Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank v. Morgan Stanley & Co.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank v. Morgan Stanley & Co.
Opinion of the Court
OPINION AND ORDER
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiffs are institutional investors asserting claims of fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, and negligent misrepresentation arising from the 2007 collapse of the Cheyne structured investment vehicle (“SIV”). Defendants are Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and Morgan Stanley & Co. International Limited (together, “Morgan Stanley”) — the arranger/placement agent of the Cheyne SIV; Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and Moody’s Investors Service Ltd. (collectively “Moody’s”); and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. (collectively “S & P,” and, together with Moody’s, the “Ratings Agencies”) — the agencies that rated the notes issued by Cheyne. In my August 17, 2012 summary judgment Opinion and Order, I dismissed the fraud claims against Morgan Stanley and the aiding and abetting fraud claims against the rating agencies.
II. BACKGROUND
Familiarity with the facts and the procedural history is assumed.
A. Reconsideration
Motions for reconsideration are governed by Local Rule 6.3 and are committed to the sound discretion of the district court.
B. Summary Judgment
“Summary judgment is designed to pierce the pleadings to flush out those cases that are predestined to result in a directed verdict.”
In deciding a motion for summary judgment, a court must “ ‘construe the facts in
C. Summary Judgment Standard for Fraud and Aiding and Abetting Claims
In New York, a plaintiff alleging fraud must establish each element of its fraud claim by “clear and convincing evidence.”
IV. APPLICABLE LAW
A. Fraud
To recover damages for fraud under New York law, a plaintiff must prove: (1) a misrepresentation or a material omission of fact which was false and known to be false by defendant; (2) made for the purpose of inducing the other party to rely upon it; (3) justifiable reliance of the other party on the misrepresentation or material omission; and (4) injury.
In addition to establishing scienter, plaintiffs must show that they reasonably relied on the false and misleading statements to their detriment.
Reasonable reliance entails a duty to investigate the legitimacy of an investment opportunity where plaintiff was placed on guard or practically faced with the facts. Only [w]hen matters are held to be peculiarly within defendant’s knowledge [] [is it] said that plaintiff may rely without prosecuting an investigation, as he ha[d] no independent means of ascertaining the truth.20
An “evaluation of the reasonable-reliance element [should involve] many factors to ‘consider and balance,’ no single one of
B. Standing
“Whether a party has a sufficient stake in an otherwise justiciable controversy to obtain judicial resolution of that controversy is what has traditionally been referred to as the question of standing to sue.”
An assignee who holds “legal title to an injured party’s claim has constitutional standing to pursue the claim....”
C. Real Party in Interest
Under Rule 17(a):
[A] court may not dismiss an action for failure to prosecute in the name of the real party in interest until, after an objection, a reasonable time has been allowed for the real party in interest to ratify, join, or be substituted into the action. After ratification, joinder, or substitution, the action proceeds as if it had been originally commenced by the real party in interest.
The Second Circuit has held that when defendants assert that a party other than plaintiff has standing, “their unspoken premise [is] that [plaintiffs] lacked standing because [the non-party] remained ... the real party in interest.”
V. DISCUSSION
A. Leave to File Declarations
SEI seeks to submit a declaration “to more fully explain the evidence” that SEI relied on the ratings issued by Moody’s and S & P when it made its decision to invest in Cheyne, and Commerzbank seeks to submit a declaration demonstrating that Commerzbank has standing to pursue its claims rising out of DAF’s investment in Cheyne. However, the Second Circuit has repeatedly held that new evidence may not be considered on a motion for reconsideration.
Plaintiffs argue that it is only improper for courts to consider arguments/evidenee that could have been advanced/introduced on the initial motion.
Plaintiffs also argue that the Court should consider its new declarations because it “overlooked the [original] declarations or misapprehended their meaning.”
B. SEI’S Motion for Reconsideration
In the summary judgment Opinion and Order, I analyzed SEI’s reliance evidence as follows:
SEI is suing on investments made by an investment advisor, Columbia Management Advisors (“CMA”). Defendants provide evidence that CMA expressly disagreed with the ratings, and argue that CMA therefore could not have relied on the ratings in deciding to invest in Cheyne on behalf of the SEI Funds. Plaintiffs counter with testimony from CMA that securities would not likely be considered for investment unless they had “Tier 1” ratings. Plaintiffs also provide evidence that CMA was not authorized to purchase unrated notes. The evidence does not, however, support an inference that CMA relied on the high ratings issued by Moody’s and S & P in making the decision to invest in Cheyne on behalf of SEI. For one thing, SEI’s 30(b)(6) designee testified only that “a rating” — and not necessarily high ratings, or the ratings actually issued by the Rating Agencies — was required before CMA could purchase a note. For another, CMA testified that: (1) its own analysts did an extensive analysis which did not rely on and was independent of the ratings; and (2) it could consider notes which lacked a “Tier 1” rating. In sum, SEI has provided no evidence that the actual ratings issued by Moody’s and S & P were a substantial factor in CMA’s decision to invest. Accordingly, SEI’s claims are dismissed.42
However, I overlooked two pieces of evidence submitted by plaintiffs which create a material issue of fact as to whether the specific ratings issued by Moody’s and S & P were a substantial factor in CMA’s decision to invest.
