Last week’s decision in Atkinson v. Lackey, 2015 NCBC 13 doesn’t tell you everything you wanted to know about the North Carolina Securities Act (the "NCSA"), but it comes pretty close.

The lawsuit was brought by three individuals who had made investments in the Pacific Fund, a defendant LLC.  The individual Defendants — Lackey, Saldarini, and Mehler — were the members of Pacific Capital, which was in turn the sole manager of the Pacific Fund.

The Plaintiffs alleged that their investments in the Pacific Fund had been fraudulently induced by Lackey, Saldarini, and Mehler.  The alleged misrepresentations were that the Pacific Fund owned various properties in high-end residential communities on the South Carolina coast.

The Atkinson case is the latest in a small handful of cases brought under the NCSA that have resulted in rulings from the Business Court.  The others are: NNN Durham Office Portfolio 1, LLC v. Highwoods Realty Limited Partnership, 2013 NCBC 12, Associated Packaging, Inc. v. Jackson Paper Manufacturing Co., 2012 NCBC 13, and Skoog v. Harbert Private Equity Fund, II, LLC, 2013 NCBC 17.  I wrote about NNN Durham and Associated Packaging on this blog, but missed Skoog.

Standing: Were The Fiduciary Duty Claims Direct Or Derivative?

The first issue up for consideration by Judge Bledsoe in Atkinson was whether the Plaintiffs had standing to bring their claims for a breach of fiduciary duty. That issue turned on whether the claims were direct or derivative.  An LLC member or corporate shareholder generally cannot pursue a direct cause of action against a third party for the loss of the value of his investment.  Barger v. McCoy Hilliard & Parks, 346 N.C. 650, 660, 488 S.E.2d 215, 220-21 (1997).

The exceptions to the "Barger Rule" — rarely met — are that direct claims may be brought by an LLC member or shareholder when "the wrongdoer owed him a special duty, or (2) that the injury suffered by the guarantor is personal to him and distinct from the injury sustained by the corporation itself."  Id. at 659, 488 S.E.2d at 221.

Judge Bledsoe did not have to plow any new ground to find that the Plaintiffs before him were owed a "special duty."  The NC Court of Appeals held more than thirty years ago that a special duty exists "when the wrongful actions of a party induced an individual to become a shareholder."  Howell v. Fisher, 49 N.C. App. 488, 498, 272 S.E.2d 19, 26 (1980).  Since the Plaintiffs alleged that the Defendants had made misrepresentations in order to obtain their investment, the Plaintiffs had standing to pursue their claims.

Securities Fraud Claims: Primary and Secondary Liability

Standing was not an issue for the state securities fraud claims.  G.S. §78A-56(a)(2) provides an individual cause of action for "any person purchasing a security."

There are "two different pathways" to liability under the NCSA.  The first "pathway" is for "primary liability" under G.S. § 78A-56(a)(2):

which imposes primary civil liability upon “an offeror or seller of a security who (1) makes any untrue statement of a material fact, or (2) fails to state a material fact necessary for a statement which was made to not be misleading.” NNN Durham Office Portfolio 1, LLC, 2013 NCBC 12 at ¶64. To avoid primary liability, an offeror or seller must prove “he did not know, and in the exercise of reasonable care could not have known[] of the truth or omission.” Id.; Latta v. Rainey, 202 N.C. App. 587, 598, 689 S.E.2d 898, 908 (2010). Section 78A-56(a)(2). 

Op. ¶34.

The second "pathway" lies in "secondary liability":

If Plaintiffs can prove that an offeror or seller has primary liability under N.C.G.S. § 78A-56(a)(2), secondary liability will lie for “[e]very person who directly or indirectly controls [that person], every partner, officer, or director of the person, every person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions, and every dealer or salesman who materially aids in the sale,” unless that person proves that he “did not know, and in the exercise of reasonable care could not have known, of the existence of the facts by reason of which the liability is alleged to exist.” N.C.G.S. § 78A-56(c)(1) (2014).

Op. ¶35.

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