PARTNER & PARTNER II INC V AYAR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PARTNER & PARTNER II, INC. and ALI
BAZZY,
UNPUBLISHED
August 16, 2011
Plaintiffs/Cross-DefendantsAppellants,
v
AYAR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, L.L.C.,
LAKEVIEW OIL, INC., and FAIZ AYAR,
No. 298693
Wayne Circuit Court
LC No. 07-723188-CK
Defendants/Cross-Plaintiffs/ThirdParty-Plaintiffs-Appellees,
and
MARATHON OF PLYMOUTH, INC. and
NASHWA T KATTOUAH,[1]
Third-Party-Defendants-Appellees.
Before: MARKEY, P.J., and SAAD and GLEICHER, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Ali Bazzy is the sole shareholder of Partner & Partner II, Inc. (P&P), which he started for
the lone purpose of purchasing a gas station from defendants.2 Following the sale, a third party
(Petrol, Inc.) filed suit against the current plaintiffs, defendants and third-party defendants for
nonpayment of a “finder’s fee.” Defendants rejected plaintiffs’ requests to defend and indemnify
them in the “finder’s fee” suit, and plaintiffs filed the current action for indemnity under
1
The claim of appeal designates the appellees as “Ayar Property Management, L.L.C. et al,”
which presumably includes the third-party defendants. However, none of the issues raised on
appeal relate to the third-party defendants.
2
The trial court dismissed plaintiffs’ claims against Faiz Ayar in his individual capacity and
plaintiffs do not appeal that ruling. Accordingly, we will refer only to the two corporate
defendants in this opinion.
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common law, implied contract, and express contract theories. The circuit court summarily
dismissed plaintiffs’ indemnification claims. P&P was entitled to indemnification under an
express provision of the purchase agreement, which was incorporated by reference into its final
contract with defendants for the sale of the property. Accordingly, we vacate the circuit court’s
ruling to the contrary, but affirm the remainder of the circuit court’s summary disposition
decision.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
This case involves the sale of a gas station, which was owned by defendant Ayar Property
Management (APM), and was situated on land owned by defendant Lakeview Oil, Inc.
(Lakeview). Faiz Ayar is the sole shareholder of both APM and Lakeview. At some point in
time, defendants entered into a land contract to sell the land and gas station to Marathon Oil.
Marathon, in turn, leased the station to Petrol. Petrol could not maintain a profitable business
and abandoned operations at the gas station. As a result, Petrol defaulted on its lease and
Marathon defaulted on the land contract.
Bazzy subsequently contacted Petrol to inquire about purchasing the gas station. An
agent for Petrol introduced Bazzy to Ayar. In November 2004, Bazzy formed P&P, which
entered into a month-by-month lease agreement with defendants pending a sale. P&P also
entered into a purchase agreement with defendants, under which the parties were required to
close the sale by January 31, 2005, or the purchase agreement would become null and void.
On January 4, 2005, defendants entered into a separate agreement with Petrol to
acknowledge Petrol’s default under the lease and to reclaim their property interests. Defendants
contractually agreed to share the proceeds of the pending sale with Petrol (the “finder’s fee”
agreement) as long as the sale was closed by July 1, 2005. If the property sold for $950,000 or
more, defendants would transfer $100,000 to Petrol. If the sale was less than $950,000, Petrol
would be entitled to the balance of any leftover proceeds.
January 31, 2005 passed without P&P closing the sale with defendants, and the purchase
agreement was cancelled by its own terms. P&P retained possession of the gas station and paid
rent on a monthly basis while the parties continued to negotiate the sale. On June 9, 2005,
defendants finally closed the sale. P&P paid $950,000 for the property, but defendants returned
a credit of $83,000 to reflect the cost borne by P&P to conduct extensive repairs. Defendants
issued a “Bill of Sale” to P&P stating, “The seller warrants and conveys to the buyer and the
buyer’s successors and assigns all the seller’s rights, title, and interests in the following
property.” Following this statement and before the description of the real property in question,
defendants inserted the handwritten comment “per purchase agreement.” Defendants also issued
a warranty deed for the property in P&P’s favor.
