Sherwood Brands, Inc. v. Levie ( 2007 )


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  •                              UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 06-1509
    SHERWOOD BRANDS, INCORPORATED, To its own use
    and to the use of Asher Candy, Inc.,
    Plaintiff - Appellant,
    versus
    LEONARD LEVIE; ELEANOR LEVIE,
    Defendants - Appellees.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
    Maryland, at Greenbelt.    Richard D. Bennett, District Judge.
    (8:03-cv-01544-RDB)
    Argued:   October 30, 2007              Decided:     December 28, 2007
    Before WILLIAMS, Chief Judge, TRAXLER, Circuit Judge, and Louise W.
    FLANAGAN, Chief United States District Judge for the Eastern
    District of North Carolina, sitting by designation.
    Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    ARGUED: Albert David Brault, BRAULT GRAHAM, L.L.C., Rockville,
    Maryland, for Appellant. Nathaniel Edmond Jones, Jr., Baltimore,
    Maryland, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Daniel Leonard Shea, Joan F.
    Brault, BRAULT GRAHAM, L.L.C., Rockville, Maryland, for Appellant.
    James H. Fields, JONES & ASSOCIATES, P.C., Baltimore, Maryland, for
    Appellees.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    This action arises out of a Merger and Acquisition Agreement
    between Sherwood Brands, Inc. (“Sherwood”) and Asher Candy, Inc.
    (“Asher”).    Sherwood asserts state law claims for securities
    violations, fraud and declaratory relief against Leonard Levie
    (“Leonard”), a member of Asher’s Board of Directors, and Leonard’s
    sister Eleanor Levie (“Eleanor”), Asher’s majority shareholder.
    Eleanor asserted counterclaims against Sherwood for breach of
    contract and specific performance.1      After conducting a nonjury
    trial, the district court entered judgment against Sherwood on its
    claims and in favor of Eleanor on her counterclaims.    We affirm.
    I.
    In 1997, Leonard’s company American Industrial Acquisition
    Corp. (“AIAC”) purchased Asher, a candy cane manufacturer, which
    was in financial distress at the time.    Leonard transferred Asher
    stock to Eleanor that gave her a 55% ownership interest in the
    company; he gave the remaining shares to other individuals and
    ultimately retained no ownership interest in Asher.     Both before
    and after AIAC acquired Asher, James Spampinato served as Asher’s
    President and CEO, and he held a significant ownership interest in
    Asher.   Although Leonard retained no stake as a shareholder in the
    1
    Leonard also asserted counterclaims against Sherwood that are
    not at issue on appeal.
    2
    company and was not involved in its daily operations, he served on
    Asher’s Board of Directors and eventually became Chairman, a
    position he filled from 1997 to April 2002.
    In 2001, Asher again encountered financial difficulties in the
    wake of a pre-tax loss of $800,000 that year, prompting Leonard and
    Spampinato to seek a purchaser for the company. Through a business
    broker, Asher identified Sherwood, a manufacturer of confectionary
    products, as a natural fit.    In January 2002, representatives of
    Sherwood, including its CFO Christopher Willi, traveled to Asher’s
    New York plant to meet with Leonard and Spampinato.      Financial
    materials presented to Sherwood projected a profit for Asher of $1
    million for the fiscal year of 2002. Asher’s significant losses in
    2001 were disclosed during the meeting as well.   After a number of
    meetings, Sherwood and Asher agreed upon a purchase price for Asher
    of $1.75 million, contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a
    due diligence review of Asher’s financial condition by Sherwood.
    Willi was in charge of Sherwood’s due diligence review, and he
    enlisted the assistance of tax accountants and outside legal
    counsel.   Willi and other Sherwood representatives visited Asher’s
    New York office, where they were given access to tax records and
    insurance policies as well as other information about Asher.   The
    information was provided by Asher employees who participated in the
    day-to-day operations of Asher; Leonard was not involved in any
    aspect of the due diligence process.
    3
    On April 25, 2002, Asher and Sherwood closed the transaction
    by executing the Merger Agreement. The final purchase price was $2
    million, consisting of a “stock for stock” exchange in which Asher
    shareholders would receive a pro rata share of Sherwood stock in
    the total amount of $1.75 million plus “warrants to acquire such
    number of Sherwood shares as would have a fair market value of
    $250,000.”     J.A. 111.     The Merger Agreement contained a “Post-
    Closing Adjustments” provision directing that Spampinato assist
    Willi “in the management of the Closing Date accounts payable and
    accrued expenses,” and that representatives of Asher and Sherwood
    “work together to prepare and deliver a balance sheet . . . of the
    Closing Date Net Worth.”          J.A. 1734.    As security for the post-
    closing adjustments anticipated by the parties, section 1.11 of the
    Merger Agreement directed that $700,000 of the Sherwood stock (the
    “Hold Back Shares”) be placed in escrow.
