Soward v. Deutsche Bank Ag
Soward v. Deutsche Bank Ag
Opinion of the Court
OPINION AND ORDER
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiffs, Thomas R. Becnel and Jar-dine Ventures, LLC (collectively “Becnel”) and David Soward, bring these diversity actions against Deutsche Bank AG and Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. (collectively “Deutsche Bank”) alleging state-law claims of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, fraudulent concealment, aiding and abetting fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing. So-ward filed his Complaint on December 10, 2010 and Becnel filed his Complaint on March 9, 2011. These cases arise out of a tax shelter scheme known as the Bond Linked Issue Premium Structure Strategy (“BLIPS Strategy”), which the parties carried out between September 1999 and May 2000. Deutsche Bank argues that each of Soward’s and Becnel’s claims is time-barred as well as insufficient as a matter law. Deutsche Bank now moves to dismiss Soward’s Amended Complaint and Becnel’s Complaint pursuant to Rules 9(b) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons given below, these two cases are dismissed in their entirety.
II. BACKGROUND
A. The BLIPS Strategy
Soward and Becnel claim that Deutsche Bank conspired with Presidio Growth LLC and Presidio Advisory Services, LLC (collectively “Presidio”) to defraud them by inducing them to invest in “investment program[s]” called “Alverstone Strategic Investment Fund” (“Alverstone”) and “Hubbard Strategic Investment Fund” (“Hubbard”), respectively, and to charge them fees for loans, to be supplied by Deutsche Bank, that never existed.
1. Soward and the BLIPS Strategy
As part of the BLIPS Strategy,
2. Becnel and the BLIPS Strategy
Becnel’s participation in the BLIPS strategy is nearly identical to Soward’s. On or about September 12, 1999, Becnel entered into a credit agreement (“Becnel Credit Agreement”) with Deutsche Bank for a loan totaling eighty million dollars.
B. The Class Actions
On January 28, 2005, Becnel filed claims “as lead plaintiff on behalf of others similary situated against Deutsche Bank, Presidio, KPMG, Sidley Austin and others in a class action law suit.”
III. APPLICABLE LAW
A. Statute of Limitations and New York’s Borrowing Statute
“When diversity of citizenship is the basis of jurisdiction, a federal court must look to the statute of limitations of the state in which it sits.”
“For the purposes of the borrowing statute, a cause of action accrues where the injury is sustained rather than where the defendant committed the wrongful acts.”
The burden of proving that a particular statute of limitation has expired falls on the defendant. However, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving that a particular statute of limitation has been tolled. Finally, when another state’s statute of limitations is considered pursuant to N.Y. C.P.L.R. 202, the party seeking to benefit therefrom bears the burden of proof.36
B. American Pipe Tolling and Cross-Jurisdictional Tolling
In American Pipe and Construction Co. v. Utah, the Supreme Court held, in the context of exclusively federal claims, that “the commencement of a class action suspends the applicable statute of limitations as to all asserted members of the class who would have been parties had the suit been permitted to continue as a class action.”
[s]ome states that have adopted American Pipe tolling have refused to expand the doctrine to include ‘cross-jurisdictional class action tolling,’ thereby declining to apply the tolling doctrine in situations where they otherwise would have if the original class action had been filed in its own jurisdiction.... Only a small fraction of states have addressed*279 the cross-jurisdictional issue, though, and there is no clear consensus among them.... As a result, federal diversity courts are often left to predict how a state’s highest court would rule.40
The Second Circuit very recently instructed that “a federal court evaluating the timeliness of state law claims must look to the law of the relevant state to determine whether, and to what extent, the statute of limitations should be tolled by the filing of a putative class action in another jurisdiction.”
IV. DISCUSSION
Because of New York’s borrowing statute,
A. Soward’s Fraud-Based and Fiduciary Duty-Based Claims
Under New York law, the statute of limitations for fraud is the greater of six years from the time of accrual or two years from the time the plaintiff discovered the fraud or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it.
Soward argues that his claims are timely under the accrual prong of section 213 because, due to the doctrine of continuous representation, the statute of limitations did not begin to run until May 15, 2000 when Deutsche Bank closed the Voltaire and Alverstone accounts.
1. Accrual Prong
Even accepting Soward’s argument that the statute did not begin to run until the closing of the accounts, Soward filed this action on December 20, 2010 well after the six-year statute of limitations expired. In order for Soward’s claims to be timely under this prong, the six-year statute of limitations must have been tolled by the continuous representation doctrine and cross-jurisdictional tolling. If either of these theories fail, Soward’s claims will be untimely.
