Wesolek v. Layton

914 F. Supp. 2d 853, 2012 WL 6694336, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180870
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedDecember 21, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. H-12-3210
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 914 F. Supp. 2d 853 (Wesolek v. Layton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wesolek v. Layton, 914 F. Supp. 2d 853, 2012 WL 6694336, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180870 (S.D. Tex. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SIM LAKE, District Judge.

Plaintiffs bring this action individually and derivatively on behalf of (1) Layton Energy Wharton, LP or the (2) Layton Energy Fund 2, LP. The defendants named in this action are Daniel Layton, J. Clark Legler, Layton Energy Texas, LLC, Layton Corporation, Layton Energy Wharton Fund, LP, and Layton Energy Fund 2, LP. Plaintiffs’ Original Petition and Requests for Production, filed in the 189th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas, on August 30, 2012, asserts claims for violation of the Texas Theft [855]*855Liability Act, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code § 134.003(a), and the Texas Securities Act, Tex.Rev.Civ. Stat. Art. 581-33, and common law claims for fraud, conversion, money had and received, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence.1 Pending before the court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Original Petition (Docket Entry No. 2). Also pending is plaintiffs’ request for leave to replead.2 For the reasons stated below, the motion to dismiss will be granted, plaintiffs’ request for leave to re-plead will be denied, and all of plaintiffs’ claims will be dismissed with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim for which relief may be granted.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

A. Factual Background

Plaintiffs allege that beginning in 2007 they purchased units of one or both of two Texas limited partnerships: Layton Energy Wharton, LP and Layton Energy Fund 2, LP (“the Funds”). The Funds were run by Daniel Layton (“Layton”) and J. Clark Legler through Layton Energy Texas, LLC (“Layton Energy”), and plaintiffs allege that the units meet the definition of “security” under Tex.Rev.Civ. Stat. Art. 581^4A. Plaintiffs allege that

[t]he Funds were organized to “(a) acquire full or partial working interests in selected oil and gas leases on which to drill new wells and/or re-enter and rework existing wells for the production of oil and/or gas in commercial quantities, (b) acquire full or partial working interests in selected oil and gas leases to hold and/or develop the leases for resale, (c) acquire royalty interests in producing oil and gas properties and (d) acquire full or partial working interests in producing wells and leases which may have proven undeveloped sites available for future drilling ...”3

Plaintiffs allege that to entice potential investors to invest

Layton personally represented to the investors that they would get their initial investment back within one year and make three to five times their investment within three to five years. Layton continued to represent to investors after they purchased their limited partnership units, and up until about late 2009, that they would get their initial investment back within one year and make three to five times their investment within three to five years. At the time these statements were made to investors after they purchased their limited partnership units up until late 2009, Layton knew these statements to be untrue, or in light of the circumstances in which they were made, misleading. Likewise, Legler aided Layton in the operation of Layton [Ejnergy, LLC and the two Limited Partnerships. As such, Legler either knew of the falsity of the statements made or was in reckless disregard for the truth of the statements made.4

Plaintiffs allege that the Layton Energy Wharton Fund, LP raised $10,000,000, and currently has the following eight wells for which it incurred the following acquisition costs: (1) Miller B2 Chambers County Well, $932,861; (2) HK1 Well, $2,911,544; (3) HK2 Well, $840,622; (4) Casey Heirs 1 Well, $1,067,988; (5) Saenz Well, $325,119; [856]*856(6) B1 Well, $495,128; (7) LW1 Well, $374,428; and (8) Stovall County Well, $293,250. Plaintiffs also allege that the fund spent $171,062 acquiring 3D Seismic data.5 Regarding these wells, plaintiffs allege that defendants “had the [Miller] B2 Well ‘worked over’ [; i]n the process of the ‘work over’, defendants allowed an ‘affiliated partner’ to fund the money for the work over with the fund owing this affiliated partner of the Defendants $1,200,000.”6— “Defendants refused to produce the HK1 Well due to a dispute between Layton and the operator of the well. Defendants found a new operator for the HK1 Well at a cost of 50% of the working interest in that well. This was done without the knowledge or consent of the Wharton Fund investors.”7 — “Defendants allowed the HK2 Well lease to expire due to non-production, thereby losing the well for the Wharton Fund and its investors, as a result of personality differences between Layton and the well’s operator.”8 “[T]he Saenz well was drilled for one of Layton’s ‘drinking buddies.’.. It is believed the Wharton Fund monies that were used to ‘drill the Saenz well’ were in actuality taken by Defendants for other non-Wharton Fund purposes ... [T]he question remains: Where is the well?”9 “Defendants did not drill either the LW1 well or the Stovall well, although the Wharton Fund was charged for the drilling of these wells. It is believed that the Wharton Fund monies ‘used’ to drill these wells were in actuality used by Defendants for other non-Wharton Fund purposes.”10

Plaintiffs allege that the Layton Energy Fund 2 raised about $3,500,000, and that $375,000 of that money was used to acquire the following three wells: Well 205-I, Well 205-3, Well 206-1.11 Plaintiffs allege that “[t]he remaining $2,974,625 of the Layton Energy Fund 2 monies is unaccounted for and, on information and belief, has been absconded by Defendants for non-Layton Energy Fund 2 purposes.”12

Plaintiffs allege on information and belief that “Layton and Legler took monies from the Wharton Fund and the Layton Energy Fund 2 to put in other projects Layton and Legler were running through Layton Corporation.”13 “Defendants used the Funds wells as collateral and allowed liens to be placed on the wells ... [and that] the general counsel of Layton Energy ... is now giving the investors wells away or letting the leases expire with no concern towards the investors.”14 Plaintiffs allege that

[o]n numerous occasions, Layton personally met with investors promising that investors would see a return of their principle within one year from the date of the funds’ inception with a 300 to 500 percent return on their investment within three to five years. Layton specifically made these promises to plaintiffs and investors Levi Lindemann, Nahum Daniels and Al Vanderlaan, among others. Initially, Layton would respond to investors’ inquiries regarding the status of the funds and provide periodic letters to the investors regarding their funds. Beginning in the summer of 2010, Layton discontinued responding to investors’ inquiries. Indeed, when Plaintiff Raoul Trevino went to Layton’s offices in [857]*857Houston to inquire about his investment, Layton refused to see him. This refusal is common place with Layton.

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Bluebook (online)
914 F. Supp. 2d 853, 2012 WL 6694336, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180870, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wesolek-v-layton-txsd-2012.