Weinstein v. Luxeyard, Inc.

CourtSuperior Court of Delaware
DecidedJanuary 14, 2022
DocketN18C-04-043 MAA
StatusPublished

This text of Weinstein v. Luxeyard, Inc. (Weinstein v. Luxeyard, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Weinstein v. Luxeyard, Inc., (Del. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

BURTON WEINSTEIN, CAROLE ) NIMEROFF, CEDARVIEW ) OPPORTUNITIES MASTER FUND, ) C.A. No. N18C-04-043 MAA LP, JEFFREY SCHNAPER, NIGEL ) GREGG, and WILLIAM SHEPPARD ) et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) LUXEYARD, INC., a Delaware ) corporation, ) ) Defendant. )

Submitted: November 9, 2021 Decided: January 14, 2022

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Julia B. Klein, Esquire (Argued), of KLEIN, LLC, Wilmington, Delaware, Attorney for Plaintiffs.

Ann M. Kashishian, Esquire, of KASHISHIAN LAW, LLC, Wilmington, Delaware, and Jack J. Nichols, Esquire (Argued), of JACK J. NICHOLS, P.C., Houston, Texas, Attorneys for Defendant.

Adams, J. Defendant issued convertible debentures in varying amounts to Plaintiffs in

April 2012. Plaintiffs allege that the convertible debentures matured on January 31,

2014, and that the principal balance outstanding under each convertible debenture,

plus interest, became due and payable on that date. Defendant, however, has failed

to pay any amount to Plaintiffs.

Plaintiffs’ remaining claim is a single cause of action for breach of contract.

The Court holds that Plaintiffs’ claim fails on statute of limitations grounds.

Namely, Plaintiffs’ claim falls under the three-year statute of limitations for breaches

of contract, rather than the six-year statute of limitations for promissory notes, and

is therefore untimely. Consequently, Plaintiffs are precluded from obtaining the

relief they seek in this action.

I. Factual Background

A. Parties and Relevant Non-Parties

Plaintiffs Burton Weinstein, Carole Nimeroff, Jeffrey Schnapper, Nigel

Gregg, William Sheppard, and Cedarview Opportunities Master Fund, LP

(collectively, “Plaintiffs”) brought this action to recoup investments they made in

Defendant Luxeyard, Inc. (“Luxeyard”) during one of Luxeyard’s initial rounds of

financing.

2 Non-party Amir Mireskandari (“Mireskandari”) is Luxeyard’s co-founder,

board member and interim CEO. Non-party Mark Lev (“Lev”) is Plaintiffs’

representative, who facilitated Plaintiffs’ investments in Luxeyard.

B. Background

In April 2012, Luxeyard, a luxury goods retailer that offers indoor furnishings,

issued convertible debentures (“CDs”) in varying amounts to Plaintiffs.1 The terms

of the CDs are identical and provided for conversion to common stock in two ways:

voluntary conversion and mandatory conversion.2 Each CD that Luxeyard issued to

Plaintiffs referenced a corresponding Debenture Purchase Agreement (DPA).3 The

1 See JXs 13, 16, 18, 21, 24, 27; Trial Tr. (Nov. 24, 2020) at 29:18-21. The specific principal amount of CDs were as follows: Cedarview Opportunities Master Fund, LP ($100,000.00); Burton Weinstein ($25,000.00); Carole Nimeroff ($25,000.00); William Sheppard ($50,000.00); Jeffrey Schnapper ($25,000.00); and Nigel Gregg ($25,000.00). 2 See, e.g., JX 13 at Art. 2(a) and (f). Pursuant to Article 2(a), voluntary conversion occurs at the option of the holder. Pursuant to Article 2(f), mandatory conversion occurs if each of the following conditions are met: (a) Luxeyard shares have to be registered or available for resale under Rule 144 (or similar rule); (b) the closing bid price for Luxeyard’s common stock remains at or above $1.00 for ten consecutive trading days; and (c) the daily volume of Luxeyard’s common stock during such consecutive ten-day period is at least 50,000 shares per day. 3 See JXs 14, 19, 22, 25, 28. In the Joint Pre-Trial Stipulation (“PTS”) and during trial, Plaintiffs objected to the inclusion of the DPA as an exhibit on the grounds that “Plaintiffs ha[d] never seen this document and d[id] not know what it [wa]s or contains.” The Court overrules this objection. Plaintiffs Weinstein, Cedarview Opportunities Master Fund, Schnapper, and Gregg each signed the DPA investor signature page. While Luxeyard did not provide a signature page for Plaintiffs Sheppard and Nimeroff for the DPA, the DPA is referenced in each of the CDs signed by Plaintiffs. Thus, all Plaintiffs were either on actual or constructive notice of the DPA.

