David Schultz v. QuantPower, Inc. ( 2018 )

COURT OF CHANCERY
OF THE
STATE OF DELAWARE
ANDRE G. BOUCHARD LEONARD L. WILLIAMS JUSTICE CENTER
CHANCELLOR 500 N. KING STREET, SUITE 11400
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE 19801-3734
Date Submitted: August 15, 2018
Date Decided: September 19, 2018
David J. Teklits, Esquire Michael A. Pittenger, Esquire
Richard Li, Esquire Jacqueline A. Rogers, Esquire
Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP
1201 N. Market Street 1313 N. Market Street, 6th Floor
Wilmington, DE 19899 Wilmington, DE 19899
RE: David Schultz, et al. v. QuantPower, Inc., et al.
Civil Action No. 12919-CB
Dear Counsel:
At the conclusion of the hearing held on August 15, 2018, the court denied
plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss QuantPower, Inc.’s counterclaims against them and
took under advisement the parties’ cross-motions for partial summary judgment.
For the reasons explained briefly below, the cross-motions for partial summary
judgment also will be denied.
The cross-motions for partial summary judgment concern Counts I and II of
plaintiffs’ three-count Verified Complaint and Petition for Appraisal filed on
November 18, 2016. Although styled as a single claim, Count I asserts essentially
three separate claims arising out of QuantPower’s acquisition of Banyan Energy,
Inc. in a merger transaction that closed in August 2016 (the “Merger”): (i) a claim
for breach of fiduciary duty against the three members of Banyan’s board of
David Schultz, et al. v. QuantPower, Inc., et al.
Civil Action No. 12919-CB
September 19, 2018
directors; (ii) a claim for breach of fiduciary duty against Acero Capital, L.P. as
Banyan’s controlling stockholder; and (iii) a claim for aiding and abetting against
QuantPower. Count II asserts a claim for unjust enrichment against QuantPower
and Acero relating to the Merger.
On May 10, 2018, plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment in their
favor on Count I. On June 25, 2018, defendants cross-moved for partial summary
judgment in their favor on Counts I and II. Count III of plaintiffs’ complaint,
which is not the subject of either of the pending motions, seeks an appraisal of
their Banyan shares under 8 Del. C. § 262.
In simplified terms, the Merger was a stock-for-stock transaction in which
each outstanding share of Banyan common stock was converted into the right to
receive approximately .075 shares of QuantPower common stock. Banyan and
QuantPower are both private corporations. As a condition of the Merger,
QuantPower was to acquire, as of consummation of the Merger, certain assets and
liabilities of another company called SmartTrak Solar.1 QuantPower also
anticipated completing a Series A preferred stock financing with Acero and certain
other investors (the “Series A offering”) concurrently with the Merger.2
1
Pls.’ Opening Br. Ex. A at 8 (Dkt. 68).
2
Id. at 11.
2
David Schultz, et al. v. QuantPower, Inc., et al.
Civil Action No. 12919-CB
September 19, 2018
In advance of the Merger, plaintiffs received an Information Statement from
Banyan. It stated, in relevant part: “In order to receive Merger Consideration . . .
you must review and sign the Stockholder Agreement in the form attached as
Annex A-3 to this Information Statement . . . , which entails your representation
that you are an ‘accredited investor’ as defined in Rule 501(a) of the Securities Act
of 1933 . . . .”3 Notwithstanding this statement, the attached form of Stockholder
Agreement provided an option for the stockholder to check a box indicating that he
was not an accredited investor4 and other documents in the record indicate that
Banyan informed plaintiffs before the Merger closed that they could receive the
Merger consideration, apparently without regard to whether or not they were
accredited investors.5
Plaintiffs assert that Banyan’s directors breached their fiduciary duties of
care and loyalty by structuring the Merger in a way that prevented them from
receiving the consideration offered in the Merger, i.e., shares of QuantPower.
Relying on the text of the Information Statement quoted above, plaintiffs contend
that because they are not accredited investors, they could not receive shares of
QuantPower under federal securities laws. In other words, the director defendants’
3
Id. at 2.
4
Pls.’ Opening Br. Ex. B at PLS00014541.
5
See Transmittal Aff. of Jacqueline A. Rogers Exs. 5, 12 (Dkt. 72).
3
David Schultz, et al. v. QuantPower, Inc., et al.
