Burtch v. Masiz (In re Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
Burtch v. Masiz (In re Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
Opinion of the Court
Chapter 11
OPINION
INTRODUCTION
Before the Court is a second motion for partial summary judgment filed by Plaintiff, a litigation trustee appointed under Debtor’s confirmed plan of reorganization, against a former officer and director of Debtor. Plaintiff seeks to recover payments made by Debtor to Defendant in the weeks prior to Debtor’s bankruptcy from the proceeds of a settlement payable to the Debtor.
Plaintiffs motion will be granted.
JURISDICTION
This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1408 and 1409. This is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2) and this Court has the judicial power to enter a final order.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
I. Procedural History
On March 11, 2010 (the “Petition Date”), Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Debtor” or “Vaso”) commenced its reorganization by filing a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code. An adversary action against Iroquois Master Fund, Ltd., Vaso’s secured lender, was filed and thereafter settled with approval by this Court (the “Iroquois Settlement Order”).
Joseph Frattaroli and John Masiz hereby represent and warrant that they have not and will not in the future fraudulently transfer any of their assets, including without limitation the cash payments they received from the Debtor in December 2009 from the Settlement Funds, outside the reach of creditors.5
On October 2, 2010, Vaso filed its Second Amended Chapter 11 Plan of Reorga-nization
Thereafter, on May 20, 2011, the Trustee commenced this present adversary proceeding (via the Complaint) against John J. Masiz (“Masiz”) and Joseph F. Frattaroli (“Frattaroli,” and together with Masiz, the “Defendants”) seeking, among other things, avoidance of preferential transfers, avoidance of fraudulent transfers (under multiple federal and state theories), disallowance of claims, and unjust enrichment.
Based on the Opinion, the Court entered summary judgment (the “Judgment”) on December 19, 2012, in favor of the Trustee against John J. Masiz only, as to the following:
a) Denying the applicability of the earmarking defense;
b) ... [Masiz] received Five Hundred Ninety Eight Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($598,000.00) directly from the Robinson & Cole settlement, and subsequent payments from Vaso of One Hundred Seventy Eight Thousand Three Hundred Sixty Three and 00/100 Dollars ($178,363.00) (the “Transfers”);
c) Masiz concealed the nature and existence of the Transfers from Debtor’s creditors at the time the Transfers were made;
d) As of the date of the Transfers and the Petition Date of Debtor, substantially all of Debtor’s assets were transferred to Masiz and Frattaroli;
e) Masiz concealed assets by not disclosing to Iroquois or Debtor’s other creditors ... the terms and amount of the [settlement] proceeds ... payments [made] under the Kell[e]y Drye Settlement Agreement; and ... the basis for and the amount of the payments of Debtor’s assets to Frattaroli and Masiz;
f) The Debtor was insolvent at the time of the Transfers and Masiz knew at the time of the Transfers that Debtor was insolvent;
g) Masiz paid himself ahead of Debtor’s other creditors with intent to hinder, delay [or] defraud those creditors;
h) Masiz lacked good faith in connection with the Transfers of part of the Robinson & Cole settlement to himself;
j) At the time of the transfer to Debtor, Masiz knew that the Debtor had insufficient capital and had intent to incur debt beyond the Debtor’s ability to pay.14
Masiz promptly filed a Notice of Appeal of the Judgment to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware on January 2, 2013.
Separately, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint due to lack of standing on November 6, 2012.
On January 3, 2013, the Trustee filed Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Section 547 Against John J. Masiz.
Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc. commercialized over-the-counter pharmaceutical products developed by BioChemics, Inc., a company founded and majority-owned and controlled by Masiz. Bio-Chemics, Inc., in turn, controls 77 percent of the voting interest in Vaso, which was founded by Masiz in 2001. In 2003, Vaso engaged Robinson & Cole LLP to represent it in connection with an initial public offering (“IPO”) of its stock, which was completed in 2003. Thereafter, Vaso and Masiz were involved in 16 securities class action lawsuits and a SEC lawsuit related to the IPO, allegedly caused by Robinson & Cole LLP’s negligent legal advice made in connection with the IPO. Vaso settled these lawsuits and, as a part of a settlement with the SEC, Masiz agreed to refrain from serving as an officer or director of a public company, including Vaso, for five years. Nonetheless, Masiz remained at Vaso as a “corporate strategist,” at the same salary he had been receiving as an officer of Vaso. Although Masiz could no longer sign documents and bind Vaso, Ma-siz remained active and handled business dealings, including dealing with creditors.
Due to Vaso’s financial difficulty, Masiz agreed to work at Vaso without compensation beginning April 2006.
In determining the market value of the services rendered by Defendants, Fratta-roli engaged the expertise of outside consultants (principals at placement firms in the Boston area) who advised that Fratta-roli should expect to make $175,000 per year at Vaso, with an additional yearly bonus of $50,000.
In November 2006, Vaso brought a legal malpractice action against Robinson & Cole LLP in the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Out of the $1,905,000 in settlement proceeds received on December 29, 2009,
The total amount of the first and second payments made to Masiz from Vaso’s settlement proceeds is $776,363.00. It is these two payments the Trustee is attempting to recover as preferences.
LEGAL DISCUSSION
I. Legal Standard: Summary Judgment
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), made applicable to these proceedings pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7056, provides that summary judgment should be granted if the movant shows that “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law,”
In deciding a motion for summary judgment, all factual inferences must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmov-ing party.
In order to demonstrate the existence of a genuine issue of material fact in a jury trial, the nonmovant must supply sufficient evidence (not mere allegations) for a reasonable jury to find for the nonmovant.
II. Avoidance of Preferential Transfers under Section 547 (Count I of the Complaint)
Under 11 U.S.C. § 547(b), Congress “broadly authorized bankruptcy trustees to ‘avoid any transfer of an interest of the debtor in property’ if five conditions are satisfied and unless one of seven exceptions defined in subsection (c) is applicable.”
(1) to or for the benefit of a creditor;
(2) for or on account of an antecedent debt owed by the debtor before such transfer was made;
(3) made while the debtor was insolvent;
(4) made—
(A) on or within 90 days before the date of the filing of the petition; or
(B) between ninety days and one year before the date of the filing of the petition, if such creditor at the time of such transfer was an insider; and
(5)that enables such creditor to receive more than such creditor would receive if—
(A) the case were a case under chapter 7 of this title;
(B) the transfer had not been made; and
(C) such creditor received payment of such debt to the extent provided by the provisions of this title.
Unless each and every one of these elements is proven, a transfer is not avoidable as a preference under 11 U.S.C. § 547(b).
First, section 547(b)(1) requires that the transfer be “to or for the benefit of a creditor.” This requirement has been loosely construed by the courts.
Second, section 547(b)(2) requires that the transfer be “for or on account of an antecedent debt” owed by Debtor before such transfer was made. A debt is antecedent for the purposes of Section 547(b) if it was incurred before the debtor made the allegedly preferential transfer.
Third, the debtor must be insolvent at the time of the transfers. The term insolvent is defined in the Bankruptcy Code generally to mean a “financial condition such that the sum of such entity’s debts is greater than all of such entity’s property, at a fair valuation.”
Fifth, under section 547(b)(5), an avoidable transfer must enable a creditor to receive more than such creditor would receive if the case were a case under Chapter 7, the transfer had not been made, and the creditor received payment of such debt to the extent provided by the provisions of Title 11. The Supreme Court has held that whether a particular transfer is preferential should be determined “not by what the situation would have been if the debtor’s assets had been liquidated and distributed among his creditors at the time the alleged preferential payment was made, but by the actual ef-feet of the payment as determined when bankruptcy results.”
