Opinion ID: 1799426
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Pritzker Group's Position.

Text: The main argument of the Pritzker group is that the court did not acquire jurisdiction over any of its members because service of process was made in Illinois where the parties are resident, except for the Atkinson Corporation (the Pritzker control finance company), which is a Wisconsin corporation. The arguments as to the jurisdictional issue are not detailed here because the case is disposed of on other grounds, as will be seen below. However, Pritzker does make a statement preliminary to its jurisdictional argument in which it also takes a position with reference to the alleged conspiratorial conduct. The Pritzkers, who bought 20,000 shares of Fenestra at a cost of approximately $500,000 before either Brainin or Gulf came into the picture, did not sell their shares to Gulf and, of course, still own them. It will be remembered also that the Pritzkers were the arrangers of the deal and financiers of part of it: they loaned the down payment which Gulf made to the Brainin group. They, too, were not satisfied with Fenestra management and had suggested that management dispose of the losing divisions. It was the Pritzker group, they say, who suggested to management that the Prudential Life Insurance loan be paid because the loan bore an interest rate in excess of the interest yield on the securities in which the proceeds of the loan were temporarily invested. The difference is alleged to be over $100,000 a year. In other words, the Pritzkers say management was losing this much each year by the way in which it handled this portion of its liquid assets. This, they insist, exhibits, on their part, an obvious interest in the welfare of Fenestra which is totally inconsistent with any assertion that they conspired with the other defendants to cripple Fenestra. Chief target of the Pritzker group is the suggestion of conspiratorial culpability on their part by reason of the fact that in the loan agreement with Gulf they (Pritzkers) included a provision which would require Gulf to apply any funds that might be derived from Fenestra through merger or a liquidating dividend or other to be applied first to the Pritzker group loan to Gulf. They insist that this is common business prudence and point out that in the loan made by Prudential to Fenestra similar provisions are included.