Wang v. Xinyi Liu, Yuanlong Huang, Zhaonan Wang, Bling Entm't, LLC

584 B.R. 427
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMarch 13, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. 16–cv–12581
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 584 B.R. 427 (Wang v. Xinyi Liu, Yuanlong Huang, Zhaonan Wang, Bling Entm't, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wang v. Xinyi Liu, Yuanlong Huang, Zhaonan Wang, Bling Entm't, LLC, 584 B.R. 427 (D.D.C. 2018).

Opinion

CASPER, United States District Judge

I. Introduction

Plaintiff Yiming Wang ("Yiming") has filed this lawsuit against Defendants Xinyi Liu ("Liu"), Yuanlong Huang ("Huang"), Zhaonan Wang ("Wang"), Bling Entertainment, LLC ("Bling"), Shengxi Tina Tian ("Tian") and MT Law, LLC ("MT Law") (collectively, "Defendants"). He alleges breach of fiduciary duty (Count I), civil conspiracy (Count II), fraud (Count III), breach of contract (IV), breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing (Count V), violation of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. §§ 77a et seq. (Count VI), violation of the Massachusetts Uniform Securities Act ("MUSA"), Mass. Gen. L. c. 110A, § 101 (Count VII), demand for accounting (Count VIII), professional malpractice (Count IX), breach of contract (Count X) and unjust enrichment (Count XI). D. 16. Defendants Liu, Huang and Wang (collectively, "Bling Defendants") have moved to dismiss all counts against them, including Counts I, II, III, VI, VII, and VIII,1 under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) and Rule 12(b)(7).2 D. 25. For the reasons stated below, the Court ALLOWS the motion to dismiss as to Counts VI and VII, and DENIES the motion as to the other claims.

II. Standard of Review

On a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), the Court must determine "whether the well-pleaded factual *432allegations, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, state a claim for which relief can be granted." Germanowski v. Harris, 854 F.3d 68, 71 (1st Cir. 2017). To do so, the Court performs a two-step analysis. See, e.g., Saldivar v. Racine, 818 F.3d 14, 18 (1st Cir. 2016). First, the Court "distinguish[es] the complaint's factual allegations (which must be accepted as true) from its conclusory legal allegations (which need not be credited)." Id. (quoting Cardigan Mountain Sch. v. N.H. Ins. Co., 787 F.3d 82, 84 (1st Cir. 2015) ). The Court will "isolate and ignore statements in the complaint that simply offer legal labels and conclusions or merely rehash cause-of-action elements." Schatz v. Republican State Leadership Comm., 669 F.3d 50, 55 (1st Cir. 2012). Second, taking the well-pled facts as true and "drawing all reasonable inferences in the pleader's favor," the Court determines if the facts "plausibly narrate a claim for relief." Id.

III. Factual Background

The following facts are based upon the allegations in Yiming's amended complaint, D. 16, and are accepted as true for the consideration of the motion to dismiss. Bling Defendants are the controlling members of Bling, a Massachusetts limited liability company "formed for the stated purpose of developing and operating a luxurious, state-of-the-art bar, karaoke, and restaurant facility in Malden, Massachusetts." D. 16 ¶¶ 1, 17. Liu and Huang are married and Wang is their cousin. D. 16 ¶¶ 8-9. In June 2013, Defendants Liu and Wang (and two others) incorporated Bling. D. 16 ¶ 17. Liu was Bling's manager. D. 16 ¶ 18. Huang was not identified in Bling's filing papers, but he ran Bling's day-to-day operations and was later identified as its co-manager. D. 16 ¶ 19.

Yiming is a Chinese citizen who was seeking to obtain legal permanent resident status in the United States for himself and his wife through the United States Customs and Immigration Services ("USCIS") EB-5 Program. D. 16 ¶ 20. The EB-5 Program requires an investment of "at least $1 million into an eligible business that is designed to promote job growth in the targeted area," and that the applicant "take an active management role with the business." Id. At some point in 2014, Wang learned "[t]hrough a mutual acquaintance" that Yiming was seeking an eligible business for an EB-5 investment and Wang discussed it with Liu and Huang. D. 16 ¶¶ 22-23. Yiming communicated to Wang that he only wanted to invest in a company that was on strong financial footing and had other EB-5 investors. D. 16 ¶ 25. Wang communicated this sentiment to Liu and Huang. Id.

On or around May 21, 2014, Yiming and his wife met with Wang at Huang's business office. D. 16 ¶ 27. Huang did not participate in the meeting, but Yiming alleges that Huang assisted Wang in preparing for the meeting and was on the premises when the meeting occurred. Id. Wang told Yiming that Huang was running day-to-day operations and would be responsible for the project's management. D. 16 ¶ 29. Yiming asked to speak with Huang, but Wang declined, insisting instead that he represented both Huang and Liu, who knew and approved Wang's statements at the meeting. D. 16 ¶ 31. At the meeting, Wang presented Bling's business plans, stating that "the Project was already sufficiently funded with an aggregate investment of $5 million-$1.5 million from the Bling Defendants combined, an additional $1.5 million from the other two original members, and $1 million each from two other individuals who Mr. Wang represented were EB-5 investors." D. 16 ¶ 28. He told Yiming that the facility was to be completed in December 2014 and that because the project was "nearing its final *433stages," Yiming's $1 million investment was needed "only to add the final, high-end upgrades" and he would need to invest soon if he wanted to use it for the EB-5 program. D. 16 ¶ 29.

Wang showed Bling's business plan to Yiming, stating it was prepared by Huang and Liu. D. 16 ¶ 30.3 Yiming alleges the business plan "repeated many of the representations made by Wang verbally during this meeting." Id. The business plan lists Bling's budget as $4,500,000, "which will be sourced from three (3) EB-5 investors"-including Yiming-"each of whom have invested/will invest a minimum of $1,000,000." D. 16-1 at 3, 16-17. It states that the remaining $1.5 million was composed of investments by the four founding members. D. 16-1 at 3, 16-17.

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Bluebook (online)
584 B.R. 427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wang-v-xinyi-liu-yuanlong-huang-zhaonan-wang-bling-entmt-llc-dcd-2018.