SentinelC3, Inc. v. Hunt
SentinelC3, Inc. v. Hunt
Opinion of the Court
¶1 Dissenting shareholders appeal from rulings at summary judgment that valued their shares in accordance with the corporation’s offer and imposed penalties and attorney fees for intransigence. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
FACTS
¶2 SentinelC3 (Sentinel) is a closely held corporation that facilitates transactions between health care providers
¶3 At that time, the biggest single shareholder in the corporation was Chris Hunt with 1,000,000 shares, approximately 22 percent of the corporation’s 4,500,000 total shares. Four members of the Owens family owned 3,000,000 shares, while Michael Blood and Ken Moore each owned 250,000 shares (approximately 5.5 percent). Sentinel attempted to buy out Mr. Hunt that April. Its expert, James Kukull, using the corporation’s value on December 31, 2009, valued the shares at $107,200 when using a “minority, nonmarketable basis” or at $195,200 on á “control, marketable basis.” Mr. Kukull explained that a “control, marketable basis” valuation was the same as “fair value” under the dissenters’ rights statute. The company offered the lower value; Mr. Hunt declined to sell.
¶4 On October 8, 2010, the company became a Washington corporation. At the same time, it proposed a reverse stock split of 1.5 million to one; those with less than one new share were required to sell their stock. The shareholders voted 5 to 2, with Mr. Hunt and Mr. Blood
¶5 Sentinel paid Mr. Hunt $195,200.00 plus interest in accordance with the greater valuation Mr. Kukull had previously made and paid Mr. Blood $48,956.60 plus interest. Both Hunt and Blood believed Mr. Kukull’s valuation to be out of date. Each made counteroffers to Sentinel based on a valuation from an undisclosed professional, subse
¶6 Sentinel instituted an action January 31, 2011, in the Spokane County Superior Court to establish the fair value of the dissenting shares in accordance with RCW 23B.13-.300. Discovery ensued; Mr. Hunt requested that Sentinel provide business records, contracts, and marketing plans going back five years. Sentinel objected on the basis that the records were irrelevant to the valuation process but agreed to disclose if a protective order could be worked out.
¶7 The trial court heard the summary judgment motion on October 21. The court found that Hecker’s valuation was not admissible through counsel’s declaration and excluded it while noting that it presented genuine issues of fact that
¶8 The dissenters sought reconsideration, and Mr. Hunt submitted an admissible copy of Mr. Hecker’s report. The court denied reconsideration, commenting only that there was “not sufficient cause shown to alter” its decision. Both Hunt and Blood timely appealed after the denial of reconsideration.
¶9 The court subsequently entered a judgment in Sentinel’s behalf for attorney fees and costs. Once again, the dissenters individually appealed to this court. The four matters were consolidated.
ANALYSIS
¶10 This appeal challenges the court’s valuation ruling at summary judgment, the decision to exclude Hecker’s valuation, and the award of attorney fees without appropriate findings. We agree with the challenges to the valuation and the attorney fee award; those two matters are discussed in that order. In light of our disposition, we do not address the exclusion of the valuation.
¶11 Summary judgment rulings are reviewed de novo since an appellate court sits in the same position as the trial court. Hubbard v. Spokane County, 146 Wn.2d 699, 706-07, 50 P.3d 602 (2002). Summary judgment is proper when, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the opposing party, there are no issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Trimble v. Wash. State Univ., 140 Wn.2d 88, 93, 993 P.2d 259 (2000). All facts and reasonable inferences are construed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. Summary judgment should be granted if reason
Valuation of Dissenters’ Shares
¶12 The parties strenuously debate the propriety of resolving a dissenters’ rights valuation case at summary judgment, with the appellants contending that the trial court’s obligations under the valuation statute necessitate weighing of evidence and preclude resolution at summary judgment. We need not go that far because we conclude that the appellants did establish material questions of fact that precluded summary judgment.
¶13 In a dissenters’ rights action, a corporation is required to petition a court to determine the “fair value of the shares and accrued interest.” RCW 23B. 13.300(1). “Fair value,” in turn, is defined as
the value of the shares immediately before the effective date of the corporate action to which the dissenter objects, excluding any appreciation or depreciation in anticipation of the corporate action unless exclusion would be inequitable.
RCW 23B.13.010(3). These standards are part of the current Washington Business Corporation Act, Title 23B RCW, adopted by Laws of 1989, ch. 165.
¶14 Prior to the adoption of the current provisions, the former corporations act had required that the trial court “shall, by its decree, determine the value of the shares” held by the dissenters. Rem. Rev. Stat. § 3803-41 (Supp. 1949), quoted in In re Nw. Greyhound Lines, Inc., 41 Wn.2d 672, 677, 251 P.2d 607 (1952).
contemplates a consideration of all the facts and circumstances pertinent to a particular case in an effort to arrive at a fair and*160 reasonable compromise or arbitration which may in some degree be lacking in mathematical exactness or certitude.
