Tag: secretary of state

Secretary of State’s LLC File Detail Report Is Public Record – IL Court (A Deep Cut)

R&J Construction v. Javaras, 2011 WL 10069461, an unpublished and dated opinion, still holds practical value for its discussion of the judicial notice rule, breach of contract pleading requirements and a limited liability company member’s insulation from liability for corporate debts.

The plaintiff sold about $70K worth of construction materials to a concrete company associated with the individual defendant.  The concrete company’s legal name was WS Concrete, LLC, an Illinois limited liability company doing business under the assumed name, West Suburban Concrete.  Defendant was a member of the LLC and point-person who ordered supplies from the plaintiff.

The plaintiff sued the individual and did not name the LLC as a party defendant.

The trial court dismissed the complaint because the plaintiff failed to attach the written contract and there was no evidence the defendant assumed personal responsibility for the contract obligations.  The plaintiff appealed.

Result: Affirmed.

Reasons:

The Court first found the trial court correctly dismissed plaintiff’s suit for failure to attach the operative contract.

Code Section 2-606 requires a plaintiff to attach a written instrument (like a contract) to its pleading where the pleading is based on that instrument.  The exception is where the pleader can’t locate the instrument in which case it must file an affidavit stating the instrument is inaccessible.

Here, the plaintiff alleged a written contract but only attached a summary of various purchase orders and invoices to the complaint.  Since it failed to attach the contract, the appeals court found the complaint deficient and falling short of Section 2-606’s attached-instrument requirement.

The court next addressed whether the LLC File Detail Report (see above image), culled from the Illinois Secretary of State “cyberdrive” site was admissible on Defendant’s motion to dismiss.  In ruling the Report was admissible, the Court cited to case precedent finding that Secretary of State records are public records subject to judicial notice.  (Judicial notice applies to facts that are readily verifiable and not subject to reasonable dispute.)

Since the LLC Report plainly demonstrated the proper defendant was the LLC (as opposed to its member), and there was no evidence the individual defendant took on personal liability for plaintiff’s invoices, the trial court correctly dismissed the defendant.

Added support for the defendant’s dismissal came via the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act, 805 ILCS 180/1 et seq.  Section 10-10 of the LLC Act provides that an LLC’s contractual obligations belong solely to the LLC and that a member cannot be personally responsible for LLC contracts unless (1) the articles of organization provide for personal liability and (2) the member consents in writing.

The Court next addressed plaintiff’s agent of a disclosed principal argument.  The plaintiff asserted that since the individual defendant is the person who ordered plaintiff’s construction materials and it was unclear who the defendant represented, the defendant was responsible for plaintiff’s unpaid invoices.

The court rejected this argument.  It noted that under Illinois law, where an agent signs a contract by signing his own name and providing his own personal contact information (address, phone number, SS #, etc.) and fails to note his corporate affiliation, he (the agent) can be personally liable on a contract.  In this case, however, there was no documentation showing defendant ordering supplies in his own name.  All invoices attached to the plaintiff’s response brief (to the motion to dismiss) reflected the LLC’s assumed name – “West Suburban Concrete” – as the purchasing entity.

Afterwords:

(1) the case provides a useful analysis of common evidentiary issues that crop up in commercial litigation where a corporate agent enters into an agreement and the corporation is later dissolved;

(2) Both the LLC Act and agency law can insulate an individual LLC member from personal liability for corporate debts;

(3) Secretary of State corporate filings are public records subject to judicial notice.  This is good news for trial practitioners since it alleviates the logistical headache of having a Secretary of State agent give live or affidavit testimony on corporate records at trial.

 

 

Faulty Service on Defunct LLC Spells Trouble for Judgment Creditor – IL 1st Dist.

In a case whose procedural progression spans more than a decade, the First District in John Isfan Construction v. Longwood Towers, LLC, 2016 IL App (1st) 143211 examines the litigation aftershocks flowing from a failure to properly serve a limited liability company (LLC).

The case also illustrates when a money judgment can be vacated under the “substantial justice” standard governing non-final judgments.

The tortured case chronology went like this:

2003 – plaintiff files a mechanics lien suit against LLC for unpaid construction work on an 80-unit condominium development;

2005 – LLC dissolves involuntarily;

2005 – lien suit voluntarily dismissed;

2006 – plaintiff breach of contract action filed against LLC;

2009 – default judgment entered against LLC for about $800K;

2011 – plaintiff issues citations to discover assets to LLC’s former members and files complaint against the members to hold them liable for the 2009 default judgment (on the theory that the LLC made unlawful distributions to the members);

2014 – LLC members move to vacate the 2009 judgment. Motion is denied by the trial court and LLC members appeal.

Holding: The appeals court reversed the trial court and found that the 2009 default judgment was void.

The reason: Plaintiff’s failure to properly serve the defunct LLC under Illinois law. As a result, a hefty money judgment was vacated.

Q:           Why?

A:            A defendant must be served with process for a court to exercise personal jurisdiction over him.  A judgment entered against a party who is not properly served is void.  

Section 50 of the LLC Act (805 ILCS 180/1-50) provides that service of process on an LLC defendant must be made on (a) the LLC’s registered agent or (b) the Secretary of State if the LLC doesn’t appoint a registered agent or where the LLC’s registered agent cannot be found at the LLC’s registered office or principal place of business.

In the context of a dissolved LLC, the LLC Act provides that an LLC continues post-dissolution solely for the purpose of winding up.  This is in contrast to the corporate survival statute that provides that a dissolved (non-LLC) corporation continues for five years after dissolution (This means the defunct corporation can be sued and served for up to five years after dissolution.)  805 ILCS 5/5.05.

