Velde v. Morrison (In re McMartin)
Velde v. Morrison (In re McMartin)
Opinion of the Court
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff David G. Velde, Chapter 7 Trustee, filed a Complaint seeking to avoid a $ 22,000 payment Debtor Ronald G. McMartin, Jr., made to Defendant Scott Morrison, as Trustee of the Morrison Family Trust, on an obligation owed by McM, Inc. Doc. 1.
Morrison filed an Answer admitting that Debtor paid the sum of $ 22,000 to Morrison on an obligation owed by McM, Inc. He denied liability to the bankruptcy estate for the transfer.
The Court tried this case on December 12, 2018.
II. FINDINGS OF FACT
Beginning in 1995, Debtor and various entities in which he held an ownership interest leased land from Morrison Family Trust. At issue in this case is a payment pursuant to a lease between Morrison Family Trust and McMartin Family Partnership signed in September 2012. See Ex. 1. Under the agreement, Morrison Family Trust leased 110 acres of farmland (the Farmland)
On February 2, 2017, Debtor paid Morrison Family Trust $ 22,000 for rent under this cash lease agreement.
Within a week or two after Debtor remitted the 2017 rent check to Morrison Family Trust, Debtor informed Morrison he was establishing a new entity to sublease the Farmland and proposed transferring the lease to Elkhorn Farms, LLP.
McM, Inc. filed a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on February 10, 2017.
On March 22, 2017, Morrison Family Trust formally leased the Farmland to Elkhorn Farms. Specifically, Morrison on behalf of Morrison Family Trust and Kenneth H. Johnson and Al R. Johnson on behalf of Elkhorn Farms executed a two-year (2017 and 2018 farming seasons) cash lease agreement to rent the Farmland. Ex. 2. Aside from the modified term of the lease and the new lessee, the remainder of the provisions of the agreement are identical to those in the agreement between Morrison Family Trust and McMartin Family Partnership, including the $ 22,000 annual rate for the use of the Farmland. Ex. 2. Elkhorn Farms drafted the lease using the Morrison Family Trust/McMartin Family Partnership lease as a template.
On April 26, 2017, Elkhorn Farms paid Debtor $ 22,500. Ex. 4. The check Elkhorn Farms issued to Debtor notes it is for "Land Rent Reimbursement" in the memo line. The payment stub attached to the check lists the description of the Farmland, which matches the legal descriptions of the Farmland in the cash lease agreement between Morrison and McMartin Family Partnership and the cash lease agreement between Morrison and Elkhorn Farms. See Exs. 1, 2, 4.
Debtor filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on September 11, 2017.
III. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
A.
Under the constructive fraud transfer provision of *627section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code, a trustee can avoid a debtor's transfers made within two years of the petition date if the debtor did not receive a reasonably equivalent value in exchange.
(1) an interest of the debtor in property; (2) was voluntarily or involuntarily transferred; (3) within [two years] of filing bankruptcy; (4) where the debtor received less than reasonably equivalent value; and (5) debtor was insolvent at the time of the transfer or became insolvent as a result thereof.
Morrison concedes that the Trustee met his burden of proving all the elements except the fourth. He asserts that the Trustee cannot show Debtor received less than reasonably equivalent value.
"Whether a transfer is made for reasonably equivalent value is a question of fact." In re O'Neill,
"The question of reasonably equivalent value is answered by determining whether the debtor received value that is substantially comparable to the worth of the transferred property or, phrased another way, whether the debtor received a fair exchange in the marketplace for the goods transferred." Id. at 510 (footnotes and internal quotation marks omitted). "When determining whether the value transferred was reasonably equivalent to what was received, 'the important elements to consider are (1) fair market value and (2) whether there was an arm's length transaction.' " In re Schnoor,
The Bankruptcy Code defines "value" as "property in satisfaction or securing of a present or antecedent debt of the debtor[.]"
