Plaze, Inc. and Apollo Aerosol Industries LLC v. Chris K. Callas ( 2018 )


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  •                                         COURT OF CHANCERY
    OF THE
    STATE OF DELAWARE
    TAMIKA R. MONTGOMERY-REEVES                                             Leonard Williams Justice Center
    VICE CHANCELLOR                                                 500 N. King Street, Suite 11400
    Wilmington, Delaware 19801-3734
    Date Submitted: December 7, 2017
    Date Decided: March 29, 2018
    Kevin R. Shannon, Esquire                            John M. Seaman, Esquire
    Christopher N. Kelly, Esquire                        E. Wade Houston, Esquire
    Andrew H. Sauder, Esquire                            Abrams & Bayliss LLP
    Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP                        20 Montchanin Road, Suite 200
    1313 North Market Street                             Wilmington, Delaware 19807
    Hercules Plaza, 6th Floor
    Wilmington, Delaware 19801
    RE: Plaze, Inc. & Apollo Aerosol Industries LLC v. Chris K. Callas et al.
    Civil Action No. 2017-0432-TMR
    Dear Counsel:
    This letter opinion addresses Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss under Court of
    Chancery Rule 12(b)(6). For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is DENIED.
    I.       Background
    All facts are drawn from the Verified Complaint for Injunctive and Other
    Relief (the “Complaint”) and the documents incorporated therein. At this stage of
    the proceedings, I must take all of Plaintiffs’ well-pled facts as true and draw all
    reasonable inferences in their favor. 1
    1
    The Complaint alleges that Defendants shredded a large quantity of documents in
    the month leading up to their departure and had their third-party IT vendor purge
    their company emails before their departure. Compl. ¶¶ 41-42. Plaintiffs explained
    Plaze v. Callas
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    Plaintiff Plaze, Inc. (“Plaze” or the “Buyer”) is a “full-service specialty
    contract manufacturer of automotive, household, insecticide, and pesticide
    aerosols.” 2 Plaze is the sole member of Plaintiff Apollo Aerosol Industries LLC
    (“Apollo” or the “Company”). 3 In 2015, Plaze acquired Apollo from Defendants (or
    the “Sellers”) for $100,000,000 pursuant to a stock purchase agreement (the
    “SPA”). 4
    The parties signed the SPA on November 24, 2015, and the transaction closed
    on December 15, 2015. 5 The SPA sets out a mechanism for post-closing adjustments
    to the purchase price, as well as a limitation on the Sellers’ post-closing
    indemnification liability. The SPA contains representations and warranties by
    Defendants on behalf of Apollo that are at issue in this litigation.6 These include
    representations and warranties about the financial records of Apollo, Apollo’s
    that the Complaint is based primarily on the company emails they were able to
    recover after the purge. 
    Id. ¶ 42;
    Oral Arg. Tr. 51-52.
    2
    Compl. ¶ 9.
    3
    
    Id. ¶ 10.
    4
    
    Id. ¶ 2.
    5
    
    Id. ¶ 23.
    6
    
    Id. ¶¶ 63-66;
    Id. at Ex. 
    1, at 20-35.
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    compliance with certain laws and contracts, and Apollo’s product liability exposure.
    Indemnification is the sole remedy for a breach of a representation or warranty under
    the SPA. 7 The SPA also contains several restrictive covenants relevant to this
    litigation, including non-compete, non-solicit, and confidentiality provisions. 8 The
    parties agreed that specific performance, an injunction, or other equitable relief are
    necessary to enforce these provisions of the SPA. 9
    After the closing, Defendants Chris Callas10 and Maria Callas continued to
    work at Apollo, but the relationship soured. On March 28, 2016, Apollo and Chris
    Callas entered into a mutual separation and settlement agreement (the “Separation
    Agreement”) effective March 31, 2016. 11 The Separation Agreement included a
    severance amount, a repurchase of LLC units, and a settlement of the purchase price
    under the SPA, as well as additional representations, warranties, and restrictive
    covenants applicable to Chris Callas.
    7
    
    Id. at Ex.
    1, § 6.7.
    8
    
    Id. ¶¶ 25-33;
    Id. at Ex. 
    1, at 53-55.
    9
    
    Id. at Ex.
    1, at 61-62.
    10
    At closing, Defendant Chris Callas entered into an employment agreement with
    Plaintiffs to continue working as CEO of Apollo. 
    Id. ¶ 24.
    11
    
