Reinsurance Partners Investments v. Maite, LLC

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedDecember 26, 2024
Docket1:24-cv-22563
StatusUnknown

This text of Reinsurance Partners Investments v. Maite, LLC (Reinsurance Partners Investments v. Maite, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reinsurance Partners Investments v. Maite, LLC, (S.D. Fla. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

CASE NO. 24-22563-CIV-ALTONAGA/Reid

REINSURANCE PARTNERS INVESTMENTS, et al.,

Plaintiffs, v.

MAITE, LLC; et al.,

Defendants. _____________________________/

ORDER THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant, 530 Mashta, LLC’s (“Mashta[’s]”) Motion to Dismiss Maite’s Amended Counterclaim [ECF No. 44], filed on November 6, 2024. Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff, Maite, LLC filed a Response [ECF No. 49], to which Mashta filed a Reply [ECF No. 52]. The Court has carefully considered Maite’s Amended Counterclaim [ECF No. 38] and its attachments; the parties’ written submissions; and applicable law. For the following reasons, the Motion is denied. I. BACKGROUND Mashta and Plaintiff, Tri-Cap Holdings, LLC initiated this suit against Defendants, Robert M. Koffler, Maite, and RMK Ngena, LLC on July 26, 2024. (See Tri-Cap Holdings, LLC v. Koffler, No. 24-cv-22865, Compl. [ECF No. 1] filed July 26, 2024 (S.D. Fla. 2024)).1 Maite filed its Amended Counterclaim, against Mashta alone, on October 23, 2024. (See generally Am. Countercl.). The case arises from a tortured business relationship between the parties and a subsequent dispute over a large, purportedly over-due debt. (See generally id.).

1 This case was originally filed under case number 24-cv-22865; the Court consolidated that case and the above-captioned case on September 6, 2024. (See generally Sept. 6, 2024 Order [ECF No. 28]). “Koffler was the sole founder, Chairman, and CEO of Lera Investment Technologies, Inc. (‘LIT’) since its inception in 2013 until 2023[.]”2 (Id. ¶ 12 (alteration added)). Maite describes him as “the visionary ‘working partner’ at LIT.” (Id. ¶ 23). Camilo Montana, via Mashta, and Gabriel Holschneider, via Tri-Cap, became members of LIT in 2016; and, along with Koffler, via Maite, were the controlling shareholders of the company from 2016 to 2023.3 (See id. ¶¶ 20–22).

The three shareholders “kept the same percentage interest in LIT while maintaining a separate tally of complex interpersonal or intercorporate loans.” (Id. ¶ 24). Montana and Holschneider, via Mashta and Tri-Cap, allegedly loaned millions of dollars to Maite and Koffler with the understanding that “Koffler did not have and would never have the ability to repay the loans . . . other than through the envisioned and reasonably expected success of LIT and Maite’s percentage ownership of LIT.” (Id. ¶ 25 (alteration added)). This system of loans was going to be halted after three years, and the shareholders would arrive at a balance at such time. (See id. ¶ 26). According to Maite, this plan was abandoned because “Montana and Holschneider[] were not completely free agents in charge of the funds that

they had invested” and lent. (Id. ¶ 27 (alteration added)). Montana and Holschneider allegedly were “forced” to push Koffler and Maite into executing two Debt Acknowledgement Agreements in September 2022 and a Forbearance Agreement on April 1, 2023. (Id.). Despite concededly signing the Debt Acknowledgement Agreements and the Forbearance Agreement, “both Montana and Holschneider promised and reassured Koffler that they would never implement or exercise the terms of the Debt Acknowledgement Agreement, and . . . , they would never allow such documents to be exercised against Koffler and Maite.” (Id. ¶ 31 (alteration added)).

2 “LIT is a very valuable and important financial/technology company that has developed a unique business offering to deliver technology as a service to major companies around the world.” (Am. Countercl. ¶ 13).