By this very definition, any consideration going toward satisfying a debt must be toward a debt of the debtor in bankruptcy , to constitute "value" in itself. In re Richards & Conover Steel Co.,267 B.R. at 612 (applying statutory definition of "value" to analysis of "reasonably *628equivalent value" under11 U.S.C. § 548 (a)(1)(B) ). If an indirect benefit to the debtor derived from the satisfaction of the debt of another is offered in defense as the "value," it must be "fairly concrete." In re Minn. Util. Contracting, Inc.,110 B.R. 414 , 420 (D. Minn. 1990). The party claiming to have delivered such value must quantify it, as to the debtor. In re Southern Health Care of Ark.,Inc.,309 B.R. 314 , 319-320 (8th Cir. BAP 2004) ; In re Richards & ConoverSteel Co.,267 B.R. at 614 .
Stoebner v. Ritchie Capital Mgmt., L.L.C. (In re Polaroid Corp. ),
Morrison offers alternative arguments for his claim that Debtor received reasonably equivalent value for the $ 22,000 payment Debtor made to Morrison on behalf of McM. First, Morrison asserts that Debtor received a direct benefit in exchange for his payment because Debtor "wrote the rent check and was leasing the land in his own name since there was no prohibition on sub-leasing in the written contract." Doc. 31 at 1. Under this theory, Morrison argues Debtor received reasonably equivalent value because he received the right to farm the land.
The evidence belies this assertion. The lease was not in Debtor's name, and Morrison presented no evidence of a sublease between Debtor and McM. Simply put, Debtor did not receive the use of the land upon his payment to Morrison. McM did. Although it is understandable that Morrison did not appreciate the legal distinctions between Debtor and the various McMartin entities, the distinctions matter. Debtor received no direct consideration in exchange for his $ 22,000.
Alternatively, Morrison argues that Elkhorn Farms farmed the land and reimbursed Debtor for the 2017 land rent payment, making Debtor and his bankruptcy estate whole. More specifically, Morrison claims that Debtor received reasonably equivalent value through the indirect benefit of the $ 22,500 rent reimbursement payment from Elkhorn Farms.
In response to this defense, the Trustee asserts that the determination of reasonable equivalence must be made as of the time of the transfer, and the transfer must be given in exchange for something Debtor received from Morrison-quid pro quo. He also claims that Morrison must show Debtor contemplated the direct (or indirect) benefit he ultimately received (reimbursement from Elkhorn Farms) at the time Debtor paid McM's $ 22,000 lease obligation to Morrison. In other words, the Trustee argues that the value Debtor received ($ 22,500) must have been in contemporaneous exchange for Debtor's ($ 22,000) payment to Morrison and must have arisen from the original bargain. He repeatedly characterized the connection between Debtor's payment of McM's lease obligation to Morrison and the payment to Debtor from Elkhorn Farms on the sublease as mere "happenstance." As support for this characterization, the Trustee emphasizes that when Debtor wrote the check to Morrison Family Trust, Elkhorn Farms did not exist, and there was no agreement that Debtor would receive anything in return. The Trustee repeatedly insisted that Morrison must prove Debtor had a plan to bring reasonably equivalent value back to Debtor at the time of the transfer.
*629The Trustee's arguments fail for several reasons. First, the Trustee focuses his argument on Debtor's intent at the time of the payment to Morrison, and Debtor and Morrison's bargain at the time of this transfer, rather than considering the transfer and the rent reimbursement from the perspective of unsecured creditors. "In contrast to actual fraud, a claim for constructive fraud focuses on the effect the transfer had on the debtor's financial condition without regard for the debtor's state of mind or intentions." Angell v. Endcom, Inc. (In re Tanglewood Farms, Inc. of Elizabeth City ),
*630Next, the Trustee argues that the time between the February 2, 2017 transfer and the April 26, 2017 reimbursement is too far removed to satisfy the "in exchange for" requirement of the reasonably equivalent value analysis. In support of his argument that the transfer and the receipt of benefit must be contemporaneous, the Trustee cited a number of cases standing for the proposition that the determination of reasonable equivalence must be made as of the time of the transfer. See Doc. 28 at 2-3. Many of these cases cite BFP v. Resolution Trust Corp.,
In this case, there is no dispute regarding property value because both the transfer and the benefit (reimbursement) were in cash. There is no evidence that the value of money changed in the two months between the transfer to Morrison and the indirect benefit via land rent reimbursement Debtor received. Most of the cases the Trustee cites do not stand for the proposition that the exchange of transfer for benefit must take place on the same date or at the same time. This is particularly true in those cases in which the debtor received an indirect benefit for the transfer-as presented by the circumstances in this case. Accordingly, the Trustee's argument that the transfer and reimbursement are not sufficiently contemporaneous is rejected.
