Court Opinion

ID: 9954290
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-25 21:10:35.087483+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:12:03.444550
License: Public Domain

Glenmede Trust Co., N.A. v Infinity Q Capital Mgt.
                          LLC
               2024 NY Slip Op 30933(U)
                     March 20, 2024
           Supreme Court, New York County
        Docket Number: Index No. 160830/2022
                 Judge: Melissa A. Crane
Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip
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                       publication.
                                                                                                 INDEX NO. 160830/2022
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 209                                                                     RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/20/2024

                               SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
                                         NEW YORK COUNTY
            PRESENT:          HON. MELISSA A. CRANE                         PART                               60M
                                                                  Justice
                                                               ----X        INDEX NO.           160830/2022
             THE GLENMEDE TRUST COMPANY, N.A.,
                                                                            MOTION DATE          11/15/2023
                                                Plaintiff,
                                                                            MOTION SEQ. NO.          011
                                        - V -

             INFINITY Q CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC,JAMES
             VELISSARIS, LEONARD POTTER, SCOTT LINDELL,
             BON DERMAN FAMILY LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, LP,
             INFINITY Q MANAGEMENT EQUITY LLC,TRUST FOR
             ADVISED PORTFOLIOS, U.S. BANCORP FUND                             DECISION + ORDER ON
             SERVICES, LLC,EISNERAMPER LLP, QUASAR                                    MOTION
             DISTRIBUTORS, LLC,JOHN C. CHRYSTAL, ALBERT J.
             DIULIO, CHRISTOPHER E. KASHMERICK, HARRY E.
             RESIS, RUSSELL B. SIMON, STEVEN J. JENSEN,

                                                Defendant.
            ------------------------------- ------------------------X

            The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 011) 132, 133, 134, 135,
            136, 150, 155, 160, 182, 183, 184
            were read on this motion to/for                                   DISMISSAL

                    Defendants Leonard Potter ("Potter") and Bonderman Family Limited Partnership, LP

            ("BFLP") have moved to dismiss Plaintiff The Glenmede Trust Company, N.A. 's ("Plaintiff')

            amended complaint pursuant to CPLR 321 l(a)(7). The amended complaint alleges a claim against

            Potter for violation of section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 and alleges claims against both

            Potter and BFLP for violation of section 15 of the Securities Act of 1933. During oral argument,

            the court dismissed the section 11 claim against Potter (see November 15, 2023 Transcript, p. 89;

            November 16, 2023 Transcript, pp. 112-113). For the following reasons, the court dismisses the

            section 15 claims against Potter and BFLP as well.

                                  FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

             160830/2022 THE GLENMEDE TRUST COMPANY, N.A. vs. INFINITY Q CAPITAL MANAGEMENT      Page 1 of 7
             LLC ET AL
             Motion No. 011

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                    The court refers to its decisions on the other defendants' motions to dismiss for a complete

            recitation of the factual background of this matter (see December 21, 2023 Decision and Order,

            NYSCEF Doc. No. 199; January 31, 2024 Decision and Order, NYSCEF Doc. No. 203; February

            26, 2024 Decision and Order, NYSCEF Doc. No. 205; March 13, 2024 Decision and Order,

            NYSCEF Doc. No. 208). However, the court provides brief factual background applicable to Potter

            and BFLP.

                    The amended complaint alleges that Potter, along with James Velissaris ("Velissaris"),

            Scott Lindell ("Lindell"), and non-party David Bonderman ("Bonderman") created Infinity Q

            Capital Management LLC ("Infinity Q Mgmt.") in 2014, to act as an investment advisor both to

            Infinity Q Diversified Alpha Fund ("Mutual Fund") and a private hedge fund ("Hedge Fund")

            (Amended Complaint, NYSCEF Doc. No. 101,, 4). Potter was the chairman of Infinity Q Mgmt.

            (id.,, 29). BFLP, the family office of Bonderman, allegedly "has an ownership interest in Infinity

            Q that is greater than 25% and is a control person of Infinity Q" (id., , 31 ).

