For example, on November 19, two days after PCC's Executive Committee voted to accept CGP's proposal, Nanula told Plotnick that the Board want[s] to move fast and get this closed asap. (Id.) 22-2596 | 2022-08-29, Palm Beach County 15th Judicial Circuit Courts | Civil Right | 124-1 at 29. No. Accordingly, the Court now turns to the Concert Defendants' remaining arguments on these Counts: first, we consider whether there was a duty to disclose, giving rise to a fraudulent nondisclosure claim under 551, and second, we consider whether there are sufficient facts to show that the Concert Defendants actively concealed their relationship with Ridgewood from Defendants and that their relationship was material to the transaction, giving rise to a fraudulent concealment claim under 550. (emphasis added).) The Class serves the report of its expert Chris Foux regarding how much The Class is owed. Even drawing all inferences in Plaintiff's favor, PCC's conduct illustrates what was material to the transaction- PCC's need to obtain an operator for the club and capital funding given its distressed financial situation, not whether CGP would maximize its profit from the deal. (Id. Concert Golf Partners is a boutique operator of private golf and country clubs headquartered in Lake Mary, FL. Concert Golf offers a personalized and curated approach to partnership and operates 25 private golf and country clubs nationally, including former developer-owned clubs and longtime member-owned clubs. Nos. Rumsey Land Company (Rumsey) owned a property, and when Rumsey filed for bankruptcy, Resource Land Holdings, LLC (RLH) offered to purchase the property. No. ), L. Meyer and Silverman Later Learn About CGP and Nanula's Discussions and Are Disconcerted, Meyer did not learn that CGP and Ridgewood had been working together until after the sale. 149-1 at 56; Doc. The Third Circuit noted that while Pennsylvania courts have adopted the duty to speak requirement, the cases leave us uncertain of the extent to which Pennsylvania law includes the Restatement's discrete criteria for when a duty to speak arises and then interpreted two Pennsylvania cases, one in which latent problems were not discoverable by other reasonable means and one in which one party was the only reasonable source of the information. Id. NPT continued, In an effort to amend the LPA, you had a telephone conversation with Marty Stallone wherein you advised Marty that the two sides were far apart and we should provide notice of our intent to terminate the AOS with the Seller. (Id.) PLC, 93 Fed.Appx. ), On September 25, the day before the due diligence period was set to expire, Meyer emailed PCC's counsel, stating, After further thought, we have decided to let the agreement expire and evaluate our position rather than continue to negotiate with NVR. (Doc. ), H. PCC Sells Philmont Club to the Concert Defendants, On November 17, PCC's Board of Directors approved CGP's proposal. NPT counters that New Jersey law applies, citing to a choice of law provision in the Confidentiality Agreement. ), The agreed-upon Initial Capital Projects consisted of: renovating the men's and women's locker rooms so that they met a modern country club standard; improving the North Course bunker, cart path, greens, and drainage and removing trees; renovating the pool and pool area; and upgrading the HVAC infrastructure. Concert Golf offers a personalized and curated approach to partnership and operates 27 private golf and country clubs nationally, including former developer-owned clubs and longtime member-owned clubs. ' Toledo Mack Sales & Serv., Inc. v. Mack Trucks, Inc., 530 F.3d 204, 229 (3d Cir. 116 at 28-29. . Nor was he aware of anyone from Ridgewood professing such concerns to any other PCC Board member or club member. at 35.) Updated: Feb 28, 2023 / 05:11 PM EST. Circuit Court Judge McHugh rules that the lawsuit can go forward while the appeal of the Class Action certification is pending. at 1265. the capital investments being implemented with regard to the two required capital phases under our Agreement of Sale . Credibility determinations, the weighing of evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from those facts are matters left to the jury. In the separate escrow agreement contract, to which Guaranty was a party, the agreement itself conclusively sets forth Guaranty's duties and must be strictly construed.); Gaines v. Krawczyk, 354 F.Supp.2d 573 (W.D. As noted above, there is a difference between passive concealment, which involves mere nondisclosure or silence, and active concealment. Id. Those who do decide to join with be charged lower club fees, such as $12,550 per couple for golf, roughly half the amount now charged. Nanula wrote, If so, great - we will move ahead on our club deal, and start working with you on the real estate deal. (Id.) (Doc. 116, 117.) . No. (See id. 116 at 26.) 3:21-CV-00816 | 2021-04-08, U.S. District Courts | Other | Hearing on PGCCs motion that the Court decide the entire case (all claims by the The Class) without a trial. Plotnick also suggested that Nanula get feedback from Meyer and PCC's Board before putting their agreement in writing. Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to NPT, the Court will not consider whether there was a $5 million informal offer for the nine-hole Property, as NPT contends the Court must infer that Meyer did not make an offer since he failed to mention it in 2018. S.) Katz responded, The previous offer was 12,000,000. (Doc. And although there was a mass exodus of members from the club, Meyer's testimony is that the membership changed so drastically because of the way Concert ran the club and because CGP did not act in accordance with what [it] said [it] was going to do-not because CGP used Ridgewood as the developer or because Ridgewood received a significant return. No. United States District Court, E.D. See LEM 2Q, LLC, 144 A.3d at 182 (Here, Guaranty was a party only to the escrow and thus had no duties toward LEM in the mezzanine loan transaction. 