Rockwood Dev. Corp. v. Shostak

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedJanuary 27, 2005
DocketKENcv-03-107
StatusUnpublished

This text of Rockwood Dev. Corp. v. Shostak (Rockwood Dev. Corp. v. Shostak) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rockwood Dev. Corp. v. Shostak, (Me. Super. Ct. 2005).

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL ACTION KENNEBEC, ss. DOCKET NO. CV-03-107 g q w - ,"-& - 1

ROCKWOOD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, Plaintiff

DECISION AND ORDER

JOHN SHOSTAK, JR., et al.,

Defendants

This matter is before the court after bench trial. The orignal complaint was

brought against John Shostak, Jr., Craig Shostak and Maine Centrex Corporation. John

Shostak, Jr. and Craig Shostak are brothers. John Shostak, Jr. is sole owner of Maine

Centrex. The complaint accuses John Shostak, Jr. and Craig Shostak of breach of their

fiduciary duties in their relationship to plaintiff corporation arising out of a

construction contract between Rockwood Development Corporation ("Rockwood") and

Maine Centrex Corporation ("Maine Centrex") wherein Maine Centrex constructed a

building on property of Rockwood in the cities of Augusta and Hallowell. In addition

to the breach of fiduciary claims, Rockwood alleges breach of contract and warranty

claims against Maine Centrex, unjust enrichment and fraudulent misrepresentation

against John Shostak, Jr. and breach of a third-party beneficiary agreement against

defendant Craig Shostak. Finally, the complaint asks for punitive damages against

Maine Centrex, John Shostak, Jr. and Craig Shostak.

There is an extensive hstory of litigation between John Shostak, Jr. and Craig

Shostak on the one hand and Diane Shostak and Jeffrey Shostak, present owners of Rockwood, on the other. Substantial proceedings and claims have been heard by the court between the brothers and sister arising out of the ownership and attempted

liquidation of Rockwood, all a matter of record.

The four Shostaks herein mentioned along with Sharmin Shostak are all children

of John Shostak, Sr., the founder of Shostak Construction Corporation. Previous

litigation did not include Rockwood as a party (see CV-99-138). That matter resulted in

a settlement agreement between the cluldren in which they each executed mutual

releases purporting to be a complete release of all claims between the parties of

whatever kind as of the effective date of the agreement, dated September 10,2001. The

releases, however, did not cover items particularly stated in this court's order of August

22, 2001, wherein the court recognized that the parties agreed on six items that were not

resolved by the agreement nor waived by the releases. Within the context of h s

matter, only two are applicable. However, defendants have asserted as an affirmative

defense the effect of the releases to bar any claim for breach of fiduciary duty on the

part of the defendants while they were officers and directors of Rockwood

Development and any other common law claims which have been alleged in the

complaint.

As has become obvious from the evidence, particularly an examination of the

corporate minutes of shareholder meetings and board of director meetings of the

plaintiff corporation, a great degree of sibling distrust has existed and continues to exist

between the two camps - John, Jr. and Craig in one camp and Jeffrey and Diane in the

other. A fifth sibling, Sharmin, has not involved herself in h s or previous litigation

and appears to have made continued attempts to participate in a business-like manner

without deference to either camp.

The court must first address the issue of the mutual releases. First, the court takes judicial notice of the circumstances existing at the time of the settlement agreement since it is the same court that presided over those proceedings. This court's

order particularly exempted from the settlement agreement, and therefore the releases,

the following two matters:

(a) Whether the charge by Maine Centrex to Rockwood of $1,082,276 is

supported by the documentation?

(b) Whether a State Fire Marshal's permit should have been issued and, if so,

who presently bears the responsibility for its accomplishment?

There were other exceptions listed in the court's order not in issue under tlus complaint.

The effect of the settlement agreement was to cause John Shostak, Jr. and Craig

Shostak to sell their interest in Rockwood Development to Diane and Jeffrey Shostak

and to otherwise remove themselves from involvement in the plaintiff corporation. It

places Diane and Jeffrey Shostak in ownershp and control of the corporation. Whle

there were numerous Qsagreements between the camps regarding the operation of

Rockwood while in the hands of John and Craig Shostak, the releases were to settle all

matters in that respect except the final issues remaining of the Maine Centrex contract

since it was clearly asserted at the time that Diane and Jeffrey Shostak believed that

John and Craig Shostak had enriched themselves at the expense of Rockwood

Development and therefore depleted its value prior to transfer of ownership to Diane

and Jeffrey Shostak. Therefore, the accountability arising out of the construction

contract with Maine Centrex was the remaining matter to be resolved. Inasmuch as

Rockwood Development was not a party to the previous litigation, an action between

shareholders, it could not settle any corporate claims it had against Maine Centrex or

any derivative actions against its officers. Although it was not a party to CV-99-138,

Rockwood did execute a mutual release of John and Craig as part of the settlement.

However, the clear intent of the parties was to leave the final issues with regard to Maine Centrex to be determined. Therefore, except as noted, the assertion by the

defendants that the plaintiff has waived any claim it has against them by virtue of their

actions as officers and directors of Rockwood Development in the Maine Centrex

transaction must be denied.

The second procedural matter to be addressed in the hstory of this case is the

status of Maine Centrex. The construction contract between Rockwood and Maine

Centrex utilized a standard form of agreement between owner and contract containing

a provision for mandatory bindng arbitration. When this action was initiated, Maine

Centrex moved to remove the court proceeding as against it in h s litigation because of

the requirement in the contract, fully supported by Maine law, to require the parties to

send those claims to arbitration. The court ordered that to be done. The plaintiff

neglected to do so within the period of time allowed. Therefore, Maine Centrex has

been dismissed from h s action with prejudice.

As a business corporation, the claims of the plaintiff are governed by its

corporate record and the relationshp of the parties to that corporation. A recitation of

the events in proper chronology is important to understand the analysis by the court in

applying the law. On July 28,1999, a special meeting of the directors of Rockwood was

held. Directors Craig, John, Jr., Jeffrey and Diane Shostak were present with Sharmin

Shostak present by telephone. Also present was an attorney representing John, Jr. and

Craig Shostak, an attorney representing Jeff Shostak, an attorney representing

Rockwood and an attorney by telephone who was the clerk of the corporation. Among

other business transacted at that meeting was a motion by John Shostak, Jr. that the

president and vice-president, Craig and John Shostak, Jr., be authorized to continue negotiations and to consummate the transaction, including construction, with Cumulus

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Rockwood Dev. Corp. v. Shostak, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rockwood-dev-corp-v-shostak-mesuperct-2005.