First, plaintiffs submitted testimony by CMA that under Rule 2a-7, “there was a
Further, SEI’s reliance declaration was entitled to greater weight than I originally gave it. At a February hearing, I denied plaintiffs’ request for leave to file additional declarations on reliance — indicating that a single declaration from plaintiffs stating that the ratings were a factor in their investment decision would likely be sufficient to survive summary judgment:
[MR. DROSMAN:] [I]t is extremely important that we be permitted to provide at least one declaration per plaintiff so that they have an opportunity to explain to the court, provide the court with a proffer of evidence that they would give at trial.
THE COURT: What do they have to say other than, “I relied on the credit rating when I made this purchase?” .... You said that you don’t think it is that simple, but I am not trying a case on summary judgment. I have to draw every inference in favor of the non-moving party if it swears under oath to reliance at least in part. That is the reliance argument. It said so. Who am I to say they’re lying? They say they relied, so they relied. So reliance isn’t going to be easy for the defendant.46
In its reliance declaration, SEI asserted:
The investment guidelines governing the investment sub-advisors’ provision of investment advisory services and governing the purchase of the Rated Notes on behalf of ... SEI required the investment sub-advisors to rely on the ratings assigned to the Rated Notes. The investment sub-advisors [CMA] could not have purchased the Rated Notes on behalf of ... SEI without the assigned ratings. The ratings were a substantial factor in these investment decisions.47
In holding that CMA had failed to show that it relied on the specific ratings issued by the rating agencies, I gave insufficient weight to the word “assigned,” used multiple times in SEI’s rating declaration. That word provides some evidence that CMA relied on the high ratings issued by Moody’s and S & P — and not just the fact that the notes were rated — when deciding to invest on behalf of SET The declaration- — combined the portions of CMA’s testimony that I overlooked — are sufficient to create a material issue of fact as to wheth
C. Butterfield’s Motion for Reconsideration
In my summary judgment Opinion and Order, I dismissed Butterfield’s claims for lack of standing based on the following reasoning:
Butterfield is suing on an investment made by the Butterfield Money Market Fund (“BMMF”), which was managed by Butterfield’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Butterfield Asset Management (“BAM”). Defendants argue that Butterfield lacks standing to sue on behalf of BMMF because there is no evidence that BMMF assigned its right of action to Butterfield. In its declaration on reliance, Butterfield asserts that through its purchase of “[notes issued by Cheyne] at par from wholly-owned affiliate, [BMMF], on July 11, 2008,” it “acquired BMMF’s entire interest in the CP and MTNs.” However, the mere purchase of notes is insufficient to establish an assignment of rights, and the bare assertion that Butterfield “acquired all rights and claims relating to the Rated Notes” — without any supporting facts— is insufficient to withstand summary judgment. Finally, because standing is assessed at the time the complaint is filed, a “ratification” in a 2012 Reliance Declaration does not cure the deficiency.48
In so holding, I overlooked Rule 17(a)’s express allowance for ratification by the “real party in interest” as long a it is done within “a reasonable time.”
Defendants argue that ratification should not be permitted, as allowing it would improperly expand plaintiffs’ rights under substantive state law.
Defendants also argue that BMMF cannot ratify Butterfield’s claims under Rule 17(a) because it has no standing in its own
D. Commerzbank’s Motion for Reconsideration
Whereas BMMF’s ratification was timely — filed mere weeks after defendants first raised an objection to its standing— Commerzbank’s current attempt to file a ratification is not timely. Commerzbank has provided no reason it did not file a ratification declaration along with plaintiffs’ opposition to defendants’ motion for summary judgment, as Butterfield did. Because this ratification is filed more than “a reasonable time” after objections to Commerzbank’s standing were raised, Rule 17 does not apply, and I will not consider this submission.