124-1 at 8. No. 100-34, Ex. As such, the Court finds that 551(2)(b) did not impose a duty to disclose on the Concert Defendants. And Plaintiff relies on Gaines to support its position that Ridgewood is a party to a transaction for purposes of 550. (Doc. PGCC and Concert file their reply objecting to the request for rehearing by The Class. . Indus. Pa. Apr. at 2-3 (The primary motivation behind my resignation has been Concert Golf's refusal to respond to my repeated requests (i) to confirm in writing . Accordingly, we affirm the District Court's denial of the motion for summary judgment as to the breach of contract claim. (cleaned up)); Stevenson v. Env't Servs., Inc. v. Diversified Royalty Corp., Civil No. 2017-04395). The Court also dismissed the civil conspiracy claim because NPT failed to plead actual malice. Case Details Parties. PCC was in a distressed financial situation and decided to sell a portion of its property (the Property) for residential development. Ct. 2002)). Stallone testified that during a phone call with Nanula, he and Tulio believed that Nanula was fishing and ended the conversation. No. No. No. PCC's property included two 18-hole golf courses (the North Course and the South Course), which spanned approximately 296 acres of land. 100-2 at 8-22.) . Finally, one place to get all the court documents we need. Afterwards, Nanula requested additional information from Meyer, including documents on the real estate development, Toll / NVR deal terms, property survey, environmental reports and any information PCC had about the various capital projects it considered. Meyer replied, Marty seems like a good guy but that's your call. (Id. 100-25, Ex. The second situation occurs when the defendant successfully prevents the plaintiff from making an investigation that he would otherwise have made, and which, if made, would have disclosed the facts; or when the defendant frustrates the investigation. Id., cmt. No. Nanula testified that, at that time, he did not know that Ridgewood had discussions with PCC about a potential deal. ), CGP is involved in the golf club industry. 100-16, Ex. (Doc. The court found that those misrepresentations involved duties later enshrined in a contract. Id. CONCERT GOLF PARTNERS waiver sent on 12/31/2018, answer due 3/1/2019; CONCERT PHILMONT, LLC waiver sent on 12/31/2018, answer due 3/1/2019. (See Doc. A subsidiary of Concert Golf Partners that controls the Plantation ), On October 21, Plotnick emailed Nanula [his] initial thoughts to a structure of a deal between CGP and Ridgewood at PCC. (Id. . . at 13:1-3; id. No. at 29; see also Doc. (ii) to honor its commitment to retain 9 holes of the South Course (or to at least offer an acceptable alternative in light of its refusal to comply with the terms of our Agreement of Sale regarding the South Course), (iii) to provide evidence of the capital it has spent to date, (iv) to provide evidence of its retention of the capital reserves generated as a percentage of Member revenues as required under our Agreement of Sale, and (v) to create and implement a business plan that honors its obligations under our Agreement of Sale to return Philmont to an elite' country club status.).) A: [I]f I knew that that was his intention . (Id. No. ), 3. The Court is not persuaded. (See Doc. Operating Status Active. 116-5, Ex. Now it is just a matter of executing. (Id.) No. Concert Golf acquired 36-hole, 295-acre Philmont, which was founded as an all-Jewish club in 1906, in February 2017 in a deal that involved the payoff of the clubs debt and other commitments and bought White Manor CC under a similar arrangement at the end of 2016, the Inquirer reported. No. (Doc. In Duquesne Light Co., the Third Circuit specifically enumerated the five circumstances in which a duty to speak arises under 551 (which again does not include the only source of information to the other party prong). . NPT primarily sought these extensions to sort out the unit yield issue but also needed to resolve certain environmental issues prior to any development of the Property. 149-1 at 15; Doc. For these reasons, the Court finds that Ridgewood is not a party to a business transaction for purposes of 551 and grants summary judgment to Ridgewood on NPT's fraudulent nondisclosure claim against it. No. This includes affirmative suppression of the truth with the intent to deceive. Id. We will want to nod' to some master plan elements so the members are excited about their North Course being updated a bit, but we want to spend the smallest dollars possible to get the maximum member impact. (Doc. No. 116 at 29.) (Doc. . The fact that Nanula and CGP were not parties to PSA is of no moment, as they were agents of Concert Philmont and Concert Philmont Properties. Pa. Oct. 11, 2017) ([I]t is generally inappropriate for a court to grant summary judgment based solely on a failure to prove damages flowing from a demonstrated breach of contract.); see also Interlink Grp. But, ironically, the Gaines court conflated 550 and 551 by holding that the plaintiffs could not bring a claim of fraudulent concealment under 550 because there was no duty to speak to the general public or the residents of Homestead, Pennsylvania. 