    Id. ¶ 35;
    Id. at Ex. 
    2. Maria Callas also departed Apollo on March 31, 2016. 
    Id. ¶ 35.
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    The heart of the Complaint is Plaintiffs’ contention that after the Callases
    departed Apollo they started a competing business and attempted to solicit
    employees from Apollo.        Plaintiffs also contend that several breaches of
    representations and warranties, for which Defendants owe them indemnification,
    came to light during the survival period.
    On June 7, 2017, Plaintiffs filed the Complaint seeking to enjoin the
    competitive behavior of Defendants and compel payment of the indemnification and
    tax adjustment amounts. Defendants moved to partially dismiss the Complaint on
    July 7, 2017, and the Court heard oral argument on the Partial Motion to Dismiss on
    December 7, 2017.
    II.   Analysis
    The Complaint contains nine counts, eight of which Defendants move to
    dismiss. 12 These eight counts fall into two broad categories: (1) breaches of
    restrictive covenants, for which Plaintiffs seek specific performance or injunctive
    relief, and (2) breaches of representations and warranties, for which Plaintiffs seek
    indemnification. Counts I through IV allege breaches of restrictive covenants.
    Counts V through VIII allege breaches of representations and warranties. In support
    12
    Defendants have not moved to dismiss Court IX, which alleges a breach of Section
    6.8 of the SPA related to the tax adjustment amount. 
    Id. ¶¶ 132-36.
    Plaze v. Callas
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    of their motion to dismiss, Defendants first argue that the subsequent Separation
    Agreement between Plaintiffs and Defendant Chris Callas settled all claims in
    Counts V through VIII for breaches of representations and warranties. Second,
    Defendants argue that the allegations in the Complaint fail to state a claim under
    Court of Chancery Rule 12(b)(6) as to Counts I through IV and part of Count VIII.
    I address each argument in turn.
    A.     Standard of Review
    When considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Court
    of Chancery Rule 12(b)(6), a court must accept all well-pled factual allegations in
    the complaint as true, accept even vague allegations in the complaint as well-pled if
    they provide the defendant notice of the claim, “draw all reasonable inferences in
    favor of the non-moving party,” and deny the motion unless the plaintiff could not
    recover “under any reasonably conceivable set of circumstances susceptible of
    proof.”13
    All the claims in this case hinge on the Court’s interpretation of the parties’
    contracts. “Delaware adheres to the ‘objective’ theory of contracts, i.e., a contract’s
    construction should be that which would be understood by an objective, reasonable
    13
    Savor, Inc. v. FMR Corp., 
    812 A.2d 894
    , 896-97 (Del. 2002).
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    third party.” 14 “When interpreting a contract, this Court ‘will give priority to the
    parties’ intentions as reflected in the four corners of the agreement,’ construing the
    agreement as a whole and giving effect to all its provisions.” 15 “In giving sensible
    life to a real-world contract, courts must read the specific provisions of the contract
    in light of the entire contract.”16
    B.     The Separation Agreement Does Not Release Any Indemnification
    Claims for the Breaches of the Representations and Warranties
    Alleged in Counts V through VIII as a Matter of Law
    Defendants contend that a provision in the Separation Agreement, when read
    in the context of, and in conjunction with, the SPA, released any indemnification
    claims against Defendants arising from the SPA as a matter of law. Defendants point
    to Section 6.3(f) of the SPA and Paragraph 4 of the Separation Agreement to support
    this contention.
    Section 6.3 of the SPA governs “Sellers’ Indemnification” and lays out a
    comprehensive indemnification scheme. 17 Section 6.3(f) of the SPA states: “[a]ll
    14
    Osborn ex rel. Osborn v. Kemp, 
    991 A.2d 1153
    , 1159 (Del. 2010).
    15
    Salamone v. Gorman, 
    106 A.3d 354
    , 367-68 (Del. 2014) (quoting GMG Capital
    Invs., LLC v. Athenian Venture P’rs I, L.P., 
    36 A.3d 776
    , 779 (Del. 2012)).
    16
    Chi. Bridge & Iron Co. N.V. v. Westinghouse Elec. Co., 
    166 A.3d 912
    , 913-14 (Del.
    2017).
    17
    