Whether or not Becnel and Kottler toll the statute of limitation in New York is a question of cross-jurisdictional tolling.
Soward’s reliance on Primavera proves unavailing. The Second Circuit has recently made clear that the question of “whether, and to what extent, the statute of limitations should be tolled by the filing of a putative class action in another jurisdiction” is purely a question of state law.
None of the cases cited by Soward or Deutsche Bank, or indeed uncovered by this Court, answers the question as to whether New York would allow cross-jurisdictional tolling. Predicting how New York courts would rule on the issue of cross-jurisdictional tolling would be difficult. The few states that have considered the issue have been split in both their acceptance of cross-jurisdictional tolling and the rationale for their decision.
2. Discovery Prong
Soward argues that even if his claims are untimely under the accrual prong, they are timely under the second prong of section 213 — the discovery prong — because he could not have reasonably discovered the fraud until November 18, 2003, when the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Government Affairs issued its report after an investigation into the tax shelter industry.
B. Becnel’s Fraud-Based and Fiduciary Duty-Based Claims
1. Accrual Prong
As with Soward, Becnel claims that, due to the doctrine of continuous representation, the statute of limitations on his fraud-
2. Discovery Prong
Unlike Soward, who claims that he could not have reasonably discovered the fraud until the Senate Subcommittee issued its report in 2003,
The Kottler decision does not support Becnel’s contention that “even reasonable diligence could not have led Plaintiffs to discover that the DB loan premium was
For these reasons, Becnel’s reliance on Kottler provides no support for his argument regarding notice. Other than Kottler, Becnel does not provide any further reasons as to why the discovery rule saves his Complaint from being untimely.
C. Soward’s Claims for Breach of Contract and Breach of Implied Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
Soward claims that Deutsche Bank breached Section 2.01 of the Soward Credit Agreement wherein Deutsche Bank agreed to make available to the borrower on the borrowing date an amount equal to $10.4 million when in fact the loan was a sham and never occurred.
D. Becnel’s Claims for Breach of Contract and Breach of Implied Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
Similar to Soward, Becnel claims that Deutsche Bank breached Section 2.01 of the Becnel Credit Agreement and its implied duty of good faith and fair dealing by representing the purported eighty million dollar loan was a real loan, by making withdrawals from the Jardine and Hubbard accounts for the sham loan and by entering into the Becnel Assignment Agreement.
E. Leave to Amend Standard
Rule 15(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that other than amendments as a matter of right, “a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party’s written consent or with the court’s leave.”
Y. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Deutsche Bank’s motions to dismiss are granted. The Clerk of the Court is directed to close these motions (10 Civ. 9248, docket no. 11; 11 Civ. 01615, docket no. 7) and these cases.
SO ORDERED.
. On a motion to dismiss, a plaintiff's factual allegations are accepted as true. See, e.g., Pension Comm. of the Univ. of Montreal Pension Plan v. Banc of Am. Sec. LLC, 568 F.3d 374, 376 (2d Cir. 2009).
. See David C. Soward's Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Deutsche Bank's Motion to Dismiss ("Soward Mem.'') at 6. See also Becnel Complaint ("Becnel Compl.") ¶ 1.
. See 12/21/10 Deutsche Bank AG-Non-Prosecution Agreement ("NPA”), Ex. 4 to Declaration of Keith Blackman, Attorney for Deutsche Bank, in Support of Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint ("Black-man Decl.”).
. See Soward Mem. at 7; see also Soward Amended Complaint ("Soward Am. Compl.”) ¶ 28.
. NPA ¶¶ 6, 10.
. Soward Mem. at 13 (quoting NPA ¶ 10).
. Id. (quoting NPA ¶ 10).
. Id. (quoting NPA ¶ 10).
. Soward does not call the scheme "BLIPS” in his Amended Complaint but uses the name "Alverstone Strategic Investment Fund ("Alverstone”)”. See Soward Am. Compl. V 1. However, in Soward’s brief, he refers to the transactions as BLIPS transactions. See So-ward Mem. at 6. Soward requests leave to further amend his complaint to incorporate the contents of the original complaint, including references to the BLIPS transaction. See id. at 9.
. See Soward Am. Compl. ¶ 16. The loan detailed in the Soward Credit Agreement consisted of a principal amount of $ 6.5 million and a premium amount of $ 3.9 million with a maturity date of seven years from the date of funding.
