Silver State Broadcasting, LLC v. Beasley FM Acquisition

148 F. Supp. 3d 1132, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163178, 2015 WL 7871027
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedDecember 3, 2015
DocketCase No. 2:11-cv-01789-APG-CWH
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 148 F. Supp. 3d 1132 (Silver State Broadcasting, LLC v. Beasley FM Acquisition) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Silver State Broadcasting, LLC v. Beasley FM Acquisition, 148 F. Supp. 3d 1132, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163178, 2015 WL 7871027 (D. Nev. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION TO DISMISS OR FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

(Dkt. #202)

ANDREW P. GORDON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This case arises out of the parties’ disputes-following their entry into an Asset [1135]*1135Purchase Agreement (“APA”) for two radio stations in Las,Vegas, Nevada and other related agreements. Plaintiffs Silver State Broadcasting, LLC and Golden State Broadcasting, LLC assert claims against defendants Beasley FM Acquisition Corporation, Beasley Broadcasting of Nevada, LLC, WAEC License Limited Partnership, and KJUL License LLC based on the defendants’ alleged breaches of the various agreements. The defendants assert counterclaims alleging Silver State is the breaching party. The defendants move to dismiss or for summary judgment on several claims in the Second Amended Complaint.1

I grant in part and deny in part the motion to dismiss or for summary judgment directed' at the Second Amended Complaint. I deny as moot the motion for summary judgment on the defendants’ counterclaims.

II. ANALYSIS

Summary judgment is appropriate if the pleadings, depositions, discovery responses, and affidavits demonstrate “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), (c). A fact is material if it “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). An issue is genuine if “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Id.

The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the record that demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The burden then shifts to the non-moving party to go beyond the pleadings and set forth specific facts demonstrating there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Fairbank v. Wunderman Cato Johnson, 212 F.3d 528, 531 (9th Cir.2000). I view all evidence and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. James River Ins. Co. v. Hebert Schenk, P.C., 523 F.3d 915, 920 (9th Cir.2008).

A. Contract Claims Based on the APA (counts 1 and 10)

The Second Amended; Complaint asserts two claims based on the APA: breach of contract (count 1) and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing (count 10). The defendants argue that Silver State cannot maintain these claims because it assigned all of its rights under the APA to Exeter 1031 Exchange Services, LLC and has never obtained the rights back. Silver State responds that the assignment was done to facilitate the “legal fiction” of an investment property exchange under the internal revenue laws and regulations.

Silver State’s side of the APA transaction was structured as a “1031 exchange”: an investment property exchange under Internal Revenue Service regulation 26 C.F.R. § 1.1031. (Dkt. # 202-9 at 21-22.) A 1031 exchange permits a taxpayer to avoid recognizing a taxable gain or loss if it engages in a like-kind exchange of investment property within a certain period of time. 26 C.F.R. § 1.1031(a)-l(a). Typically, the taxpayer, or “exchanger,” sells investment property and has a certain number of days to close on the purchase of replacement property. See McHale v. Silicon Val[1136]*1136ley Law Grp., 919 F.Supp.2d 1045, 1046-47 (N.D.Cal.2013).

To avoid having to pay capital gains taxes on the sale of the property, the exchanger may not take possession of the sale proceeds. Id. When the taxpayer’s transfer and receipt of like-kind properties are not executed simultaneously, the taxpayer may use a qualified intermediary to facilitate a deferred exchange. 26 C.F.R. § 1.1031(k)-1(k). This is accomplished through a written exchange agreement between the taxpayer and the qualified intermediary pursuant to which the qualified intermediary acquires the relinquished property from the taxpayer, transfers the relinquished property, acquires like-kind replacement property, and transfers the replacement property to the taxpayer. 26 C.F.R. § 1.1031 (k)-1 (g)(4)(iii).

“In such a case, the taxpayer’s transfer of relinquished property and subsequent receipt of like-kind replacement property is treated as an exchange, and the determination of whether the taxpayer is in actual or constructive receipt of money or other property before the taxpayer actually receives like-kind replacement property is made as if the qualified intermediary is not the agent of the taxpayer.” San Francisco Residence Club, Inc. v. Baswell-Guthrie, 897 F.Supp.2d 1122, 1134 (N.D.Ala.2012) (citing 26 C.F.R. § 1.1031(k)-1(g)(4)(i)). .

Stated differently, in order to preserve the legal fiction of an ‘exchange,’ the exchanger cannot directly receive money when transferring the relinquished property to the qualified intermediary for sale. Instead, the qualified intermediary holds the funds derived from, the sale of the relinquished property until the closing on the acquisition of the replacement property. At that time, the qualified intermediary delivers to the seller of the replacement property the funds used to purchase that property, and then transfers to the taxpayer-exchanger title to the replacement property. Such transactions have been approved as a valid means of effecting an ‘exchange’ of property for the purposes of favorable tax treatment under Section 1031.

Id. A qualified intermediary “is treated as acquiring and transferring replacement property if the intermediary (either on its own behalf or as the agent of any party to the transaction) enters into an agreement with the owner of the replacement property for the transfer of that property and, pursuant to that agreement, the replacement property is transferred to the taxpayer.” 26 C.F.R. § 1.103100-l(g)(4)(iv)(C),

Here, prior to closing on the APA, Silver State2 purportedly assigned all right, title, and interest (but not obligations) under the APA to Exeter 1031 Exchange Services, LLC (“Exeter”) pursuant to a Tax-Deferred Exchange Agreement. (Dkt. # 202-8 at 6-7; Dkt. # 202-9 at 22; Dkt.

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Bluebook (online)
148 F. Supp. 3d 1132, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163178, 2015 WL 7871027, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/silver-state-broadcasting-llc-v-beasley-fm-acquisition-nvd-2015.