Sega Auto Sales, Inc. v. Flores (In re Flores)
Sega Auto Sales, Inc. v. Flores (In re Flores)
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
I. INTRODUCTION
The matters before the Court are the “Defendant’s Motion and Memorandum of
II. BACKGROUND
The parties filed an Amended Joint PreTrial Statement (the “Joint Statement”) reciting undisputed facts.
The Debtor is the sole officer and director of A International Collision Center Corporation (“ICC”).
On account of the loan, the Debtor, acting as ICC’s principal, issued a series of checks from ICC’s checking account payable to the Plaintiff. The first check (the “First ICC Check”) was written on the same day the loan was made. The First ICC Check was for $15,000, with a memo line stating that the check was “a loan
During the same period in which the Debtor gave the Plaintiff the ICC checks, the Debtor also defaulted on a promissory note owed to CAP Financial Services, Inc. and failed to pay rent owed to W.F. Lacey & Sons Co. for a commercial property.
On or around June 20, 2012, a criminal complaint was filed against the Debtor in the Massachusetts District Court in Mal-den (the “District Court”).
On October 17, 2013, the Debtor filed his Chapter 7 voluntary petition. The Plaintiff filed the present adversary proceeding on December 23, 2013. In its Complaint, the Plaintiff sought an exception to the Debtor’s discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 523 §§ (a)(2)(A), (a)(4), and (a)(6).
The Debtor filed his Motion for Summary Judgment on October 29, 2014.
III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
A. The Debtor
At the outset, I note that the Motion for Summary Judgment does not enumerate the causes of action for which the Debtor seeks summary judgment or state that he seeks summary judgment on all of the Plaintiffs causes of action. The Debtor discusses larceny and fraud in his motion, but never mentions any law or facts related to a willful and malicious injury pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6). Therefore, I will construe his motion as seeking summary judgment on the 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2)(A) and (a)(4) causes of action, but not the (a)(6) causes of action.
The Debtor first asserts in his Motion for Summary Judgment that collateral es-toppel applies to the District Court’s dismissal of the criminal complaint for larceny by check.
The Debtor also claims that the Plaintiff has failed to plead the circumstances constituting fraud with particularity.
Finally, the Debtor takes the position that the terms of the loan changed after the Plaintiff made the loan.
Plaintiff also solicited work from [the Debtor] on his vehicles.... Because of this, the Plaintiff and [the Debtor] made a subsequent agreement where [the Debtor] would pay money to Plaintiff in cash and then Plaintiff would return the check to [the Debtor]. Plaintiff received such money and never returned the checks.43
Which check or checks the Debtor is referring to is unclear. Regardless, he contends that the Plaintiff received payments and was unjustly enriched by the services and payments the Debtor allegedly provided.
The Debtor’s Opposition to Sanctions repeats the allegation in its Motion for Summary Judgment that the Plaintiff is “attempting a second bite at the apple” through the present adversary proceeding because the District Court already resolved the matter.
B. The Plaintiff
In its Opposition, the Plaintiff argues that collateral estoppel does not apply.
Additionally, the Plaintiff posits that, pursuant to 11 U.S.C § 523(a)(4), larceny does not require a showing of fraudulent intent, and, therefore, it was not required to plead that cause of action with particularity.
Finally, the Plaintiff criticizes the Debt- or’s reference to his own affidavit as evidence that the Plaintiff cannot prove any of the elements of its case.
In its Motion for Sanctions, the Plaintiff argues that it is entitled to attorney’s fees it incurred while responding to the Motion for Summary Judgment and any other sanctions I find appropriate.
IV. DISCUSSION
A. The Summary Judgment Standard
A court “shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genu
B. Collateral Estoppel
The Debtor seeks summary judgment on the basis of collateral estop-pel. Collateral estoppel, or issue preclusion, “bars re-litigation of either a factual or legal issue that was actually decided in previous litigation ‘between the parties, whether on the same claim or a different claim.’ ”
When determining whether a party is estopped from re-litigating an issue decided in a prior state court action, a bankruptcy court must look at the state law of collateral estoppel.
(1) there was a valid and final judgment on the merits; (2) the party against whom estoppel is asserted was a party (or in privity with a party) to the prior litigation; (3) the issue in the prior adjudication is identical to the issue in the current litigation; and (4) the issue in*429 the prior litigation was essential to the earlier judgment.”72
The guiding principle in determining if collateral estoppel applies is whether the party against whom it is asserted had a “fall and fair opportunity to litigate the issue in the first action or [whether] other circumstances justify affording him an opportunity to relitigate the issue.”