                    US Bank carried out "regulatory and compliance functions" related to the Mutual Fund for

            Infinity Q Mgmt. (id., , 62). In particular, US Bank has established multiple series trusts to allow

            investment management firms to house their mutual fund products (id.,, 64). Defendant Trust for

            Advised Portfolios ("Trust") is one such multiple series trust (id, , 67). Defendants established

            the Mutual Fund under the umbrella of the Trust (id., , 69). Subsequently, the Trust offered shares

            in the Mutual Fund to investors pursuant to a December 20, 2019 Post-Effective Amendment to

            its Registration Statement (id.,, 142; December 2019 Registration Statement, NYSCEF Doc. No.

            127).

                    According to the December 2019 Registration Statement, Infinity Q Mgmt. was the Mutual

            Fund's investment adviser, and Potter was the Chief Executive Officer of Infinity Q Mgmt.

             160830/2022 THE GLENMEDE TRUST COMPANY, N.A. vs. INFINITY Q CAPITAL MANAGEMENT         Page 2 of 7
             LLC ET AL
             Motion No. 011

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            (December 2019 Registration Statement, p. 24). Potter, along with Velissaris and Lindell, were

            "the portfolio managers principally responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's

            portfolio" (id., p. 78). While Potter signed the December 2019 Registration Statement, he signed

            as a director of non-party Infinity Q Commodity Fund, Ltd., not Infinity Q Mgmt. (id., p. 119).

            Further, the December 2019 Registration Statement's signature page indicates that Potter signed

            "with respect only to information that specifically relates to Infinity Q Commodity Fund, Ltd."

            (id., p. 119).

                      Rather than purchase traditional stocks and bonds, Infinity Q Mgmt. invested in "variance

            swaps," 1 that generated returns that "did not depend on what direction the market moved, but rather

            on how much the market moved (i.e., how volatile the market was)" (Amended Complaint, ,i 5).

            However, because these "esoteric derivative securities" lacked a public market price, Infinity Q

            Mgmt. utilized Bloomberg's valuation software, BYAL, to value the variance swaps and calculate

            the Mutual Fund's net asset value ("NAV") daily (id., ,i,i 5-7, 131). The precipitating cause of

            extensive litigation related to Infinity Q Mgmt. is that Velissaris, for many years, artificially

            inflated the Mutual Fund's value by hundreds of millions of dollars (id, ,i,i 9-11 ). This resulted in

            an SEC investigation and the subsequent collapse of the Mutual Fund (id., ,i,i 11-13).

                      The focal point of the case against Potter, BFLP, and the other defendants is that the

            December 2019 Registration Statement "contained false statements of material fact and/or omitted

            material facts that were required to be disclosed or necessary to make the statements therein not

            misleading" (id., ,i 270). The amended complaint alleges that Potter is liable under section 11 of

            the Securities Act of 1933 because he signed the December 2019 Registration Statement and

            1
              According to the amended complaint, variance swaps allow buyers to "bet on the volatility of an underlying asset,
            security, index, or currency exchange" (see Amended Complaint, 1 116). For each variance swap, the parties determine
            a "strike price" (id, 1 I 18). If volatility "exceeds the strike price, the buyer of the swap ... receives the payment," but
            if volatility "is below the strike price, the seller of the swap ... receives the payment" (id.).
                160830/2022 THE GLENMEDE TRUST COMPANY, N.A. vs. INFINITY Q CAPITAL MANAGEMENT                        Page 3 of 7
                LLC ET AL
                Motion No. 011

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  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 209                                                                       RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/20/2024

            "consented to having been named as the person[] who prepared or certified parts of the December

            2019 [Registration Statement]" (id, ,i,i 272,274). The amended complaint also alleges that both

            Potter and BFLP are liable under section 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 under a control person

            liability theory because they were "control persons of Infinity Q, the Mutual Fund, and/or [the

            Trust] by virtue of their management positions with and/or ownership oflnfinity Q [Mgmt.]" (id,

            i/ 295).
                       During oral argument, Defendants asserted that Potter could not be held liable under

            section 11 because he signed on behalf of non-party Infinity Q Commodity Fund, Ltd., and that

            there were "really no allegations that any statements related to the commodity fund were

            inaccurate" (November 15, 2023 Transcript, pp. 79-80). The court agreed and dismissed the

            section 11 claim against Potter (see id., p. 89 ("I am dismissing any allegations related to Mr. Potter

            signing the registration statement, because he only signed it for the commodity fund"). For the

            following reasons, the court also dismisses the section 15 claims against both Potter and BFLP.

