Appointment of Receiver Upheld for Delaware LLC
The appointment of a receiver is one of the oldest equitable remedies. A receiver can receive, preserve, and manage property and funds, and even take charge of an operating business, as directed by the court. Appointing a receiver is a powerful remedy, not undertaken lightly by the courts.
The Delaware Court of Chancery in September had to decide if a receiver should be appointed for an LLC whose members were embroiled over claims of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and tortious interference with contractual opportunity. Ross Holding & Mgmt. Co. v. Advance Realty Group, LLC, No. 4113-VCN, 2010 Del. Ch. LEXIS 184 (Del. Ch. Sept. 2, 2010).
The plaintiffs in Ross asked the court for two things: one, to allow them to amend their complaint to add a request for the appointment of a receiver; and two, to immediately appoint a receiver. They wanted a receiver with power to manage the LLC’s affairs, to protect and preserve its assets, and to recover any losses the LLC suffered at the hands of the defendants.
The Ross court made short shrift of the defendants’ argument that the appointment of a receiver was unavailable because it was not authorized by either the Delaware LLC Act or the LLC’s operating agreement:
“The Court has inherent power as a court of equity to grant such remedies as would be just, whether or not such remedies are expressly provided for by statute or contract. There is no reason to conclude that the appointment of a receiver pursuant to the Court's general equity powers would be unavailable under the facts alleged in the proposed Amended Verified Complaint.”
Id. at *7-8. The plaintiffs were therefore free to amend their complaint to request the appointment of a receiver.
But the plaintiffs were not content to wait for trial – they also moved the court for an immediate appointment of a receiver, alleging that the defendants were in effect looting the LLC and had caused its insolvency through gross mismanagement and self-dealing.
The court was faced with two possible standards. The defendants argued that a receiver could be appointed only under the court’s general equity power. Under that standard a receiver will only be appointed where there is fraud or gross mismanagement, causing imminent danger of great loss that cannot otherwise be prevented. Id. at *23. This is a high bar.
The plaintiffs pointed out that Delaware’s LLC Act provides that in any case not governed by the Act, the rules of law and equity are to govern. They cleverly argued that therefore the standard for appointing receivers under Delaware’s General Corporation Law should apply. DLLCA § 18-1104; DGCL § 291. Under Section 291 a corporate insolvency suffices for the appointment of a receiver, although the courts have required additional facts demonstrating that a receiver is necessary to protect the rights of the company or the moving parties. For an insolvent entity, that standard is usually much less challenging than the “fraud or gross mismanagement” standard.
The Ross court noted that the LLC Act was written long after passage of the corporate statute, that in some cases provisions from the corporate statute were included in the LLC Act, and that therefore the omission from the LLC Act of a provision like Section 291 was intentional and not inadvertent. Ross, 2010 Del. Ch. LEXIS 184 at *18. The court saw no need to engraft the corporate statutory standard on the LLC Act, and ruled that it could appoint a receiver only in accordance with its general equity powers. Id. at *20.
Since the court concluded that it could appoint a receiver only under its equity jurisdiction, the plaintiffs needed to present “clear evidence of fraud, gross mismanagement, or other extraordinary circumstance causing imminent danger of real loss” to succeed on their motion for appointment of a receiver. Id. at *36. As so often happens, setting the standard determined the outcome.
The court reviewed in detail the plaintiffs’ numerous allegations of wrongdoing and the defendants’ contrary assertions, which disputed much of the plaintiffs’ facts and conclusions. With a nice double negative, the court opined that it “cannot conclude that the Plaintiffs have not asserted facts that, if true and accurate, would meet this high standard.” Id. (How could the plaintiffs have asserted true but inaccurate facts?) But because material facts relevant to the plaintiffs’ assertions remained in dispute, the court denied the motion: “it will be necessary to hold a trial in order to further develop the necessary factual record for a fair assessment of their application.” Id.
The Ross court’s approach is an example of a court relying on its equity powers to apply an equitable remedy for an LLC or its members, notwithstanding that the applicable LLC Act does not explicitly call out that remedy. For another example, last year New York and Indiana reached similar conclusions regarding the equitable remedy of a court-ordered accounting, which I discussed here.