¶15 The legislature in 1965 changed the statute to reflect the need to give “fair value” rather than “value” to the minority shares. Laws of 1965, ch. 53, § 83 (repealing Laws of 1949, ch. 188). In adopting the current Business Corporation Act in 1989, the legislature noted that the term “fair value” “leaves untouched the accumulated case law.” 2 Senate Journal, 51st Leg., 2d Spec. Sess., at 3086 (Wash. 1989) (reprinting the Comments on the Washington Business Corporation Act prepared by the Corporate Act Revision Committee of the Washington State Bar Association, §13.01). Since “value” and “fair value” mean the same, our courts have continued to apply Greyhound to the valuation of dissenters’ shares. E.g., Matthew G. Norton Co. v. Smyth, 112 Wn. App. 865, 874, 51 P.3d 159 (2002); Robblee v. Robblee, 68 Wn. App. 69, 77-78, 841 P.2d 1289 (1992).
¶16 At the time of Greyhound, the statutory scheme required the trial court to appoint an appraiser to value the stock. 41 Wn.2d at 676 (citing Rem. Rev. Stat. § 3803-41 (Supp. 1949)). The appraiser’s valuation was not dispositive; the trial court was to review the valuation de novo. Id. at 683, 685. Our current statute permits, but does not require, the court to appoint one or more appraisers to assist it. RCW 23B.13.300(5). The court has “plenary and exclusive” jurisdiction over the case. Id. The modern statute “retains the concept of judicial appraisal as the ultimate means of determining fair value.” 2 Senate Journal, 51st Leg., 2d Spec. Sess., at 3092-3093 (Wash. 1989) (reprinting the Comments on the Washington Business Corporation Act prepared by the Corporate Act Revision Committee of the Washington State Bar Association, §13.30).
¶17 We believe this statutory arrangement thus retains the obligation of the trial judge to undertake a de novo review of the evidence and not uncritically accept the
¶18 With this background, we now address the issues presented by the summary judgment ruling. First, the dissenters argue that in light of the court’s obligation to find fair value, the court could never resolve a dissenters’ rights case at summary judgment because the court must weigh the testimony and determine whether to accept the expert’s valuation, actions that are contrary to the standards of a summary judgment hearing. As a categorical matter, we reject the argument while acknowledging that it has some force. This court previously has permitted summary judgment on valuation procedures in a dissenters’ rights case. See Matthew G. Norton Co., 112 Wn. App. 865, (partial summary judgment). We can envision valuation fact patterns that would be subject to summary judgment. For instance, if competing experts agreed on the corporation’s fair value, but one of them improperly applied a discount that our courts have already rejected, we could see a trial judge accepting the agreed-upon valuation for the corporation since the fact of valuation was not in dispute. The trial court would also, however, have been free to reject the valuation altogether.
¶20 We believe these facts established a genuine issue of material fact that went to the court’s duty in this case to determine the fair value of the stock. The court was given a valuation of 42 cents per share attributed to an expert that conflicted with Kukull’s valuation of 19 cents per share. Although it constituted hearsay and was set forth without the reasoning supporting the valuation, this unchallenged evidence still suggested that Kukull’s valuation was not the sole calculation before the court. The court had a duty under the statute to consider all of that information in making its determination of fair value. Given the evidentiary support for Kukull’s work, it was reasonable for the court to be persuaded by that valuation. Nonetheless, under these facts, that determination required the court to consider the dissenters’ evidence. While it was understandably rejected, the weighing of that evidence at summary judgment was improper and needed to be done at trial.
¶21 The dissenters’ valuations, even without the evidence from their trial expert Hecker, raised a question of
Attorney Fees
¶22 In light of our reversal of the summary judgment ruling, the award of attorney fees necessarily fails. The award also failed on its merits.
¶23 RCW 23B.13.310 governs the award of costs and attorney fees in these actions, which provides:
(1) The court in a proceeding commenced under RCW 23B.13.300 shall determine all costs of the proceeding, including the reasonable compensation and expenses of appraisers appointed by the court. The court shall assess the costs against the corporation, except that the court may assess the costs against all or some of the dissenters, in amounts the court finds equitable, to the extent the court finds the dissenters acted arbitrarily, vexatiously, or not in good faith in demanding payment under RCW 23B. 13.280.
(2) The court may also assess the fees and expenses of counsel and experts for the respective parties, in amounts the court finds equitable:
(a) Against the corporation and in favor of any or all dissenters if the court finds the corporation did not substantially comply with the requirements of RCW 23B. 13.200 through 23B.13.280; or
(b) Against either the corporation or a dissenter, in favor of any other party, if the court finds that the party against whom the fees and expenses are assessed acted arbitrarily, vexatiously, or not in good faith with respect to the rights provided by chapter 23B.13 RCW.