Civil Action No. 12919-CB
September 19, 2018
alleged breach of duty resulted from their failure to ensure that the consideration
offered to plaintiffs in the Merger complied with federal securities laws.
As a remedy for this alleged breach of duty, plaintiffs seek damages
equivalent to the value of the QuantPower shares that were offered in the Merger
based on a disclosure in the Information Statement concerning the pre-money
value of QuantPower implied by the proposed terms of the Series A offering.6
This amount would include elements of value attributable to the combination of
Banyan and SmartTrak Solar (e.g., synergies) that was a condition of the Merger.
In other words, this amount would exceed the value of plaintiffs’ shares of Banyan
under the appraisal statute, which requires that the court “determine the fair value
of the shares exclusive of any element of value arising from the accomplishment or
expectation of the merger.”7
In response, defendants contend that plaintiffs could have received shares of
QuantPower in connection with the Merger under the private placement exemption
of Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. Defendants further contend that a
Banyan stockholder’s status as an accredited investor was relevant to whether that
person could participate in the Series A offering, but was irrelevant to whether that
6
See Pls.’ Opening Br. Ex. A at 11.
7
8 Del. C. § 262(h).
4
David Schultz, et al. v. QuantPower, Inc., et al.
Civil Action No. 12919-CB
September 19, 2018
person could receive the Merger consideration. Finally, defendants dispute that the
Information Statement purports to value Banyan.
Having further considered the parties’ submissions and the arguments made
during the August 15 hearing, I am denying the cross-motions for partial summary
judgment for essentially two reasons. First, genuine issues of material fact exist
concerning matters central to deciding the motions. For example, with respect to
plaintiffs’ breach of fiduciary duty claim against Banyan’s directors:
 The record is devoid of evidence concerning the deliberative
process the directors undertook in structuring and approving the
Merger.8 None of the directors has been deposed and no evidence
has been provided concerning, among other things, their
understanding as to whether structuring the Merger as an exchange
of shares of Banyan for shares of QuantPower was permissible
under federal securities laws. A factual record on these issues is
necessary to adjudicate plaintiffs’ assertion that the directors acted
in bad faith and breached their duty of loyalty.
 It is unclear from the record whether Banyan’s certificate of
incorporation contains a provision exculpating its directors for
8
Instead of addressing this issue, the parties focused their briefs on whether offering
QuantPower shares as the Merger consideration complied with federal securities laws.
The answer to that question of federal law, however, does not answer the Delaware law
question whether Banyan’s directors acted in bad faith. See, e.g., Nguyen v. Barrett,
2016 WL 5404095, at *3 (Del. Ch. Sept. 28, 2016) (“A showing of bad faith requires an
extreme set of facts to establish that disinterested directors were intentionally
disregarding their duties or that the decision . . . [was] so far beyond the bounds of
reasonable judgment that it seems essentially inexplicable on any ground other than bad
faith.”) (internal quotations and citation omitted).
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David Schultz, et al. v. QuantPower, Inc., et al.
Civil Action No. 12919-CB
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monetary damages for breaches of the duty of care.9 The existence
of such a common provision would be dispositive of plaintiffs’
duty of care claim.
 Plaintiffs’ theory of damages is extrapolated from a disclosure
concerning the post-Merger, pre-money value of QuantPower
derived from the pricing of the Series A offering. It is not apparent
to the court that this disclosure provides a reliable measure of
damages for a breach of the directors’ fiduciary duty, if proven,
and defendants dispute that this disclosure represents the pre-
Merger value of Banyan.
Second, the remaining claims implicated by the parties’ cross-motions for
partial summary judgment have not been briefed adequately. In particular,
plaintiffs’ (i) breach of fiduciary duty claim against Acero as Banyan’s controlling
stockholder, (ii) aiding and abetting claim against QuantPower, and (iii) unjust
enrichment claim against both Acero and QuantPower are barely mentioned much
less analyzed in any meaningful sense in the parties’ briefs so as to fairly present
those issues for decision.
For the foregoing reasons, the parties’ cross-motions for partial summary
judgment are denied. IT IS SO ORDERED.
Sincerely,
/s/ Andre G. Bouchard
Chancellor
AGB/gm
9
When asked, defense counsel was unable to confirm whether or not Banyan’s certificate
of incorporation contains such a provision. Tr. 47 (Aug. 15, 2018) (Dkt. 84).
6