. See id. ¶¶ 1-2.
. See id. ¶ 2.
. See id. ¶ 21.
. See id.
. See id. ¶ 14.
. See id. ¶ 33.
. See Becnel Compl. ¶¶ 19, 21. The loan included a stated principal amount of fifty million dollars and a premium amount of
. See id.
. See id. ¶ 22.
. See “Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Deutsche Bank's Motion to Dismiss ("Becnel Mem.”) at 17.
. See Becnel Compl. ¶ 18.
. Id. ¶ 30. Specifically, Becnel claims that Deutsche Bank and Presidio returned only $273,000 of the $2.1 million, resulting in an economic loss of $1,827 million. See id. ¶ 25.
. Id. ¶ 63.
. See id.; see also Becnel v. KPMG, 229 F.R.D. 592 (W.D.Ark. 2005).
. See id.
. See id. ¶ 64.
. See Becnel Mem. at 19.
. See No. 05 Civ. 7773, 2010 WL 1221809 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 29, 2010).
. Cuccolo v. Lipsky, Goodkin & Co., 826 F.Supp. 763, 766 (S.D.N.Y. 1993) (citing Popkin v. National Benefit Life Ins. Co., 711 F.Supp. 1194, 1197 n. 1 (S.D.N.Y. 1989)).
. Stuart v. American Cyanamid Co., 158 F.3d 622, 627 (2d Cir. 1998) (citations omitted).
. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 202 ("An action based upon a cause of action accruing without the state cannot be commenced after the expiration of the time limited by the laws of either the state or the place without the state where the cause of action accrued, except that where the cause of action accrued in favor of a resident of the state the time limited by the laws of the state shall apply.”).
. Stuart, 158 F.3d at 627 (citing N.Y.C.P.L.R. § 202).
. Gordon & Co. v. Ross, 63 F.Supp.2d 405, 408 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) (citations omitted).
. Stuart, 158 F.3d at 627.
. Gorlin v. Bond Richman & Co., 706 F.Supp. 236, 240 (S.D.N.Y. 1989) (citations omitted).
. Cuccolo, 826 F.Supp. at 767 n. 2 (citations omitted).
. 414 U.S. 538, 554, 94 S.Ct. 756, 38 L.Ed.2d 713 (1974).
. Crown, Cork & Seal Co., Inc. v. Parker, 462 U.S. 345, 354, 103 S.Ct. 2392, 76 L.Ed.2d 628 (1983).
. See In re Agent Orange Prod. Liab. Litig., 818 F.2d 210, 213 (2d Cir. 1987) (citations omitted). Accord Williams v. Dow Chem. Co., No. 01 Civ. 4307, 2004 WL 1348932, at *11 (S.D.N.Y. June 16, 2004) ("[T]he Second Circuit has held that state, not federal law, applies to the tolling issues even where the tolling was sought on the basis of a federal lawsuit filed in federal court.... Thus, in this case, I will look to state law to determine if tolling applies.”) (citing In re Agent Orange, 818 F.2d at 213).
. In re Fosamax Prods. Liab. Litig., 694 F.Supp.2d 253, 257-58 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (citations omitted).
. Casey ex rel. Estate of Casey v. Merck & Co., Inc., 653 F.3d 95, 100 (2d Cir. 2011) ("We find ... that tolling here is properly understood to be a question of state law.”) (citations omitted).
. Id.
. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 202.
. See Soward Am. Compl. ¶ 10.
. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 202.
. See Becnel Compl. ¶ 11.
. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 202.
. See id. § 213(8).
. See Malone v. Bayerische Hypo-Und Vereins Bank, Nos. 08 Civ. 7277, 09 Civ. 3676, 2010 WL 391826, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 4, 2010).
. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 213(2).
. See Soward Mem. at 20.
. See id. at 23.
. See id. at 27.
. Even though Kottler was filed in this district, it still implicates cross-jurisdictional tolling because it was filed in federal court based on diversity of citizenship.
. See In re Fosamax, 694 F.Supp.2d at 257 ("Only a small fraction of states have addressed the cross-jurisdictional tolling, though, and there is not clear consensus among them.”).
. See Deutsche Bank AG and Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.'s Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint at 14 ("Notably, neither New York nor California courts toll a statute of limitations on the basis of a prior class action arising in a different jurisdiction.”).