3 In 2023, LIT received institutional funding. (See Am. Countercl. ¶ 16). In October 2023, Koffler, Montana, and Holschneider met with LIT’s accountants and reached what Maite terms the “Settlement Agreement.” (Id. ¶ 35; see also id. ¶¶ 34–38). The Settlement Agreement “consisted of the effective novation of all of [Koffler, Montana, and Holschneider’s] interpersonal and intercorporate transactions . . . in exchange for the formation of

a new limited liability company[.]” (Id. ¶ 35 (alterations added)). The Settlement Agreement “further mapped a clear path and . . . a three-year time frame for Koffler to pay the monies he owed [Montana and Holschneider] while collateralizing all his debt with his two partners with the LIT shares.” (Id. ¶ 36 (alterations added)). In exchange for the Settlement Agreement, “Koffler and Maite promised the other LIT Shareholders that they would commit to take, oversee, and complete the immediate short-term resolution of an existential tripartite contractual issue that LIT was having with two of its three most significant and important clients/partners: Santander Bank and Accenture.” (Id. ¶ 37). To implement the Settlement Agreement, Maite allegedly took two actions. First, “Koffler and Maite made an agreement with Holschneider and Tri-Cap that . . . Maite’s shares in LIT would

include the payment of Tri-Cap’s debt to Mashta.” (Id. ¶ 40 (alteration added)). In exchange, Tri- Cap and Holschneider forgave any debt Maite and Koffler had with them.4 (See id.). Second, “Koffler, through Maite, contributed virtually all his LIT[] stock (approximately 99%), into” a new company, called El Gran Pote, LLC. (Id. ¶ 39 (alteration added)). Koffler signed the Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of El Gran Pote (“Operating Agreement”) on November 20, 2023. (See id.; see also id., Ex. 1, Operating Agreement [ECF No. 38] 21–35). Maite claims that “Mashta fraudulently induced Koffler and Maite to transfer millions of dollars [sic] worth of Maite’s shares of LIT, without consideration to Montana and Mashta, by

4 “This was because the debt that Holschneider and Tri-Cap had with Mashta and Montana was reasonably equivalent to the money that Maite and Koffler owed Tri-Cap and Holschneider.” (Am. Countercl. ¶ 40). assigning Maite’s membership interest to the new El Gran Pote to Mashta.” (Id. ¶ 42). Montana, Koffler, and Holschneider allegedly had an extensive WhatsApp group voice call on November 27, 2023, during which Montana told Koffler that he needed proof that Mashta owned the LIT stock to avoid foreclosure on Montana’s home. (See id. ¶ 46). Montana purportedly promised

Koffler that he would “undo and void” the assignment in a few months when Montana’s foreclosure issues resolved. (Id.). Maite alleges these were lies to induce it to assign its shares without due consideration. (See id. ¶¶ 47–48). Per the Operating Agreement, “Maite would be entitled to the fair market value of its percentage interest upon its disassociation from Gran Pote” when it assigned its shares to Mashta. (Id. ¶ 44). Rather than a fair-market valuation of its shares, Maite alleges that “Mashta converted Maite’s and Koffler’s stock in LIT in violation of the Operating Agreement without giving Maite and Koffler any consideration whatsoever for the value of these shares[.]” (Id. ¶ 45 (alteration added)). Maite brings two counterclaims against Mashta: one, a counterclaim of recission of the

assignment of its shares based on fraudulent inducement (see id. ¶¶ 49–65); and two, an alternative counterclaim of breach of the Operating Agreement (see id. ¶¶ 66–74). Mashta moves to dismiss the Amended Counterclaim in its entirety for failing to state claims for relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (See generally Mot.). II. LEGAL STANDARD “A motion to dismiss a counterclaim under [Federal] Rule [of Civil Procedure] 12(b)(6) is treated the same as a motion to dismiss a complaint.” Fabricant v. Sears Roebuck, 202 F.R.D. 306, 308 (S.D. Fla. 2001) (alterations added; citation omitted).

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