In re Eaton Vance Mut. Funds Fee Litigation, 04 Civ. 1144(JGK).

• Decision Date: 06 December 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04 Civ. 1144(JGK).,04 Civ. 1144(JGK).
• Citation: 403 F.Supp.2d 310
• Parties: In re EATON VANCE MUTUAL FUNDS FEE LITIGATION. This document relates to: All Actions.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

403 F.Supp.2d 310

In re EATON VANCE MUTUAL FUNDS FEE LITIGATION.

This document relates to: All Actions.

No. 04 Civ. 1144(JGK).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

December 6, 2005.

Michael Robert Reese, Janine Lee Pollack, Kim Elaine Levy, Peter Edward Seidman, Steven G. Schulman, Milberg, Weiss, Bershad & Schulman LLP, Jules Brody, Stull, Stull & Brody, New York, NY, for Plaintiffs.

Loren Schechter, Duane Morris, LLP, Charles Lee Eisen, Jeffrey B. Maletta, Nicholas G. Terris, Christopher E. Dominguez, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP, Washington, DC, Daniel J. Doron, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP, New York, NY, Adam B. Gilbert, Marc L. Fried, Adam Brenner Gilbert, Nixon Peabody LLP, New York, NY, George J. Skelly, Nixon Peabody LLP, Boston, MA, Adam Benjamin Michaels, Goodwin Procter, LLP, New York, NY, Stuart M. Glass, Goodwin Procter, LLP, Sanford F. Remz, Yurko & Salvesen, P.C., Boston, MA, Adam Selim Hakki, Shearman & Sterling LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants.

OPINION & ORDER

KOELTL, District Judge.

The plaintiffs have moved to alter or amend the judgment dismissing this action and for reconsideration of this Court's August 1, 2005 Opinion and Order granting the defendants' motion to dismiss each of the ten counts alleged in the Second Amended Complaint and denying the plaintiffs leave to amend. See In re Eaton Vance Mutual Funds Fee Litig., 380 F.Supp.2d 222 (S.D.N.Y.2005). The plaintiffs also move for leave to file a third amended complaint.

I.

The Second Amended Complaint ("SAC"), filed on August 26, 2004 on behalf of a purported class of persons or entities who held shares in Eaton Vance Funds between January 30, 1999 and November 17, 2003, alleged ten counts against Eaton Vance and its subsidiaries, certain Investment Adviser Defendants, Eaton Vance Distributors, and Trustee Defendants, as well as the Eaton Vance Funds as nominal defendants. Id. at 224. One of the claims was asserted derivatively on behalf of the Eaton Vance Funds. These claims stem from allegations that the defendants used improper means to acquire "shelf-space" for Eaton Vance mutual funds at brokerage firms.

Count One of the SAC alleged that the Investment Adviser Defendants and Trustee Defendants violated § 34(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("ICA"), 15 U.S.C. § 80a-33(b), by making misrepresentations and omissions of material facts in registration statements and reports required by the ICA. Counts Two and Three alleged that the Investment Adviser Defendants and Trustee Defendants breached their fiduciary duties to the class in violation, respectively, of §§ 36(a) and 36(b) of the ICA, 15 U.S.C. §§ 80a-35(a) and (b). Count Four alleged that certain defendants also violated § 48(a) of the ICA, 15 U.S.C. § 80a-47(a), by causing the Investment Adviser Defendants to violate §§ 34(b) and 36(a) and (b) of the ICA as set forth in Counts One, Two, and Three. Count Five alleged a derivative claim brought on behalf of the Eaton Vance Funds against the Investment Adviser Defendants under § 215 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C. § 80b-6. Count Six alleged a violation by all defendants of the N.Y. Gen. Bus. L. § 349. Counts Seven, Eight, and Nine alleged breaches of fiduciary duties under common law, while Count Ten alleged unjust enrichment under common law. Id. at 228-30.

The Court previously held that Counts One, Two, and Four were barred because there is no private right of action under §§ 34(b), 36(a), or 48(a), respectively. Id. at 233. The Court also dismissed Counts Two, Four, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten on the grounds that they should have been brought as derivative actions. Id. at 236. Count Three was dismissed because, as pleaded, it failed to allege a violation of § 36(b), and the Investment Adviser Defendants and Trustee Defendants were dismissed on the additional ground that they were not the recipients of the disputed fees. Id. at 238. The Court dismissed Count Five for failure to make the demand required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 23.1, and dismissed Count Six because N.Y. Gen. Bus. L. § 349 does not apply to securities transactions. Id. at 240. The Court also dismissed Counts Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten because they are preempted by the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act ("SLUSA"). Id. at 242. The Court also noted that it would not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims after the federal claims were dismissed. Id. Finally, the Court denied leave to amend. Id. The Clerk thereafter entered judgment dismissing the SAC.

The plaintiffs have now moved to alter or amend the judgment pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 59(e) and for reconsideration pursuant to Local Civil Rule 6.3.¹ They have also moved to file a third amended complaint.