Because of the credits given to P&P in the sale, there were no remaining proceeds to
distribute to Petrol as its finder’s fee. In January 2006, Petrol filed suit against APM, Lakeview,
P&P, Marathon, and the corporations’ managing partners, alleging that they engaged in secret
negotiations to lower the price of the property and wrongfully deny Petrol’s finder’s fee. Bazzy,
as an individual, and P&P requested that defendants defend and indemnify them in that suit, but
defendants refused. In March 2008, following a jury trial, the court entered judgments of $4,466
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plus interest and costs against APM, Lakeview and P&P on the theory of unjust enrichment,
dismissed the claims against Ayar as an individual, and entered a judgment of no cause of action
in favor of Bazzy as an individual.
While Petrol’s lawsuit was still pending, the current plaintiffs filed this action against the
current defendants seeking indemnification. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants breached their
express contractual duty under the purchase agreement to defend and indemnify them in any suit
related to the purchase of the property. Plaintiffs further argued that the duty to defend and
indemnify was implied in a warranty deed. Plaintiffs sought common law indemnity as well
because they were not parties to Petrol’s finder’s fee arrangement and, therefore, Petrol’s
financial injury was caused only by the current defendants.3
Defendants later filed a motion for partial summary disposition of plaintiffs’ claims.
Defendants argued that Bazzy lacked standing as an individual because his claims were merely
derivative of P&P’s claims. Defendants contended that P&P’s contractual indemnity claim
failed because the purchase agreement was cancelled effective January 31, 2005. Defendants
further contended that P&P was precluded from seeking indemnification under an implied
contract or the common law because a jury had found P&P liable to Petrol.
Bazzy responded that he had standing to pursue indemnification because Petrol named
him as an individual defendant and he was entitled to indemnity for the cost of his defense
because the jury deemed him free from fault. P&P continued to argue that it was held
accountable for defendants’ actions against Petrol and, therefore, defendants were required to
indemnify P&P under equitable principles. P&P also continued to rely on the purchase
agreement, bill of sale, and warranty deed as sources of express and implied contractual promises
to defend and indemnify.
The circuit court ultimately granted defendants’ motion for partial summary disposition.4
In doing so, the court made two errors. First, the court inaccurately stated that the current
plaintiffs and defendants were all found liable to Petrol in the earlier lawsuit without
distinguishing that Ayar and Bazzy were relieved from liability in their individual capacities.
Second, the court indicated that the parties provided the November 2004 purchase agreement for
the court’s review. In fact, the parties provided all relevant contracts except the November 2004
purchase and lease agreements.
The court ruled that Bazzy’s claims actually belonged to the corporation and that Bazzy,
as an individual shareholder, lacked standing to raise an individual indemnification claim
pursuant to the Business Corporation Act (BCA). MCL 450.1101 et seq. The circuit court
dismissed P&P’s common law and implied contract indemnification claims because its active
3
Defendants also filed a cross-complaint against plaintiffs and a third-party complaint against
Marathon and its managing agent. Those claims are not at issue in this appeal.
4
The circuit court later resolved the remainder of plaintiffs’ claims against defendants, but that
order is not at issue in this appeal.
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fault against Petrol precluded such relief. The court dismissed P&P’s express contract claim
because it was based on the cancelled November 2004 purchase agreement.
II. LEGAL ANALYSIS
We review a trial court’s decision on a motion for summary disposition de novo.
Coblentz v Novi, 475 Mich 558, 567; 719 NW2d 73 (2006).