IRS Proposes Regulations for Series LLCs
Series LLCs have been authorized by eight states, the most recent being Texas in 2009. An impediment to wider adoption has been uncertainty over how the IRS will treat them. On October 13, 2010 the IRS issued proposed regulations that if adopted will remove much of the uncertainty over the tax treatment of series LLCs.
A series LLC is an LLC that is split into separate cells, each of which is called a “series.” Each series can have designated members and managers, can own its own assets separately from the assets of the LLC or any other series, and can incur obligations enforceable only against its own assets. This segregation of each series’ assets and liabilities can avoid inefficiencies and costs associated with the customary alternative of using multiple LLCs.
In 1996 Delaware became the first state to authorize series LLCs. Del. Code tit. 6, § 18-215. Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah have enacted statutes similar to Delaware’s, albeit with some differences. I previously wrote about series LLCs when Texas passed its series LLC law, here.
Series LLCs are relatively new and many legal uncertainties attend them. For example, I have located only one reported opinion dealing with series LLCs, GxG Management LLC v. Young Brothers & Co., No. 05-162-B-K, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12337 (D. Me. Feb. 21, 2007). Series LLCs raise major, unresolved questions about taxation, bankruptcy, and doing business in multiple states.
The crux of the proposed regulations is that, whether or not an LLC series is treated as a legal entity for state law purposes, it will be treated for federal income tax purposes as an entity formed under state law. In other words, each series will be a separate taxpayer with its own taxpayer identification number. Whether the series will be classified for federal tax purposes as a partnership or as a corporation will be determined under the generally applicable entity classification rules, i.e., the “check-the-box” rules.
The proposed regulations do not answer all federal tax questions about series LLCs. For example, they do not address how an LLC series should be treated for federal employment tax purposes. Nonetheless, the proposed regulations will be a big step forward when adopted. The proposed regulations should accelerate passage by the states of series LLC legislation.
The IRS has solicited comments, which may be submitted at www.regulations.gov.
Piercing the Veil vs. Direct Member Liability in Connecticut
Claimants against LLCs often go beyond the LLC and seek recovery from individual members or managers of the LLC. They do that because in many cases, to quote Willie Sutton, that’s where the money is. The LLC may not be able to satisfy a claim, but a member or manager who turns out to be liable on the claim may have deeper resources to satisfy the claimant.
Under the state LLC statutes, a member or manager is not liable for the debts of the LLC simply by virtue of being a member or manager, but sometimes the circumstances can result in personal liability for a member or manager. Two recent Connecticut cases dealt with attempts to reach LLC members and managers.
Piercing the Veil. Last month the Connecticut Court of Appeals decided Breen v. Judge, 124 Conn. App 147, 2010 Conn. App. LEXIS 420 (Sept. 28, 2010). In 2006 Breen obtained a judgment against Patriot Truck Equipment, LLC for money loaned to the LLC. In 2007 Breen sued Judge, the managing member of the LLC, on grounds that the corporate veil of the LLC should be pierced in order to hold Judge personally liable for the LLC’s debt. The trial court denied the veil-piercing claim, and Breen appealed.
Usually an LLC is treated as a separate legal person, and its debts are separate from the debts of its members or managers. Piercing the veil is an exception that ignores the legal distinction between the LLC and its members or managers, with the result that a manager or member may be held liable for the debts of the LLC.
Connecticut law allows an LLC’s veil to be pierced under either the “instrumentality test” or the “identity test.” To pierce the veil under the instrumentality test, the plaintiff must show that (1) the defendant completely dominated the LLC’s finances, policies, and business practices, (2) the defendant used that control to commit fraud, waste or a dishonest or unjust act, or to violate a legal duty, and (3) the defendant’s conduct caused the injury or loss complained of. Breen, 2010 Conn. App. LEXIS 420, at * 7-8.
