Yiwu Lizhisha Accessories Co. v. Jjamz, Inc.
Yiwu Lizhisha Accessories Co. v. Jjamz, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiffs Yiwu Lizhisha Accessories Co., Ltd. (doing business as Lisa Accessories Factory) ("Lisa") and Hong Kong Lizhisha Jewelry Co., Limited (collectively, "Plaintiffs") sue Defendant Jjamz, Inc. and its successor company, Defendant Punch Fashions, LLC, to collect outstanding debts. Plaintiffs move for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, the motion is granted.
I. Background
Plaintiff Yiwu Lizhisha Accessories Co., Ltd. is a corporation headquartered in Zhejiang, China that manufactures and exports jewelry. (Dkt. No. 9 ("AC") ¶ 2.) Plaintiff Hong Kong Lizhisha Jewelry Co., Limited acts as Yiwu Lizhisha's marketing and sales agent. (AC ¶ 3.)
Defendant Jjamz is a jewelry wholesaler. (AC ¶ 12.) In 2015, Jjamz transferred substantially all of its assets, its ongoing business, and certain liabilities to Punch. (Dkt. No. 26-5.)
Between 2012 and 2014, Jjamz made over 115 purchases of accessories from Lisa. (AC ¶ 1.) The invoices on sixty-five of those purchases remain unpaid (in part or whole), amounting to a total debt of $515,966.99. (Id. , Dkt. No. 9-1.) Jjamz repeatedly reassured Lisa that the outstanding balance would be paid. (Dkt. Nos. 9-2, 9-3, 9-4, 9-5.) On several occasions, Jjamz paid off individual invoices in part or in full. (Dkt. No. 9-4 at 5.)
In January 2015, in response to an e-mail from Lisa, Jjamz explained that it had given up control of the company to investors who were in the process of devising a payment plan. (Dkt. No. 1-5 at 1.) In its *182contribution and assignment agreement with Jjamz, Punch agreed to "pay, perform, and discharge when due" Jjamz's liabilities to Lisa. (Dkt. No. 26-5 at 7; Dkt. No. 26-6 at 20.)
Representatives from Jjamz also twice informed Lisa that Punch had assumed all of Jjamz's liabilities. (Dkt. No. 9-6 at 1; Dkt. No. 9-7 at 1.)
In August 2016, Plaintiffs filed suit against Jjamz seeking to collect payment on its debts. (Dkt. No. 1.) Plaintiffs later amended their complaint to add Punch as a co-defendant. (Dkt. No. 9.) Plaintiffs now move for summary judgment against both Jjamz and Punch. (Dkt. No. 24.)
II. Legal Standard
Summary judgment must be awarded "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). " 'An issue of fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. A fact is material if it might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.' " SCR Joint Venture L.P. v. Warshawsky ,
"The standard of review is the same when a motion for summary judgment is unopposed." Adam Friedman Assocs. v. Media G3 Inc. , No. 10 Civ. 5350,
Local Civil Rule 56.1 also "requires a party moving for summary judgment to submit 'a separate, short and concise statement' setting forth material facts as to which there is no genuine issue to be tried.' " Holtz v. Rockefeller & Co. ,
*183III. Discussion
Plaintiffs move for summary judgment on (1) their claim against Jjamz for account stated, and (2) Punch's successor liability for Jjamz's debts. Defendant Jjamz failed to file an opposition to Plaintiff's motion. (See Dkt. No. 38.)
The Court addresses the claims against each Defendant in turn.
A. Account Stated Claim against Jjamz
Plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment against Jjamz under an account stated theory of liability. "An account stated is an agreement between parties to an account based on prior transactions between them with respect to the correctness of the account items and balance due." Manhattan Motorcars, Inc. v. Automobili Lamborghini, S.p.A. ,
To prevail on a claim for account stated, a plaintiff must establish the following elements: " '(1) an account was presented; (2) it was accepted as correct; and (3) [the] debtor promised to pay the amount stated.' " Camacho Mauro Mulholland LLP v. Ocean Risk Retention Grp, Inc. , No. 09 Civ. 9114,
As to the first element of their claim, Plaintiffs have established that an account was presented to Jjamz. Lisa undisputedly sent Jjamz invoices, and Jjamz acknowledged receipt. (Dkt. No. 9-2 at 4.) Moreover, on more than one occasion, Lisa informed Jjamz of the outstanding amount owed. (Dkt. Nos. 9-2, 9-3, 9-4, 9-5.) In January 2014, Jjamz again acknowledged that it was "in receipt of [Lisa's] documents in the amount of $77,786.54, and promised to "review this week and send to our bank with approval for payment." (Dkt. No. 9-2 at 4.) In June, Lisa reminded Jjamz that "the outstanding amount has grown to over USD 500k," (Dkt. No. 9-4 at 2), and Jjamz responded, "I know and I am working on this w the Tanners
As to the second element, Plaintiffs have established that Jjamz accepted the account presented as correct. Jjamz did not object in writing to any of the invoices *184Lisa sent it. To the contrary, Jjamz repeatedly made assurances that it would pay its balance. (Dkt. Nos. 9-2, 9-3, 9-4, 9-5.) The closest Jjamz came to objecting was in a January 17, 2014, email to Lisa explaining, "I cannot recall promising that we will pay $25,000 per month because I do not make promises I cannot keep!" (Dkt. No. 9-2 at 3.) However, in the same email, Jjamz's representative assured Lisa that Jjamz still intended to pay and would "try to send monthly payments from this year but I cannot guarantee the amount." (Id. ) Jjamz's lack of objection amounts to acknowledgment that the account presented was correct. See Rand Rosenzweig Smith Radley Gordon & Burstein, LLP v. Berger ,
Finally, the last element of Plaintiffs' claim is a promise from Jjamz to pay. Plaintiffs have adduced sufficient evidence of Jjamz's promise to pay the account stated. A debtor's partial payment of a debt is evidence of its implied agreement to pay. See Kramer v. Aronoff ,
Plaintiffs have adduced sufficient evidence to establish Jjamz's liability for account stated as a matter of law.