Finally, the Court is not persuaded by the Trustee's argument that there is no evidence showing Debtor transferred $ 22,000 in exchange for a benefit to Debtor. Specifically, the Trustee argues that Debtor's $ 22,000 payment to Morrison for McM's land rent obligation was not given in exchange for Elkhorn Farms' $ 22,500 payment to Debtor. He asserts that the transfer and return benefit to Debtor were not the "quid pro quo" of the other, but rather, merely "happenstance."
To the extent the Trustee suggests that Debtor must receive a direct benefit from Morrison in exchange for the transfer of $ 22,000, this argument is rejected. Courts routinely find that an indirect benefit in exchange for a transfer may satisfy the reasonably equivalent value requirement. See, e.g., In re Richards & Conover Steel, Co.,
To the extent the Trustee claims that Debtor's $ 22,000 land rent payment to Morrison was not a transfer in exchange for the indirect $ 22,500 payment Debtor received from Elkhorn Farms for land rent reimbursement, the Court rejects this argument as well. In evaluating reasonably equivalent value, the Court finds it appropriate to consider all the evidence related to the transfer to Morrison and to compare this sum to the total benefit Debtor received either directly or indirectly in exchange for the transfer. See *631In re Richards & Conover Steel, Co.,
Based on the evidence received at trial, Debtor and various entities in which he owned an interest leased land from Morrison. Debtor signed a lease of the Farmland on behalf of McMartin Family Partnership, later known as McM. On February 2, 2017, Debtor paid $ 22,000 to Morrison to satisfy McM's lease obligation. A week or two after Debtor transferred $ 22,000 to Morrison, Debtor informed Morrison he was establishing a new entity to sublease the land Morrison leased to McM. Debtor proposed transferring the lease to Elkhorn Farms. Morrison agreed. Although the founders of Elkhorn Farms did not complete the incorporation registration with the North Dakota Secretary of State until April, they began the incorporation process in early 2017 (not later than February 16, 2017). On March 22, 2017, Morrison and Elkhorn Farms signed a cash rent lease agreement relating to the Farmland-the same real property as the lease Debtor signed on behalf of McMartin Family Partnership. In other words, Debtor made a cash lease payment in February 2017 for the same land Elkhorn Farms formally leased in March 2017. On April 26, 2017, Elkhorn Farms issued a check to Debtor for $ 22,500. The memo line provides that the payment is for Land Rent Reimbursement. The payment stub attached to the check includes a land description matching the land description of the Farmland Morrison leased to McMartin Family Partnership and Elkhorn Farms. After considering all these facts, the Court is satisfied that Debtor received $ 22,500 in exchange for the $ 22,000 land rent payment Debtor paid to Morrison on behalf of McM.
Additionally, the Trustee argues that the $ 22,000 transfer was not in exchange for the $ 22,500 rent reimbursement from Elkhorn Farms because they were not quid pro quo of the other, and Eighth Circuit law requires a quid pro quo exchange. The Eighth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel in In re Richards & Conover Steel, Co. suggested that an indirect benefit may be the quid pro quo of a transfer. It found:
A transfer is in exchange for value if one is the quid pro quo of the other. 2 David G. Epstein, Bankruptcy § 6-49 at p. 33 (citing In re Gailey, Inc.,119 B.R. 504 , 513 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. 1990) ). Once it is determined that the Debtor received the services of GHG then it is clear they were in exchange for the payment of GHG's fees, directly or indirectly, as the quid pro quo, one for the other.
