Yoo v. Zeta Interactive (In re Blue Global, LLC)

591 B.R. 433
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, C.D. California
DecidedSeptember 12, 2018
DocketCase No.: 2:17-bk-10900-ER; Adv. No.: 2:17-ap-01434-ER
StatusPublished

This text of 591 B.R. 433 (Yoo v. Zeta Interactive (In re Blue Global, LLC)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Yoo v. Zeta Interactive (In re Blue Global, LLC), 591 B.R. 433 (Cal. 2018).

Opinion

Ernest M. Robles, United States Bankruptcy Judge

On August 23, 2018, the Court conducted a hearing on the motion for summary judgment (the "Motion") filed by Defendant Zeta Interactive ("Zeta"). The Court took the matter under submission at the conclusion of the hearing. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is granted and the Court will enter final judgment in Zeta's favor.1

*437I. Facts and Summary of Pleadings

In this preference action, the Chapter 7 Trustee (the "Trustee") seeks to avoid transfers totaling $601,723.52 made by the Debtor to Zeta during the ninety-day period prior to the date of the filing of the petition (the "Petition Date"). The Trustee further seeks disallowance of any claim asserted by Zeta, pursuant to § 502(d).2

The Debtor is a failed Internet-based financial services business. Zeta provides marketing solutions to help brands acquire, grow, and retain customers. Zeta provided services to the Debtor between 2011 and 2016.

Zeta moves for summary judgment in its favor. For purposes of the § 547(c) preference defense, Zeta asserts that it conducts business within the affiliate-marketing industry. Zeta offers the testimony of Brian Benenhaley, whom it asserts is an expert in the affiliate marketing industry, in support of its contention that payment practices within that industry are highly variable. Based upon Mr. Benenhaley's testimony, Zeta argues that the payments which the Trustee seeks to avoid were made within the ordinary course of the business of the Debtor and Zeta. In the alternative, Zeta asserts that the payments were made according to ordinary business terms within the affiliate marketing industry.

The Trustee opposes the Motion, contending that a preference action involves factually intensive issues that are not appropriately disposed of in the context of summary judgment. The Trustee contends that there are disputed issues of material fact over the ordinariness of the transfers. Specifically, the Trustee argues that Zeta has focused only on transfers made by the Debtor subsequent to June 2016, even though the Debtor's business relationship *438with Zeta commenced in 2011. The Trustee asserts that the dispute as to the appropriate time period to be used to assess the ordinariness of the transfers precludes entry of summary judgment.

The Trustee further asserts that Zeta has not established that the affiliate marketing industry is the appropriate industry for purposes of determining whether the transactions at issue were made in the ordinary course of business. The Trustee's position is that the general advertising industry, rather than the more specialized affiliate marketing industry, is the appropriate industry.

In Reply to the Trustee's Opposition, Zeta asserts that the Trustee has failed to demonstrate the existence of a genuine dispute as to any material fact. Zeta notes that the Trustee has not disputed the parties' payment history, the absence of communications between the Debtor and Zeta, or that Zeta did not know the Debtor's financial condition. Zeta asserts that these facts are sufficient to support judgment that the payments are exempt from avoidance under § 547(c).

II. Evidentiary Rulings

In support of its contentions regarding payment practices in the affiliate marketing industry, Zeta offers the testimony of Brian N. Benenhaley. Zeta asserts that Mr. Benenhaley should be treated as an expert witness under FRE 702. The Trustee asserts that Mr. Benenhaley's testimony is inadmissible for the following reasons:

1) The testimony is not reliable because it is based only on payments made by the Debtor to Zeta from June 30, 2015 to January 31, 2017, even though the parties' business relationship extended from 2011 to 2017. To opine as to whether the payments were made according to ordinary business terms or in the ordinary course of business, Mr. Benenhaley was required to review payments over the entirety of the parties' business relationship.
2) The testimony is not reliable because it is not supported by any objective data, statistics, or reports.
3) Zeta has not made a sufficient showing that Mr. Benenhaley is qualified as an expert in affiliate marketing.

The Trustee's objections to the admissibility of Mr. Benenhaley's testimony are overruled, and the Court will treat Mr. Benenhaley as an expert witness under FRE 702. Mr. Benenhaley's declaration sufficiently establishes his qualifications to testify as an expert in the area of affiliate marketing. In his declaration, Mr. Benenhaley states that he co-founded Reachsmart Interactive/AdDrive Affiliate Network ("ReachSmart") in 2000. Benenhaley Decl. at ¶ 5. Mr. Benenhaley was employed by Reachsmart from 2000 to 2014, serving as Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, and a member of the Board of Directors. Id. While at Reachsmart, Mr. Benenhaley developed protocols for the creation and deployment of websites, advertising campaigns, and affiliate marketing programs, helping the company grow from an idea to an enterprise with $35 million in annual revenue. Id. At Reachsmart, Mr. Benenhaley negotiated agreements with advertisers and publishers and monitored accounts receivable from advertisers and accounts payable to publishers. Id. During his tenure the business facilitated payments of hundreds of millions of dollars between advertisers and publishers. Id. Mr. Benenhaley has given presentations on affiliate marketing and performance-based advertising on several occasions, including a presentation at the *439Directing Marketing Association headquarters in New York. Id.3

FRE 702 provides:

A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if:
a) the expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue;
b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data;
c) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and
d) the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case.

Under FRE 702, an expert may be qualified by "experience" or "training." Here, Mr. Benenhaley's declaration amply establishes that he has sufficient experience and training to testify regarding payment practices in the affiliate marketing industry. Mr. Benenhaley's declaration shows that he has first-hand, on-the-ground experience in this very industry.

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Bluebook (online)
591 B.R. 433, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yoo-v-zeta-interactive-in-re-blue-global-llc-cacb-2018.