                                                        DISCUSSION

                       On a motion to dismiss pursuant to CPLR 321 l(a)(7), the court must "accept the facts as

            alleged in the complaint as true, accord plaintiffs the benefit of every possible favorable inference,

            and determine only whether the facts as alleged fit within any cognizable legal theory" (Leon v

            Martinez, 84 NY2d 83, 87-88 [1994]; see also Chapman, Spira & Carson, LLC v Helix BioPharma

            Corp., 115 AD3d 526,527 [1st Dept 2014]).

                       While the defendants only seek dismissal pursuant to CPLR 321 l(a)(7) for failure to state

            a cause of action (Opening Memo., NYSCEF Doc. No. 133, p. 1), dismissal may be appropriate

            based on documentary evidence where the documentary evidence "flatly reject[s]" the plaintiff's

            cause of action (see Basis Yield Alpha Fund (Master) v Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., 115 AD3d

             160830/2022 THE GLENMEDE TRUST COMPANY, N.A. vs. INFINITY Q CAPITAL MANAGEMENT         Page 4 of 7
             LLC ET AL
             Motion No. 011

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            128, 134-135 [1st Dept 2014]). When a defendant submits documentary evidence, the standard

            shifts from "whether the plaintiff stated a cause of action to whether it has one" (id at 135 [internal

            citations and quotation marks omitted]; Kaplan v Conway & Conway, 173 AD3d 452, 453 [1st

            Dept 2019] [finding that the motion court "properly considered the emails submitted by defendants

            in dismissing the complaint"]). Therefore, the court will consider the documentary evidence that

            Potter and BFLP have submitted (see Exs. l and 2 to Hershon Aff., NYSCEF Doc. Nos. 135-136).

                   The court dismisses the section 15 claims against both Potter and BFLP. Section 15

            provides that "[e]very person who, by or through stock ownership, agency, or otherwise .

            controls any person liable under sections [11] or [12] of [the Securities Act], shall also be liable

            jointly and severally with and to the same extent as such controlled person to any person to whom

            such controlled person is liable" (15 USCA § 770; Matter of NJO Inc. Securities Litigation, 211

            AD3d 464,466 [1st Dept 2022]; Erie County Employees' Retirement System v NN, Inc., 205 AD3d

            644,646 [1st Dept 2022]). To state a claim for a section 15 violation, a plaintiff must allege "(a) a

            primary violation by a controlled person, and (b) control by the defendant of the primary violator"

            (In re Global Crossing. Ltd. Securities Litig., 2005 WL 1907005, * 11 [SDNY Aug 8, 2005]; Erie

            County Employees' Retirement System, 205 AD3d at 646). In order to allege control, a plaintiff

            must allege the "power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of [the

            primary violators], whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise"

            (City of Omaha Police and Fire Retirement System v Evoqua Water Technologies Corp., 450 F

            Supp 3d 379, 427 [SDNY 2020]).

                   The amended complaint alleges that both Potter and BFLP were "control persons oflnfinity

            Q, the Mutual Fund, and/or TAP by virtue of their management positions with and/or ownership

            of Infinity Q [Mgmt.]" (Amended Complaint, ,r 295). However, neither can be held liable as

             160830/2022 THE GLENMEDE TRUST COMPANY, N.A. vs. INFINITY Q CAPITAL MANAGEMENT         Page 5 of 7
             LLC ET AL
             Motion No. 011

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            control persons of either Infinity Q Mgmt. or the Mutual Fund because there are no remaining

            underlying section 11 or 12(a)(2) claims against either Infinity Q Mgmt. or the Mutual Fund. A

            section 15 claim is "dependent on the existence of an underlying Securities Act claim" (Feinberg

            v Marathon Patent Group Inc., 193 AD3d 568,571 [1st Dept 2021] [finding lower court properly

            dismissed section 15 claim after dismissing underlying section 11 and 12(a)(2) claims]; Matter of

            NIO Inc. Securities Litigation, 211 AD3d 464, 466 [1st Dept 2022] [holding that lower court

            properly dismissed control person liability claims under section 15 because plaintiffs failed to

            allege a primary violation under sections 11 or 12(a)(2)]). The amended complaint never claimed

            an underlying section 11 or 12(a)(2) violation by the Mutual Fund, and the court dismissed any

            section 11 or 12(a)(2) claim against Infinity Q Mgmt. in the decision and order on Infinity Q

            Mgmt. 's motion to dismiss (see February 26, 2024 Decision and Order, NYSCEF Doc. No. 205).