The net result is that, as long as the distribution in bankruptcy is less than one-hundred percent, any payment “on account” to an unsecured creditor during the preference period will enable that creditor to receive more than he would have received in liquidation had the payment not been made.63
Thus, the relevant inquiry for this Court is whether Masiz would have received a 100 percent payout in a Chapter 7 liquidation. If so, no preference can be recovered; if not, the requirements of Section 547(b)(5) are met.
Here, there can be no dispute that this case will not return one hundred percent to unsecured creditors. While part of Masiz’s claim may be entitled to priority under section 507(a)(4),
If the Chapter 11 Case were converted to Chapter 7, unsecured creditors would not receive any proceeds from the liquidation of such assets ... The Debtor believes that liquidation under chapter 7 would result in smaller distributions being made to creditors than those provided for under the Plan because ... [ ] In a chapter 7 liquidation, the Debtor believes that distributions to secured creditors would be minimal, and unsecured creditors would receive no distribution on account of their claims.68
As a matter of general arithmetic, any transfer to a general unsecured creditor ordinarily satisfies this test unless the debtor’s estate turns out to be solvent in Chapter 7.
III. Affirmative Defenses
Under 11 U.S.C § 547(g), the creditor or party in interest against whom recovery or avoidance is sought has the burden of proving the nonavoidability of a transfer under section 547(c). Thus, Masiz holds the burden of proving the nonavoidability of the transfers in any of his section 547(c) defenses.
A. Subsequent and Contemporaneous Value
Masiz has asserted a new value defense under section 547(c)(4), which provides that a trustee may not avoid a transfer:
(4) to or for the benefit of a creditor, to the extent that, after such transfer, such creditor gave new value to or for the benefit of the debtor—
(A) not secured by an otherwise unavoidable security interest; and
*396 (B) on account of which new value the debtor did not make an otherwise unavoidable transfer to or for the benefit of such creditor;72
The subsequent new value defense is intended to encourage creditors to work with companies on the verge of insolvency.
“New value” is defined as “money or money’s worth in goods, services, or new credit ... that is neither void nor voidable by the debtor or the trustee under any applicable law.”
Here, two payments have been made to Masiz: a first payment of $598,000 immediately after settlement proceeds were received, and a subsequent second payment of $178,363 before the date of the petition. The Trustee has conceded that some new value may have been infused into the company with Masiz providing employment services between December 30, 2009 and March 11, 2010.
As a result of the first payment of $598,000, Masiz’s preference exposure was that amount. Assuming that Masiz subsequently provided the company with new value for ten weeks of employment services (more precisely, 72 days), this would leave him with a preference exposure of $598,000 less the value of these services. For purposes of summary judgment, the value of Masiz’s services to the Debtor was $175,000 per annum. Assuming, as one must, that Masiz provided services to the Debtor from December 29, 2009 though the Petition Date of March 11, 2010 (a total of 72 days), Masiz provided subsequent new value to the Debtor of $34,520.55.
As appropriate in a motion for summary judgment, the Court finds that Masiz provided 72 days of subsequent new value to the Debtor at his normal rate of salary of $175,000 per annum. But, Masiz cannot establish, even under the summary judgment standard, that he provided new value in excess of that amount. Recall that,
Masiz has also alleged a new value defense under section 547(c)(1), stating that “[n]o recovery should be had from Defendants on any otherwise avoidable preferential transfer because such transfers involved contemporaneous exchanges for new value given to the Debtor.”
Here, the defense cannot stand with respect to the first payment, which was not intended to be a payment in exchange for contemporaneously given value, but instead a payment for unpaid wages which had accrued under sections 547(b)(1) and (2). With respect to the second payment, Plaintiff has, as aforementioned, conceded that some new value was provided to Vaso for Masiz’s employment services between December 30, 2009 and March 11, 2010.
B. Unallowable Pre-Petition Default in Assumed Contracts
Masiz also argues that to the extent any transfers were made during the
Here, Masiz argues that “the Trustee [fails] to provide undisputed facts that Mask’s employment contract was not assumed, presumably through the Plan.”
