Scharrer v. THI Holdings, LLC (In re Fundamental Long Term Care, Inc.)
Scharrer v. THI Holdings, LLC (In re Fundamental Long Term Care, Inc.)
Opinion of the Court
ORDER AND MEMORANDUM OPINION
DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS
THI Holdings agreed to indemnify the Debtor and Trans Health Management,
The Court concludes they are. In order to survive a motion to dismiss, the Trustee need only plead enough facts to nudge her claims from the realm of conceivable to plausible. And the facts alleged in the complaint&emdash;which the Court must assume are true&emdash;make the Trustee’s claims under the indemnity agreement plausible on their face. While THI Holdings raises convincing arguments why it cannot be liable under the indemnity agreement, those arguments are better suited for summary judgment. Aceordingly, the Court will deny THI Holdings’ motion to dismiss.
Background
The Court is no stranger to the background of this dispute. The Court has issued two memorandum opinions setting forth that background in some detail.
Before March 2006, THI Holdings owned all of the shares of stock in THI.
THI Holdings and THI agree to indemnify the Debtor and THMI for certain losses
The stock purchase agreement between THI and the Debtor contained an indemnity provision.
[THI Holdings] and [THI] shall jointly and severally indemnify [the Debtor] and the [Debtor’s] respective Affiliates, successors and assigns ... (collectively the “Buyer Indemnified Parties”) and hold such Persons harmless from and against (A) any and all Losses which such Buyer Indemnified Party suffers to the extent that such Loss relates to one or more facilities operated by THI and/or its Subsidiaries (the “THI Facilities”) (it being understood that Trans Health Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“THM”) shall be deemed not have “operated” facilities for the purposes of determining what facilities are “THI Facilities ”)....6
The stock purchase agreement also obligated THI Holdings and THI to indemnify the Debtor and THMI against any actions that do — or potentially could result — in a loss, subject to the same caveat (i.e., the loss has to relate to a facility operated by THI or one of its subsidiaries other than THMI).
THI and THMI get sued for wrongful death at an alleged THI facility
Beginning in 2004, a series of six wrongful death actions were filed against THI and THMI.
Ultimately, plaintiffs in three of the wrongful death cases obtained judgments against THI and THMI after counsel for THI and THMI withdrew from representing them.
The Trustee demands indemnification from THI Holdings
On February 1, 2013, the Trustee demanded that THI Holdings and THI indemnify the Debtor and THMI.
So the Trustee initiated this adversary proceeding.
THI Holdings moves to dismiss the Trustee’s complaint
THI Holdings asks this Court to dismiss the Trustee’s amended complaint.
Conclusions of Law
In support of its motion to dismiss, THI Holdings principally relies on two cases: Underwriters at Interest Subscribing v. Seaboard Marine, Ltd.
The Court, however, disagrees with THI Holdings’ claim that the Trustee has not met that burden here. THI Holdings concedes that indemnification (and a duty to
It is true, as this Court explained in In re Ernie Havre Ford,
Now, under Twombly and Iqbal, a plaintiff must allege enough facts to make his or her claim for relief “plausible on its face.”
In her initial complaint, which the Court dismissed without prejudice, the Trustee only alleged, at best, a sheer possibility of liability under the indemnification provision. The only allegations in the Trustee’s initial complaint were that THMI demanded indemnification from THI Holdings and that THI Holdings funded THMI’s defense in the wrongful death cases. The complaint was completely devoid of any allegation that THI or one of its subsidiaries other than THMI operated any of the nursing homes involved in the wrongful death cases. But, in her amended complaint, the Trustee has alleged enough additional facts to nudge her claims from the realm of conceivable to plausible.
According to the amended complaint, THI controlled THMI’s operations before March 2006, and it continued to retain control of THMI’s assets and control its operations after it was sold to the Debt- or.
THI Holdings says those facts cannot satisfy the Twombly and Iqbal “plausibility” standard for a variety of reasons. For instance, THI Holdings says the Trustee is relying on allegations from the complaints in the wrongful death cases that THI operated the nursing homes rather than actually alleging that THI operated the nursing homes in her own complaint here: THI Holdings also says that it is inappropriate for the Trustee to rely on an “alter ego” theory (i.e., that THI controlled THMI’ assets) to trigger the indemnity provision, and even if she could, THI would only step into THMI’s shoes as a “manager” — not an “operator” — of the nursing homes. But that is not how the Court reads the Trustee’s complaint.
For instance, the Trustee does not allege that the THI must have operated the nursing homes because it is THMFs alter ego. She alleges that THI used THMFs assets to operate the nursing homes. And it may well be that THI Holdings is not bound by the admissions (resulting from the defaults by THI and THMI) in the state court cases that THI operated the nursing or by THI’s acceptance of the indemnification obligations under the agreement in this case. The Court, however, does not read the complaint to suggest that those admissions or course of conduct — by themselves — make THI Holdings liable under the agreement in this case. The Court reads those facts (i.e., the plaintiffs in the wrongful death cases alleged that THI operated the nursing homes, THI was only obligated to indemnify and defend THMI if it or one of its subsidiaries other than THMI operated the nursing homes, and THI, in fact, defended THMI) as making it plausible that THI operated the nursing home.