    Article    II   of    the    Merger    Agreement   set   forth   numerous
    “Representations     and   Warranties”      that,   according    to   Sherwood,
    turned out to be false.          Under the terms of the Merger Agreement,
    however, Sherwood acknowledged and agreed that it “is an informed
    and sophisticated participant in the transactions contemplated
    herein, and has engaged advisors, experienced in the evaluation and
    purchase of enterprises such as the corporation.”               J.A. 1753.
    Not long after closing, Sherwood learned information that
    reflected negatively on Asher’s financial condition and potentially
    4
    reduced Asher’s value.       For example, there was a $188,486 spike in
    Asher’s accounts payable, purportedly resulting from incorrect data
    entry    into    Asher’s    computer   system   relating    to    outstanding
    invoices.       Asher’s accounts receivable decreased by $67,000 as a
    result of customer deductions for quality problems.              Sherwood also
    learned that Asher underpaid payroll taxes by about $67,000 and
    that Leonard’s company, AIAC, paid certain health care premiums for
    Asher in March 2002, and sought repayment of this “loan” in the
    amount of $51,000.         And, Sherwood contended that there was an
    undisclosed shortfall in Asher’s 401(k) plan funding.                   Willi
    conceded that, except for the underpaid taxes which came to light
    only after closing, Sherwood could have discovered all of the
    adverse information prior to closing the merger during its due
    diligence review.
    The parties experienced difficulty in preparing the Closing
    Date Balance Sheet.        In November 2002, the parties entered into a
    Purchase Price Adjustment Agreement (the “PPAA”), as contemplated
    by the Merger Agreement, to address the disposition of the Hold
    Back Shares in light of the information learned by Sherwood after
    closing. The PPAA provided that Asher’s shareholders, the sellers,
    would receive $300,000 of the Hold Back Shares and that Sherwood
    would receive $200,000 of the Hold Back Shares.            The PPAA kept the
    remaining Hold Back Shares, worth $200,000, in escrow.
    5
    Finally, shortly before the PPAA was fully executed, Eleanor
    notified Sherwood that she intended to exercise her “Put Right”
    under section 4.3 of the Merger Agreement, which afforded each
    Asher shareholder, on the anniversary date of the Merger Agreement,
    “the right to sell [back] to [Sherwood] one-half of the Purchase
    Price Shares issued to him . . . at a price of $4.50 per share” if
    the value of Sherwood stock fell below $4.50 per share at that
    time.     J.A. 1754.     Additionally, section 4.3 provided that if
    Sherwood, through no fault of the sellers, failed to obtain an
    effective SEC registration statement for the purchase shares within
    six months of the closing, the Put Right would commence at six
    months rather than one year.
    When Sherwood failed to obtain the registration statement
    within six months, Eleanor and other sellers gave notice of their
    intent to exercise their Put Rights. Sherwood, however, refused to
    honor Eleanor’s Put Right on the grounds that registration had been
    prevented    by   the   shareholders’   failure   to   provide   necessary
    information in a timely fashion as well as Asher’s delay in
    providing a closing balance sheet.         On April 24, 2003, the day
    before the sellers’ one-year Put Rights became effective, Sherwood
    filed this action.       Shortly thereafter, and more than one year
    after closing, Eleanor attempted to exercise her Put Right based on
    the value of the stock.      Sherwood refused to honor the request.
    6
    II.
    A.
    Sherwood seeks relief under Maryland’s Blue Sky law, which
    imposes civil liability upon any person selling a security “by
    means of any untrue statement of a material fact or any omission to
    state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements
    made . . . not misleading.”     Md. Code Ann., Corps. & Ass’ns § 11-
    703(a)(1)(ii). The statute also imposes “control person” liability
    upon “[e]very person who directly or indirectly controls a person
    liable under [§ 11-703(a)].”        Md. Code Ann., Corps. & Ass’ns § 11-
    703(c)(1).   Because there was no evidence that Eleanor personally
    made any representations to Sherwood, the district court concluded
    that she could not be individually liable under the statute.           The
    district court also rejected Sherwood’s securities fraud claim
    against Leonard, concluding that Sherwood could not have reasonably
    or justifiably relied on any of the defendants’ allegedly false
    statements or omissions of fact.
    We   affirm   the   district    court’s   ultimate   conclusion   that
    neither Eleanor nor Leonard is liable under the statute, although
    we do so on alternative grounds with respect to Leonard.                The
    Maryland Court of Appeals has yet to decide whether justifiable
    reliance is an element of a securities fraud claim, cf. Lubin v.
    Agora, Inc., 
    882 A.2d 833
    , 848 n.13 (Md. 2005) (reserving for
    another day the question of “whether investor reliance must be
    7
    proven in order to establish securities fraud under § 11-301”), and
    we will not attempt to answer this question of Maryland law here.