Nothing contained in the record remotely supports any finding let alone raises a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the transfers were made pursuant to an employment agreement, or that any such employment agreement was later assumed and approved post-petition. As a result, this defense cannot stand.
C. Law of the Case Doctrine
The doctrine of law of the case is as follows: once a matter has been addressed in a procedurally appropriate way by a court, it is generally held to be the law of that case and will not be disturbed by that court unless a compelling reason to do so appears.
Masiz argues that the Court should not rely on the findings made in the Judgment on its first motion as that Judgement is currently on appeal. Indeed, he urges the Court to defer its decision until the appeal has been decided. Masiz has misconstrued the law of the case doctrine.
This Court is guided by the law of the case doctrine to keep its decisions consistent with, rather than deviate from, its findings within its Judgment granting the first motion, issued on December 19, 2012. A mere appeal of that ruling to the District Court does not automatically render the Judgment “clearly erroneous,” nor does the appeal of the first motion prevent this Court from moving forward in its present adversary proceeding.
D. Timeliness
The Court’s original Scheduling Order, entered on June 20, 2011, stated that “all dispositive motions shall be filed and served by one hundred ninety five (195) [days] after an answer or other responsive pleading is filed ...”
Plaintiff filed this motion on January 3, 2013,
Notwithstanding the deadline in the Court’s original Scheduling Order, however, the Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7056 states the following:
Rule 56 F.R.Civ.P. applies in adversary proceedings, except that any motion for summary judgment must be made at least 30 days before the initial date set for an evidentiary hearing on any issue for which summary judgment is sought, unless a different time is set by local rule or the court orders otherwise.
Here, the date that this adversary proceeding is scheduled for trial is still currently undetermined.
The claims for avoidance and recovery in this motion were pleaded in the original Complaint under Count I and Count VIII, giving Masiz ample notice of the claims.
The Court therefore amends the Scheduling Order accordingly to allow this motion to move forward.
Section 550 of the Code provides that “to the extent that a transfer is avoided under section ... 547 ... of this title, the trustee may recover, for the benefit of the estate, the property transferred, or, if the court so orders, the value of such property, from ... the initial transferee of such transfer or the entity for whose benefit such transfer was made.” Under Section 550(b)(1), however, a trustee may not recover from a “transferee that takes for value, including satisfaction ... of a present or antecedent debt, in good faith, and without knowledge of the voidability of the transfer to be avoided ...”
The test is written in the negative. Provided that liability is satisfied under section 547, the transfers are recoverable unless (a) they were not made for the benefit of the Defendant; and (b) Defendant did not receive the transfers in satisfaction of a debt, was not acting in bad faith and had no knowledge of the avoidability of the transfers. In satisfying the “knowledge” requirement:
No one supposes that “knowledge of voidability” means complete understanding of the facts ... some lesser knowledge will do ... Some facts strongly suggest the presence of others; a recipient that closes its eyes to the remaining facts may not deny knowledge ... But this is not the same as a duty to investigate ... A transferee that lacks the information necessary to support an inference of knowledge need not start investigating on his own.110
Here, Masiz has conceded that he received the transfers.
V. Prejudgment Interest
The Trustee requests summary judgment on his entitlement to prejudgment interest. The awarding of pre
Here, entry of summary judgment is found to be proper on the avoidability and recovery of the preferential transfers to Masiz. All affirmative defenses brought up by the nonmovant have been addressed and found inapplicable. Consequently, not only is there not a sound reason to deny Trustee prejudgment interest, there is a sound basis to award that interest. Prejudgment interest shall thus be awarded in connection with the Count above for which liability has been established.
CONCLUSION
The Court will grant Plaintiffs Motion and enter summary judgment against John J. Masiz under Counts I and VIII of the Complaint. In addition, the Court will award prejudgment interest at an appropriate rate to Plaintiff.
An order will be issued.