A motion under MCR 2.116(C)(10) tests the factual sufficiency of the
complaint. In evaluating a motion for summary disposition brought under this
subsection, a trial court considers affidavits, pleadings, depositions, admissions,
and other evidence submitted by the parties in the light most favorable to the party
opposing the motion. Where the proffered evidence fails to establish a genuine
issue regarding any material fact, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a
matter of law. [Maiden v Rozwood, 461 Mich 109, 120; 597 NW2d 817 (1999)
(internal citations omitted).]
We also review de novo the underlying issues of statutory and contract interpretation and matters
of equity. Burkhardt v Bailey, 260 Mich App 636, 646; 680 NW2d 453 (2004).
“Indemnity relates to the obligation of one person or entity to make good a loss another
has incurred while acting for its benefit or at its request.” Langley v Harris Corp, 413 Mich 592,
596; 321 NW2d 662 (1982). The right to indemnity may arise from three possible sources:
common law, an implied contract, or an express contract. Id. at 596-597; Williams v Litton
Systems, Inc, 164 Mich App 195, 198; 416 NW2d 704 (1987), aff’d Williams v Litton Systems,
Inc, 433 Mich 755, 758; 449 NW2d 669 (1989) (Williams II).
A. INDEMNIFICATION TO P&P UNDER EXPRESS CONTRACT
The corporate plaintiff, P&P, asserts that it is entitled to indemnification under the
purchase agreement as incorporated into the bill of sale. We agree. It is well established that the
parties to a contract may incorporate by reference an extraneous writing to provide additional
contract terms. Norman Forge & NMF, Inc v Smith, 458 Mich 198, 207; 580 NW2d 876 (1998),
citing Whittlesey v Herbrand Co, 217 Mich 625, 628; 187 NW 279 (1922). Under such
circumstances, the two documents must be read together as one contract, regardless of whether
the parties physically attach the extraneous writing. Norman Forge, 458 Mich at 207, citing
Whittlesey, 217 Mich at 628, and United California Bank v Prudential Ins Co, 140 Ariz 238,
258; 681 P2d 390 (1983).
In this case, the bill of sale expressly provided that defendants were “conveying and
assigning” their property rights to P&P “per the purchase agreement.” While the purchase
agreement became null and void on January 31, 2005, defendants drafted the new contract of
sale between the parties, and revived the purchase agreement by incorporation. Accordingly, the
purchase agreement became part of the bill of sale and the two documents must be read together
as one contract.
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While neither party entered the purchase agreement into evidence in the trial court, both
parties quoted the relevant provisions in their various pleadings. The purchase agreement
included an express indemnification provision:
Mutual Indemnification. Each of the parties will hold and indemnify each other
harmless against all losses, damages, costs, and expenses, including reasonable
attorney’s fees, resulting from any breach of any warranty, representation, or
covenant contained in this Agreement.
P&P requests indemnification “resulting from” defendants’ breach of its “warranty,
representation, or covenant” that P&P was “not assuming and shall not assume any liabilities of
the sellers of any kind . . . .” P&P characterizes the “finder’s fee” agreement between defendants
and Petrol as such a “liability.”
“Freedom from active fault is not a prerequisite to maintaining an action for express
contractual indemnity.” Williams II, 433 Mich at 758. It is therefore irrelevant that the jury
found P&P liable to Petrol in the finder’s fee lawsuit. Defendants contractually agreed to defend
and indemnify P&P if they breached their promise that P&P would not be responsible for “any
liabilities of [defendants] of any kind.” Defendants’ contractual duty to pay Petrol a finder’s fee
is a liability against defendant. Accordingly, the trial court erred in dismissing P&P’s claim for
indemnification based on an express contract.