In the criminal action against the Debtor, the prosecution had to prove the elements of larceny by check “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
C. 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A)
Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A), a debt owed due to “false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud” is excepted from a debtor’s discharge. An allegation that a debt is not dischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A) sounds in fraud and thus requires the party bringing the cause of action to state the circumstances constituting it with particularity.
To determine whether a debt is not dischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A), the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has provided the following test in Palmacci v. Umpierrez:
A defendant will be liable if (1) he makes a false representation, (2) he does so with fraudulent intent, i.e., with “scien-ter,” (3) he intends to induce the plaintiff to rely on the misrepresentation, and (4) the misrepresentation does induce reliance, (5) which is justifiable, and (6) which causes damage (pecuniary loss).79
Here, numerous genuine issues of material fact remain. For example, the parties disagree as to whether the repayment terms of the loan changed after the Plaintiff loaned the money and whether the Debtor made any cash payments. These facts are material to determining if the Plaintiff incurred any damage, if the Debtor acted with scienter, and if the Debtor made a false representation. Similarly, it is unclear from the record if the Plaintiff was aware of the Debtor’s financial position at the time of the loan. This effects whether the Debtor made a false representation, acted with scienter, or if the Plaintiff reasonably relied on any promise of repayment the Debtor made. Other genuine issues of material fact relevant to this cause of action include, but are not necessarily limited to, whether the Debtor indeed promised to repay the.loan within four months and whether the Debt- or intended to repay the loan. Accordingly, summary judgment for 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A) is denied.
D. 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)U)
Section 523(a)(4) creates an exception to discharge for a debt “for fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity, embezzlement, or larceny.”
The parties here do not dispute that the Plaintiff willingly loaned the Debt- or $15,000. Thus, the Debtor did not wrongfully take the Plaintiffs property. Rather, the Debtor obtained the funds loaned to him with the Plaintiffs consent. Accordingly, the Plaintiff cannot prove the first element of larceny pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4) by a preponderance of the evidence.
E. The Motion for Sanctions
Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011(c) authorizes bankruptcy courts to grant sanctions for violations of Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011(b)’s requirements, which include that “the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions [in a motion] ... are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law....”
Admittedly, the Debtor’s Motion for Summary Judgment was inartfully drafted. Regardless, in light of my decision to grant the motion in part, I find that it clearly was supported by nonfrivolous arguments. The Plaintiff is not entitled to sanctions pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011. Furthermore, I do not find at this time that the Debtor’s behavior has been sufficiently uncooperative to warrant an award of sanctions to the Plaintiff pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 37. Therefore, the Motion for Sanctions is denied.
V. CONCLUSION
In light of the foregoing, I will enter an order granting the Debtor’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4), denying the Debtor’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A), and denying the Plaintiffs Motion for Sanctions.
. Joint Statement, Docket No. 34.
. Id. at ¶ 11.33.
. Id.
. Adopted and made applicable to proceedings in the Bankruptcy Court by MLBR 7056-1; see In re Albright, No. 11-20457-WCH, 2013 WL 6076696, *1(Bankr.D.Mass. Nov. 19, 2013).
. In re Albright, 2013 WL 6076696 at *1.
. Joint Statement, Docket No. 34 at ¶¶ II.l— II.6.
. Id. at ¶ II.4.
. Id. at ¶ II.7.
. /¿a^II.8.
. Id. at ¶ 11.10.
. Id. at ¶ 11.11.
. Id. at ¶¶ 11.12-15.
. Id. at ¶ 11.16.
. Id. at ¶¶ 11.17-18.
. Id. at ¶ 11.19.
. Id. at ¶¶ 11.21-22.
. Id. at ¶¶ II.23-24.
. Id. at ¶¶ 11.25-26.
. Id. at ¶¶ 11.27-28.
. Id. at ¶¶ 11.27-30.
. Id. al ¶ II.31.
. Id. at ¶ 11.34-35.
. Motion for Summary Judgment, Docket No. 37 at 2; Opposition, Docket No. 40 at 1.
. See id.
. Motion for Summary Judgment, Docket No. 37 at 2; Opposition, Docket No. 40 at 2.
. Complaint, Docket No. 1 at 4-5.
. Complaint, Docket No. 1 at 2.
. Id. at 4.
. Id.
. Id. at 5.
. Motion for Summary Judgment, Docket No. 37.
. Opposition, Docket No. 40.
. Motion for Sanctions, Docket No. 41.
. Opposition to Sanctions, Docket No. 45.
. See Motion for Summary Judgment, Docket No. 37 at pg. 3.
. Id. at 6.
. Id.
. Id. at 6-7.
. See id. at Ex. 4.
. See id. at 8.
. See Answer, Docket No. 5 at 4; Joint Statement, Docket No. 34 at 1.