    Nevertheless, we affirm the result reached by the district
    court on the alternative basis that Leonard is not liable as a
    “control person” under § 11-703(c). Control person liability rests
    on the liability of the seller, i.e., the person being controlled,
    under § 11-703(a).     See Baker, Watts & Co. v. Miles & Stockbridge,
    
    620 A.2d 356
    , 369-70 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1993) (holding that action
    could not proceed for contribution for joint and several liability
    under § 11-703(c) where there was no judgment against the principal
    seller).   Leonard can be liable only “to the same extent as the
    person liable” under subsection (a).            Md. Code Ann., Corps. &
    Ass’ns § 11-703(c)(1).         Sherwood contends that Leonard was a
    “control person” based on his capacity as Chairman of Asher’s Board
    of   Directors   and   his   lead   role   in   the   merger   negotiations.
    Leonard’s liability under § 11-703(c) cannot rest on his alleged
    control of Asher, however, because Asher was not the seller under
    the terms of the Merger Agreement –- the shareholders were the
    sellers. Thus, Sherwood’s only potentially viable “control person”
    theory would be premised on Eleanor’s liability as a seller under
    § 11-703(a); however, this theory is flawed as well.                 Because
    Eleanor was merely a passive shareholder who did not make any
    representations or otherwise participate in the merger negotiations
    in any way, the district court rejected Sherwood’s claim against
    8
    Eleanor under § 11-703(a).     In light of these circumstances, we
    hold that Leonard is not subject to liability under § 11-703(c).2
    B.
    Sherwood asserts a state law fraudulent inducement claim,
    suggesting that it was induced to enter into the Merger Agreement
    as a result of false representations made by the defendants.    See
    Maryland Environmental Trust v. Gaynor, 
    803 A.2d 512
    , 516 (Md.
    2002) (setting forth the elements of a fraudulent inducement
    claim).     Each element of a fraudulent inducement claim under
    Maryland law must be established by clear and convincing evidence.
    See VF Corp. v. Wrexham Aviation Corp., 
    715 A.2d 188
    , 193 (Md.
    1998).    The district court found that Sherwood failed to provide
    clear and convincing evidence that “it had the right to rely on any
    of the alleged misrepresentations made by Leonard Levie” or that
    “any of the alleged misrepresentations or omissions were made or
    withheld by Leonard Levie with the requisite deliberate intent to
    deceive.”   J.A. 129.   We conclude that the factual findings of the
    district court are not clearly erroneous, and we affirm on the
    reasoning of the district court.
    2
    Sherwood also contends that Eleanor is vicariously liable for
    Leonard’s fraudulent conduct.     This argument must fail because
    Leonard did not make any fraudulent statements for which Eleanor
    might be held vicariously liable.
    9
    C.
    Sherwood seeks a declaratory judgment voiding the “Put Rights”
    provision in the Merger Agreement. This claim rests essentially on
    the same theoretical basis as the fraudulent inducement claim.
    That is, were it not for the misrepresentations of the defendants,
    Sherwood would not have entered into the Merger Agreement in the
    first place.     In response, Eleanor brought counterclaims against
    Sherwood for breach of contract as to the Put Rights provision and
    for specific performance of the Put Rights provision. The district
    court concluded that because Sherwood failed to establish that the
    defendants engaged in securities fraud or fraudulently induced the
    Sherwood-Asher merger, there was no basis for it to afford Sherwood
    the declaratory or injunctive relief it sought.
    By contrast, the district court found that Eleanor established
    her counterclaim for breach of contract.                  The district court
    reasoned that “Sherwood did not honor Eleanor Levie’s Put Right, in
    part, because it attributed its failure to have an effective
    registration statement six months after closing to the Sellers,”
    but that “under Section 4.3 [of the Merger Agreement] such a
    failure to register the shares simply does not affect the vesting
    of   the   put   right   afforded   to    the   Sellers    at   the   one   year
    anniversary of the Merger, which has since passed.”              J.A. 133-34.
    Thus, the district court concluded that Sherwood was “contractually
    obligated to honor Section 4.3 of the Merger Agreement,” that
    10
    Sherwood’s failure to do so constituted a breach of the Merger
    Agreement, and that Eleanor “is entitled to specific performance,
    . . . result[ing] in Sherwood owing Eleanor $296,552.25.”         J.A.
    134.3       Finding no reversible error, we affirm the district court’s
    rulings on all of the claims relating to Eleanor’s Put Rights for
    the reasons stated by the district court.
    We have reviewed Sherwood’s remaining arguments in light of
    the record and the findings of the district court and conclude that
    they are without merit.
    III.
    Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the district court.
    AFFIRMED
    3
    Sherwood moved to alter or amend the judgment, arguing that
    Eleanor was not entitled to specific performance because she was in
    material breach of the Merger Agreement. The district court denied
    the motion, finding that Sherwood had not asserted a breach of
    contract claim against Eleanor or pursued such a theory at trial.
    We affirm the district court’s order for the reasons set forth
    therein.
    11
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 06-1509

Filed Date: 12/28/2007

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 10/30/2014