Sec. & Exch. Comm'n v. Watkins

317 F. Supp. 3d 1244
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedJune 27, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 1:16–CV–3298–SCJ
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 317 F. Supp. 3d 1244 (Sec. & Exch. Comm'n v. Watkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sec. & Exch. Comm'n v. Watkins, 317 F. Supp. 3d 1244 (N.D. Ga. 2018).

Opinion

HONORABLE STEVE C. JONES, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

*1249This matter appears before the Court on Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment against Defendants Donald V. Watkins, Sr. and Masada Resource Group ("Masada"). Doc. No. [108]. The Motion concerns the limited issue of whether these Defendants committed securities fraud with respect to three particular promissory notes. Id. As an initial matter, Defendants have filed a Motion for Leave to File a Sur-Reply in response to Plaintiff's motion. Doc. No. [117]. Neither the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure nor the Local Rules authorize the filing of sur-replies. Willoughby v. Youth Villages, Inc., 219 F.Supp.3d 1263, 1273 n.23 (N.D. Ga. 2016). The Court can, in its discretion, allow a sur-reply, but will do so only when a valid reason for additional briefing exists, such as when a movant raises new arguments in its reply brief. Id.; See also Fedrick v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, 366 F.Supp.2d 1190, 1197 (N.D. Ga. 2005). Here, Defendants' reason for their proposed sur-reply is unpersuasive. Defendants do not contend that Plaintiff raised a new argument, that they have newly discovered evidence, or that there has been an intervening change in binding precedent. Instead, they simply rehash their prior arguments and respond to Plaintiff's contentions. Doc. No. [117].

When a reply "squarely responds to the arguments in [a] response brief, and does not advance new arguments," a sur-reply is unwarranted. Henley v. Turner Broad. Sys., Inc., 267 F.Supp.3d 1341, 1349 (N.D. Ga. 2017). To allow sur-replies as a matter of routine "would put the court in the position of refereeing an endless volley of briefs." Fedrick, 366 F.Supp.2d at 1197 (quoting Garrison v. Northeast Georgia Med. Ctr., Inc., 66 F.Supp.2d 1336, 1340 (N.D.Ga.1999) ). Defendants' Motion for Leave to File a Sur-Reply (Doc. No. [117] ) is DENIED .

Additionally, Defendants also attempted-again-to exceed the page limit in a brief by "incorporat[ing] all of the facts stated in the Watkins Declaration and their Statement of Additional Facts." Doc. No. [115], p. 5. The Court fails to understand how Defendants thought they would "save the Court's time and resources" by forcing the Court to troll a 20-page statement of facts, 25-page declaration, and more than 400 pages of attachments to divine what facts Defendants intend to rely on. See Docs. No. [114], [115-2]. This is not the first time the Court has had to explain page limits to Defendants. The Court previously denied a motion they filed because they tried to " 'incorporate[ ]' a variety of other documents resulting in a brief that is, in actuality, more than 100 pages long." Doc. No. [17], pp. 2-3. As the Eleventh Circuit has explained, "district court judges are not required to ferret out delectable facts buried in a massive record." Chavez v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, 647 F.3d 1057, 1061 (11th Cir. 2011). In deciding the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, the Court considers only facts-supported by citations to the record-that are actually discussed by, cited to, and relied on by the parties in their briefs.

I. BACKGROUND

Since 2009, Defendant Donald V. Watkins, Sr. has owned Defendant Watkins Pencor LLC ("WP") and controlled Defendant Masada Resource Group ("Masada"), entities that directly or indirectly own patents *1250to technology that converts waste into ethanol. Doc. No. [108-2], p. 2, ¶ 1; Doc. No. [115-1], p. 1, ¶ 1. Watkins has also been involved with a variety of other businesses. He is a major shareholder of Alamerica Bank and, in May 2006 and September 2007, he took out loans of "approximately $2 million and $1.6 million, respectively, to purchase Alamerica Bank stock." Doc. No. [108-2], p. 3, ¶¶ 3, 5. He was the majority owner of Watkins Aviation, LLC, which was involved with an airplane-cargo venture named "Tradewinds" that led to lawsuits by two Detroit pension funds ("the Tradewinds Litigation"). Id. p. 4, ¶ 6; see also Doc. No. [115-1], p. 2, ¶ 6. Watkins and Watkins Aviation, LLC, were represented in the Tradewinds Litigation "by, among others, the Varnum law firm[;] the Brooks, Wilkins law firm; and Rich Hewlett." Doc. No. [108-2], p. 4, ¶ 7. Defendant Watkins also owns Nabirm, a company with rights to explore and exploit certain natural resources in Namibia. Id. ¶ 8.

During 2010 and 2011, Defendant Watkins was dating Marion Snell, who resided in Atlanta. Id. p. 5, ¶ 10. Watkins also owed his ex-wife-Deandra Watkins-$10,000 per month in alimony. Id. ¶ 11. His son, Donald V. Watkins, Jr., assisted with the administration of the businesses and handled the disbursement of funds, all of which were authorized and directed by Defendant Watkins. Id. ¶¶ 12-13. During the relevant time period, Defendant Watkins exclusively used the bank account of Relief Defendant Donald V. Watkins, PC ("DVWPC") for anything related to Masada. Id. ¶ 9.

Charles Barkley is a former NBA player and sole owner of Charles Barkley Enterprises. Id. ¶ 14. Between 2007 and 2012, Mr. Barkley personally or through his business invested or loaned at least $4,000,000 with Defendant Watkins. Doc. No. [107], p. 1, ¶ 3. In January 2007, Barkley purchased 5% of Defendant Watkins' economic interests in over a half-dozen different entities, including Masada. Doc. No. [114-1]. The purchase agreement mentions various operating agreements, but only in the context of: (1) "assignment provisions," (2) the "risk factors involved in [the] investment," and (3) the "buy-sell provisions." Id. pp. 2-3.1 Thereafter, Defendant Watkins solicited money from Mr. Barkley on the other occasions that form the basis of Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.

A. The First Barkley Note

On May 8, 2010, Defendant Watkins sent an email to Mr. Barkley stating that he had "an immediate opportunity ... to secure long-term waste management contracts for a Masada waste-to-ethanol in Morocco." Doc. No. [107-1], p. 2. He also said Masada had an opportunity to partner with "Mexico's richest man" for a project in that country, as well as opportunities for projects in "Senegal, South Africa, and South Korea." Id.

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