. Answer, Docket No. 5, at 4; see also Joint Statement, Docket No. 34 at 1-2.
. Answer, Docket No. 5, at 4.
. See id. at 5.
. Opposition to Sanctions, Docket No, 45, 2-3.
. Id. at 5.
. Id. at 4.
. Opposition, Docket No. 40 at 4-10.
. Id. at 5.
. Id. at 6-8.
. Id. at 8-9.
. Id. at 9-10.
. Id. at 10-11.
. Id. at 13.
. Motion for Sanctions, Docket No. 41, at 1-2.
.Id.
. Id. at 3.
. Id.
. Order to Compel Discovery Responses, Docket No. 20.
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), made applicable to adversary proceedings by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7056.
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. Id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Id.
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Id.
. Celotex, 477 U.S. 317 at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265.
. Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (emphasis in original).
. See Grella v. Salem Five Cent Sav. Bank, 42 F.3d 26, 30 (1st Cir. 1994) (quoting Restatement (Second) of Judgments, § 27 (1982)).
. See Grogan v. Garner, 498 U.S. 279, 284 n. 11, 111 S.Ct. 654, 112 L.Ed.2d 755 (1991).
. McCrory v. Spigel (In re Spigel), 260 F.3d 27, 33 (1st Cir. 2001).
. Backlund v. Stanley-Snow (In re Stanley-Snow), 405 B.R. 11, 18 (1st Cir. BAP 2009).
. Id. (citing Treglia v. MacDonald, 430 Mass. 237, 717 N.E.2d 249 (1999)).
. Cogliano v. Dixon, No. 0103672, 20 Mass. L.Rprt. 639, 2006 WL 933429 at *6 (Super.Ct. March 14, 2006) (citing Jarosz v. Palmer, 436 Mass. 526, 532, 766 N.E.2d 482 (2002)); see also Neaderland v. C.I.R., 424 F.2d 639, 642 (2d Cir. 1970) (holding that an acquittal meant "an accused is not proven guilty ... beyond a reasonable doubt, and [a plaintiff] is not foreclosed thereby from attempting to show fraud ... against the. same defendant by a preponderance of the evidence.”).
. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 361, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970).
. See Grogan, 498 U.S. at 286, 111 S.Ct. 654.
. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b) (made applicable in bankruptcy by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7009); Meads v. Ribeiro, No. 11-11177-FJB, 2014 WL 2780027 at *10, (Bankr.D.Mass. June 19, 2014).
. See Complaint, Docket No. 1, pg. 2-3.
. Palmacci v. Umpierrez, 121 F.3d 781, 786 (1st Cir. 1997).
. Id. at 787.
. See id. at 787-88; Celotex, 477 U.S. 317 at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265.
. 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4).
. Faria v. Silva (In re Silva), 12-17413-WCH, 2014 WL 217889, *9 (Bankr.D.Mass. Jan. 21, 2014); Hancock v. Caliri (In re Caliri), 335 B.R. 2, 12 (Bankr.D.Mass. 2005).
. In re Silva, 2014 WL 217889, at *9 (Bankr. D.Mass. Jan. 21, 2014); Bauer v. Colokathis (In re Colokathis), 417 B.R. 150, 161 (Bankr. D.Mass. 2009).
. See, e.g., Orumwense-Lawrence v. Osula (In re Osula), 519 B.R. 361, 377-78 (Bankr. D.Mass. 2014); Rick v. Davenport (In re Rick) 10-30288, 2011 WL 1321361, *5 (Bankr. D.N.D. April 6, 2011); Treadwell v. Glenstone Lodge, Inc. (In re Treadwell), 459 B.R. 394, 406 (Bankr.W.D.Mo. 2011).
. Grogan, 498 U.S. at 287-88, 111 S.Ct. 654.
. See, e.g., In re Silva, 2014 WL 217889, at *9 (denying an exception to discharge for larceny when a plaintiff voluntarily signed over a check to a debtor who promised but failed to re-pay the loan two days later); US-Alliance Fed. Credit Union v. Stinson (In re Stinson), 09-12697-FJB, 2012 WL 359917, at *6 (Bankr.D.Mass. Feb. 2, 2012)(denying an exception to discharge for larceny when a
. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9011(b) and (c).
. See Lafayette v. Collins (In re Withrow), 405 B.R. 505, 514 (1st Cir. BAP 2009) (citing In re Thomson, 329 B.R. 359, 362 (Bankr.D.Mass. 2005).
. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37 (made applicable in adversary proceedings by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7037).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: Luis Ernesto FLORES, Debtor. Sega Auto Sales, Inc. v. Luis Ernesto Flores
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published