In my summary judgment Opinion and Order, I held that Commerzbank lacked standing based on the following reasoning:
Commerzbank is suing both on [notes] it purchased for itself and on [DAF]’s investments in Cheyne. Dresdner Bank A.G. (“Dresdner”) purchased the DAP notes on October 9, 2007, and Commerzbank acquired Dresdner in May 2009. Although Commerzbank offers evidence that it has acquired any potential rights of action possessed by Dresdner, it has provided no evidence that DAP assigned its rights of action to Dresdner. Commerzbank argues that it nonetheless has standing by virtue of the fact that it “acquired the Rated Notes and [was] thus record [owner] of the notes before bringing suit.” However, Commerzbank provides no support for its assertion that, under New York law, the record holder of a rated note may bring fraud claims on behalf of prior holders, even without an assignment.57
Commerzbank now makes a series of arguments as to why Dresdner’s purchase of notes from DAF had the effect of an assignment of rights from DAF to Dresdner.
Commerzbank also argues that I overlooked controlling law that it has standing by virtue of the fact that DAF is no longer in existence. The Second Circuit has held that when a party about to become defunct executes an assignment agreement transferring “[all] rights, title and interest,” such language is broad enough to include a transfer of tort claims.
VI. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above: (1) plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file documents is denied; (2) SEI’s motion for reconsideration is granted; (3) Butterfield’s motion for reconsideration is granted; and (4) Commerzbank’s motion for reconsideration is denied. The Clerk of the Court is directed to close these motions (Docket Nos. 480, 482 and 484).
SO ORDERED.
. See Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank v. Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., No. 08 Civ. 7508, 888 F.Supp.2d 431, 2012 WL 3584278 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 17, 2012).
. See Patterson v. United States, No. 04 Civ. 3170, 2006 WL 2067036, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. July 26, 2006) ("The decision to grant or deny a motion for reconsideration is within the sound discretion of the district court.”) (citing McCarthy v. Manson, 714 F.2d 234, 237 (2d Cir. 1983)).
. Medisim Ltd. v. BestMed LLC, No. 10 Civ. 2463, 2012 WL 1450420, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 23, 2012) (quoting In re BDC 56 LLC, 330 F.3d 111, 123 (2d Cir. 2003)).
. Gucci America, Inc. v. Guess?, Inc., No. 09 Civ. 4373, 2011 WL 6326032, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 16, 2011) (quoting Virgin Atl. Airways, Ltd. v. National Mediation Bd., 956 F.2d 1245, 1255 (2d Cir. 1992)).
. Medisim, 2012 WL 1450420, at *1 (quoting Grand Crossing, L.P. v. United States Underwriters Ins. Co., No. 03 Civ. 5429, 2008 WL 4525400, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 6, 2008)).
. United States v. Treacy, No. 08 Cr. 0366, 2009 WL 47496, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 8, 2009) (quotation omitted).
. Lightfoot v. Union Carbide Corp., 110 F.3d 898, 907 (2d Cir. 1997).
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).
. Sanchez v. Connecticut Natural Gas Co., 421 Fed.Appx. 33, 34 (2d Cir. 2011) (quoting Nabisco, Inc. v. Warner-Lambert Co., 220 F.3d 43, 45 (2d Cir. 2000)).
. Carter v. Incorporated Village of Ocean Beach, 415 Fed.Appx. 290, 292 (2d Cir. 2011) (quoting McCarthy v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 482 F.3d 184, 202 (2d Cir. 2007)).
. Miner v. Clinton County, NY., 541 F.3d 464, 471 (2d Cir. 2008) (citation omitted).
. Jaramillo v. Weyerhaeuser Co., 536 F.3d 140, 145 (2d Cir. 2008).
. Brod v. Omya, Inc., 653 F.3d 156, 164 (2d Cir. 2011) (quoting Williams v. R.H. Donnelley Corp., 368 F.3d 123, 126 (2d Cir. 2004)).
. Kaytor v. Electric Boat Corp., 609 F.3d 537, 545 (2d Cir. 2010) (quoting Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000)) (emphasis removed).
. Brod, 653 F.3d at 164 (quoting Wilson v. Northwestern Mut. Ins. Co., 625 F.3d 54, 60 (2d Cir. 2010)).
. Menill Lynch & Co., Inc. v. Allegheny Energy, Inc., 500 F.3d 171, 181 (2d Cir. 2007).
. See de Abreu v. Bank of America Corp., 812 F.Supp.2d 316, 322 (S.D.N.Y. 2011) ('“A claim for aiding and abetting fraud must be proven by clear and convincing evidence.’ ”) (quoting Primavera Familienstifung v. Askin, 130 F.Supp.2d 450, 488 (S.D.N.Y. 2001)).
