Ward v. Bullis

2008 ND 80, 748 N.W.2d 397, 2008 N.D. LEXIS 81, 2008 WL 1836386
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedApril 25, 2008
Docket20070188
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 2008 ND 80 (Ward v. Bullis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ward v. Bullis, 2008 ND 80, 748 N.W.2d 397, 2008 N.D. LEXIS 81, 2008 WL 1836386 (N.D. 2008).

Opinion

SANDSTROM, Justice.

[¶ 1] Ronald Ward, Ron Stensgard, and Duane Dumas (“plaintiffs”) appeal from a summary judgment dismissing their lawsuit against James Bullís for state securities law violations and fraud claims. The plaintiffs claim they suffered damages as a result of misrepresentations in connection with the sale of securities. We reverse the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ Securities Act claims because we conclude there is a genuine issue of material fact about whether Bullís is an agent and is liable for violations of the Securities Act, but affirm the dismissal of plaintiffs’ common law fraud claims.

I

[¶ 2] In 1998, Intellisol, Inc., a technology company, hired Michael Volk. Volk was granted an option to purchase Intelli-sol stock as part of his employment agreement. In 2000, Volk hired Bullís, an attorney licensed to practice in North Dakota, to help him exercise the option because Volk did not have funds available to purchase the stock. Bullís advised Volk he could raise money to exercise the option by purchasing stock at the option price and then selling some of the stock to other investors at a higher price.

[¶ 3] Bulks set up a limited liability company, Softech Venture Group, LLC, to act as a holding company of Intellisol stock and to raise money to fund the stock purchase. Bulks eventually set up two more limited liability companies, Softech Venture Group Series B, LLC, and Softech Venture Group Series C, LLC, with the same purpose and to allow for more investors. Investors in the Softechs became part-owners of a company that owned In-telksol stock. The Softechs did not have any other assets. The Softech membership units were sold for a higher price than the option price for Intellisol stock, and the value of a Softech membership unit was equivalent to the value of an Intellisol share. The Softechs did not have any employees, offices, or bank accounts; all the investment funds received were deposited in and disbursed through Bullis’s law firm trust account; and investment documents identified the Softechs’ address as that of Bulks’s law office.

[¶ 4] Bulks also set up two other limited liability companies, HiTech Ventures, LLC, and Midwest Technology Investment Group, LLC, to act as holding companies for Volk’s stock. Volk exercised his option to purchase Intellisol stock through these two companies, and a majority of the stock purchased was subsequently transferred to the Softechs. The Intellisol stock and Sof-tech membership units were not registered under the North Dakota Securities Act.

[¶ 5] Bruce Hager, a Fargo stock broker and a registered representative of ProEquities, Inc., was hired to find potential investors. Hager initially solicited the investors, including the plaintiffs, but payment for the Softech membership units was made to Bulks’s law firm, and Bulks issued the shares or units. Hager and Bulks each received 5% of the gross Sof-tech sales and 5,000 shares of Intellisol stock. Bulks also received a flat or hourly fee for his legal work. There was evidence Hager received $129,469 in commission for his role in the sale of the Softech securities. The exact amount Bulks received is disputed, but there is evidence Bulks received payments on the same days and in *401 amounts identical to Hager’s payments, except on a few occasions when Bullis received a greater amount. Bullis disbursed the payments to Hager and himself from the funds in his firm’s trust account. Volk testified in a deposition that he did not control or approve the disbursement of funds from the account. The Softech subscription agreements stated the subscription was not effective and purchase of the membership interest was not complete until the company accepts, which was in the company’s discretion, and the agreement stated Volk’s signature as President of the Softechs was evidence of the acceptance. Volk did not sign the agreements, and there is evidence Bullis accepted the agreements without getting Volk’s approval.

