American Management Services East LLC v. Fort Benning Family Communities LLC

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in enjoining the defendants from pursuing a Virginia declaratory action suit, where eight of the nine Virginia claims either directly overlapped or indirectly impacted the Georgia action.

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Appellees Fort Benning Family Communities, LLC “FBFC” and Fort Belvoir Residential Communities, LLC “BRC” are owners of military housing projects at Fort Benning, Georgia and Fort Belvoir, Virginia. On May 20, 2010, they filed a complaint in Muscogee Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that their property management agreements with appellant American Management Services East LLC “AMSE”, their property manager, automatically terminated for cause because of AMSE’s misconduct. They also alleged breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and unjust enrichment, and sought an accounting. The parent company, American Management Services LLC d/b/a Pinnacle “AMS”, was also named in the action. AMSE and AMS answered and filed a counterclaim alleging, among other things, breach of the management agreement by FBFC and BRC. They also filed a general motion to dismiss the action, and a motion to dismiss the declaratory judgment claim related to termination of the Fort Belvoir management agreement under the doctrine of forum non conveniens , because the facility is located in Virginia.

While the motions were pending, AMS and AMSE, along with Pinnacle Belvoir, LLC and Clark Pinnacle Belvoir, LLC filed suit in the Circuit Court of Fairfax, Virginia against Clark Realty Capital, LLC, Clark Belvoir, LLC, Lawrence C. Nussdorf, Douglas Sandor, and W. Cleveland Johnson seeking a declaratory judgment to enforce certain rights related to the management agreement at the Fort Belvoir facility. They also alleged other claims, including abuse of process, breach of fiduciary agreement, and civil conspiracy. FBFC and BRC thereafter filed a motion in the Muscogee Superior Court to enjoin AMS and AMSE from pursuing the Virginia action, which the trial court granted. The trial court also denied the motion of AMS and AMSE to dismiss the declaratory judgment claim for forum non conveniens . It is from that order that AMS and AMSE appeal.

American Management Services East LLC v. Fort Benning Family Communities LLC

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in enjoining the defendants from pursuing a Virginia declaratory action suit, where eight of the nine Virginia claims either directly overlapped or indirectly impacted the Georgia action.

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