. See AUSA Life Ins. Co. v. Ernst & Young, 206 F.3d 202, 208 (2d Cir. 2000).
. Suez Equity Investors, L.P. v. Toronto-Dominion Bank, 250 F.3d 87, 104-05 (2d Cir. 2001) (quoting Cumberland Oil Corp. v. Thropp, 791 F.2d 1037, 1044 (2d Cir. 1986)).
. Crigger v. Fahnestock & Co., Inc., 443 F.3d 230, 234 (2d Cir. 2006) (alterations and omissions in original) (quotation marks omitted).
. STMicroelectronics, N.V. v. Credit Suisse Sec. (USA) LLC, 648 F.3d 68, 81 (2d Cir. 2011) (quoting Brown v. E.F. Hutton Grp., Inc., 991 F.2d 1020, 1032 (2d Cir. 1993)).
. Id.
. Sierra Club v. Morton, 405 U.S. 727, 731-32, 92 S.Ct. 1361, 31 L.Ed.2d 636 (1972). Accord National Helicopter Corp. of Am. v. City of New York, 137 F.3d 81, 87 (2d Cir. 1998).
. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992).
. Comer v. Cisneros, 37 F.3d 775, 787 (2d Cir. 1994) (citing Lujan, 504 U.S. at 571 n. 4, 112 S.Ct. 2130 (1992)).
. W.R. Huff Asset Mgmt. Co., LLC v. Deloitte & Touche LLP, 549 F.3d 100, 107 (2d Cir. 2008) (citing Sprint Commc'ns Co. v. APCC Servs., Inc., 554 U.S. 269, 271, 128 S.Ct. 2531, 171 L.Ed.2d 424 (2008)).
. Banque Arabe et Internationale D'Investissement v. Maryland Nat’l Bank, 57 F.3d 146, 153 (2d Cir. 1995).
. Id. at 151-52.
. Id. The transaction at issue in Banque Arabe was participation in a particular loan.
. Bank Brussels Lambert v. Credit Lyonnais (Suisse) S.A., Nos. 93 Civ. 6876, 94 Civ. 2713, 2000 WL 1876915, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 22, 2000) (quoting American Banana Co. v. Venezolana Internacional de Aviacion S.A., 67 A.D.2d 613, 411 N.Y.S.2d 889, 890 (1st Dep’t 1979)).
. Advanced Magnetics, Inc. v. Bayfront Partners, Inc., 106 F.3d 11, 20 (2d Cir. 1997). Accord Dayton Monetary Assocs. v. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Sec. Corps., No. 91 Civ.2050, 1998 WL 236227, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 1998) (noting that in such a situation, the distinction between "real party in interest” and a lack of standing is "merely semantic”).
. Id.
. See In re Vivendi Universal, S.A., 605 F.Supp.2d 570, 584 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) ("Advanced Magnetics stands for the proposition that a standing defect at the commencement of suit does not require dismissal of the action with prejudice.").
. See Berisford Metals Corp. v. M/V Copiapo, 653 F.Supp. 419, 421 (S.D.N.Y. 1986) ("A suit may proceed to its conclusion even where the plaintiff initially filing a complaint is not the real party in interest [if the defect is remedied via Rule 17 procedures].”).
. See 6A Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary K. Kane, Federal Practice & Procedure: Civil 3d § 1555, at 575-76 (3d ed. 2002) (“What constitutes a reasonable time is a matter of judicial discretion and will depend on the facts of each case.").
. See Hines v. Overstock.com, Inc., 380 Fed.Appx. 22, 25 (2d Cir. 2010) (affirming the district court’s denial of a motion for reconsideration “because [defendant] could have introduced this evidence in its initial motion but did not”); Caribbean Trading & Fid. Corp. v. Nigerian Nat'l Petroleum Corp., 948 F.2d 111, 115 (2d Cir. 1991) (confirming that a party making a motion for reconsideration may not " 'advance new facts, issues, or arguments’ ”) (quoting Schonberger v. Serchuk, 742 F.Supp. 108, 119 (S.D.N.Y. 1990)).
. See Learning Annex Holdings, LLC v. Rich Global, LLC, 860 F.Supp.2d 237, 241-42 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) ("A motion for reconsideration is not an ‘opportunity for making new arguments that could have been previously advanced.' ”) (quoting Associated Press v. United States Dep’t of Defense, 395 F.Supp.2d 17, 19 (S.D.N.Y. 2005)).