The two New York Supreme court cases relied on by Deutsche Bank do not, as Deutsche Bank suggests, hold that New York will not recognize cross jurisdictional tolling. In Ansley v. Wyeth, cross-jurisdictional tolling played only a minor rule in the court’s refusal to toll the statute of limitations under American Pipe. The court’s reasoning included the fact that "the wisdom of adopting the American Pipe rule in mass tort cases is, to say the least, highly debatable.” No. 109479/2005, 2009 WL 4905232 (Sup.Ct.N.Y.Co. Nov. 30, 2009) (citing In re Rezulin Prods. Liab. Litig., 2005 WL 26867, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 5, 2005)), Ex. 6 to Blackman Deck The next case cited by Deutsche Bank, Feltch v. Warner Lambert, does not support its argument. The Feltch court's decision to reject tolling based on the filing of a federal class action turned on the fact that "the claim in the class action that plaintiff ... invokes were for medical monitoring or consumer fraud, while the claims here are for personal injury and possible wrongful death.”). See No. 125170/2002 (Sup.Ct.N.Y.Co. Mar. 22, 2000), Ex. 7 to Blackman Deck
. See 130 F.Supp.2d 450 (S.D.N.Y. 2001).
. Id. at 516. The court did not elaborate on what "federal interests” it took into consideration.
. Id. at 515 ("[The] Erie doctrine analysis is not so simple as [defendant] would have it.... These are difficult, barely-charted waters. However, in the absence of any interest on the part of Connecticut in having tolling barred in the circumstances present here, and
. See Soward Mem. at 23.
. See Casey, 653 F.3d at 100.
. See Stevens v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., 358 Mont. 474, 484, 247 P.3d 244 (2010) ("So called 'cross-jurisdictional tolling' has rarely been addressed, and the few state courts and secondary sources to have considered the doctrine have expressed widely divergent viewpoints.”).
. See In re Fosamax, 694 F.Supp.2d at 258 ("Recognizing the lack of consensus on the [cross-jurisdictional tolling] issue, federal courts generally have been disinclined to import cross-jurisdictional tolling into the law of a state that has not ruled on the issue.”). Accord, e.g., Clemens v. DaimlerChrysler, 534 F.3d 1017 (9th Cir. 2008) (declining to toll a California statute of limitations based on an Illinois class action); Wade v. Danek Med., Inc., 182 F.3d 281, 286 (4th Cir. 1999) (declining to toll Virginia's statute of limitations) (“In predicting whether the Virginia Supreme Court would apply an equitable tolling rule, we are mindful of the general principle that, ‘[i]n trying to determine how the highest state court would interpret the law, we should not create or expand that State's public policy.’ ") (alteration in original) (citations omitted); In re Urethane Antitrust Litig., 663 F.Supp.2d 1067, 1081-82 (D.Kan. 2009) ("In the absence of a Tennessee decision compelling the opposite result, this Court declines to import a tolling doctrine into Tennessee state law where it previously did not exist.”) (also refusing to import cross-jurisdictional tolling into Indiana law in the absence of any Indiana authority recognizing the doctrine) (citations omitted); Love v. Wyeth, 569 F.Supp.2d 1228, 1235-36 (N.D.Ala. 2008) (declining to toll Alabama's statute of limitations during the pen
. See Casey, 653 F.3d at 100-01.
. See Soward Mem. at 27.
. Under California law, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of discovery for Soward's fraud-based claims and four years for Soward’s fiduciary duty-based claims. See Cal. Proc. Code §§ 338(d), 434. Soward argues that his claims are timely under California law because California’s doctrine of equitable tolling applies and tolls the statute of limitations during the pendency of die Becnel and Kottler class actions. See So-ward Mem. at 22. However, in light of the fact that this Court has already found So-ward's fraud-based and fiduciary duty-based claims time-barred under New York law, analysis of this California equitable doctrine will not change the outcome and is unnecessary because the borrowing statute bars a claim that is untimely under either New York or California law.
. See Becnel Mem. at 17-18.
. See Soward Mem. at 27.
. See Becnel Mem. at 12-15. Becnel makes this allegation despite the fact that the Kottler class action was filed on September 2, 2005 and the Becnel class action, in which Becnel himself was the lead plaintiff, was filed on January 28, 2005.
. The Kottler plaintiffs sued Deutsche Bank on the ground that Deutsche Bank "knew that the tax strategies were fraudulent and yet participated in a scheme to reap millions of dollars in fees from clients like the members of the Class.” See Kottler v. Deutsche Bank AG, 607 F.Supp.2d 447, 455 (S.D.N.Y. 2009).
