Scott v. Vantage Corp.
Scott v. Vantage Corp.
Opinion of the Court
I. INTRODUCTION
On April 20, 2017, Tara Scott ("Scott"), in her individual capacity, and Wilson Carter ("Carter"), in his individual capacity and as trustee of the Bailey Middleton Carter 2009 Trust (the "Bailey Trust"), the Mary Wilson Carter 2009 Trust (the "Mary Trust"), and the Wilson M. Carter 1998 Trust (the "Wilson Trust") (collectively, "plaintiffs") filed this action, pursuant to federal securities laws, state securities laws, and various common law causes of action, against Vantage Corporation, Vantage Advisory Management, LLC, VF(x) LP, Tradelogix, LLC, Brian Askew, and Gerald Finegold (collectively, "defendants"), seeking rescission of defendants' sale of Vantage Corporation stock to plaintiffs, as well as interest, costs, fees, and *369compensatory damages.
On December 8, 2017, defendants answered the Amended Complaint
On February 27, 2018, plaintiffs submitted a proposed Scheduling Order, which the court issued the following day.
In March 2018, defendants moved to dismiss Carter's claims in his capacity as trustee of the Bailey Trust and the Mary Trust for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
On March 28, 2018, plaintiffs opposed defendants' motion, moved for leave to file a proposed Second Amended Complaint,
*370the inclusion of allegations related to acts by non-parties "Carr and Dwyer" in the claims;
Defendants' motion to dismiss and plaintiffs' motions to substitute and for leave to amend were fully briefed on April 18, 2018 and are presently before the court.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
When jurisdiction is challenged, the party asserting subject matter jurisdiction has the burden of proving its existence.
Where there is a factual attack, the court is not "confine[d] to the allegations in the ... complaint, but [may] consider affidavits, depositions, and testimony to resolve factual issues bearing on jurisdiction."
Usually, subject matter jurisdiction is decided at the outset of a case, however, "the truth of jurisdictional allegations need not always be determined with finality at the threshold of litigation."
*371B. Substituting Parties
Rule 17 provides that "[a]n action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest."
C. Amending the Complaint
1. Rule 15
Under Rule 15, "[a] party may amend its pleading once as a matter of course within" specified timeframes-otherwise, "a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party's written consent or the court's leave."
2. Rule 16
"If a party moves for leave to amend the pleadings after a deadline imposed by a Scheduling Order, Rule 16 ... is also implicated."
*372exists if the Schedule "cannot reasonably be met despite the diligence of the party seeking the extension."
III. DISCUSSION
A. Motion to Dismiss
Under Rule 12(b)(1), a party may bring a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
In the case at bar, defendants factually attack subject matter jurisdiction and attach documentary evidence in support of the motion to dismiss.
Therefore, the court concludes that the Bailey and Mary Trusts did not purchase stock in Vantage Corporation and thus lack standing in the case at bar. As such, the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the matter involving these two trusts, and dismissal is appropriate under Rule 12(b)(1). For these reasons, the court GRANTS defendants' motion to dismiss.
B. Motion to Substitute
According to the undisputed documentary evidence, Bailey M. Carter and *373Mary W. Carter each purchased $500,000 in Vantage Corporation stock.
Plaintiffs argue that the Advisory Committee notes to the 1966 amendment of Rule 17(a)(3) state that this provision "was designed to prevent penalization when ... 'determination of the proper party to sue is difficult or when an understandable mistake has been made.' "
Defendants respond that the Advisory Committee notes make it clear that Rule 17(a)(3)"should not be misunderstood or distorted."
Plaintiffs argue in their reply brief that the proposed "substitution amounts only to an alteration to the names of two of the parties seeking relief."
Despite plaintiffs' assertions to the contrary, it is wholly apparent from the record that plaintiffs' motion is much more than a simple change to the caption of the case at bar. The extensive proposed amendments demonstrate that Plaintiffs cannot simply substitute Bailey M. Carter for the Bailey Trust and Mary W. Carter for the Mary Trust without adding additional factual allegations relating to acts by and communications with these individuals.