    Id. at Ex.
    1, at 41.
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    indemnification payments under this Section 6.3 shall be deemed adjustments to the
    Final Purchase Price.” 18 Paragraph 4 of the Separation Agreement states:
    Employee, in his capacity as a Seller (as defined in the
    Purchase Agreement) and Representative (as defined in
    the Purchase Agreement), and Plaze hereby agree that the
    Final Purchase Price (as defined in the Purchase
    Agreement) and the related purchase price adjustment
    under Section 2.4 of the Purchase Agreement (“the Final
    Purchase Price Adjustment”) are each set forth on Annex
    C attached hereto and that such Final Purchase Price and
    the Final Purchase Price Adjustment shall be final,
    conclusive, and binding on the parties to the Purchase
    Agreement. 19
    Defendants argue that Paragraph 4 of the Separation Agreement settled all
    indemnification payments under Section 6.3 because any indemnification payment
    must adjust the Final Purchase Price due to Section 6.3(f) of the SPA. But the Final
    Purchase Price and Final Purchase Price Adjustment in the Separation Agreement
    were “final, conclusive, and binding” on the parties, which would make any
    indemnification adjustment required under Section 6.3(f) impossible. Thus, any
    indemnification claims must have been settled by the Separation Agreement.
    18
    
    Id. at Ex.
    1, at 42.
    19
    
    Id. at Ex.
    2, at 2.
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    In response, Plaintiffs first argue that Defendants’ interpretation of Section
    6.3(f) of the SPA is incorrect. Plaintiffs point to the United States Supreme Court
    case Arrowsmith v. Commissioner 20 as evidence that Section 6.3(f) merely relates to
    the parties’ intended tax treatment of any indemnification payments. Next, Plaintiffs
    argue that it would be absurd to read the Separation Agreement to nullify the
    complex eighteen-month indemnification provisions of the SPA in the way
    Defendants suggest. Plaintiffs point to the fact that Paragraph 4 of the Separation
    Agreement explicitly mentions Section 2.4 of the SPA, which governs the Post-
    Closing Adjustment to the Final Purchase Price, but the Separation Agreement does
    not mention anything about indemnification or Section 6.3 of the SPA. 21 The
    Separation Agreement’s final paragraph states: “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing
    contained in this Agreement shall limit, modify, or otherwise affect any party’s
    obligations under the [SPA] . . . .” 22 Thus, Plaintiffs contend nothing in the
    Separation Agreement evidences the intent of the parties to gut the indemnification
    provisions of the SPA.
    20
    
