue to make fuel deliveries to his gas stations which Mascolo did because of their longstanding relationship. While Dincsalman was away in Turkey his partner Erhan Kaatsiz had been left in charge and “was running the show.” Mascolo went to Kaatsiz a couple of times to discuss the nonpayment problem and Mascolo indicated that Kaatsiz was aware of it and was aware of how much money was owed to Americana, then having accumulated to over one million dollars outstanding.

Upon his return from Turkey, Mascolo met Dincsalman to discuss how payment would be made and, for his own peace of mind, what type of security Dincsalman could provide to permit Mascolo to continue providing fuel deliveries to him without fear of a recourseless default. Dincsalman proposed the placing of liens on the three separate properties on which the Er-Hal gas stations were operated. However, title searches showed the properties to be already encumbered and worthless as collateral. Mascolo advised Dincsalman that the only asset he had which could serve as adequate security was the lease on the Miller Place gas station managed by MPA. Mascolo proposed that he could take an assignment of that lease as security and Dincsalman responded “go ahead draw up the papers.” The confession of judgment and assignment of lease which is the subject of this action were prepared and presented to Dincsalman and signed by him first without notary and then re-signed with a notary acknowledgment.

The plaintiffs brought this action now seeking a declaration that the subject documents are null and void on the ground that plaintiff Dincsalman had no idea what he was signing, and on the grounds that they are unenforceable for a failure to comply with section 909 of the Business Corporation Law and due to a lack of consideration, and finally on the ground that Americana would be unjustly enriched if it is permitted to enforce the COJ and the assignment.

Having observed the demeanor of the witnesses as they testified and having considered the substance of their testimony, assessing the credibility of the respective witnesses’ claims at trial, the court finds the plaintiffs’ allegations and arguments patently incredible and rejects the plaintiffs’ sought relief in toto as entirely without merit. Indeed, to grant the plaintiffs’ requested relief would work a grave injustice, and, ironically, unjustly enrich not Americana or its principal Mascolo as [344]*344claimed by the plaintiffs, but rather plaintiff Dincsalman and his co-owner Mr. Erhan Kaatsiz.

At trial, Mr. Dincsalman testified that he just signed the subject papers without reading them. However, on further questioning, he indicated that in over 30 years of business he had probably never signed papers without reading them until, of course, the papers involved in this case. While a doubtful assertion on its face, the court having had the benefit of assessing his demeanor as Dincsalman rendered it, found the claim even more incredible and rejects it as nothing more than a convenient fabrication. Similarly incredible was the testimony of Mr. Erhan Kaatsiz. Mr. Kaatsiz took the stand as a prior felon, having been convicted on federal drug trafficking charges involving cocaine and heroin, and having served eight years in prison. It was shown that in their application for a New York State lottery license for their gas stations, where an applicant’s prior felony conviction would be fatal thereto, the ownership interests of Mr. Kaatsiz in the gas stations was omitted. On repeated questioning throughout his testimony Mr. Kaatsiz displayed evasive responses and would not definitively admit or deny whether he had knowledge of the critical facts at issue in this case including whether he knew of the debt to Americana, knew of the confession of judgment or knew of the assignment of the lease. Specifically, when asked whether he knew of the lease assignment to Americana he testified “I don’t remember,” and when asked whether he discussed it with Mr. Dincsalman he testified “I don’t think so,” and when asked whether he gave his permission for a confession of judgment for the debt of one million dollars to be entered against MP Associates he testified ‘T don’t remember.” In sum, he could not or would not definitively assert that he had no knowledge of the debt outstanding which his companies had run up for fuel deliveries from Americana or that he had no knowledge of the confession of judgment or lease assignment granted as security to insure further fuel deliveries for his gas stations.

Against this backdrop, the plaintiffs now seek to use section 909 of the Business Corporation Law, a statute enacted to protect minority shareholders from the divestment of substantially all of a corporation’s assets without their knowledge, to set aside the subject confession of judgment and lease assignment because those documents were executed without a formal shareholders meeting and, according to plaintiffs, without Mr. Kaatsiz’s knowledge and consent.

[345]*345Putting aside the questions whether section 909 even applies in the circumstances of this case given that Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
39 Misc. 3d 341, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mp-associates-suffolk-inc-v-americana-petroleum-corp-nysupct-2013.