                   Nor does Plaintiff allege sufficiently control person liability over the Trust. Plaintiff has

            waived any argument of control person liability over the Trust by failing to raise it in its opposition

            (see Bosco Credit V Trust Series 2012-1 v Johnson, 177 AD3d 561, 562 [1st Dept 2019] [finding

            that defendants waived an argument by "failing to raise it in their opposition to plaintiffs motion

            for summary judgment, in their reply in further support of their cross motion and opposition to

            plaintiffs motion, or during oral argument on the motions"]; Steffan v Wilensky, 150 AD3d 419,

            420 [1st Dept_2017] [finding that "[b]y his silence in his opposition brief, defendant concedes ...

            that the second, third, and sixth affirmative defenses should be dismissed"]).

                   In any event, the amended complaint fails to support claims against Potter or BFLP of

            control person liability over the Trust. Neither Potter nor BFLP had any alleged role with the Trust.

            Rather, the amended complaint alleges that Potter was the "Chairman oflnfinity O [Mgmt.]" and

            "President and CIO of Wildcat Capital Management" (Amended Complaint, ~ 29 [emphasis

             16083012022 THE GLENMEDE TRUST COMPANY, N.A. vs. INFINITY Q CAPITAL MANAGEMENT         Page 6 of 7
             LLC ET AL
             Motion No. 011

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            added]). The amended complaint alleges that BFLP "has an ownership interest in Infinity Q that

            is greater than 25% and is a control person of Infinity Q" (Amended Complaint, ,i 31 [emphasis

            added]). Further, the December 2019 Registration Statement reflects that other individuals, not

            Potter or BFLP, managed the Trust. Christopher Kashmerick signed on behalf of the Trust as its

            President and Principal Executive Officer, Russell Simon signed as the Treasurer and Principal

            Financial Officer, and John Chrystal, Albert DiUlio, and Harry Resis signed as trustees (December

            2019 Registration Statement, p. 118). Potter, on the contrary, signed on behalf of Infinity Q

            Commodity Fund, Ltd. (id, p. 119). No one signed the December 2019 Registration Statement on

            behalf of BFLP.

                    To the extent the amended complaint alleges that Potter or BFLP controlled the Trust "by

            virtue of their management positions with and/or ownership of Infinity Q," Defendants correctly

            argue that such "tertiary" liability (i.e., holding Party A liable for its control over Party B, which

            in turn controlled the primary wrongdoer, Party C), absent actual control, is not a valid basis of

            control person liability under section 15 (see Tarsavage v Citic Trust Co., Ltd, 3 F Supp 3d 137,

            149-150 [SONY 2014] [rejecting theory of"indirect liability" based on defendant's alleged control

            of individual who allegedly controlled the "primary violator"]).

                    The court has considered the parties' remaining contentions and finds them unavailing.

                    Accordingly, it is

                    ORDERED that the court grants the motion to dismiss (MS 11) of Defendants Leonard

            Potter and Bonderman Family Limited Partnership, LP in its entirety.

                     2o
                  03/.,,2024
                     DATE                                                      MELISSA A. CRANE, J.S.C.

            CHECK ONE:                   ASE DISPOSED                   ON-FINAL DISPOSITION

                                         RANTED         □DENIED        GRANTED IN PART           DTHER
            APPLICATION:                 ETTLEORDER                     UBMIT ORDER
            CHECK IF APPROPRIATE:        NCLUDES TRANSFER/REASSIGN      IDUCIARY APPOINTMENT     □REFERENCE

             160830/2022 THE GLENMEDE TRUST COMPANY, N.A. vs. INFINITY Q CAPITAL MANAGEMENT         Page 7 of 7
             LLC ET AL
             Motion No. 011

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