Also, the court is unconvinced that, at any point in time, it was "difficult" for plaintiffs to ascertain which of the parties had purchased stock in Vantage Corporation-Carter had direct knowledge of who purchased the stock and in what capacity; Bailey M. Carter and Mary W. Carter each purchased the stock individually and signed the relevant stock purchase agreements; and presumably, plaintiffs had access to the relevant documents and information at all times.
C. Motion to Amend
The case at bar has been pending for nearly a year and a half, and in this time, limited discovery has been taken.
Plaintiffs argue that: (1) defendants are not prejudiced, because the proposed Second Amended Complaint "merely substitutes parties and will be 'based on facts substantially similar' to the original pleadings[;]"
Defendants oppose the motion and argue broadly that the proposed Second Amended Complaint is the source of undue delay and prejudice to defendants, many of the proposed amendments are futile, and plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate good cause for violating the Scheduling Order.
1. Material related to Bailey M. Carter and Mary W. Carter
Given the extensive content in the proposed Second Amended Complaint related to Bailey M. Carter and Mary W. Carter, the court's denial of plaintiffs' motion to substitute renders moot plaintiffs' motion with respect to these amendments.
2. The remaining proposed amendments
As discussed above, plaintiffs propose a Second Amended Complaint that, after denial of the motion to substitute, includes the following amendments: (1) factual allegations related to non-party individuals, Carr and Dwyer, including the bar on Dwyer acting as a registered representative in the sale of securities;
3. Rule 16(b)(4)
Plaintiffs seek to amend the First Amended Complaint after the deadline imposed by the Scheduling Order. In so doing, plaintiffs must first demonstrate good cause to be excused from the Schedule. The "good cause" standard under Rule 16(b)(4) hinges on, in the case at bar, the diligence of plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs identify "seven reasons"
Here, good cause exists for amendment of the complaint, because 1) the Scheduling Order was not signed by the Court until February 28, 2018, 2) discovery has only recently commenced, and the parties have not yet responded to their respective first discovery requests, 3) both sides initially believed the Bailey Middleton Carter 2009 Trust and the Mary Wilson Carter 2009 Trust were the purchasers of certain of the securities in question, and Defendants filed a counterclaim against the Trusts (D.I. 26), 4) Vantage Corporation issued Schedule K-1 s to the Trusts on March 28, 2017, representing that each Trust had a stock ownership interest in Vantage Corporation, and received reportable income from Vantage Corporation, 5) Defendants waited nearly one year before notifying the Trusts that they were not, in fact, shareholders in Vantage Corporation, 6) Defendants did not raise this issue in their first two motions to dismiss, and 7) Plaintiffs acted immediately to seek the requested relief when they became aware of the true facts concerning the identity of the purchasers, one of whom is a minor.93
Defendants argue that plaintiffs "knew or should have known, about facts underlying their new allegations and claims at the time they filed their original complaint and their First Amended Complaint."
The court agrees with defendants that plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate good cause why, despite plaintiffs' diligence, the Schedule cannot be met. First, reasons "3"-"7" of plaintiffs' "seven reasons" relate to the portion of the motion that is moot, namely the discovery of the proper purchasers of Vantage Corporation stock-none of these five "reasons" discusses any *377of the other new matter (e.g., "Carr and Dwyer," the Colorado cause of action, or the additional remedies under Georgia law).
Second, of the remaining two reasons, neither demonstrates that the Schedule could not be met, despite diligence by plaintiffs. Reason "1" is that "the Scheduling Order was not signed by the [c]ourt until February 28, 2018," which appears to suggest delay on the part of the court, but plaintiffs fail to note that plaintiffs filed the proposed document with the court the day before , on February 27, 2018, and had agreed to the retroactive January 31, 2018 deadline for the joinder of parties and amendment of the pleadings at that time.
Third, many of the facts alleged in the proposed Second Amended Complaint were known by plaintiffs months, if not well over a year, before they filed their motion for leave.
4. Rule 15
The court has denied plaintiffs' motion to substitute and has denied plaintiffs' motion for failure to show good cause under Rule 16. As a result, the court declines to reach the question of whether leave to amend is appropriate under Rule 15.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons discussed herein, defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction (D.I. 61) is granted, namely, Wilson Carter as trustee of the Bailey Middleton Carter 2009 Trust and Wilson Carter as trustee of the Mary Wilson Carter 2009 Trust are hereby dismissed with prejudice as plaintiffs in this action. Also for the reasons discussed, plaintiffs' motion to substitute (D.I. 70) is denied, and plaintiffs' motion for leave to amend (D.I. 69) is denied.