The court listed ten factors relevant to whether an entity is dominated or controlled, and reviewed the relevant factors considered by the trial court. At all times Judge was no more than a 50% owner of the LLC. The LLC was a properly formed company doing business in Connecticut. The LLC followed the various entity-related formalities, such as keeping separate books, filing company tax returns, and filing dissolution documents when it dissolved. The LLC operated a truck-outfitting business with increasing sales for each of its first three years, although it ultimately failed. Based on those factors the court found that neither the instrumentality test nor the control test was satisfied, and therefore affirmed the trial court’s decision not to pierce the LLC’s veil.
Breen is a good example of what an LLC and its members and managers should do to avoid a pierced veil and personal liability for the LLC’s debts. It’s not rocket science: have a legitimate business, properly form the LLC, keep books and records, file tax returns, don’t use the LLC’s bank account as the member’s personal checkbook, and so on.
Tort Claims. Piercing the veil is not the only way a creditor can reach the members or managers of an LLC. The Connecticut Supreme Court in August decided a case where the plaintiff raised tort claims against an LLC member: Sturm v. Harb Dev., LLC, 298 Conn. 124, 2010 WL 3306933 (Aug. 31, 2010). (A tort is an actionable, civil wrong, such as negligently or intentionally causing harm to someone. Examples include negligently causing an auto accident, fraud, and breach of a fiduciary duty. A party injured by a tort may be able to recover damages from the tortfeasor if requirements such as causation and proof of damages are satisfied.)
Harb Development, LLC built a home for Mr. and Mrs. Sturm. The Sturms were unhappy with the result and sued both the LLC and John Harb, a member of the LLC. The Sturms asserted violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, negligence in the construction of their home, violations of the Connecticut New Home Construction Contractors Act, and fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation.
Harb asserted that the Sturms’ claims against him arose from his membership and management of the LLC and were fundamentally the same as their claims against the LLC. Harb pointed to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-133(a), which provides that an LLC member or manager is not liable for the LLC’s debts “solely by reason of being a member or manager.” He argued that therefore the Sturms were required to plead facts adequate to pierce the LLC’s veil in order to state a valid claim, and that they had failed to do so. The trial court agreed and dismissed all claims against Harb in his individual capacity. Harb, 298 Conn. at 129.
The Sturms emphasized on appeal that their claims against Harb were tort claims based on his own actions, that he was personally liable in tort despite being a member or manager of the LLC, and that therefore it was not necessary to pierce the veil to establish his personal liability.
The Supreme Court reviewed the well-trodden case law on the tort liability of an LLC member or manager. Members and managers are not personally liable for the LLC’s torts merely because of their status as a member or manager. But if they commit or participate in the tort, or direct the LLC’s tortious act, they will be liable even if the LLC is also liable. Id. at 132-33. Nowhere in the prior cases was the injured party required to show that the LLC’s veil should be pierced in order to allow recovery against a manager or member who personally participated in or directed the LLC’s tortious act.
The court found Harb’s reliance on Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-133(a) to be unfounded. The Connecticut LLC Act only excludes liability for the LLC’s debts “solely by reason of being a member or manager.” Conn. Gen. Stat. § 34-133(a) (emphasis added). The court concluded that the statute was not intended to preclude the common-law, individual liability of members or managers who participate in wrongful conduct, and that therefore the trial court improperly denied the claims against Harb for the plaintiffs’ failure to plead the elements of a veil-piercing claim. Harb, 298 Conn. at 137-38.
Harb’s attempt to transmute the Sturms’ tort claim against him into a veil-piercing claim was imaginative, although ultimately unsuccessful. This tactic likely reflects a recognition that piercing the veil is difficult and less predictable than proving a tort claim. As the Breen court said, “Ordinarily the corporate veil is pierced only under exceptional circumstances.” Breen, 2010 Conn. App. LEXIS 420, at *9 (quoting Naples v. Keystone Bldg. & Dev. Corp., 295 Conn. 214, 233, 990 A.2d 326 (2010)). Not only are exceptional circumstances usually required, but predicting the outcome of a veil-piercing case is challenging. As Peter Oh recently indicated in the abstract to a research paper, here, “Exactly when the veil of limited liability can and will be circumvented to reach into a shareholder’s own assets has befuddled courts, litigants, and scholars alike.”
