Obenauf v. CIDCO Investment Services, Inc.

561 N.E.2d 1070, 54 Ohio App. 3d 131, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 2252
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 18, 1990
Docket57125
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 561 N.E.2d 1070 (Obenauf v. CIDCO Investment Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Obenauf v. CIDCO Investment Services, Inc., 561 N.E.2d 1070, 54 Ohio App. 3d 131, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 2252 (Ohio Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

John V. Corrigan, J.

Plaintiffs-appellants, Carl Obenauf and Charles Effinger, appeal the trial court’s judgment rendered in favor of defendants-appellees, CIDCO Investment Services, Inc. (“CIDCO”) and Sandra Stana. The facts giving rise to the instant appeal are as follows.

On or about September 24, 1984, IFPS Securities Corporation (“IFPS”) issued an Amended and Restated Private Offering Memorandum for Lewiston Steam & Power Associates (“Lewiston”), an Ohio limited partnership. The memorandum was used to promote and sell forty-seven units of a limited partnership interest in Lewis-ton. The units in the limited partnership interest constituted “securities” within the meaning of R.C. 1707.01(B).

IFPS served as the placement agent in the sale of the units of the Lewiston limited partnership interest, and CIDCO, a licensed securities dealer, served as the broker in the sale of these securities. In its dealer agreement with CIDCO, IFPS agreed to indemnify CIDCO for any liability caused by the failure to comply with the Blue Sky laws of any state.

In October 1984, appellee Sandra Stana, while acting as a licensed salesperson for appellee CIDCO, approached, encouraged and aided in the sale of two units of the limited partnership interest in Lewiston to appellants. Stana provided separate copies of the memorandum and subscription agreements to both appellants.

On October 27, 1984, appellant Carl Obenauf executed a subscription agreement and purchased one unit of the limited partnership interest. On October 29, 1984, appellant Charles Effinger executed a subscription agreement and purchased one unit of. the limited partnership interest. Appellants each, as consideration for their respective one unit of the limited partnership interest: (1) paid a cash purchase price of $40,000; (2) assumed a pro rata portion of a $9,000,000 *132 promissory note of Lewiston’s equal in value to $191,489.37 per unit; and (3) executed an indemnity agreement indemnifying Northwestern National Insurance Company, a bonding company providing a financial guarantee bond for Lewiston’s promissory note, for payments required to be made under that bond.

The offering and sales material provided to appellants indicated that the units of the limited partnership interest would not be registered under the Ohio Securities Act. Instead, the units would be sold in Ohio under the exemption from registration requirements of the Ohio Securities Act established by R.C. 1707.03(Q). Thus, the sale of the Lewiston units of the limited partnership interest was not registered by description, coordination or qualification.

In order to perfect the exemption available under R.C. 1707.03(Q) for a given sale of securities in Ohio, a Form 3-Q must be filed with the Ohio Division of Securities not later than sixty days after the sale. IFPS gave CIDCO its express assurance that it would file the Form 3-Q in conformity with R.C. 1707.03.

After Stana concluded her transactions with appellants, CIDCO forwarded to IFPS the subscription agreements for the sale of the units of the Lewiston limited partnership interest executed by appellants. Since appellees relied on IFPS to timely file the Form 3-Q for the sale of the units, neither CIDCO nor Stana communicated with IFPS, or made any other effort, to ascertain whether Form 3-Q had been filed. Appellees relied on the prior assurances of IFPS that it would handle the filing of Form 3-Q.

On January 11, 1985, a Form 3-Q Exemption Application was filed with the Ohio Division of Securities for the sale of the units of the limited partnership interest for all investors in Lewiston. Form 3-Q was filed seventy-foür days after the sale to appellant Effinger, and seventy-six days after the sale to appellant Obenauf. Neither a Form 39, pursuant to R.C. 1707.39, nor a Form 391, pursuant to R.C. 1707.391, was filed with the Ohio Division of Securities to rectify the late filing of the Form 3-Q.

On October 21, 1986, appellants filed their complaint against appellees seeking the rescission of the sale of the units of the Lewiston limited partnership interest. Appellants argued that they were entitled to a rescission of the sale since the sale was allegedly made in violation of R.C. Chapter 1707. On October 6, 1987, CIDCO filed a third-party complaint against IFPS. CIDCO contended in its third-party complaint that under its dealer agreement with IFPS, IFPS agreed to indemnify CID-CO for any liability that might arise in the sale of the units of the Lewiston limited partnership interest.

On August 30, 1988, the parties submitted the case to the trial court for a decision on a stipulated record. The parties stipulated into evidence the facts and exhibits pertaining to the instant matter.

On December 27, 1988, the trial court issued its order, wherein judgment was rendered in favor of ap-pellees. The trial court found that the late filing of the Form 3-Q did not materially affect the protection contemplated by R.C. 1707.03(Q). The trial court further found that appellees did not act knowingly and intentionally with respect to the sale of the units of the Lewiston limited partnership interest and the late filing of the Form 3-Q.

Appellants filed a timely notice of appeal and subsequently raised the following assignments of error:

“I. The trial court erred by failing to properly apply the law to the un *133 disputed facts and by rendering judgment for the defendants-appellees.

“II. The trial court erred by not finding the sale of unregistered securities to be a violation of Chapter 1707 of the Ohio Revised Code.

“HI. The trial court erred by finding that the late filing of the Form 3-Q did not materially affect the protection contemplated by O.R.C. 1707.03(Q), and by failing to find that the sale of unregistered securities was material to the protection contemplated by the Ohio Blue Sky Laws.

“IV. The trial court erred by finding that plaintiffs-appellants must establish that defendants-appellees acted knowingly and intentionally with respect to the Form 3-Q’s late filing and the sale of the limited partnership units in Lewiston.

“V. The trial court erred by not finding defendants-appellees jointly and severally liable and by not granting rescissionary [sic] relief under O.R.C. 1707.43 to the plaintiffs-appellants.”

When viewed collectively, it is apparent that the sole issue raised by appellants’ assignments of error is whether the trial court erred in not granting rescissory relief where the sale of the units of the Lewiston limited partnership interest allegedly violated R.C. Chapter 1707. Therefore, appellants’ assignments of error will be addressed together.

Under R.C. 1707.43, the purchaser of a security in violation of any provision of R.C. Chapter 1707 may be entitled to restitution of his purchase price. R.C. 1707.43 provides in pertinent part:

“Every sale or contract for sale made in violation of Chapter 1707. of the Revised Code, is voidable at the election of the purchaser.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
561 N.E.2d 1070, 54 Ohio App. 3d 131, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 2252, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/obenauf-v-cidco-investment-services-inc-ohioctapp-1990.