3 DPA defined terms within the CDs and provided for additional terms, such as

representations and warranties, closing conditions, and other provisions.

The CDs set the maturity date for the investments for January 31, 2014,

provided that the CDs had not converted into shares.4 Luxeyard admitted that it

defaulted under the CDs by failing to repay the amount owed.5

C. Procedural Posture

Plaintiffs commenced this litigation against Luxeyard and Mireskandari on

April 5, 2018.6 On June 25, 2018, Luxeyard answered the complaint and admitted

to the breach of contract claim against it.7 On August 23, 2018, the Court dismissed

Mireskandari from the case for failure to state a claim and lack of personal

jurisdiction.8 After Mireskandari’s dismissal, two sets of Delaware counsel

withdrew their representation of Luxeyard.

On January 30, 2020, after Luxeyard’s current Delaware counsel entered her

appearance, Luxeyard requested leave to amend its answer to the complaint.9 The

4 See, e.g., JX 13. 5 PTS at 3. Although Luxeyard claims that the CDs converted into equity, a fact which Plaintiffs dispute, the resolution of this issue is not pertinent to this decision because Plaintiffs failed to file their action within the prescribed three-year statute of limitations, as described herein. 6 See Dkt. 1. 7 See Dkt. 5. In its Answer, Luxeyard also included an affirmative defense that “Plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the applicable statute of limitations.” 8 See Dkt. 14. 9 See Dkt. 34.

4 Court denied Luxeyard’s motion to amend its answer on March 23, 2020.10 A two-

day bench trial was held on November 24, 2020 and November 30, 2020. At trial,

the parties introduced forty-one exhibits. The parties completed post-trial briefing

on April 16, 2021. On May 14, 2021, during post-trial argument, the Court ordered

the parties to confer regarding resolving the action without Court action.11 On June

14, 2021, the parties informed the Court that they were unable to reach a resolution.12

Upon recognizing that the CDs and DPA contained conflicting choice of law

provisions, the Court ordered the parties to submit supplemental post-trial briefing

addressing the conflict.13 The parties completed supplemental post-trial briefing on

November 9, 2021.

D. Parties’ Contentions

Plaintiffs’ sole remaining claim for relief is for breach of contract. Plaintiffs

seek all principal amounts due under the CDs, as well as accrued pre-judgment

interest, post-judgment interest, and all attorney’s fees and costs in bringing the

litigation.

Luxeyard contends that Plaintiffs are precluded from obtaining such relief

because they failed to bring their claims within the applicable statute of limitations.

10 See Dkt. 45. 11 See Dkt. 88. 12 See Dkt. 90. 13 See Dkt. 91.

5 Notwithstanding the statute of limitations, Luxeyard argues that Plaintiffs’

investments converted into shares of Luxeyard automatically by operation of the

mandatory conversion provisions in the CDs.14

II. Legal Analysis

The statute of limitations is case-dispositive; therefore, the Court will only

address this issue and need not reach any of the remaining issues in this case.

A. Delaware’s Statute of Limitations Applies

The parties agree in supplemental post-trial briefing that Delaware is the

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