In its motion to dismiss, THI Holdings also raises a number of convincing arguments why it ultimately may not be liable under the indemnity agreement. Perhaps, as THI Holdings suggests, the nursing homes were operated by a third party (Lyric). And THMI may have only managed the nursing homes. If that is true, then the fact that THI may have used THMI assets may only mean that THI “managed” — not “operated” — the nursing homes. But those are not the facts in the complaint, and in any event, those arguments are more appropriate for summary judgment.
Conclusion
At the March 21, 2013 hearing on THI Holdings’ motion to dismiss the Trustee’s initial complaint, THI Holdings’ counsel argued — as it does in its motion to dismiss the Trustee’s amended complaint — that there is no coverage under the indemnification agreement if the only connection to the nursing homes at issue is that they were managed by THMI:
If the only connection to the loss, to the injury action that are part of this case,*555 are the fact that TMI managed the facility. If that’s the only connection, and THI had no other connection to it, it’s excluded.42
Here, the Trustee has alleged that THI did have a connection to the nursing homes at issue other than the fact that they may have been managed by THMI. The Trustee specifically alleges that THI operated — not managed — the nursing homes using THMI’s assets. The Trustee also alleges additional facts — THI accepted THMI’s specific demand for indemnification in two of the nursing home cases, THI assumed THMI’s defense of the remainder of the nursing home cases under the same indemnification agreement at issue here, and THI repeatedly represented to various courts (including this one) that it was obligated under the agreements— that make it plausible THI operated the nursing homes. For that reason, the Trustee has alleged sufficient facts to survive THI Holdings’ motion to dismiss. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED:
1. THI Holdings’ motion to dismiss
2. THI shall serve its answer to the Trustee’s amended complaint within 20 days of entry of this Order.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers at Tampa, Florida, on June 17, 2013.
. In re Fundamental Long Term Care, Inc., 489 B.R. 451, 456-60 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2013); In re Fundamental Long Term Care, Inc., 2012 WL 4815321, at *n. 2 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. Oct. 9, 2012).
. The Eleventh Circuit has recognized, however, that courts are not always limited to the four corners of the complaint in ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. See Long v. Slaton, 508 F.3d 576, 578 n. 3 (11th Cir. 2007) (noting that the court is not always limited to the four corners of the complaint at the Rule 12(b)(6) stage); see also Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322, 127 S.Ct. 2499, 168 L.Ed.2d 179 (2007) (noting that "courts must consider the complaint in its entirety, as well as other sources courts ordinarily examine when ruling on Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss, in particular, documents incorporated into the complaint by reference, and matters of which a court may take judicial notice”).
. Doc. No. 25 at ¶ 9.
. Id. at ¶ 12.
. Doc. No. 25-1 at ¶ 6(c)(iii) (emphasis added).
. Id.
. Id. at ¶ 6(c)(vi).
. Doc. No. 25 at ¶¶ 32-105.
. Id. at ¶¶ 24, 37, 59, 60, 67, 68, 82, 83, 90 & 91.
. Id. at ¶¶ 57 & 65.
. Id. at ¶¶ 39, 62, 70, 85, 93, 99, 106 & 108.
. Id. at ¶¶ 44, 75, 86, 94 & 102.
. Id. at ¶¶ 46, 77 & 103.
. Id.
. Id. at ¶ 53.
. Id. ati 117.
. Id. at ¶ 118.
. Id. at ¶ 119.
. Both the Trustee and THMI are named as plaintiffs in this proceeding. The Court previously ruled that the Trustee had the right to control THMI. For ease of reference, the Court will refer to the Trustee as the plaintiff.
. Id. at ¶ 121-32.
. Id. at ¶ 133-54.
. Id. at ¶ 155-63
. Doc. No. 28.
. Id. at ¶ 2-3.
. Id. at ¶ 3.
. Id. at ¶ 3-4.
. The Court has jurisdiction over this contested matter under 28 U.S.C. § 1334. THI Holdings, however, denies this is a core proceeding and does not consent to the Court’s entry of a final judgment in this proceeding.
. 2009 WL 928719, at *6 (S.D.Fla. Apr. 3, 2009).
. 2010 WL 883643, at *3-4 (M.D.Fla. Mar. 5, 2010).
. Seaboard Marine, 2009 WL 928719, at *6; Signature Flight, 2010 WL 883643, at *3-4.
. Roberts v. Balasco (In re Ernie Haire Ford, Inc.), 459 B.R. 824, 835 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2011).
. 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)
. 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).
. Midnight Pass Soc'y v. Florida Dep’t of Envtl. Protection, 2013 WL 1245987, at *9 n.8 (M.D.Fla. Mar. 26, 2013).
. Id.
. Ernie Havre Ford, 459 B.R. at 835 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955).
. Id.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id.
. Doc. No. 25 at ¶¶ 10 & 13.
. Doc. No. 28-1 at p. 26, 1. 20 p. 27, 1. 4.
. Doc. No. 28.
.Doc. Nos. 30, 36 & 39.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: FUNDAMENTAL LONG TERM CARE, INC., Debtor. Beth Ann Scharrer, Chapter 7 Trustee, and Trans Health Management, Inc. v. THI Holdings, LLC
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published