II.

The plaintiff presents this motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e) and Local Civil Rule 6.3, which are governed by the same standard. See Watson v. United States, No. 04 Civ. 2222, 2005 WL 2560375, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 12, 2005); see also Nakano v. Jamie Sadock, Inc., 98 Civ. 0515, 2000 WL 1010825, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. July 20, 2000) (collecting cases). This well-established standard is the same as that governing former Local Civil Rule 3(j). See United States v. Letsclier, 83 F.Supp.2d 367, 382 (S.D.N.Y.1999) (collecting cases). The moving party is required to demonstrate that the Court overlooked the controlling decisions or factual matters that were put before the Court in the underlying motion and which, had they been considered, might have reasonably altered the result reached by the Court. Nakano, 2000 WL 1010825, at *1. The decision to grant or deny a motion for reconsideration "rests within the sound discretion of the district court." Id. The rule is "narrowly construed and strictly applied so as to avoid repetitive arguments on issues that have been considered fully by the court." Walsh v. McGee, 918 F.Supp. 107, 110 (S.D.N.Y.1996) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted); see also Nakano, 2000 WL 1010825, at *1.

III.

The Court previously held that Counts One, Two, and Four were barred because there are no private rights of action under §§ 34(b), 36(a), or 48(a) of the ICA, respectively, in light of the decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Olmsted v. Pruco Life Insurance Co. of New Jersey, 283 F.3d 429 (2d Cir.2002). The plaintiffs argue that Olmsted and subsequent cases that relied on Olmsted are called into question by Jackson v. Birmingham Bd. of Educ., 544 U.S. 167, 125 S.Ct. 1497, 161 L.Ed.2d 361 (2005). They argue that Jackson and the legislative history for § 36(a) support a finding that §§ 34(b), 36(a), and 48(a) have implied private rights of action.

Jackson was considered at argument, and was not discussed in the Court's previous opinion because it is inapplicable. Olmsted relied on the Supreme Court's analysis in Alexander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275, 121 S.Ct. 1511, 149 L.Ed.2d 517 (2001), to determine whether Congress intended to create private rights of action. Olmsted found that Congress did not intend to create private rights of action under §§ 26(f) and 27(i) of the ICA. Jackson did not alter the Supreme Court's emphasis on statutory text in determining whether Congress intended to create a private right of action and did not question the analytical framework adopted in Sandoval. Having previously found an implied right of action under Title IX more than twenty-five years ago, the Supreme Court in Jackson stated: "In step with Sandoval, we hold that Title IX's private right of action encompasses suits for retaliation, because retaliation falls within the statute's prohibition of intentional discrimination on the basis of sex." Jackson, 125 S.Ct. at 1507. The Supreme Court noted that it reached this result "based on the statute's text." Id.

Jackson does not alter this Court's analysis under Olmsted and Sandoval, and thus there is no basis for reconsidering this Court's prior holding. Indeed, the Court's prior holding has been cited by several other courts also finding that there are no private rights of action under §§ 34(b), 36(a), or 48(a). See Stegall v. Ladmer, 394 F.Supp.2d 358, 368-69 (D. Mass.2005); Hamilton v. Allen, 396 F.Supp.2d 545, 554-55 (E.D.Pa.2005); Yameen v. Eaton Vance Distributors, Inc., 394 F.Supp.2d 350, 352 n. 1 (D.Mass.2005); In re Davis Selected Mutual Funds Litig., No. 04 Civ. 4186, 2005 WL 2509732, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Oct.11, 2005); In re Franklin Mutual Funds Fee Litig., 388 F.Supp.2d 451, 466 (D.N.J.2005); In re Mutual Funds Inv. Litig., 384 F.Supp.2d 845, 869-70 (D.Md.2005).

IV.

The Court previously dismissed Count Three, which alleged a claim under § 36(b) of the ICA against Eaton Vance Distributors, the Investment Adviser Defendants, and the Trustee Defendants. The Court found that Count Three alleged improper payments that were outside the scope of § 36(b), rather than excessive fees, and thus should be dismissed. The Court also found that Count Three must be dismissed against the Investment Adviser Defendants and the Trustee Defendants because they were not the alleged direct recipients of the disputed payments. Eaton Vance, 380 F.Supp.2d at 237-238.

A.

The plaintiffs argue that they sufficiently alleged excessive fees under the notice pleading standard of Fed.R.Civ.P. 8. They argue that they do not need to allege any "evidentiary details" supporting a § 36(b) claim, and that all that is required is a short and plain statement alleging that the fees are excessive. While § 36(b) is governed by Rule 8 notice pleading, the plaintiffs must provide "fair notice of what the plaintiff's claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 125 S.Ct. 1627, 1634, 161 L.Ed.2d 577 (2005). The Supreme Court's recent opinion in Dura noted, after finding that loss causation and economic loss are required elements of a private securities fraud action, that the complaint must allege the economic loss...