. See Reply in Support of Plaintiffs SEI Investments Company’s and Commerzbank AG’s Motion for Leave to File Declarations, at 1-2 (citing Hines, 380 Fed.Appx. at 25).
. Id. at 1. Plaintiffs also believe that SEI’s declaration should be considered in light of "the Court's assurance that a declaration of reliance would be enough to establish reliance at the summary judgment stage.” Id. (citing Februaiy 8, 2012 Hearing Transcript ("Hr’g Tr.”) at 14-16). Although I did suggest to plaintiffs that a declaration of reliance might be sufficient to establish a material issue of fact on reliance, plaintiffs and defendants submitted additional evidence — including documentary evidence and deposition transcripts — bearing on whether SEI relied on the ratings. My summary judgment Opinion and Order was based on those materials.
. Id.
. Id. at 2.
. Abu Dhabi, 888 F.Supp.2d at 469, 2012 WL 3584278, at *17.
. See Deposition of Paul T. Quistberg, CMA's 30(b)(6) designee ("Quistberg Dep.”), at 253:12-15. Plaintiffs' decision to divide their reliance argument and evidence into two sections in both their opposition brief and Rule 56.1 statement may have obscured some of the evidence regarding SEI's reliance.
. Id. at 258:24-259:3.
. CMA's testimony that an issue coming to market without a Tier 1 rating "could be” looked at was unclear. See Abu Dhabi, 888 F.Supp.2d at 469 n. 243, 2012 WL 3584278, at *17 n. 243 (citing Quistberg Dep. at 253:19-254:10). CMA might have been stating that it could consider such a product when making decisions to invest for SEI. However, it is equally plausible that CMA was making a general statement regarding how such issues are received by the market.
. H’rgTr. at 14-16
. Declaration of Plaintiffs Regarding Reliance in Support of Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Defendants’ Joint Motion for Summary Judgment Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) ("Reliance Deck”), ¶ 3 (emphasis added).
. Abu Dhabi, 888 F.Supp.2d at 447, 2012 WL 3584278, at *6.
. See supra, Part IV.C.
. See Reliance Decl. ¶ 7 ("Butterfield is authorized to pursue recovery related to the [notes issued by Cheyne] and BMMF agrees to be bound by any decisions or judgments in this action.”). The Reliance Declaration was signed on February 27, 2012.
. See Wells Fargo Northwest Bank, Nat’l Ass’n v. Varig-SA., No. 02 Civ. 6078, 2003 WL 21508341, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. June 27, 2003) (accepting as effective a ratification in which the real party in interest — by affidavit — "confirm[s] its approval of plaintiffs' exercise of remedies against [the defendant] ... [and agreed] to be bound by any determination reached”).
. See Defendants' Memorandum of Law in Opposition to the Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited's and Commerzbank AG's Motion for Reconsideration ("Def. Mem.”), at 7.
. See id. (citing Stichting Ter Behartiging Van de Belangen Van Oudaandeelhouders In Het Kapitaal Van Saybolt Int’l B.V. v. Schreiber, 407 F.3d 34, 48-49 (2d Cir. 2005)).
. Abu Dhabi, 888 F.Supp.2d at 446, 2012 WL 3584278, at *5 (quoting Banque Arabe, 57 F.3d at 153) (alteration in original).
. See Def. Mem. at 8.
. See Abu Dhabi, 888 F.Supp.2d at 447, 2012 WL 3584278, at *6.
. Id.
. See Plaintiffs the Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited's and Commerzbank AG's Motion for Reconsideration of the August 17, 2012 Opinion and Order on Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, at 2-6.
.International Design Concepts, LLC v. Saks Inc., 486 F.Supp.2d 229, 237 (S.D.N.Y. 2007).
. Reliance Decl. ¶ 8.
. Banque Arabe, 57 F.3d at 153.
.Reliance Decl. ¶ 8.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- ABU DHABI COMMERCIAL BANK, King County, Washington, Sei Investments Company, Sei Investment Strategies, LLC, The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited, SFT Collective Investment Fund, Deutsche Post Bank AG, Global Investment Services Limited, Gulf International Bank B.S.C., National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, State Board of Administration of Florida, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, Bank Sinopac, Bank Hapoalim B.M., Commerzbank AG, and KBL European Private Bankers S.A. v. MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED, Morgan Stanley & Co. International Limited, Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Moody's Investors Service Ltd., Standard and Poor's Ratings Services and The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.
- Cited By
- 18 cases
- Status
- Published