. This Opinion constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052.
. The Opinion resolving the first summary judgment motion can be found at In re Vaso Active Pharm., Inc., No. 10-10855, 2012 WL 4793241 (Bankr.D.Del. Oct. 9, 2012).
. The first motion for partial summary judgment was filed against this Defendant as well as another former officer and director of the Debtor. While the motion was denied against this Defendant, it granted the motion against the other former officer.
. Adv. Pro. No. 10-50835.
. Id., D.I. 20. at ¶¶ 2, 9.
. Del. Bankr. No. 10-10855, D.I. 96.
. Id., D.I. 116.
. Adv. P. No. 11-52005, D.I. 1 (Unless otherwise noted, all docket references are to the adversary docket which is the subject of this motion, Adv. P. No. 11-52005).
. D.I. 5.
. D.I. 6 and 7.
. Vaso, 2012 WL 4793241; D.I. 24 and 25.
. See D.I. 25.
. See Vaso, 2012 WL 4793241 at *24.
. D.I. 58.
. D.I. 60. For the designation and respective counter-designation of items for inclusion in record on appeal, see D.I. 77 and 84.
. D.I. 29.
. D.I. 101.
. D.I. 64.
. This is a summary of the facts relevant only to this motion. For a complete factual history, please see, Vaso, 2012 WL 4793241, at *3-6.
. Frattaroli Aff., D.I. 13-2 at ¶ 9.
. Id. at ¶ 19.
. Id. at ¶ 12.
. Id. at$21.
. Id. at ¶ 22.
. Id. at ¶ 23.
. Id. at ¶ 39.
. In its malpractice suit against Robinson & Cole LLP, Kelley Drye had agreed to represent Vaso pursuant to a Fee Agreement, under which Kelley Drye was to receive (a) 100% of its fees and (b) 25% of any remaining recovery after the payment of its fees. Under the Kelley Drye Fee Agreement, Kelley Drye would have received $1,833,000 of the $2.5 million in settlement proceeds from Robinson
. D.I. 1, Exh. B., Frattaroli Depo. pp. 88:18-89:17.
. Frattaroli Aff„ D.I. 13-2 at ¶ 43.
. Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Plaintiff’s First Motion, D.I. 7-1, Exh. 5 (Amended Statement of Financial Affairs, Bates stamp PL000074, PL000081).
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a).
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-588, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962)).
. Id. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348.
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. Olson v. Gen. Elec. Astrospace, 101 F.3d 947, 951 (3d Cir. 1996).
. In re Broadstripe, LLC, 444 B.R. 51, 76-77 (Bankr.D.Del. 2010) (citing Leonard v. General Motors Corp. (In re Headquarters Dodge), 13 F.3d 674, 679 (3d Cir. 1993).
. Id. at 77-78 (citing Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 317-18, 106 S.Ct. 2548).
. Union Bank v. Wolas, 502 U.S. 151, 154, 112 S.Ct. 527, 116 L.Ed.2d 514 (1991) (italics in original).
. Waslow v. The Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc. (In re M Group, Inc.), 308 B.R. 697, 700 (Bankr.D.Del. 2004); In re IT Grp., Inc., 331 B.R. 597, 601 (Bankr.D.Del. 2005).
. In re CVEO Corp., 327 B.R. 210, 214 (Bankr.D.Del. 2005).
. 11 U.S.C. § 101(10).
. 11 U.S.C § 101(5)(A).
. In re Bake-Line Grp., LLC, 359 B.R. 566, 577 (Bankr.D.Del. 2007) (quoting Black’s Law Dictionary 1165 (8th ed. 2004)).
. Masiz Aff., D.I. 13-1 at ¶¶ 21, 22.
. Opposition to the first motion, D.I. 13-2, Exh. A.
. Masiz Depo., D.I. 1, Exh. A, pp. 85:10-21.
