Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Stucco Sys., LLC

289 F. Supp. 3d 457
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedJanuary 25, 2018
Docket17 Civ. 7936
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 289 F. Supp. 3d 457 (Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Stucco Sys., LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Stucco Sys., LLC, 289 F. Supp. 3d 457 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

Sweet, D.J.

Petitioner National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA ("National Union" or the "Petitioner") has moved by order to show cause to compel arbitration and for preliminary injunctive relief prohibiting Respondent Stucco Systems, LCC ("Stucco" or the "Respondent"), from pursuing litigation in Arizona state court.

For the reasons set forth below, Petitioner's motions cannot be resolved without an evidentiary hearing, which will be scheduled after consultation with the parties.

Prior Proceedings

On October 16, 2017, Petitioner filed its petition to compel arbitration. Dkt. No. 1. On October 17, Petitioner submitted and the Court issued an order to show cause for a preliminary injunction enjoining Respondent from prosecuting a pending Arizona state court action prior to resolution *461of the instant motion to compel arbitration. Dkt. No. 3.

On December 12, 2017, the instant motions were heard and marked fully submitted.

Facts

The following facts are taken from the briefs, declarations, and accompanying exhibits submitted by the parties for the instant motions. They are undisputed except as otherwise noted.

In 1984, Walter Schuster ("Schuster") and Charles Nibley ("Nibley") formed a stucco plastering company called Arizona State Plastering, Inc., which later changed its name to ANSE, Inc. ("ANSE"). Declaration of Walter D. Schuster dated November 28, 2017 ("Schuster Decl.") ¶¶ 9-10. Christopher Harris ("Harris") became a shareholder and director of ANSE in 1993. Id. ¶ 15. ANSE was authorized to do business in Arizona, Nevada, and California. Id. ¶¶ 3, 11. In addition to ANSE, Schuster, Nibley, and Harris formed other limited liability companies ("LLCs") to performed stucco work in regions not serviced by ANSE, perform administrative work for the aforementioned LLCs, and rent equipment for the same LLCs. Id. ¶¶ 16-23.

Starting in 2001 and continuing through 2007, National Union provided products liability, general liability, and workers' compensation liability insurance coverage to ANSE and others of the LCCs formed by Schuster, Nibley, and Harris (the "Payment Agreements"). Declaration of Nicholas P. Crowell dated October 17, 2017 ("Crowell Decl. I") ¶¶ 3-6. The Payment Agreements' insurance coverage required certain payment obligations by ANSE, and made ANSE's "predecessor and successor organizations, and each of [ANSE's] subsidiary, affiliated or associated organizations ... jointly and severally liable" for those payments. Id. Ex. 1, at 4.

The Payment Agreements required that "any dispute [ ]" related to the amount of the payment obligations under the agreements or "[a]ny other unresolved dispute arising out of this Agreement must be submitted to arbitration" and "must be governed by the United States Arbitration Act." Id. Ex. 2, at 8-9. The Payment Agreements also contained a delegation clause, which stated that arbitrators would have "exclusive jurisdiction over the entire matter in dispute, including any question as to its arbitrability." Id. Ex. 2, at 9. Lastly, the Payment Agreements stated that "any action or proceeding concerning arbitrability, including motions to compel or to stay arbitration, may be brought only in a court of competent jurisdiction in the City, County, and State of New York." Id. Ex. 2, at 12.

In December 2004, the ANSE Board of Directors, comprised of Schuster, Nibley, and Harris, noted in the Board's Consent Resolution that "based on the desires of the shareholder's to either retire, sell to pursue other business ventures, or to pursue individual operations in the industry," that ANSE was going to reorganize its operations. Schuster Decl. ¶ 27, Ex. M, at 5. From 2005 through 2007, Schuster and Nibley sold their respective interests in different ANSE-affiliated LLCs and the ANSE Board of Directors approved downsizing and closing different operations around Arizona and Nevada. Id. ¶¶ 28-41. Nibley retired from ANSE in 2008, all ANSE employees were terminated in February 2009, and Harris resigned in December 2009; Schuster remained the only ANSE officer after 2009. Id. ¶¶ 39, 42, 47. Between 2006 and 2009, ANSE's total income declined from over $3 million to a loss of over $100, 000. Id. ¶ 68; see id. Ex. Z.

In July 2008, Schuster and his wife, Marina Schuster ("Marina"), formed Stucco, *462a stucco contracting service licensed to do business in Arizona. Id. ¶ 49; Declaration of Marina Schuster dated November 27, 2017 ("Marina Decl.") ¶¶ 5-6. Stucco was initially capitalized with Schuster's personal funds. Schuster Decl. ¶ 50, Ex. X; Marina Decl. ¶ 18. Stucco employed several former ANSE employees. See Declaration of Manuel D. Perez dated November 27, 2017 ("Perez Decl.") ¶¶ 2-23; Crowell Decl. I Ex. 7, at 121, 138-44. Stucco leased and operated out of property that had been previously purchased and used by ANSE. Schuster Decl. 12-13, 52. Stucco also purchased certain office supplies and other equipment from ANSE. Schuster Decl. ¶ 51, Ex. X. The parties dispute whether Stucco's purchases of ANSE's equipment was at fair market value. See id. ¶¶ 51, 66-67; Crowell Decl. I Ex. 7, at 24-25, 104-05, 148-49. From 2008 to 2009, Stucco's gross sales grew from $0 to almost $3.5 million. Supplemental Declaration of Nicholas P. Crowell dated December 8, 2017 ("Crowell Decl. II") ¶ 4-5, Exs. 3-4.

In January 2014, ANSE filed for bankruptcy reorganization under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the Bankruptcy Court of the District of Arizona. Schuster Decl. ¶ 56; Declaration of Evan L. Thompson dated November 27, 2017 ("Thompson Decl.") ¶¶ 3. During that proceeding, National Union sought discovery against ANSE and Stucco, including taking a deposition of Schuster. Thompson Decl. ¶¶ 4-8. On June 10, 2015, National Union filed a Protective Motion to Lift the Bankruptcy Stay and Allow Pursuit of Claim Against Stucco Systems (the "Lift Motion"). Id. ¶ 9. Several hearings were held before the Bankruptcy Court, during which the ANSE bankruptcy was converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but without judicial resolution on National Union's Lift Motion. See id. ¶¶ 11-13.

On September 1, 2016, the United States Trustee ("U.S. Trustee") brought an adversary proceeding complaint against Stucco, Schuster, and Marina, which alleged that Stucco was a successor-in-interest to ANSE. Id. ¶ 16. A settlement of the adversary proceeding against Stucco and others was reached on January 31, 2017, to which National Union objected. Id. ¶¶ 16-19. On June 20, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court held a hearing on the proposed settlement agreement, during which the Bankruptcy Court stated, inter alia, that it was "not going to make a finding ... to determine whether those claims-what the fight is between those parties [National Union and Stucco]" and was "making no determination" as to "any claims held by third parties against other non-debtor entities, including the settling parties." Crowell Decl. II Ex. 2, at 9:10-12, 16:23-25, 17:7-8. On June 30, 2017, National Union withdrew its Protective Motion. Crowell Decl. II ¶ 9. On August 23, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court approved the Trustee's Application to Compromise Claims of the Estate and to Execute Settlement Agreement and Release. Thompson Decl. ¶ 24.

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