. Becnel Mem. at 15. For example, Becnel points to the Kottler court’s "Summary of Facts,” which — based on the Kottler plaintiffs’ amended complaint — recounts the Kottler defendants' roles in the tax shelter. See Kottler, 607 F.Supp.2d at 454 (“The facts summarized below are taken from the Amended Complaint, the allegations of which must be assumed true for purposes of these motions to dismiss.”). The "Summary of Facts” mentions that while KPMG marketed the strategies and the law firm of Brown & Wood gave legal advice, Deutsche Bank "provided funds that facilitated the financials so that the tax strategies could be implemented.” Id.
Becnel also cites to a footnote in which the Kottler court explains why the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLR”) did not bar the Kottler plaintiffs’ resort to their RICO claims. See Becnel Mem. at 12 (citing Kottler, 607 F.Supp.2d at 457 n. 9). The Kottler court explained that the PSLRA was inapplicable because "the alleged fraud here involved a tax scheme, with the securities transaction only incidental to any underlying fraud.” Kottler, 607 F.Supp.2d at 457 n. 9. Becnel argues that, with this statement, the Kottler court "held that there was nothing fraudulent about the financial mechanisms used to generate the tax losses.” Becnel Mem. at 13-14. Finally, Becnel interprets the Kottler court's finding that the plaintiffs’ fraud allegations did not meet the heightened pleading standard for Rule 9(b) to mean that "Judge Crotty's decision to dismiss the fraud claims against the banks based upon his finding that there was nothing fraudulent about the financial mechanism used to generate the tax losses demonstrates that even reasonable diligence could not have led Plaintiffs to discover that the DB loan premium was not legitimate.” Id.
Becnel does not explain, however, how his own filing of a class action in 2005 failed to put him on notice of the alleged fraud or trigger inquiry notice. Becnel also fails to discuss how the Senate Subcommittee’s report issued in 2003, which specifically looked at the BLIPS Strategy, did not trigger inquiry notice.
. Becnel Mem. at 14.
. See id. at 12 ("After the Court found that the banks provided the funds.... ”). See also id. at 13 ("After finding that there was nothing fraudulent about the financial mechanism used to generate the tax losses, the Court in Kottler dismissed the fraud claims against the banks.").
. For example, when addressing New York’s section 213, Becnel only analyzes dates under the accrual prong and not the discovery prong. See id. at 24. However, when Becnel turns his attention to Florida law, he uses November 18, 2003 as the date when "the fraud was discovered or should have been discovered.” Id. at 25. Even if that date is used, Becnel’s Complaint was still filed well after the two-year state of limitations expired.
. Under Florida law, the statute of limitations is four years for both Becnel’s fraud-based and fiduciary duty-based claims. See Fla. Stat. § 95.1 l(3)(j). See also Fla. Stat. § 95.11 (3)(p). However, in light of the fact that this Court has already found Becnel's fraud-based and fiduciary duty-based claims time-barred under New York law, analysis of Florida’s statutes of limitations will not change the outcome and is unnecessary because the borrowing statute bars a claim that is untimely under either New York or Florida law.
. See Soward Am. Compl. ¶¶ 19, 30.
. See id. ¶ 19.
. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 213(2).
. See Soward Mem. at 20.
. California’s statute of limitations for So-ward’s contract-based claims is four years. See Cal.Civ.Proc.Code § 337.
. See Becnel Compl. ¶¶ 78-80.
. Becnel’s brief, in a section entitled "Application of Tolling Doctrines,” only mentions his fraud-based and fiduciary duty-based claims and not his breach of contract claims. See Becnel Mem. at 24-25.
. See id. at 18.
. Florida’s statute of limitations for Becnel’s contract-based claims is five years. See Fla. Stat. § 95.1 l(2)(b).
. Slayton v. American Express Co., 460 F.3d 215, 226 n. 10 (2d Cir. 2006) (quotation marks omitted).
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(2).
. McCarthy v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 482 F.3d 184, 200 (2d Cir. 2007).
. Hayden v. County of Nassau, 180 F.3d 42, 53 (2d Cir. 1999).
. Ellis v. Chao, 336 F.3d 114, 127 (2d Cir. 2003).
. See Soward Mem. at 9.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- David C. SOWARD v. DEUTSCHE BANK AG and Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., Defendants Thomas R. Becnel and Jardine Ventures, LLC v. Deutsche Bank AG and Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.
- Cited By
- 12 cases
- Status
- Published