[¶ 6] In 2000, the plaintiffs invested in the Softechs. Stensgard invested $100,000 in Softech Venture Group. Dumas invested $95,500 in Softech Venture Group. Ward invested $133,800 in Softech Venture Group Series C. All three plaintiffs completed prospective investor questionnaires, which stated the membership interests would only be sold to individuals who were accredited investors and required the investor to verify that he is an accredited investor. An individual qualified as an accredited investor if he had an individual annual income of more than $200,000, or with his spouse had a joint annual income of more than $300,000, or had an individual or joint net worth of more than $1,000,000. The plaintiffs also completed a subscription agreement, which also required the investor verify that he is an accredited investor. All three plaintiffs verified that they were accredited investors, although Ward and Dumas did not meet the requirements. There is some dispute about why the plaintiffs verified they were accredited investors. The plaintiffs allege Hager or Bullis or both told Ward and Dumas it did not matter that they were not accredited investors and to certify that they were accredited investors. Bullis sent the plaintiffs certificates for the Sof-tech membership units they purchased.

[¶ 7] In 2002, Intellisol ceased operations and the Softechs’ Intellisol stock became worthless. The plaintiffs suffered a total loss of their investments.

[¶ 8] In June 2002, the plaintiffs sued Bullis, Hager, ProEquities, Inc., and Volk for violations of state securities law, fraud, and other claims related to the securities they purchased. The plaintiffs claimed the securities transactions violated the Securities Act, N.D.C.C. ch. 10-04, because the securities were not registered or exempt from registration under N.D.C.C. § 10-04-04, the securities were sold through an unregistered securities “dealer” or “agent” in violation of N.D.C.C. § 10-04-10, and the sales violated anti-fraud provisions of N.D.C.C. § 10-04-15. The plaintiffs also alleged common law fraud claims.

[¶ 9] Hager and ProEquities settled with the plaintiffs. Volk failed to answer in the case, and the court found he was in default and entered judgment against him.

[¶ 10] Plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment against Bullis, alleging there were no genuine issues of material fact that N.D.C.C. ch. 10-04 was violated and Bullis is liable for damages. The plaintiffs agreed to dismiss their fraud claims if their motion for summary judgment was granted.

[¶ 11] Bullis also moved for summary judgment, claiming he was only performing as an attorney involved in securities work and the plaintiffs are unable to provide any evidence that his action caused them to invest or to lose their investment.

[¶ 12] The district court granted Bul-lis’s motion for summary judgment and denied the plaintiffs’ motion in its entirety. *402 The court decided the plaintiffs did not raise any genuine issues of material fact about their fraud claims. The court ruled Bullís did not personally violate N.D.C.C. ch. 10-04 by offering for sale or selling securities in violation of the Securities Act. The court also concluded Bullís was not liable as an agent under N.D.C.C. § 10-04-17 because he did not effect or attempt to effect purchases or sales of securities and the plaintiffs did not raise a genuine issue of material fact under which Bullís would qualify as an agent.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ward Farms Partnership v. Enerbase Cooperative Resources
2015 ND 136 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2015)
San Francisco Residence Club, Inc. v. Baswell-Guthrie
897 F. Supp. 2d 1122 (N.D. Alabama, 2012)
Paul Bennett v. Hunter Durham
683 F.3d 734 (Sixth Circuit, 2012)
Tibert v. Nodak Mutual Insurance Co.
2012 ND 81 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2012)
Moore v. Fargo Public School District No. 1
2012 ND 79 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2012)
Rudolph v. N.D. Department of Transportation
2012 ND 65 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2012)
State v. Charbonneau
2010 ND 246 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2010)
Gajewski v. State
2010 ND 237 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2010)
Clayton v. HEARTLAND RESOURCES, INC.
754 F. Supp. 2d 884 (W.D. Kentucky, 2010)
State v. Hager
2010 ND 217 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2010)
Interest of R.J.
2010 ND 207 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Maki
2009 ND 123 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2009)
Bice v. Petro-Hunt, L.L.C.
2009 ND 124 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2008 ND 80, 748 N.W.2d 397, 2008 N.D. LEXIS 81, 2008 WL 1836386, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ward-v-bullis-nd-2008.