MSKP Oak Grove, LLC v. Venuto

875 F. Supp. 2d 426, 2012 WL 2369353, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86172
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedJune 20, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 10-6465 (JBS/JS)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 875 F. Supp. 2d 426 (MSKP Oak Grove, LLC v. Venuto) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
MSKP Oak Grove, LLC v. Venuto, 875 F. Supp. 2d 426, 2012 WL 2369353, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86172 (D.N.J. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

SIMANDLE, Chief Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

This action, in which Plaintiff alleges various violations of the New Jersey Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 25:2-20 et seq., and other causes of action arising under New Jersey law, is before the Court on Defendants’ motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). [Docket Item 20.] This is the second time the Court has considered such a motion in this action; Defendants previously moved to dismiss Plaintiffs original Complaint, which the Court granted without prejudice on August 8, 2011, 2011 WL 3475449. [Docket Items 11 & 12.] The instant motion seeks to dismiss Plaintiffs Amended Complaint. [Docket Item 24.] In brief, this case involves the sale of substantially all of the assets of Defendant Hollywood Tanning Systems, Inc. (“HTS”) to nonparty Tan Holdings, LLC in 2007 for approximately $40 million and a 25% ownership interest in Tan Holdings. Subsequent to this asset sale, HTS paid all creditors whose claims were due and owing, and then distributed approximately $16 million to its shareholders, Defendants Carol and Ralph A. Venuto, Sr.1, Ralph A. Venuto, Jr., Carol Rebbecchi, and Richard P. Venuto (“the shareholders”). Approximately a year after the asset sale to Tan Holdings and apparently at some point after the distribution to shareholders, Plaintiff, a commercial landlord in Florida, notified HTS that it was in default on a lease; payment of which Plaintiff has not been able to secure from any party. Consequently, Plaintiff seeks to have a portion of the 2007 distribution to the shareholders set aside as a fraudulent conveyance, improper distribution, or unjust enrichment.

The principal questions at issue in Defendants’ motion are (1) whether Plaintiff has alleged an intentionally fraudulent transfer with the requisite specificity and plausibility, (2) whether, at the time of the shareholder distribution, HTS’s assets appeared sufficient to cover its liabilities, and (3) whether Plaintiff is collaterally es-topped from pursuing its fraudulent transfer claims. As discussed below, the Court concludes that Plaintiff has sufficiently alleged the elements of an intentionally fraudulent transfer as well as a constructive fraudulent conveyance, but has failed to allege that HTS was insolvent at the time of the shareholder distribution. The Court will grant in part and deny in part Defendants’ motion.

II. BACKGROUND

The facts described below are taken from those facts alleged in Plaintiffs Amended Complaint and from undisputedly authentic documents upon which Plaintiff relies in its Amended Complaint. See Pension Ben. Guar. Corp. v. White Consol. Indus., Inc., 998 F.2d 1192, 1195, n. 1 (3d Cir.1993).

Prior to the events alleged in this action, Defendant HTS was a New Jersey corporation that operated tanning salons and sold franchises and tanning equipment to independent tanning salons. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 7-8. In 2003, HTS leased a commercial retail space in a shopping center in Florida from a predecessor in interest to Plaintiff MSKP Oak Grove, LLC (“MSKP” or “Plaintiff’). Id. ¶ 19. In 2004, Plaintiffs [432]*432predecessor consented to HTS’s request to sublease the space to a franchisee of HTS (a non-party entity known- as Altamonte Chick Shades, Inc.), though HTS remained liable on the lease in the event of Alamonte’s default. Id. ¶¶ 20-21. Plaintiff acquired the landlord’s rights under the lease agreement in January of 2007.

On April 18, 2007, HTS and Tan Holdings entered into an asset purchase agreement in which Tan Holdings acquired almost all of HTS’s assets in exchange for payment to HTS of approximately $40 million, approximately 25% of the issued and outstanding preferred units of Tan Holdings, and certain contingent “earn out” payments that would be made to HTS only if Tan Holdings’ earnings met certain thresholds within the first two years following the asset purchase. Id. ¶¶ 9-10,12. HTS apparently remained liable on its lease with Plaintiff despite the asset sale to Tan Holdings. Id. ¶ 21 (“Hollywood Tanning remained liable on the lease” after subletting to its franchisee).

On June 22, 2007, the asset purchase agreement closed between Tan Holdings and HTS. Am. Compl. ¶ 15. After the deal closed, Defendant HTS used “much of’ the $40 million acquisition price to settle all then-outstanding debts owed to creditors of HTS;' Tan Holdings did not assume liability for such debts that were due and owing at the time of the closing. Id. ¶ 13, 16; Asset Purchase Agreement at ¶ 2.4(d). The remainder was distributed, some time thereafter not specified in the Amended Complaint, to the Defendant shareholders of HTS, in the aggregate amount of approximately $16 million. Id. ¶ 17.

After HTS had paid the company’s debts that were due and owing at the time of the closing, and subsequently distributed the approximately $16 million to its shareholders, Defendant HTS’s remaining assets were the approximately 25% ownership stake in Tan Holdings and the possibility of being paid specific “earn outs” should Tan Holdings meet certain earnings thresholds. Plaintiff does not allege sufficient facts from which the Court’ can estimate the approximate value of these assets, as no information about the aggregate valuation of Tan Holdings is alleged. However, the Court notes that one of the Defendants later said that the 25% ownership interest seemed to be of “substantial value” to the HTS shareholders at that time. Venuto June 18, 2010 Deposition at 27:5-10.2

On July 3, 2008, Plaintiff notified Defendant HTS that its sublettor franchisee had defaulted on its lease. Id. ¶ 24. Plaintiff sued Defendant HTS and the franchisee Alamonte Chick Shades in state court in Florida to recover for breach of the lease. Id. ¶ 25. Plaintiff subsequently won a judgment against Defendant HTS in the Florida action for approximately $411,573, which remains unpaid. Id. ¶ 26-28. Tan Holdings, similarly, did not succeed after the acquisition; in May of 2009, it turned over its assets to its creditors. Id. ¶ 37. Defendant Ralph Venuto, Jr. described the company as having gone bankrupt. Venuto June 18, 2010, Dep. at 17:13. In addition to Plaintiff, at least 14 other landlord creditors have sought to collect on various [433]*433liabilities of HTS after the shareholder distribution. Ana. Conapl. ¶ 89.

Plaintiff filed the original Complaint in this action on December 13, 2010, naming as defendants only the shareholder Defendants. [Docket Item 1.] Defendants moved to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim, which the Court granted on August 8, 2011, dismissing the Complaint without prejudice to Plaintiff filing a motion for leave to amend to cure the defects of the original Complaint. [Docket Items 11 & 12.] Plaintiff thereafter moved to file an amended complaint, which Defendants did not oppose. Plaintiffs Amended Complaint, which added HTS as a Defendant, was subsequently docketed [Docket Item 24]; the Amended Complaint asserts six counts against Defendants: Counts One through Four involve claims under the New Jersey Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (“NJUFTA”), N.J. Stat. Ann. § 25:2-20 et seq.

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Bluebook (online)
875 F. Supp. 2d 426, 2012 WL 2369353, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86172, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mskp-oak-grove-llc-v-venuto-njd-2012.