B. OTHER GROUNDS FOR INDEMNIFICATION TO P&P
Unlike express contractual indemnity, a party is only entitled to common law or implied
contractual indemnification when it is free from active negligence or fault. Farmer v
Christensen, 229 Mich App 417, 426; 581 NW2d 807 (1998); Skinner v D-M-E Corp, 124 Mich
App 580, 585-586; 335 NW2d 90 (1983). “Common law indemnification” is “the equitable right
to restitution of a party held liable for another’s wrongdoing.” Hamilton v Telford, 219 Mich
App 225, 229; 556 NW2d 180 (1996). Even though P&P was not a party to the “finder’s fee”
agreement between Petrol and defendants, the jury in the earlier lawsuit could have found that
P&P knew about the agreement or joined in defendants’ bad faith attempt to avoid payment of
Petrol’s fee. Accordingly, it is not axiomatic that P&P was free from fault in relation to Petrol.
As such, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal of P&P’s claim for common law indemnification.
P&P also claims a right to indemnification on an implied contract theory based on the
covenants made in the warranty deed. Even if an implied contract for indemnification could be
discerned from the warranty deed, P&P would not be entitled to indemnification due to its fault
in causing Petrol’s financial injury. Farmer, 229 Mich App at 425; Skinner, 124 Mich App at
585. We therefore affirm the trial court’s dismissal of P&P’s claim for implied contract
indemnification.
C. EXPRESS AND IMPLIED CONTRACT INDEMNIFICATION
CLAIMS OF INDIVIDUAL PLAINTIFF BAZZY
Petrol hailed Bazzy, as an individual, into court along with P&P. Bazzy was thereby
forced to fund his personal defense against Petrol’s action. Bazzy, as an individual, seeks
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indemnification from defendants for the cost of this defense. We reject Bazzy’s claim to express
or implied contractual indemnity pursuant to the purchase agreement, bill of sale, and warranty
deed. P&P was a party to these documents, not Bazzy. And, Bazzy has not cited sufficient
reason to avoid the corporate structure and make him a party to the corporations’ contracts.
A corporation is its own “person” under the law; a distinct and separate entity from its
owners, even where the corporation is held by a single shareholder. Jones v Martz & Meek
Constr Co, Inc, 362 Mich 451, 455; 107 NW2d 802 (1961); Bourne v Muskegon Circuit Judge,
327 Mich 175, 191; 41 NW2d 515 (1950); Foodland Distributors v Al-Naimi, 220 Mich App
453, 456; 559 NW2d 379 (1996). However, “[c]omplete identity of interest between the sole
shareholder and corporation may lead courts to treat them as one for certain purposes.” Kline v
Kline, 104 Mich App 700, 702; 305 NW2d 297 (1981). Usually, a court will treat the
corporation and shareholder as one person to protect the interests of the corporation’s debtors, or
other third parties, by allowing them to “pierce the corporate veil.” When a plaintiff pierces the
defendant’s corporate veil, it may reach the pockets of shareholders who have abused the
protection of the corporate form to avoid legal obligations or to engage in other wrongful or
fraudulent actions. Wells v Firestone Tire & Rubber Co, 421 Mich 641, 650-651; 364 NW2d
670 (1984); Foodland Distributors, 220 Mich App at 456-457. On a rare occasion, the court
may employ “reverse piercing” and treat two separate corporate entities, or a corporation and its
shareholder, as a single unit. “[I]t may be appropriate to invoke the doctrine [of reverse piercing]
for the benefit of the shareholder where the equities are compelling.” Wells, 421 Mich at 650651; see also Clark v United Technologies Automotive, Inc, 459 Mich 681, 685 n 3; 594 NW2d
447 (1999).
Our Supreme Court has found “compelling equities” to invoke “reverse piercing” where
an employee of a wholly owned subsidiary tried to circumvent the exclusive remedy provision of
the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act by seeking tort damages from the parent company in
addition to his WDCA benefits from the subsidiary. The Court allowed the corporations to avoid
the “general principle” that they were separate entities to defend against the employee’s tort
claim because “of the important public policies underlying the” exclusive remedy provision of
the WDCA. Wells, 421 Mich at 650-651.
The Supreme Court also allowed the use of “reverse piercing” in Montgomery v Central
Nat’l Bank & Trust Co of Battle Creek, 267 Mich 142; 255 NW 274 (1934). Montgomery was
the sole shareholder of the Post Tavern Co., which owned and managed the Post Tavern.