    344 U.S. 6
    (1952).
    21
    Compl. Ex. 2, at 2.
    22
    
    Id. at Ex.
    2, at 4.
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    In light of Plaintiffs’ arguments, Defendants, at best, offer another possibly
    reasonable interpretation of the contract. While this may entitle them to discovery
    related to the parties’ intentions, it does not entitle them to dismissal as a matter of
    law at this stage.
    Defendants argue in the alternative that, at the very least, the Separation
    Agreement released Plaintiffs’ claims for breach of the financial statement
    representations and warranties because Section 2.4 includes working capital
    adjustments, and accounts receivable and accounts payable are both part of the
    working capital calculation. I agree with Plaintiffs that this argument “conflates the
    SPA’s post-closing working capital adjustment process—i.e., the process for
    determining a ‘final, conclusive, and binding’ Final Purchase Price as set forth in
    Section 2.4 of the SPA—with the parties’ right to seek indemnification for breach
    of representations, warranties, and covenants under Article VI of the SPA.”23 The
    Motion to Dismiss Counts V through VIII therefore is DENIED.
    C.     Plaintiffs Have Pled Sufficient Facts to State a Claim for Breach of
    the Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Provisions of the SPA
    The Complaint contains well-pled facts that state a reasonably conceivable
    claim that Defendants violated Sections 6.16(b) and 6.16(c) of the SPA, which
    23
    Pls.’ Opp’n Br. 23.
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    contain the restrictive covenants that prohibit competition and solicitation by
    Defendants post-closing.
    Section 6.16(b) is the restrictive covenant prohibiting post-closing
    competition. It states:
    Each Seller covenants that during the period commencing
    on the date hereof and ending on the third anniversary of
    the date hereof (the “Restricted Period”), other than at the
    request or direction of Buyer, such Seller shall not, directly
    or indirectly, invest or own any interest in, manage,
    control, participate in (whether as an operator, consultant,
    director, employee, agent, representative or otherwise),
    consult with, render services for or otherwise engage in
    any business or entity that competes with the Company
    Group’s businesses as conducted or actively planned to be
    conducted on the date hereof within any geographic
    location in which the Company Group operates or actively
    plans to operate on the date hereof (it being understood
    that such geographic area currently comprises the United
    States); provided, however, that nothing in this Section
    6.16(b) shall prevent a Seller from being a passive owner
    of not more than 5% of the outstanding equity securities
    of any publicly traded entity, so long as such Seller has no
    active participation in the business of such entity. 24
    Section 6.16(c) is the restrictive covenant prohibiting post-closing solicitation
    of Apollo employees. It states:
    Each Seller covenants that during the Restricted Period,
    other than at the request or direction of Buyer, such Seller
    shall not, directly or indirectly, (i) (x) induce or attempt to
    24
    Compl. Ex. 1, at 55.
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    induce any employee or independent contractor of the
    Company or any Subsidiary who is employed or engaged
    by the Buyer Group to leave the employ of the Buyer
    Group, or in any way knowingly interfere adversely with
    the relationship between the Buyer Group and any
    employee thereof or (y) actually hire any employee or
    independent contractor that is or was, at any time within
    six months of such proposed hiring, employed by the
    Buyer Group; (ii) solicit or induce or attempt to solicit or
    induce any customer, supplier, licensor, licensee or lessor
    of the Company or any Subsidiary (each a “Business
    Relation”) to cease or refrain from doing business with, or
    otherwise modify adversely the business done with, the
    Company or the Subsidiaries; or (iii) in any way
    knowingly interfere with the relationship (or prospective
    relationship) between any Business Relation and the
    Buyer Group. It shall not be a violation of Section
    6.16(c)(i)(x) if a Seller makes good faith generalized
    solicitations for employees (not specifically targeted at
    employees of the Company Group) through
    advertisements or search firms. 25
    Plaintiffs have pled the following facts pertaining to Defendants’ violations
    of the non-compete and the non-solicitation agreements. “[I]n early January 2016,
    Chris Callas, on information and belief, asked another Apollo employee to research
    whether the company names ‘First Brands’ and ‘Best Brands’ were already in use.”26
    “Then, in a series of emails throughout January, February, and March 2016, Chris
    25
    
    Id. 26 Id.
    ¶ 37.
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    Callas emailed with multiple financial advisors about acquiring new companies
    and/or opening investment credit lines, noting, for example, ‘the truth is I am
    interest[ed] to buy another company.’” 27 “In addition, in email correspondence
    throughout February and March 2016, Chris Callas indicated an intention to
    purchase tanks and/or concrete pads for heptane tanks at some point in the future.”28
    Then, days before his departure from Apollo, “[o]n March 16, 2016 . . . [Chris
    Callas] directed an Apollo employee to circulate technical calculations for a heptane
    concrete pad in order ‘to talk the same language[,]’ cautioning ‘send it from your
    cell phone and don’t cc me[.]’” 29
    “[I]n the summer of 2016, Chris Callas—through non-party and former
    Apollo Vice President Richard Wilkinson (‘Wilkinson’)—bid on used aerosol
    equipment auctioned off by another chemical company.” 30 “Shortly thereafter,
    Wilkinson began working for SPL, which . . ., in June 2016, registered as a foreign
    profit corporation in Georgia, with its principal office in Thomaston, Georgia—one
    27
    
