NTV Management, Inc. v. Lightship Global Ventures, LLC, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-080-17)
1 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUFFOLK, ss SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL ACTION NO. 2016-0327-BLS1 NTV MANAGEMENT, INC. vs. LIGHTSHIP GLOBAL VENTURES, LLC and KENT PLUNKETT MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT DISMISSING THE COMPLAINT AND PLAINTIFF’S CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON COUNT I OF ITS COMPLAINT This case arises out of a Consulting and Advisory Services Agreement (the Agreement) between the plaintiff, NTV Management, Inc. (NTV) and the defendant Lightship Global Ventures, LLC (Lightship). The defendant, Kent Plunkett, founded a company, Salary.Com, Inc., which, following a series of acquisitions, became a division of IBM. Plunkett and a colleague formed Lightship for the purpose of reacquiring Salary.Com from IBM. The Agreement, while containing some one-off terms, was in effect a non-exclusive brokerage agreement pursuant to which NTV would be due a commission if it found financing for the acquisition and a lesser fixed sum for introducing “at least ten qualified sources of capital.” Lightship did acquire Salary.com, but not with equity or debt partners introduced to the deal by NTV. NTV, nonetheless, alleges that it is due fees under the Agreement and damages for a variety of other wrongful conduct on the part of the defendants. It has pled its complaint in seven counts: breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, promissory estoppel, unjust enrichment, deceit, a violation of Chapter 93A, violations of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, and a count to reach and apply stock or assets of Salary.com (although curiously it has not 2 named Salary.com, or the entity that presently owns it, as a defendant). Apparently, concerned about matching NTV’s imaginative pleading measure for measure, the defendants have asserted five counterclaims against NTV: breach of a duty of confidentiality, breach of contract, defamation, misrepresentation, and tortious interference with contractual or business relations. These counterclaims are not the subject of a motion now before the court. The case is before the court on the defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing all the claims asserted against them, and NTV’s cross-motion for summary judgment on part of its breach of contract claim. For the reasons that follow, the defendants’ motion is Allowed, in part, and Denied, in part, and NTV’s motion is Denied. FACTS Based on the summary judgment record, the following facts are undisputed or viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Salary.com was founded by Plunkett in 1999. It became a public company in 2007, and then was acquired by a firm called Kenexa, Inc. in 2010. In 2012, Kenexa was acquired by IBM, after which Salary.com was operated as a division of that company or an IBM affiliate. In 2014, IBM informed Plunkett that it was […]