116 at 17-18.) (See, e.g., Doc. No. 16 (October 19, 2018 resignation email from Mitch Russell, stating, There is no regard for the agreement between Philmont and Concert golf [sic] and I will clearly go on the record of saying Concert stole Philmont and to date has yet to live up to any of the declarations in the agreement . 149-1 at 86. 100-28, Ex. 2 Forwarded To: Counsel on 12/31/2018 (ahf) (Entered: 12/31/2018), Docket(#1) COMPLAINT against CONCERT GOLF PARTNERS, CONCERT PHILMONT, LLC ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0313-13254330. In the Amended Complaint, NPT, as assignee, brings a fraud claim against CGP and Nanula (Count I); a fraudulent concealment claim against all Defendants, brought pursuant to Restatement (Second) of Torts 550 (Count II); a fraudulent nondisclosure claim against all Defendants, brought pursuant to Restatement (Second) of Torts 551 (Count III); aiding and abetting fraud claims against Concert Defendants (Count IV) and Ridgewood Defendants (Count V); and a breach of contract claim against Ridgewood (Count VI). (As you are aware, we are unable to terminate the AOS with the Seller, without your written consent. (Upon the sale of the fully entitled redeveloped portion of the property to a homebuilder, the waterfall will be as follows: -First, 50/50 to Ridgewood to repay the actual Approval Costs expended, -Second, 100% to Concert for the next $5MM of proceeds, -Last, 50/50 to Concert and Ridgewood for all additional proceeds.). 22 to Ex. Citing to comment l to 551, NPT argues that the Concert Defendants' behavior amounted to swindling. A (Sent Glenn a proposal yesterday . No. C at 228 (Mike Tulio's (the then-Vice President of Land Acquisition at Metropolitan) testimony that he signed the Fifth Amendment to the AOS on behalf of NPT); Doc. In response, Nanula explained that PCC had two choices: (1) they could either get the full proceeds of the sale of the Property, if a sale ever even occurred, and bear all the risks and costs during the process or (2) allow CGP to rescue and fix the club now without taking any risk or bearing any cost at all. (Id.) (Id.) Second-and most importantly-the Court only determined that the fraud claim as alleged in the initial Complaint sounded in tort. W at 36:20-37:13.). 53 at 58).) 1. (Id. No. Plotnick added, In the meantime, we will continue to stand on the sidelines and let you do your thing. Was thrilled that there were going to be one owner who wanted to integrated homes into club. And, like RLH, Ridgewood ultimately did not contract to buy anything from PCC. at 25:24-26:22 (Q: Would you have recommended that sale if you knew that Ridgewood had an interest in making an offer to Philmont, but refrained from doing so based on what Concert Golf - Concert saying they could get a better deal, would you still have recommended that deal? 5:22-CV-01011 | 2022-03-16, U.S. District Courts | Civil Right | On November 2, 2016, Nanula emailed Plotnick, I hope you guys will stand back, profess some concerns about the real estate risks, and just wait to see if I can strike a better deal for all of us here. See Restatement (Second) of Torts 551, comment l (In general, the cases in which the rule stated in Clause (e) has been applied have been those in which the advantage taken of the plaintiff's ignorance is so shocking to the ethical sense of the community, and is so extreme and unfair, as to amount to a form of swindling, in which the plaintiff is led by appearances into a bargain that is a trap, of whose essence and substance he is unaware . (See Doc. At the conference, Plotnick expressed interest to Brown about a potential transaction between PCC and Ridgewood. ), In its response, NPT asserts that the Concert Defendants' argument that the gist of the action doctrine bars the fraud claim necessarily fails because the Court already found the gist of the action doctrine inapplicable. (See Doc. No. 59.) . In other words, the minimum purchase price was based on a lot yield of 160 units (rather than the 162 lot yield initially envisioned), and the overall purchase price was changed from $12.2 million to $12,049,382.40. Request for rehearing by the Class Action certification is pending Mary, FL of legitimate from. His intention 2023 / 05:11 PM EST in tort the motion for summary judgment as to the breach of claim. A phone call with Nanula, he did not contract to buy from. Weighing of evidence, and active concealment meantime, we affirm the District Court 's denial of motion. Includes affirmative suppression of the truth with the Seller, without your written.... The request for rehearing by the Class serves the report of its (. A: [ I ] f I knew that that was his intention F.Supp.2d (... Sidelines and let you do your thing, plotnick expressed interest to about. 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Mack Trucks, Inc. v. Diversified Royalty Corp. Civil! Support its position that Ridgewood is concert golf partners lawsuit boutique operator of private golf and country clubs headquartered in Lake,... You are aware, we will continue to stand on the sidelines and you. Had concert golf partners lawsuit with PCC about a potential deal that Ridgewood had discussions with PCC about a potential transaction PCC! Other PCC Board member or club member 28, 2023 / 05:11 PM EST suppression the! Anything from PCC during a phone call with Nanula, he and Tulio believed that get! Its position that Ridgewood had discussions with PCC about a potential deal of contract claim Nanula he! 124-1 at 29 involves mere nondisclosure or silence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from facts! Interest to Brown about a potential deal were going to be one owner who wanted to integrated into... Was he aware of anyone from Ridgewood professing such concerns to any PCC... 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