An appropriate order shall follow.
D.I. 1; see also D.I. 13 at 2-6 (detailing the factual background of the allegations).
D.I. 7.
D.I. 13.
D.I. 11 at 15.
D.I. 13 at 14.
D.I. 16.
D.I. 17.
D.I. 21.
D.I. 25.
D.I. 26.
D.I. 33.
The court will resolve this motion separately.
D.I. 44; D.I. 45.
D.I. 45 at 2.
D.I. 61.
D.I. 62 at 1.
D.I. 69.
D.I. 70.
E.g. , D.I. 69-2 at ¶¶ 2, 5.
E.g., id. at ¶¶ 15-17.
E.g., id. at ¶¶ 20-35; see also D.I. 69 at 2-3 ("Plaintiffs wish to include additional facts learned thus far in discovery, such as the fact that... Dwyer... was subject to a permanent ban from the securities industry[.]").
E.g. , D.I. 69-2 at ¶ 71-77 (demonstrating the addition of "Carr and Dwyer" to each line of Count I).
The proposed Second Amended Complaint refers to Mary W. Carter as "Mary Wilson." D.I. 69-2 at 28.
D.I. 69-2 at ¶¶ 133-136
Id. at ¶¶ 137-141.
Id. at ¶¶ 142-143.
D.I. 81, D.I. 82.
See Carpet Group Int'l v. Oriental Rug Importers Ass'n, Inc. ,
2 Moore's Federal Practice § 12.30[4] (3d ed. 1997).
Kehr Packages, Inc. v. Fidelcor, Inc. ,
Gotha v. United States ,
Carpet Group ,
Moore at § 12.30[1].
Genetics Institute, LLC v. Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc. ,
Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(a)(1).
Id. 17(a)(3).
Gardner v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co. ,
Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2).
Foman v. Davis ,
Adams v. Gould Inc. ,
ICU Med., Inc. v. RyMed Techs., Inc. ,
Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4).
ICU Med. ,
Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4), Advisory Committee Notes to the 1983 Amendments.
ICU Med. ,
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1).
Ballentine v. United States ,
D.I. 62 at 2-3; D.I. 63-1, exs. A-F; see supra notes 31-32.
D.I. 62 at 2-3. Rather, defendants allege that the beneficiaries of these trusts purchased the stock individually. Id. ; see also D.I. 63-1, ex. C at 4 (documenting sale to Bailey M. Carter individually); id. , ex. D at 4 (documenting sale to Mary Wilson M. Carter individually); id. , ex. E (stock certificate issued to Bailey M. Carter); id. , ex. F (stock certificate issued to Mary Wilson M. Carter).
D.I. 69 at 2.
See id. ("Plaintiffs' Motion For Leave To File Second Amended Complaint And Memorandum In Support Thereof And In Opposition To Defendants' Motion To Dismiss For Lack Of Standing").
Rather, the entirety of plaintiffs' argument is that, if the court grants plaintiffs' requests to substitute parties and amend the First Amended Complaint, that will "render moot [d]efendants' [m]otion to [d]ismiss for [l]ack of [s]tanding[.]" D.I. 69 at 5.
D.I. 63-1, exs. C-F.
And potentially after the relevant statutes of limitation have run. D.I. 78 at 1.
D.I. 69-2 at ¶¶ 133-136.
D.I. 70 at 3 (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 17, Advisory Committee Notes to 1966 Amendments).
Id. at 3-4 (citations omitted).
D.I. 78 at 3.
Id. at 4-5.
D.I. 82 at 2.
See, e.g. , D.I. 69-2 at ¶¶ 39-40 (enumerating purchases by Bailey Carter and Mary Carter individually).
Id. at ¶ 40 (proposing new language "At the time of said purchase, Mary Carter was thirteen years old and thus was not competent to enter into a contract for the purchase of securities, nor was she an "accredited investor" under Regulation D.")
Id. at ¶¶ 133-136. See infra note 73.