Montgomery, as an individual, owned vacant land directly across the street from the tavern. Id.
at 143. Montgomery sold her vacant lot to the defendant bank subject to a deed restriction
proscribing the establishment of any business that served food, so as not to compete with the
Post Tavern. Id. at 144. The bank tried to avoid the deed restriction on the ground that it was
made for the benefit of the Post Tavern, which was a stranger to the deed from Montgomery. Id.
at 146. The Supreme Court “reverse pierced” the corporate veil and treated Montgomery and the
Post Tavern Co. as one entity under the deed and restrictive covenant because the bank was fully
aware of this relationship at the time of contracting. Id. at 147. Therefore, treating Montgomery
and her corporation as one entity furthered “the ends of justice.” Id. at 147-148.
Unlike in Wells and Montgomery, there are no “compelling equities” to employ “reverse
piercing” in this case. Bazzy, like many business people, created P&P to protect his personal
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resources from anyone pursuing payment against his business. If defendants sought to pierce the
corporate veil and seek recompense against Bazzy individually, they would be denied because
there is no evidence that Bazzy used P&P for any fraudulent or wrongful reason. See Klager v
Robert Meyer Co, 415 Mich 402, 411 and n 5; 329 NW2d 721 (1982); Cinderella Theater Co,
Inc v United Detroit Theaters Corp, 367 Mich 424, 440; 116 NW2d 825 (1962); Gledhill v
Fisher & Co, 272 Mich 353, 358-360; 262 NW 371 (1935). See also MCL 450.1317(4) (“[A]
shareholder . . . is not personally liable for the acts or debts of the corporation except . . . by
reason of his or her own acts or conduct.”). Bazzy cannot have it both ways; he wants to claim
that he cannot be held liable for any wrongdoing because he is an individual separate from the
P&P corporation, but he wants defendants to treat him as one with P&P so he can seek
indemnification under P&P’s contracts. Bazzy cannot “pick and choose” in this manner. He
was not a party to the contracts and deed related to the purchase of the gas station and, therefore,
he may not pursue indemnification pursuant to those documents.
D. COMMON LAW INDEMNIFICATION CLAIM OF BAZZY AS AN INDIVIDUAL
Bazzy also raises a claim for common law indemnification as an individual. Common
law indemnification is available when a party has been “held liable for another’s wrongdoing,”
but was personally free from active negligence or fault. Farmer, 229 Mich App at 426;
Hamilton, 219 Mich App at 229; Skinner, 124 Mich App at 585-586. Bazzy’s claim must fail,
however, because he was not held liable for another’s wrongdoing. The jury in Petrol’s finder’s
fee lawsuit actually adjudged Bazzy to be free from liability. Therefore, Bazzy faced no liability
for which defendants could indemnify.
Moreover, the common law duty to indemnify does not encompass a separate duty to
defend. Absent a finding of liability, there can be no claim for indemnification or for the
attendant costs of defense. 18 Michigan Law & Practice (2d ed), § 4, p 373, citing American
Fidelity & Casualty Co v Priebe, 157 F Supp 904, 910 n 1 (WD Mich, 1956); see also Hayes v
General Motors Corp, 106 Mich App 188, 201-202; 308 NW2d 452 (reasoning that the
plaintiff’s indemnification was based on an express contract that included a defend and
indemnify provision, and was not based on common law indemnity). Accordingly, the trial court
properly dismissed Bazzy’s claims for indemnification as an individual.
We vacate the trial court’s judgment to the extent it dismissed the corporate plaintiff,
P&P’s, claim for indemnification under an express contract. In all other respects, we affirm the
trial court’s judgment. We remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this
opinion and do not retain jurisdiction.
/s/ Jane E. Markey
/s/ Henry William Saad
/s/ Elizabeth L. Gleicher
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