(3) If the court finds that the services of counsel for any dissenter were of substantial benefit to other dissenters similarly situated, and that the fees for those services should not be assessed against the corporation, the court may award to these counsel reasonable fees to be paid out of the amounts awarded the dissenters who were benefited.
¶25 RCW 23B.13.310 appears directed toward intransigence and unreasonable behavior. The legislature expressed the intent of this provision:
Proposed section 13.31 provides that generally the costs of the appraisal proceeding should be assessed against the corporation. But the court is authorized to assess these costs, in whole or in part, against the dissenters if it concludes they acted arbitrarily, vexatiously, or not in good faith in making the Proposed section 13.28 demand for additional payment. Similarly, counsel fees may be charged against the corporation or against dissenters upon a finding of a failure to comply in good faith with the requirements of this chapter. Individual dissenters, in turn, can be called upon to pay counsel fees for other dissenters if the court finds that the services were of substantial benefit to the other dissenters.
The purpose of these grants of discretion with respect to costs and counsel fees is to increase the incentives of both sides to proceed in good faith under this chapter to attempt to resolve their disagreement without the need of a formal judicial appraisal of the value of shares.
2 Senate Journal, 51st Leg., 2d Spec. Sess., at 3093 (Wash. 1989) (reprinting the Comments on the Washington Business Corporation Act prepared by the Corporate Act Revi
¶26 In a pair of opinions on the same case, the Washington Supreme Court recently dealt with the virtually identical fee provisions of RCW 25.15.480 that govern limited liability companies.
¶27 Neither Humphrey I nor Humphrey II addresses the trial court’s obligations in addressing a fee request. We believe that consistent with the standards in other attorney fee award situations, the trial court is obligated to enter findings of fact and conclusions of law that support its determination that a party acted “arbitrarily, vexatiously, or not in good faith” under the statute. See generally Mahler v. Szucs, 135 Wn.2d 398, 435, 957 P.2d 632 (1998) (requiring trial court to apply lodestar formula and enter written findings to facilitate review). The failure to enter appropriate findings will normally result in a remand. Id.
¶28 Application of these principles to this case requires that we reverse the attorney fee award. The absence of a
¶29 Sentinel argues that the failure to admit Hecker’s report (or any expert opinion) at the summary judgment hearing justified the award. For two reasons,' it did not. First, the failure to admit evidence is not the same as a failure to obtain a valuation. At worst, assuming some sort of duty even existed, the failure to properly authenticate the report hurt only the dissenters and was negligence, not intransigence or arbitrary conduct.
¶30 Second, even if the dissenters had behaved vexatiously at the summary judgment hearing, such action would not have retroactively made the entire proceedings arbitrary or vexatious. An award of fees to address vexatious behavior is proper under the statute. Nothing in the statute should be read, however, to shift the entire cost of the litigation to one party just because of a late stumble in the proceedings. Instead, we read the statute as attempting to discourage bad faith and arbitrary behavior by providing a remedy to the nonoffending party for all costs associated with the bad behavior. Properly and perfectly conducted
¶31 For the reasons noted, the award of attorney fees is reversed. Both parties seek attorney fees for this appeal. We exercise our discretion under the statute to decline their requests. Appellants, as prevailing parties, are entitled to solely their statutory costs and fees in this action. RAP 14.1-14.6.
¶32 Reversed and remanded.
Review granted at 180 Wn.2d 1007 (2014).
Although both the Blood and Hunt marital communities are parties to this action, we will refer to them in the singular for convenience.
Both men declined to produce the documents supporting the new valuation on the basis that C&H was only a consulting expert.
Sentinel indicated a fear that Mr. Hunt might use the information to compete with it.
Blood has proceeded pro se while Hunt has been represented by counsel throughout the action.
This provision subsequently was codified at former RCW 23.01.450(1) and former RCW 23A.24.040.
The parties do not address, and we do not consider, whether moving the company from Idaho to Washington changed its tax burdens or other costs in a manner that would have impacted the valuation of the corporation. The change was effective prior to the reverse stock split and thus was a relevant consideration, although the record does not indicate if the change had any significance.
The events in this ease, including the appellate briefing, occurred between the two Humphrey opinions, so the trial court and the parties did not have the benefit of Humphrey II.
It appears that the problem arose in the rush to get the report completed and filed before the summary judgment hearing. With the benefit of hindsight, it would have been better to have continued the hearing, but the failure to do so was not arbitrary conduct that harmed Sentinel.
Reference
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- SentinelC3, Inc. v. Chris J. Hunt
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- Published