. Masiz Aft, D.I. 13-1 at ¶ 22. While Masiz has testified that the Second Payment was made as a "regular” payment of wages, as a "week or two” of pay (see Masiz Depo., D.I. 1, Exh. A, pp. 60:17-20), Masiz received $178,363 in the Second Payment, which is roughly equivalent to 1 year and 1 weeks' worth of pay. Frattaroli, on the other hand, received only $16,827 in the Second Payment, which is precisely equivalent to five weeks’ worth of regular pay.
. See Vaso, 2012 WL 4793241 at *22 ("The record clearly supports that while the transfers were paid at the time of the settlement that was simply because that was the first time Debtor had sufficient funds to make the transfers. The right or basis for payment, however, was based on the accrual of unpaid wages. Thus, Masiz and Frattaroli both had a claim against Debtor at the time of the transfers. Whether that claim would have been allowed in whole or in part or how it would be classified is irrelevant.”)
. Peltz v. New Age Consulting Servs., Inc., 279 B.R. 99, 102 (Bankr.D.Del. 2002).
. Id. Accord In re CVEO Corp., 327 B.R. at 214.
. Frattaroli Aff., D.I. 13-2 at ¶¶ 13-15. But see Frattaroli Depo., D.I. 1, Exh. B, p. 90:12-24.
. Vaso, 2012 WL 4793241 at *22.
. Masiz Depo., D.I. 1, Exh. A, pp. 84:20, 86:13-18. See id. pp. 59:3-60:21 as follows:
Q. So, as far as you understand it, you’re accruing compensation at the rate of $175,000 per annum?
A. Yes ...
Q. So you began to accrue compensation again after [a lump sum distribution from the Robinson & Cole settlement proceedings]?
A. Yes
See also supra note 49.
. 11 U.S.C. § 101(32)(A).
. Defendants' Opposition to the First Motion, D.I. 13, pp. 26-27.
. 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(l)(B)(ii) and 6 Del. C. § 1304(a)(2).
. Vaso, 2012 WL 4793241 at *10-12.
. Del. Bankr. No. 10-10855, D.I. 1.
. Masiz Depo., D.I. 1, Exh. A, pp. 89:4 — 14.
. Masiz Aff., D.I. 13-1 at ¶ 22; Frattaroli Aff., D.I. 13-2 at ¶ 45.
. Palmer Clay Products Co. v. Brown, 297 U.S. 227, 229, 56 S.Ct. 450, 80 L.Ed. 655 (1936).
. In re Lewis W. Shurtleff, Inc., 778 F.2d 1416, 1421 (9th Cir. 1985); In re AmeriServe Food Distribution, Inc., 315 B.R. 24, 32 (Bankr.D.Del. 2004); Matter of Total Technical Servs., Inc., 150 B.R. 893, 903 (Bankr.D.Del. 1993).
. See In re AmeriServe, 315 B.R. at 32.
. See id., 315 B.R. at 32-33.
. Under this section, unsecured claims earned within 180 days before the date of the filing of the petition for wages, salaries, or commissions are given priority, but only to the extent of $10,950 for each individual or corporation. (11 U.S.C.A. § 507, effective April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010. The dollar amount is adjusted every three years by the Judicial Conference of the United States, as
. See D.I. 79, p. 12.
. Del. Bankr. No. 10-10855, D.I. 97, Second Amended Disclosure Statement Relating to the Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization for Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc., p. 38.
. George M. Treister et al., Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Law § 4.03(c)(1)(G) (6th ed. 2006).
. See In re Ameriserve, 315 B.R. at 33 (accepting the declaration by the CFOs that the distribution to unsecured creditors will "certainly be far less than 100%” according to the Plan, despite that the amount of distribution was yet unknown).