See Advanced Magnetics ,
The relevant Rule 17(a)(3) case law is replete with fact patterns involving insurance subrogation, statutes of limitations, and questions over the real parties in interest with standing to file suit-cases where a party has initiated suit but after the statute of limitations has run, it becomes apparent that the real party in interest is truly in doubt. See, e.g., Levinson v. Deupree ,
The court agrees with defendants that attorney error is no basis for an "understandable mistake" in this regard. Hildebrand v. Dentsply Int'l, Inc. ,
Fed. R. Civ. P. 17.
D.I. 100.
D.I. 107.
D.I. 16.
D.I. 69-2.
D.I. 69 at 3 (citations omitted).
Id. at 4 (citation omitted).
Id. at 4-5.
D.I. 77.
D.I. 77-1, ex. A at ¶ 13.
In addition, these proposed amendments would be futile. To be sure, these proposed amendments include allegations relating to Bailey M. Carter and Mary W. Carter as individuals, including "Count Eleven" for "Sale of Securities to a Minor in Her Individual Capacity (Asserted by Mary Wilson). D.I. 69-2 at ¶¶ 133-136 at 28.
D.I. 69-2 at ¶¶ 20-27.
Id. at ¶¶ 137-138.
Id. at ¶¶ 139-141.
Id. at ¶¶ 142-143.
ICU Med. ,
See supra note 47.
D.I. 81 at 8.
D.I. 69 at 5.
D.I. 77 at 16.
In addition, reason "3" is a characterization that "both sides believed" when, so far in this action, which has included two motions to dismiss filed by defendants, defendants have had to take plaintiffs' allegations as true. Therefore, the court does not draw the inference that "both sides" held a similar belief based upon defendants' motions to dismiss or even defendants' Counterclaims. Reasons "4" through "6" are aspects of defendants' subject matter jurisdiction argument, which defendants may raise "at anytime" and were under no legal obligation to raise earlier in this litigation. Thus, the court does not interpret these reasons to support good cause or to demonstrate diligence on plaintiffs' part. Finally, reason "7" is that plaintiffs "acted immediately" when so required by the Rules to respond to defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12. Plaintiffs' brief in opposition was essentially that "the requested relief [ ] will render moot [d]efendants' [m]otion to [d]ismiss[.]" D.I. 69 at 5. Had defendants not filed the motion, there is no evidence in the record that plaintiffs had imminent plans to request leave to amend or that plaintiffs were otherwise diligent in continuing to research the factual allegations plaintiffs now seek leave to add to the proposed Second Amended Complaint. D.I. 77-1, ex. A.
D.I. 44.
D.I. 69 at 5.
D.I. 69 at 2.
D.I. 69-2.
For example, as to the new factual allegations related to "Carr and Dwyer," including Carr's securities ban, which plaintiffs contend were "additional facts learned thus far in discovery," D.I. 69 at 2, defendants have shown that plaintiffs were in possession of this specific information in October 2017, some five months before their motion for leave to amend. D.I. 77 at 6-7; D.I. 77-1, ex A. In light of plaintiffs' first-hand knowledge of their interactions with defendants, plaintiffs' contention that new facts were "just beginning to come to light as a result of the limited discovery that has been produced thus far[,]" D.I. 81 at 7, is not persuasive. In addition, there is no explanation for how plaintiffs were diligent in seeking discovery into the remedies under Georgia law, D.I. 69-2 at ¶¶ 137-141, or why the facts known to plaintiffs were insufficient to have raised these claims earlier. Moreover, the First Amended Complaint already alleged that Scott was a Colorado resident and had been solicited there. D.I. 16 at ¶¶ 1, 15, 22. In light of the sparse (if not futile) allegations under Colorado law in the proposed Second Amended Complaint, D.I. 69-2 at ¶¶ 142-143, it is unclear what new information plaintiffs' alleged diligence uncovered that enabled them to make the allegation at this time.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Tara SCOTT, Individually, and Wilson Carter, Individually and as Trustee of The Bailey Middleton Carter 2009 Trust, The Mary Wilson Carter 2009 Trust, and The Wilson M. Carter 1998 Trust v. VANTAGE CORPORATION, Vantage Advisory Management, LLC, VF(x) LP, Tradelogix, LLC, Brian Askew, and Gerald Finegold
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published