Taylor v. Moskow, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-030-17)
1 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUFFOLK, ss. SUPERIOR COURT CA No. 15-3649-BLS1 JANE E. TAYLOR, Trustee and Beneficiary of the Jane E. Taylor GST Exempt Trust and the Jane E. Taylor Non-Exempt Trust Derivatively on behalf of COOLIDGE PROPERTIES, LLC and STEARNWOOD PROPERTIES, LLC vs. JAMES M. MOSKOW, and others MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND EXPENSES This case is before the court on the defendants’ motion for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses under G.L. c. 231, § 6F and G.L. c. 156C, § 57. It follows the court’s order dismissing the case, under M.R.Civ.P 56, because it was clear, on the undisputed facts, that the case was filed well after the expiration of the three year statute of limitations governing claims for breach of fiduciary duty. The untimeliness of this action is explained in two prior decisions: (1) the summary judgment decision entered on June 10, 2016 and (2) an earlier decision, entered on February 5, 2016, in which the court dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint with leave to replead, if the plaintiff could address the shortcomings in her complaint after adequate investigation and in good faith. As described in greater detail in the two prior decisions, this litigation is, in essence, a dispute between Jane Taylor and her brother James Moskow. The parties’ grandfather acquired two apartment buildings in Brookline which were owned, during the period relevant to this case, 2 by two limited liability companies: Coolidge Properties, LLC and Stearnwood Properties, LLC (the LLCs). Taylor and Moscow came to own interests in these LLCs, over time, both directly and through trusts. Moscow, for some period, was the manager of the LLCs. As expressly permitted by their operating agreements, the LLCs contracted with companies that Moscow owned to provide property management and leasing services. Taylor has, apparently for many years, believed that Moscow’s companies were paid too much for services that they provided to the LLCs; although, the complaints and amended complaints filed in this case never actually allege the basis for Taylor’s belief that payments to Moscow’s companies were not at market rates. As noted in the prior decisions, this case represents the fourth time that Taylor has sued Moscow over these payments. The prior three cases were filed in Federal Court. All were dismissed because Taylor was suing individually for claims that could only be asserted derivatively on behalf of the LLCs. When the Federal Court litigation was unsuccessful, she filed this case on July 6, 2015; in it she purports to assert her claims derivatively on behalf of the LLCs. The defendants moved to dismiss on a variety of grounds. Oral argument on that motion was convened on February 3, […]