Opinion ID: 2302242
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Counterclaims Against Randolph Takian

Text: In their multicount counterclaim, defendants make a number of allegations against plaintiff Randolph Takian, some of which are also levied against his parents: negligent misrepresentation; fraudulent inducement; breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing; loss of business opportunity; fraudulent inducement to sell an interest in real estate; violation of the Rhode Island RICO Act; and conspiracy to violate the RICO Act. The defendants base these claims primarily on Randolph's involvement in the sale of the property, during which he acted not only as an interested party in his own right, but also as the messenger between the Rafaelians and his parents. In brief, they assert that Randolph failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the information he conveyed about the sale, and that his representations were an attempt to further hinder or confuse the Rafaelians with respect to their investigation of his parents' management of Lumar. In his ruling, the motion justice considered the claims against Randolph Takian separately from those lodged against his parents, and found that the Rafaelians have pointed to nothing in the memoranda or in argument before this Court in the way of specific representations or concealed facts by Randolph Takian upon which they conceivably relied upon to their detriment in settling their dispute with the Takians. To the contrary, the motion justice found most persuasive an express statement by Ralph Rafaelian in his deposition testimony that he did not rely on Randolph Takian in any way, and that he had no relationship with him. We agree with the ruling of the motion justice. First, defendants did not demonstrate that they reasonably relied, to their detriment, on representations made by Randolph. See Manchester v. Pereira, 926 A.2d 1005, 1012 (R.I.2007) (discussing elements of negligent misrepresentation); Women's Development Corp. v. City of Central Falls, 764 A.2d 151, 161 (R.I.2001) (discussing elements of fraudulent inducement). The supporting material defendants submitted in opposition to plaintiff's motion for summary judgment detail how Charles and Marguerite Takian relied extensively on Randolph for advice and legwork related to the property. However, other than the fact the he served as a conduit for most of the communication between his parents and defendants, defendants point to no specific representations made by Randolph that resulted in any injury to them. In our opinion, defendants' assertion that Randolph colluded with his parents to defraud them is speculative and unsupported by the evidence presented to the motion justice. We reach a similar conclusion with respect to the claim against Randolph for loss of corporate opportunity. Corporate officers and directors of any corporate enterprise, public or close, have long been recognized as corporate fiduciaries owing a duty of loyalty to the corporation and its shareholders and [are] thereby prohibited from diverting corporate opportunities to themselves. A. Teixeira & Co. v. Teixeira, 699 A.2d 1383, 1386 (R.I.1997). To successfully state a claim [for loss of corporate opportunity] a plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant was a corporate fiduciary and that he or she diverted a corporate opportunity. Id. Randolph was not an officer, director, or other corporate fiduciary of the Lumar Corporation. Moreover, defendants' evidence with respect to Randolph's alleged collusion to sell the property to the Blackbeard Homeowners' Association  despite the extensive discovery in the case  was wholly speculative. In addition, because the loss of opportunity is a wrong against the corporation, the vast majority of courts analyzing such claims have concluded that the appropriate remedy is an action either by the corporation itself or by shareholders in a derivative suit. See, e.g., Perlman v. Feldmann, 219 F.2d 173 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 349 U.S. 952, 75 S.Ct. 880, 99 L.Ed. 1277 (1955); In re Big Wheel Holding Co., 214 B.R. 945, 951-52 (D.Del.1997); Energy Resources Corp. v. Porter, 14 Mass.App.Ct. 296, 438 N.E.2d 391 (1982). As discussed above, the Rafaelians lacked standing to sustain any derivative claims on behalf of Lumar. Therefore, we affirm that portion of the motion justice's ruling that granted summary judgment to plaintiffs on count 7 of defendants' counterclaim with respect not only to Randolph, but also in favor of Charles and Marguerite Takian. Count 6 of defendant's counterclaim against Randolph for breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing also must fail. [I]t is well settled that there is an `implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing between parties    so that the contractual objectives may be achieved.' Now Courier, LLC v. Better Carrier Corp., 965 A.2d 429, 435 (R.I.2009) (quoting Ide Farm & Stable, Inc. v. Cardi, 110 R.I. 735, 739, 297 A.2d 643, 645 (1972)). However, this Court has also held that this requirement only applies after a binding contract is formed. Centerville Builders, Inc. v. Wynne, 683 A.2d 1340, 1342 (R.I.1996). Here, defendants have failed to allege facts suggesting that Randolph acted in bad faith in carrying out the terms of the release; on the contrary, they are asking that the release be set aside. Count 9 of defendants' counterclaim alleges abuse of process against Takian Counterclaim Defendants. We have scoured the record and are unable to find any definitive analysis from the trial justice on this issue. [8] Because this allegation necessarily arose separate and apart from the facts that underlie the other counts in this dispute, we are thus left without a sufficient record to review this claim, and we remand the matter to the Superior Court for a ruling on defendants' abuse-of-process counterclaim against Charles, Marguerite and Randolph Takian.