. The first three defenses which are analyzed below are the ones raised by Masiz in his Answering Brief to this motion, D.I. 110. The last defense, regarding timeliness, was raised in Masiz’s Opposition to this motion, D.I. 79. Masiz also raised a question of standing with regard to the Trustee in his Opposition. A separate Motion to Dismiss the Complaint Due to Lack of Standing addressing the same issue was filed by Defendants on November 6, 2012, see D.I. 26, but was denied after a hearing on the issue, see Order Denying Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss the Complaint Due to Lack of Standing, D.I. 101.
Separately, in his Answering Brief to this motion, D.I. 110, Masiz also raised an argument that the facts under Count I of the Complaint assume that Masiz was an insider of the Debt- or, which is actually a disputed material fact. This argument, however, is irrelevant. As shown by the analysis above, it was unnecessary for Plaintiff here to prove insider status to satisfy section 547(b)(4), because the transfers at issue occurred within the 90-day preference period before the date of the bankruptcy petition.
. 11 U.S.C. § 547(c)(4).
. In re Friedman's Inc., No. 09-10161, 2011 WL 5975283 (Bankr.D.Del. Nov. 30, 2011).
. Id.
. 11 U.S.C. § 547(a)(2).
. In re New York City Shoes, Inc., 880 F.2d 679, 680 (3d Cir. 1989).
. In re Sierra Concrete Design, Inc., 463 B.R. 302, 307 (Bankr.D.Del. 2012).
. D.I. 65, p. 17.
. See D.I. 110, p. 13.
. IT. days is 19.73% of one year. 19.73% of $175,000 equals $34,520.55.
. In describing this affirmative defense, Ma-siz’s Answer states that "Defendants gave new value to or for the benefit of the Debtor,” without detailing what the new value entailed (D.I. 5, p. 46). In Masiz's Answering Brief in Opposition of this motion, in support of his new value defense, it is alleged that Masiz "could have worked overtime, weekends ... more than his usual hours,” but does not allege any other facts (D.I. 110, p. 9).
. Answer to CompL, D.I. 5, p. 46.
. In re APS Holding Corp., 282 B.R. 795, 800 (Bankr.D.Del. 2002).
. D.I. 65, p. 17.
. In re Jet Florida Sys., Inc., 861 F.2d 1555, 1558-59 (11th Cir. 1988) (discussed and accepted as controlling in the Third Circuit within the case of In re Spada, 903 F.2d 971, 977 (3d Cir. 1990)).
. Cf. In re Hayes Lemmerz Int'l, Inc., 329 B.R. 136, 140 (Bankr.D.Del. 2005) ("The defendant has the burden of establishing [all of the Section 547(c)(1)] elements. 11 U.S.C. § 547(g) ... The Defendant failed to provide evidence on these points. Accordingly, the Court lacks the essential ingredients to the contemporaneousness stew. Without them, the Court can not grant summary judgment, as the moving party has the initial burden of showing that it is entitled to relief.”).
. Answer to Compl., D.I. 5, p. 47.
. Cinicola v. Scharffenberger, 248 F.3d 110, 119 (3d Cir. 2001) (quoting In re Rickel Home Centers, Inc., 209 F.3d 291, 298 (3d Cir. 2000)).
. In re IT Grp., Inc., 331 B.R. at 601 (discussing the holding in In re Kiwi Int'l Air Lines, Inc., 344 F.3d 311, 317 (3d Cir. 2003)).
. In re Univ. Med. Ctr., 973 F.2d 1065, 1077 (3d Cir. 1992).
. Id.
. D.I. 110, p. 10.
. Second Amended Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization for Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Del. Bankr. No. 10-10855, D.I. 96, Section 11.1.1.
. Defendants' Opposition to the First Motion, D.I. 13, p. 26.
. Christianson v. Colt Indus. Operating Corp., 486 U.S. 800, 815-16, 108 S.Ct. 2166, 100 L.Ed.2d 811 (1988) ("[T]he doctrine of the law of the case posits that when a court decides upon a rule of law, that decision should continue to govern the same issues in subsequent stages in the same case.” (citations omitted)); Arizona v. California, 460 U.S. 605, 618, 103 S.Ct. 1382, 75 L.Ed.2d 318 (1983) ("As most commonly defined, the doctrine posits that when a court decides upon a rule of law, that decision should continue to govern the same issues in subsequent stages
. Philip Servs. Corp. v. Luntz (In re Philip Servs.), 267 B.R. 62, 66 (Bankr.D.Del. 2001) (citations omitted).
