In re Jackson County Escrow Services, Inc.
In re Jackson County Escrow Services, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
Charles and Diana Cook have filed to lift the automatic stay in this case. A number of parties, other than the debtor, have resisted that motion. The Court stayed ruling until the issue of the filing of schedules and statements was resolved. That issue has now been resolved and the Court will issue an order as to the modification of the automatic stay.
Debtor, at least by the allegations of certain claimants, misappropriated or misapplied funds which it held in escrow. This meant that a substantial number of home owners who had closed their loans through debtor found themselves with two or more encumbrances on their real estate rather than one. It also meant that some sellers of real estate may not have gotten the proceeds of the sale.
Presently, there are twelve suits, including that of movants, pending in state court against debtor or against debtor and a number of other defendants who were affiliated with or involved with debtor. Debt- or has been and is undergoing investigation by the office of the Attorney-General of the State of Missouri. It would appear that there may be as many as 60 or more allegedly defrauded claimants with litiga-ble claims.
National Union Fire Insurance Company of, Pittsburg, Pa. (hereinafter insurer) has a $500,000.00 policy which may or may not provide coverage for the alleged acts or omissions of the debtor. Unfortunately, that $500,000.00 is subject to exhaustion by the costs of defense. If some seventy suits are filed and defended, defense costs will exhaust all funds, (probably well before trial) and each of the claimants may well end up with some default judgment for a substantial amount to file as an unsecured claim. On the other hand, it may be possible to establish a mediation and resolution process in the bankruptcy case as the District Court and this Court did in Security Services, Inc..
Movants rely strongly on In re Titan Energy, Inc., 837 F.2d 325 (8th Cir. 1988) in
The Application For Order Modifying Automatic Stay is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
SO ORDERED.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In re JACKSON COUNTY ESCROW SERVICES, INC., Debtor
- Status
- Published