In this case, Morrison offered evidence that Debtor received an indirect benefit-$ 22,500 of concrete indirect economic value-that exceeded the value that Debtor transferred ($ 22,000). See Unencumbered Assets Trust v. Biomar Tech., Inc. (In re Nat'lCentury Fin. Enters., Inc. ),
B.
" Section 544(b) empowers a trustee to step into the shoes of an actual unsecured creditor and utilize whatever state or nonbankruptcy federal law remedies that particular creditor may have." Kelly v. Opportunity Fin., LLC (In re Petters Grp. Worldwide, LLC ),
*633[w]ithout receiving a reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the transfer or obligation, and the debtor was engaged or was about to engage in a business or a transaction for which the remaining assets of the debtor were unreasonably small in relation to the business or transaction or the debtor intended to incur, or believed or reasonably should have believed that the debtor would incur, debts beyond the debtor's ability to pay as they became due.
N.D.C.C. § 13-02.1-04(b)(1). A claim for relief with respect to a transfer under section 13-02.1-04 must be brought within four years after the transfer was made. N.D.C.C. § 13-02.1-09(2). "The main distinction between the provisions of the bankruptcy code and [ ] state law fraudulent transfer statutes [under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act] is the lookback period." Kaler v. Wong (In re Wong ),
The Trustee conceded at trial that the longer lookback period is the only difference between the North Dakota fraudulent transfer law and
The Court considered all other arguments and deems them to be without merit or unnecessary to address.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the Court finds in favor of Defendant and against the Trustee. The Trustee's claims and causes of action are dismissed with prejudice.
All citations to the docket refer to the docket in this adversary proceeding (# 18-07023) unless otherwise designated.
The Farmland is located in the N½ NE ¼ and N½ S½ NE¼ of Section 9, Township 159N, Range 51 in Pembina County. See Exs. 1, 2, 4.
Although the names of entities under which Debtor conducted his farming business and the source of the checks to Morrison Family Trust changed over the years, Debtor always signed the leases and rent checks. For example, McMartin Family Partnership became McM, Inc. in 2014. Debtor conducted business on behalf of both entities. According to Morrison, Debtor was also always the "point man" in Morrison Family Trust's dealings with the various McMartin entities over the years.
The Trustee stipulated that $ 22,000 was the fair market rental value of the land.
Elkhorn Farms was formed in early 2017, according to Kim Johnson, the office manager of Elkhorn Farms. Specifically, Kenny H. Johnson and Al R. Johnson signed a form registering Elkhorn Farms, LLP, as a North Dakota limited liability partnership on February 16, 2017, after discussing forming the entity for a few months. Ex. 5. Notations on the form indicate that the North Dakota Secretary of State received it on February 23, 2017 and again on March 31, 2017.
Morrison testified that he understood that the lease agreement allowed McMartin Family Partnership to sublet or assign the lease as long as both parties to the lease agreed to it.
Most courts that have considered this issue find that an objective standard is applied to the reasonably equivalent value analysis under section 548(a)(1)(B). See Rodriguez v. Nelabovige (In re Kirst ),
Many courts in other circuits apply a two-step reasonable equivalence analysis without a quid pro quo requirement. See, e.g., FBI Wind Down Inc. v. Innovative DeliverySys., Inc. (In re FBI Wind Down, Inc. ),
At the heart of the reasonably equivalent value analysis in this case lies the question: Did the bankruptcy estate suffer a loss as a result of Debtor's transfer? See In re Rood,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: Ronald G. MCMARTIN, Jr., Debtor. David G. Velde, Trustee v. Scott Morrison, as Trustee of the Morrison Family Trust
- Status
- Published