. Pub. Interest Research Grp. of New Jersey, Inc. v. Magnesium Elektron, Inc., 123 F.3d 111, 116 (3d Cir. 1997).
. See In re Cont'l Airlines, Inc., 279 F.3d 226, 232 (3d Cir. 2002).
. In re City of Philadelphia Litig., 158 F.3d 711, 718 (3d Cir. 1998).
. Id.
. Cf. Laffey v. Nw. Airlines, Inc., 740 F.2d 1071, 1082 (D.C.Cir. 1984) (rejecting the application of the "clearly erroneous” exception to the law of the case doctrine, because no error was found, let alone "clear" error and manifest injustice.) ("We do not intend to allow this avenue of attack on the law of the case to become an auxiliary vehicle for the repetition of arguments previously advanced, without success ...”).
. D.I. 11.
. Id.
. D.I. 39.
. D.I. 64.
. See Order Assigning Adversary Proceeding to Mediation and Appointing Mediator, D.I. 18 ("ORDERED that this matter is scheduled for Trial date to be determined.”).
. United States v. Pearson, No. 10-442-LPS-MPT, 2012 WL 3249460 at *1 (D.Del. Aug. 7, 2012) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 6(b)(1) and Fed R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4)). Fed.R.Civ.P. 16 is made directly applicable through Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7016, and much like Fed.R.Civ.P. 6(b)(1), Fed. R. Bankr.P. 9006(b)(1) states that "the court for cause shown may at any time in its discretion ... with or without motion or notice order [a time] period enlarged ... ”,
. D.I. 1, pp. 31-34, 53-54.
. See Vaso, supra. The Court found elements for certain claims (but was unable to establish any single complete claims) against Masiz, despite establishing complete claims against Frattaroli.
. Bonded Fin. Servs., Inc. v. European Am. Bank, 838 F.2d 890, 898 (7th Cir. 1988) (accepted as controlling law by the Third Circuit in In re Bressman, 327 F.3d 229, 236 (3d Cir. 2003)).
. Masiz Aff., D.I. 13-1. at1KI2l-22.
. See supra p. 10 ("While Frattaroli has testified that no accrual of wages occurred, the Court found in the Opinion that Masiz and Frattaroli both had a claim against Debt- or at the time of the transfers, based on the accrual of unpaid wages. Additionally, Masiz has characterized the transfers as a satisfaction of ‘outstanding obligations and liabilities' on the part of the company. There is no genuine issue of material fact that the payments were not made on account of a debt incurred before the transfer.").
. "In determining good faith for the purposes of a § 550(b)(1) defense, courts should analyze what the transferee ‘knew or should have known instead of examining the transferee's actual knowledge from a subjective standpoint.' ” In re Nieves, 648 F.3d 232, 238 (4th Cir. 2011). Accord In re Sherman, 67 F.3d 1348, 1355 (8th Cir. 1995); In re Agric. Research & Tech. Grp., Inc., 916 F.2d 528, 536 (9th Cir. 1990).
. Defendants' Opposition to the First Motion, D.I. 13, pp. 26-27.
. In re Hechinger Inv. Co. of Delaware, Inc., 489 F.3d 568, 579 (3d Cir. 2007)
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. at 580 (quoting In re Milwaukee Cheese Wis., Inc., 112 F.3d 845, 849 (7th Cir. 1997)) (emphasis added).
. Id.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: VASO ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., Debtors. Jeoffrey L. Burtch, Avoidance Action Trustee v. John J. Masiz, and Joseph F. Frattaroli
- Cited By
- 18 cases
- Status
- Published