    Id. ¶ 38
    (alteration in original).
    28
    
    Id. ¶ 39
    29
    
    Id. (final two
    alterations in original).
    30
    
    Id. ¶ 47.
    Plaze v. Callas
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    mile from the site of a former Apollo manufacturing plant which [Defendants],
    through their holding company (AMC Upson), owned at that time.” 31 “On October
    5, 2016, SPL’s webpage began indicating that it had a manufacturing plant in
    Thomaston, Georgia. Shortly thereafter, SPL began leasing equipment for its
    Thomaston plant.” 32
    “In late February and early March 2017, [Defendants]—through AMC
    Upson—sold the former Apollo manufacturing plant in Thomaston to SPL.” 33
    Defendants “financed part of SPL’s purchase.”34 “Shortly after that sale, Wilkinson,
    on behalf of his employer, SPL, contacted a major supplier of aerosol propellant
    tanks about purchasing two 10,000-gallon aerosol tanks.” 35
    Over the “Easter holiday in April 2017, Chris Callas invited SPL’s Chief
    Executive Officer, Zachary Colander (‘Colander’), to his home. Chris Callas also
    invited Wilkinson and two current Apollo employees, as well as another Apollo
    31
    
    Id. ¶ 48.
    32
    
    Id. ¶ 49.
    33
    
    Id. ¶ 50.
    34
    
    Id. 35 Id.
    ¶ 52.
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    customer, who all attended.”36 “At the Easter dinner, Chris Callas introduced
    Colander to a current Apollo executive as his ‘very dear friend Zach,’ and, when
    discussing SPL’s business with Apollo’s employees, Chris Callas referred to SPL as
    ‘we,’ further indicating his involvement with SPL.” 37 “At the same dinner, Colander
    told an Apollo employee about SPL’s plans for the Thomaston site, including that
    SPL plans to ‘run’ aerosols and to fill ‘anything our customers want.’” 38 “Chris
    Callas [also] told a current Apollo employee to ‘listen to [SPL CEO] Colander,’ and
    that if Colander wants the employee to be his president, then the employee should
    be his president—even going so far as to shout out salary figures in front of the
    employee’s family.” 39
    All of these allegations taken as true make it reasonably conceivable that (1)
    Defendants, directly or indirectly, invested or owned an interest in, managed,
    controlled, participated in, consulted with, rendered services for or otherwise
    engaged in a business or entity that that was competing with Apollo; and (2)
    36
    
    Id. ¶ 53.
    37
    
    Id. ¶ 54.
    38
    
    Id. ¶ 55.
    39
    
    Id. ¶ 57
    (final alteration in original).
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    Defendants directly or indirectly attempted to induce an employee of Apollo to leave
    Apollo. Thus, Plaintiffs have stated a claim that Defendants violated Section 6.16(b)
    and (c) of the SPA, and the Motion to Dismiss as to Counts I and II is DENIED.
    D.     Plaintiffs Have Pled Sufficient Facts to State a Claim Against Chris
    Callas for Breach of the Confidentiality Covenants in the SPA and
    Separation Agreement
    The Complaint contains well-pled facts that state a reasonably conceivable
    claim that Chris Callas breached Section 6.16(a) of the SPA and Paragraph 5 of the
    Separation Agreement. The relevant language of Section 6.16(a) states:
    Upon the request of Buyer at any time after the date hereof,
    each Seller shall deliver promptly to Buyer or destroy all
    tangible embodiments (and all copies) of the Confidential
    Information which are in such Seller’s possession or under
    such Seller’s control and provide confirmation thereof in
    writing.40
    The relevant language of Paragraph 5 of the Separation Agreement states:
    “Employee represents, warrants, and covenants that: . . . (v) Employee has returned,
    or will prior to the Separation Date, return, to the Company all Confidential
    Information (it being understood that upon execution of this Agreement this
    representation shall constitute Employee’s affirmative confirmation thereof . . . .” 41
    40
    
    Id. at Ex.
    1, at 53-54.
    41
    
    Id. at Ex.
    2, at 2.
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    Plaintiffs allege that “[o]n the same day Chris Callas signed the Separation
    Agreement, he asked an Apollo employee to send him an investor presentation from
    Apollo’s files that, upon information and belief, contained Apollo’s Confidential
    Information.” 42 It is reasonable to infer that Chris Callas has not returned all the
    Confidential Information in his possession, and thus, Plaintiffs have shown that it is
    reasonably conceivable that Defendants violated Section 6.16(a) of the SPA and
    Paragraph 5 of the Separation Agreement. The Motion to Dismiss as to Count III
    against Chris Callas and Count IV is therefore DENIED.
    E.     Plaintiffs Have Pled Sufficient Facts to State a Claim Against
    Maria Callas for Breach of the Confidentiality Covenant in the
    SPA
    The Complaint contains well-pled facts that state a reasonably conceivable
    claim that Maria Callas breached Section 6.16(a) of the SPA, which contains the
    restrictive covenant regarding confidentiality. The pertinent contract language
    states:
    Each Seller covenants that, from and after the Closing,
    such Seller shall, and shall cause each of such Seller’s
    Affiliates and representatives to, not disclose, and shall
    treat and hold as strictly confidential, all Confidential
    Information and, except as otherwise expressly permitted
    by this Agreement, refrain from using any Confidential
    Information (other than for the benefit of the Buyer Group
    42
    