B. Defendant Punch's Successor Liability
The Court next addresses whether Punch assumed liability for Jjamz's debts after the former purchased the assets of the latter.
*185or (4) the transaction is fraudulent." Chao v. International Broth. of Indus. Workers Health and Welfare Fund ,
Plaintiffs rely on the first exception, arguing that Punch "expressly assumed liability by contract." (Dkt. No. 36 at 2; see also AC ¶ 1.) The Court agrees that, when Jjamz transferred its assets and liabilities to Punch, Punch assumed its predecessor's liabilities as a matter of law.
Section 3(i) of the assignment agreement states: "[Punch] hereby assumes on the date hereof and agrees to pay, perform, and discharge when due the following obligations of [Jjamz].... [t]he trade accounts payable set forth on Schedule 3(i)." (Dkt. No. 26-5 at 7.) Schedule 3(i) includes a $494,832 liability owed to Plaintiffs. (Dkt. No. 26-6 at 20.) By its clear text, this provision amounts to express contractual assumption of successor liability.
Punch does not meaningfully respond to Plaintiffs' express assumption argument. Instead, Punch points out that the validity of its contract with Jjamz is currently being litigated in state court. (Dkt. No. 29 at 7.)
These cases establish that fraudulent billing practices can stand as a defense to *186a claim for account stated. None of these cases, however, addresses the question whether a successor company that is fraudulently induced to assume the legitimate debts of its predecessor can escape liability to the predecessor's creditors.
Furthermore, though fraud is one exception to successor liability, the exception is designed to protect only creditors and not successors. "[T]ransactions undertaken to defraud creditors" are an exception to "the rule that an asset purchaser is not liable for the seller's debts." Cargo Partner v. Albatrans, Inc. ,
In short, Punch offers no persuasive reason why its separate litigation against Jjamz is relevant to the issue of successor liability. Punch's contentions are wholly unresponsive to Plaintiffs' argument that Punch expressly agreed to assume Jjamz's liabilities. See Xue Ming Wang ,
IV. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.
The Clerk of Court is directed to close the motion at Docket Number 24. The matter will be referred to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn for an inquest on damages.
SO ORDERED.
Ken Tanner and his wife, Wendi, were the owners of Jjamz, Inc. (Dkt. 26-6 at ¶ 12.) The Tanners currently have a 10% interest in Punch. (Id. )
Punch also argues that Plaintiffs are not entitled to summary judgment because Plaintiffs have "not established the essential elements of an account stated against Punch." (Dkt. No. 29-6.)
This argument is a non-starter: since Jjamz 's liability for account stated is already established as a matter of law, Punch is also liable for this debt if it assumed Jjamz's debts. There is no need for Plaintiffs to prove each of the elements of account stated against Punch as well in order to establish Punch's successor liability.
At the outset, the Court notes that Punch questions the enforceability of its contract with Jjamz. (Dkt. No. 29 at 7.) Its legal reasoning as to why the contract is unenforceable is opaque, but some of its factual allegations (see Dkt. No. 29 at 2-3), if true, could conceivably support a claim against Jjamz for fraudulent inducement. See Robinson v. Deutsche Bank Tr. Co. Americas ,
But while Punch's allegations of fraudulent inducement could render the contract voidable, see, e.g., McCaddin v. Se. Marine Inc. ,
Punch therefore cannot avoid successor liability here by arguing that the contract is unenforceable based on fraudulent inducement.
Finally, the Court rejects Punch's argument that summary judgment is premature under Rule 56(d). (Dkt. No. 29 at 8-9.) The deadline to complete all discovery in this case was November 17, 2017, and the Court advised the parties that no further extensions would be granted. (Dkt. No. 19.) Plaintiffs filed their summary judgment motion on December 1, 2017, after discovered had closed. (Dkt. No. 24.) As Punch points out, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that parties be "afforded the opportunity to conduct discovery." (Dkt. No. 29 at 8 (emphasis added).) Punch was given that opportunity, and provides no justification for its failure to obtain any necessary discovery within the allotted time period.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- YIWU LIZHISHA ACCESSORIES CO., LTD., and Hong Kong Lizhisha Jewelry Co., Limited v. JJAMZ, INC., and Punch Fashions, LLC
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published