Steven Spiritas, Individually and as Trustee of the Spiritas SF 1999 Trust, Spiritas Ranch Enterprises, LLP, and J. Spiritas Land & Cattle Company v. Susan Davidoff, Individually and as Trustee of the Spiritas SC 1999 Trust

459 S.W.3d 224, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 1944, 2015 WL 870125
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 27, 2015
Docket05-14-00068-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 459 S.W.3d 224 (Steven Spiritas, Individually and as Trustee of the Spiritas SF 1999 Trust, Spiritas Ranch Enterprises, LLP, and J. Spiritas Land & Cattle Company v. Susan Davidoff, Individually and as Trustee of the Spiritas SC 1999 Trust) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Steven Spiritas, Individually and as Trustee of the Spiritas SF 1999 Trust, Spiritas Ranch Enterprises, LLP, and J. Spiritas Land & Cattle Company v. Susan Davidoff, Individually and as Trustee of the Spiritas SC 1999 Trust, 459 S.W.3d 224, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 1944, 2015 WL 870125 (Tex. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice Lang

This is an accelerated interlocutory appeal of the trial court’s order appointing a receiver for two Texas entities. Those entities are appellants Spiritas Ranch Enterprises, LLP (“SRE”), a Texas limited liability partnership, and J. Spiritas Land & Cattle Company (“JSLC”). 1 Both entities are owned in equal portions by two of the parties in this case, appellant Steven Spiritas, individually and as trustee of the Spiritas SF 1999 Trust (“Spiritas”), and appellee Susan Davidoff, individually and as trustee of the Spiritas SC 1999 Trust (“Davidoff’).

In two issues on appeal, Spiritas contends the trial court (1) abused its discretion by appointing a receiver for SRE and JSLC because there is no evidence of any of the statutory requirements for appointment of a receiver and (2) erred “in concluding as a matter of law that an event requiring a ‘winding up’ of SRE occurred and its assets .must be ‘liquidated’ by a receiver, when none of the statutory prerequisites for a winding up occurred and instead there was an event of withdrawal *226 by Davidoff warranting the redemption of her partnership interest.” 2

We decide in favor of Spiritas on his first issue. We need not reach Spiritas’s second issue. The portion of the trial court’s order appointing a receiver for SRE and JSLC is reversed and this case is remanded to the trial court.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Spiritas contends, in part, there was no evidence before the trial court to support imposition of a receivership and as a matter of law it was error to appoint a receiver. Accordingly, we recount in detail the procedure and evidence before the trial court.

SRE was formed in 1977 by several members of the Spiritas family, including Steven Spiritas and his sister, Susan Davi-doff, to hold approximately 745 acres of real property located near Highway 380 in Denton County, Texas (the “Property”). 3 Currently, Spiritas and a trust he controls, the Spiritas SF 1999 Trust, collectively own fifty percent of SRE and Davidoff and a trust she controls, the Spiritas SC 1999 Trust, collectively own the remaining fifty percent. Additionally, Spiritas and Davi-doff are equal shareholders in JSLC, which uses the property held by SRE to operate a cattle business.

Spiritas filed this lawsuit against Davi-doff on July 29, 2013. In his live petition at the time of the order complained of, Spiritas sought (1) damages for breach of the partnership agreement governing SRE (the “Partnership Agreement”) and breach of fiduciary duties allegedly owed by Davi-doff and (2) declaratory relief, including a declaratory judgment that a July 30, 2013 letter from Davidoff to Spiritas requesting a “winding up” of SRE (the “July 30, 2013 letter”) constituted “an event of withdrawal” as to SRE. Spiritas asserted in part in his live petition that Davidoff (1) “refuses to participate in any business venture controlled by [SRE] ”; (2) “takes every step to frustrate the conduct of partnership business by various means, including but not limited to seeking to force the sale of [the Property]”; (3) has “intentionally and willfully obstructed the partnership from conducting partnership affairs”; and (4) is “making it impossible to carry on the business of [SRE].”

Davidoff filed (1) a general denial answer and (2) a motion asking the trial court to abate this case pending final disposition of a separate lawsuit filed by her against Spiritas on July 30, 2013, in the 191st Judicial District Court in Dallas County or, alternatively, transfer this case to the 191st Judicial District Court so “both lawsuits may be heard jointly.” 4 The trial court signed a September 20, 2013 order granting a motion 5 by Spiritas *227 to transfer the above-described lawsuit filed by Davidoff .from the 191st Judicial District Court to the trial court and consolidate the two cases in the trial court. Subsequent to that order, Spiritas filed a general denial answer respecting Davidoffs claims.

On November 19, 2013, Davidoff filed an “Emergency Motion for Authority to Sell Partnership Property or, in the Alternative, to Appoint a Receiver.” According to Davidoffs motion,

The Property has been appraised and SRE has received a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) to purchase the Property.... There currently exists a lot of activity in the area due to the current uptick in the housing market resulting in an increase in the value of the Property.... SRE does not realize a profit from JSLC’s cattle operations nor does SRE receive rental payments from JSLC. Accordingly, the sale of the Property would result in substantial profits to SRE.
Unfortunately, Spiritas has refused to cooperate in the sale of the Property or in responding to the LOI. As both Spi-ritas and Davidoff own 50% of SRE, Spiritas’ conduct will prevent SRE from taking advantage of the current market and maximizing the value of the Property to SRE.... The equal ownership structure combined with Spiritas’ refusal to fulfill his fiduciary duties to SRE has dead-locked the management of SRE and rendered effective operation of the enterprise impossible — which necessitates the appointment of a Receiver.

Additionally, Davidoff asserted in her motion (1) “[a] few years ago, Spiritas spearheaded a plan to develop the Property as a single-family residential development”; (2) “[a]s part of this plan, SRE spent substantial sums hiring lawyers and consultants to apply for establishment of a Municipal Utility District (“MUD”) on the Property,” “spent sums for the design and plot of the Property into single family lots,” and “executed a Development Standards Agreement with the City [sic] of Little Elm specifying development standards, lots sizes, and plans for re-zoning”; (3) after the MUD was approved and Little Elm agreed to residential development of the Property, Spiritas “refused to proceed with the marketing and sale of the Property” and “instead wants the Property to continue to be used for a cattle operation, rather than a lucrative residential development”; (4) “counsel for Spiritas advised [Davidoff] that Spiritas does not intend to authorize SRE to respond to the LOI or sale [sic] the Property”; (5) “[t]he failure of SRE to respond to the LOI will result in substantial harm to SRE”; (6) “[i]t is well within the [trial court’s] powers to appoint a Receiver to wind up a partnership’s affairs”; and (7) “[w]hether it is Davidoff or an appointed receiver, an individual must be designated immediately to allow SRE to maximize the value of the Property.”

Exhibits attached to.

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Bluebook (online)
459 S.W.3d 224, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 1944, 2015 WL 870125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/steven-spiritas-individually-and-as-trustee-of-the-spiritas-sf-1999-trust-texapp-2015.