Here, the plaintiff sued the LLC’s former registered agent over a year after the LLC dissolved.  This was improper service under the LLC Act.  By failing to serve the Secretary of State in accordance with the LLC Act, the court lacked jurisdiction over the LLC.  (¶¶ 37-40)

The Court also rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the erstwhile LLC members waived their objection to jurisdiction over the LLC by participating in post-judgment proceedings.

Since a party who submits to a court’s jurisdiction does so only prospectively, not retroactively, the party’s appearance doesn’t activate an earlier order entered in the case before the appearance was filed. (¶¶ 40-42)

Another reason the Court voided the default judgment was the “substantial justice” standard which governs whether a court will vacate a judgment under Code Section 2-1301(e). 

The reason Section 2-1301 applied instead of the harsher 2-1401 was because the judgment wasn’t final.  It wasn’t final because at the time the judgment was entered, the plaintiff had a pending claim against another party that wasn’t disposed of.  ((¶¶ 46-47)

Under Illinois law, a default judgment is a drastic remedy and Illinois courts have a long and strong policy of deciding cases on the merits instead of on procedural grounds.  In addition, when seeking to vacate a non-final default order, the movant does not have to show a meritorious defense or diligence in presenting the defense.

Applying these default order guideposts, the Court found that substantial justice considerations dictated that the default judgment be vacated.  Even though the judgment was entered some five years before the motion to vacate was filed, it wasn’t a final order. 

This meant the LLC member movants did not have to show diligence in defending the action or a meritorious defense.  All the members had to demonstrate was that it was fair and just that they have their day in court and that they should be able to defend the plaintiff’s unlawful transfers allegations. (¶¶ 49, 51)

Afterwords: This case provides a useful summary of the key rules that govern how to serve LLC’s and particularly, dissolved LLC’s.  The case’s “cautionary tales” are to (i) serve corporate defendants in accordance with statutory direction; and (ii) always request a finding of finality for default judgments where there are multiple parties or claims involved.

Had the plaintiff received a finding of finality, the LLC members’ motion to vacate would have been untimely under Section 2-1401 – which requires a motion to attack a final judgment to be brought within two years and has a heavier proof burden than a 2-1301 motion.  Still, it wouldn’t have mattered here. The plaintiff’s failure to properly serve the LLC meant the judgment was void and could have been attacked at any time.

 

Shocking! The Company That Owes You $ Dissolved: The Illinois Corporate ‘Survival’ Statute

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The Illinois corporate “survival” statute, 805 ILCS 5/12.80, allows a plaintiff to sue a dissolved corporation for up to five years after the corporation’s existence ends.  So, if a corporation was dissolved on April 29, 2014, a plaintiff who had a claim against the corporation prior to April 29, 2014, has through April 29, 2019 to file suit against that dissolved corporation. 

Any recovery would attach to corporate (as opposed to individual shareholder) assets.  And because the survival act is a legislative creation, its timing requirements are strictly construed and only relaxed in limited circumstances. 

The five-year claims period tries to strike a balance between protecting injured plaintiffs and setting a definite chronological end point for a dissolved corporation’s liability.

Michigan Indiana Condominium Association v. Michigan Place, LLC, 2014 IL App (1st) 123764 presents a recent example of a court’s rigid application of and the harsh results flowing from the five-year corporate survival period in a construction dispute involving various contractors.

In 2011, the plaintiff sued the general contractor for latent defects nine years after construction was complete.  The general contractor in turn filed third-party contribution claims against two masonry subcontractors in 2012.  Both subcontractor defendants were long defunct.  One subcontractor dissolved in 2003; the other, in 2006. 

The subcontractors moved to dismiss the general contractor’s claims under Code Section 2-619, arguing that the claims were time-barred since they were filed (in 2012) after the five-year survival period expired.  The trial court agreed and dismissed the contractor’s third-party claims.

Held: Affirmed.

In upholding the trial court’s dismissal of the general contractor’s third-party complaint, the First District stated the governing corporate law principles: 

– A corporation only exists under the express laws of the State in which it was created; 

– The right to sue a dissolved corporation (and the right of a dissolved corporation to sue) is limited to the time established by the legislature;

 – Corporation dissolution has the same legal effect as the death of a natural person;

 – Corporate survival actions are based on the legislative determination that corporate creditors should be able to sue a dissolved corporation and apply any corporate property to the debt;

 – Once the five-year survival period lapses, the corporation’s “life” also ends and no lawsuit can be filed against the corporation after the survival period expires;

– A dissolved corporation can be served with process through the Illinois Secretary of State (805 ILCS 5/1.01)

(¶¶ 12-13).

In certain situations, courts have relaxed the five-year survival period for public policy reasons.  Key exceptions to the five-year rule concern (1) actions involving minor plaintiffs; and (2) where there is an element of corporate misconduct and resulting unfairness.  (¶¶ 18-21).

  Here, since neither exception applied, the Court held that the survival act’s plain language dictated dismissal of the contractor’s third-party complaint.

 The Court recognized that barring the contractor’s claims was harsh since the contractor’s right to sue expired before it even knew it had claims against the defunct subcontractors. 

Yet because the statutory language was clear, the Court held that it was required to strictly apply the five-year survival rule and time-bar the contractor’s third-party action. (¶¶ 22-23). 

To bolster its decision, the Court noted that in legal and medical malpractice cases, courts strictly apply statutory repose periods (4 years for medical malpractice; 6 years for legal malpractice) that often doom injured plaintiff’s cases.  (¶ 24).  This gave the Court added precedential support for its rejection of the contractor’s third-party claims. 

Take-away: This case presents a good summary of the philosophical underpinnings and statement of the law governing actions by and against dissolved corporations.

Michigan Place also underscores that extending or relaxing a repose or survival period is a legislative (not a judicial) function.