    Id. ¶ 45.
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    as an employee or consultant thereof after the Closing
    Date). 43
    Plaintiffs have not pled that Maria Callas disclosed any Confidential
    Information. Plaintiffs have pled, however, that in late March 2016 “Maria Callas
    emailed from her Apollo business email account to a personal email account a host
    of Apollo documents containing, among other items, information related to Apollo’s
    accounts receivable and accounts payable.”44 Plaintiffs also pled that shortly before
    her separation from Apollo, “Maria Callas instructed an Apollo IT manager to send
    her a critical set of documents containing Apollo’s Confidential Information.”45
    Taking these facts as true, and considering them in the context of all the facts
    Plaintiffs have pled, it is, just barely, reasonably conceivable that Maria Callas has
    used this Confidential Information in violation Section 6.16(a) of the SPA. Plaintiffs
    have therefore stated a claim for the breach of this restrictive covenant as to Maria
    Callas, and the Motion to Dismiss as to Count III against Maria Callas is DENIED.
    43
    
    Id. at Ex.
    1, at 53-54.
    44
    
    Id. ¶ 40.
    45
    
    Id. ¶ 43.
    Plaze v. Callas
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    F.     Plaintiffs Have Pled Sufficient Facts to State a Claim Against
    Defendants for Breach of the Legal Compliance Representation
    and Warranty
    Defendants only challenge the sufficiency of the allegations related to the
    alleged breaches of representations and warranties in one paragraph of the
    Complaint. The paragraph, however, contains well-pled facts that state a reasonably
    conceivable claim that Defendants breached Section 3.16 of the SPA. Section 3.16
    contains Defendants’ representations and warranties on behalf of Apollo regarding
    Apollo’s compliance with laws. Section 3.16(a) states:
    (a) Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16(a), the Company
    Group has complied and is in compliance, in each case, in
    all material respects, with all applicable laws and no
    written notices have been received by and no claims have
    been filed against the Company Group alleging a violation
    of any such laws. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary
    has received any written notice of any violation or any
    alleged violation of any law. No officer, director,
    employee, independent contractor, consultant, advisor or
    agent of the Company Group has been or is authorized to
    make or receive, and none of the Company Group’s
    officers, directors, managers, employees or, to the
    Knowledge of the Company, consultants, advisors or
    agents have made or received, any bribe, kickback
    payment or other illegal payment at any time with respect
    to the business of the Company Group.46
    46
    
    Id. at Ex.
    1, at 33.
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    Plaintiffs plead that “Chris Callas caused Apollo to enter into a fictitious long
    term lease arrangement with a longtime associate, pursuant to which Apollo paid
    over $300,000 for copiers that were never delivered to Apollo.” 47 The Complaint
    further alleges that “Chris Callas profited personally from the sham arrangement by
    receiving all or most of the money Apollo paid for the copiers.” 48 Plaintiffs argue
    that this arrangement constituted a “bribe, kickback payment or other illegal
    payment,” in violation of Section 3.16 of the SPA. Because the Court must deny a
    motion to dismiss unless the plaintiff would not be entitled to recover under any
    reasonably conceivable set of circumstances susceptible of proof, the Motion to
    Dismiss as to this claim must be DENIED.
    III.   Conclusion
    For the foregoing reasons the Motion to Dismiss is DENIED.
    IT IS SO ORDERED.
    Sincerely,
    /s/Tamika Montgomery-Reeves
    Vice Chancellor
    47
    
    Id. ¶ 81.
    48
    Id.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 2017-0432-TMR

Judges: Montgomery-Reeves V.C.

Filed Date: 3/29/2018

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 3/29/2018