Nahill v. Raytheon Co.

25 Mass. L. Rptr. 320
Massachusetts Superior Court·Decided December 11, 2008·No. No. 063883BLS2·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Fabricant, Judith, J.

INTRODUCTION

This action arises from the re-purchase of the plaintiffs stock after his termination from his position as chairman and chief executive officer of Flight Options, LLC (Flight Options). Among the multiple claims against multiple defendants asserted in his complaint is a claim of breach of fiduciary duly against the six individual members of the company’s board of managers. Five of those individuals now move to dismiss that claim. For the reasons that will be explained, the motions will be allowed.

BACKGROUND

The facts relevant to the instant motion, taken from the Third Amended Complaint, are as follows. At all material times, Raytheon Travel Air Company (RTA) was a wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon Aircraft Holdings, Inc, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon Company (Raytheon). RTA was the majority shareholder of Flight Options; individual defendants Louise Francesconi, Charles E. Franklin, Kathryn Gilchrist Simpson, William Lynn (collectively, the RTA defendants) represented RTA’s interests on the Board of Managers of Flight Options (board). Robert Pinkas (Pinkas), and Travis Metz (Metz), the other members of the board, represented the interests of two minority shareholders, Brantley Capital Corp. and Monitor Clippers Partners, respectively.

The plaintiff, John P. Nahill, had been an officer of Raytheon for some three years before he was assigned in 2002 to work at Flight Options, first as its finance executive and then as its president. In February 2003, Nahill became Flight Options’ chairman of the board and chief executive officer. In connection with his assigned employment at Flight Options, Nahill and Flight Options entered into an employment agreement, titled the Restricted Unit Award Agreement (Award Agreement or Agreement), dated January 30, 2004. Pursuant to that agreement, as partial compensation Flight Options issued Nahill 6,579,706 common units of stock in the company, representing slightly less than 6% of the outstanding shares.

The Award Agreement granted Flight Options the right to purchase Nahill’s vested shares, within one year, in the event that he was terminated without cause. The Agreement provided that the board would set the purchase price, in good faith, based on the liquidation value of the company. In case of disagreement about the price, the agreement provided for an appraisal process: Nahill would have five days to file a timely objection. Each party would then appoint a nationally recognized appraisal firm, and then the two firms would agree upon and appoint a third independent nationally recognized appraiser. The independent appraiser would, within thirty days, make a determination of value “which shall be final and binding on the parties.” Flight Options would bear the costs and expenses of the independent appraiser unless the initial price it set was at least 90% of the value as determined by the independent appraiser, in which case Nahill would bear those costs and expenses. The agreement made no provision for any information or disclosures to be provided to Nahill before or in connection with his exercise of the right to appraisal.

Flight Options terminated Nahill, without cause, in 2005.2 On April 4, 2005, the board voted to purchase Nahill’s common units for an aggregate price of $1.00. [321]*321Nahill timely objected, and Flight Options appointed its appraiser. Nahill responded not by appointing an appraiser, but by requesting that Flight Options provide him with certain information, including annual budgets, operating and strategic plans, and audited financial statements. He asserts that he needed the requested information to inform his decision whether to appoint an appraiser, and that Raytheon had provided much, if not all, of this information to Standard & Poor’s, from which Raytheon had commissioned an assessment of the value of Flight Options common stock. Flight Options did not grant Nahill’s request for information, and the deadline for his appointment of an appraiser passed. The company then sent Nahill a check for $1.00 for his shares.

Nahill brought this action on September 15, 2006, and has amended his complaint three times. His third amended complaint asserts six counts, including three against Raytheon,3 two against Flight Options,4 and one against the six individual defendants. The sole count against the individuals, count IV, alleges breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the determination of the purchase price for the stock and the failure to provide the information Nahill sought. It is that count that is the subject of the present motions, filed by the RTA defendants and Metz.5 For reasons that will be explained, the motions to dismiss will be allowed.

DISCUSSION

To withstand a motion to dismiss, a plaintiffs complaint must contain “allegations plausibly suggesting (not merely consistent with) an entitlement to relief, in order to reflect [a] threshold requirement. . . that the plain statement possess enough heft to sho[w] that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Iannacchino v. Ford Motor Co., 451 Mass. 623, 636 (2008), quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1966 (2007) (internal quotations omitted). While a complaint need not set forth detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff is required to present more than labels and conclusions, and must raise a right to relief “above the speculative level. . . [based] on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Id. See also Harvard Crimson, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., 445 Mass. 745, 749 (2006); Eyal v. Helen Broadcasting Corp., 411 Mass. 426, 429 (1991) (court must take as true allegations of complaint as well as all inferences therefrom).

The defendants argue that Nahill’s claim of breach of fiduciary duty does not state a claim under Delaware law,6 because their duties to Nahill with respect to the stock purchase were governed solely by the contract. They argue also that the contract precludes recourse to the courts, and that the particular facts alleged would not amount to a breach of fiduciary duly, even aside from the contract. The Court agrees with the first of these contentions, and therefore will not reach the others.

Delaware, like Massachusetts, imposes a fiduciary duty on majority shareholders and directors to minority shareholders. Glassman v. Unocal Exploration Corp., 777 A.2d 242, 247 (Del. 2001); Eisenberg v. Chicago Milwaukee Corp., 537 A.2d. 1051, 1062 (Del.Ch. 1987). That duty extends to conduct affecting rights and obligations that are shared equally by all stockholders. Jebwab v. MGM Grand Hotels, Inc., 509 A.2d 584, 594 (Del.Ch. 1986). Where however, a dispute arises from rights and obligations created by a contract between the corporation and a particular shareholder or class of shareholders, no fiduciary duty extends obligations beyond those provided by contract; in such an instance, the dispute is governed by contract principles, not equitable principles. Id.; Gale v. Bershad, 1998 WL 118022 at *5 (Del.Ch. 1998); Moore Bus. Forms, Inc. v. Cordant Holdings Corp., 1995 WL 662685 at *6 (Del.Ch. 1995).7

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Nahill v. Raytheon Co., 25 Mass. L. Rptr. 320 (Mass. Ct. App. 2008).

25 Mass. L. Rptr. 320 (Nahill v. Raytheon Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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