Feltman v. Kossoff & Kossoff LLP (In re TS Emp't, Inc.)
Feltman v. Kossoff & Kossoff LLP (In re TS Emp't, Inc.)
Opinion of the Court
Pending before the Court is the motion ("Motion," ECF Doc. # 21) to dismiss the *703second amended complaint ("Second Amended Complaint," ECF Doc. # 16) filed by defendants Kossoff & Kossoff LLP and its principal Irwin Kossoff (collectively, "Defendants"). The Chapter 11 Trustee of TS Employment, Inc. ("TSE" or "Debtor"), plaintiff, James S. Feltman ("Trustee"), filed an opposition to the Motion. ("Trustee Opposition," ECF Doc. # 23.) Defendants filed a reply. (ECF Doc. # 25.) The issue here is whether the Second Amended Complaint sufficiently alleges that the Defendants meet the non-statutory insider exception to the Wagoner rule.
"The so-called Wagoner rule stands for the well-settled proposition that a bankrupt corporation, and by extension, an entity that stands in the corporation's shoes, lacks standing to assert claims against third parties for defrauding the corporation where the third parties assisted corporate managers in committing the alleged fraud." In re Platinum-Beechwood Litig. , No. 18-CV-10936 (JSR),
The usual application of the insider exception deals with directors, officers and managers of a corporation. The Defendants here are not directors, officers or managers. This case involves the recognized extension of the insider exception to non-statutory insiders "who in some other way control the corporation." In re Refco ,
I. BACKGROUND
A. Procedural History
The Trustee commenced the adversary proceeding against the Defendants here, who were TSE's former accountants. Defendants allegedly caused TSE and its creditors to lose more than $100 million before TSE filed for bankruptcy protection in February 2015. (Second Amended Complaint ¶ 1.)
On October 5, 2018, the Trustee filed an initial complaint ("Initial Complaint," ECF Doc. # 1) against the Defendants. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the Trustee's claims are barred by the Wagoner rule. ("First Motion to Dismiss,"
*704ECF Doc. # 8.) The Court granted the First Motion to Dismiss, concluding that the complaint did not sufficiently support an inference that Defendants fell within the non-statutory insider exception to the Wagoner rule. Kossoff , 597 B.R. at 552 [hereinafter Prior Opinion ]. The Court also rejected the Trustee's argument that the adverse interest exception applied. The dismissal of the Initial Complaint was without prejudice and the Trustee was allowed to amend the Initial Complaint to allege additional facts demonstrating that Defendants "acted effectively as TSE's CFO, Treasurer or other senior finance and accounting personnel, who made important accounting decisions that facilitated the massive fraud." Id.
On March 28, 2019, the Trustee filed the Second Amended Complaint, and on May 14, 2019, the Defendants again moved to dismiss.
B. Statement of Facts
Until its bankruptcy, TSE served as the professional employer organization ("PEO") for Corporate Resource Services, Inc. ("CRS") and its subsidiaries ("CRS Subsidiaries" and, together with CRS, "CRS Debtors"). The CRS Debtors were publicly traded companies. As the PEO, TSE was the employer of record for hundreds of thousands of temporary workers supplied under the CRS Debtors' contracts with their customers. (Second Amended Complaint ¶ 2.)
CRS experienced dramatic growth from 2010 to 2015 by offering its customers competitive pricing and financing options. CRS's ability to rapidly expand its business largely depended on purported financial accommodations made by TSE, including the forgiveness or deferral of more than $70 million owed to TSE under its PEO agreement with CRS. (Id. ¶ 3.)
TSE never had the capital or liquidity needed to make financial accommodations to CRS. TSE "financed" its accommodations to CRS by failing to pay federal employment taxes for TSE employees that were supplied to CRS customers. Moreover, most of TSE's funds were commingled with those of its affiliate, Tri-State Employment Service, Inc. ("Tri-State"), where tens of millions of dollars were used for purposes unrelated to TSE. As a result, TSE ultimately failed to pay more than $100 million (exclusive of interest and penalties) in federal employment tax obligations, as well as other non-tax obligations. (Id. ¶¶ 4-5.) Defendants' actions hid this reality from the outside world, thus permitting TSE to continue to amass unpaid liabilities while its corporate life was wrongfully prolonged. (Id. ¶ 7.)
From 2011 forward, TSE was insolvent and engaged in an unsustainable and under-capitalized business. TSE had no chief financial officer or treasurer to carry out its core financial and accounting operations. Instead, these functions were performed by Defendants, who allegedly exercised direct, complete, and virtually exclusive control over the financial reporting systems and internal accounting functions of TSE. (Id. ¶ 6.)
C. Second Amended Complaint
The Trustee attempts to cure the insufficiency in the Initial Complaint by alleging the following new allegations in the Second Amended Complaint to support the inference that Defendants were non-statutory insiders: (1) "[a]t all relevant times, TSE did not have a CFO or Treasurer" (id. ¶ 37); (2) "Defendants also interfaced independently and directly with TSE's auditor ... [and] were the source of the information needed for TSE's auditors to perform those audits" (id. ¶ 41); (3) "Defendants exercised direct, complete, *705and virtually exclusive control over the financial reporting systems, tax and internal accounting functions of TSE and fulfilled the roles ordinarily carried out by a company's senior internal financial and accounting personnel" (id. ¶ 38); (4) "Defendants acted with autonomy, and their conduct was their own" (id. ¶ 39); (5) "Defendants ... exerted unfettered influence over decisions that affected the Debtor's finances and operations" (id. ¶ 39); (6) "Defendants ... decided how to account for the Debtor's business activities" (id. ¶ 40); and (7) "TSE was operated in a manner that concealed a multi-year scheme to defraud the United States Treasury by systematically misreporting payroll tax obligations. This fraudulent and coordinated scheme required carefully managed financial reporting and false tax reporting activities which were performed and overseen by Irvin (sic ) Kossoff." (Id. ¶ 4.)
D. Defendants' Motion to Dismiss
First, Defendants argue that the Trustee repeated allegations found in the Initial Complaint and failed to plausibly plead "additional facts that can be alleged in good faith demonstrating that these Defendants acted effectively as TSE's CFO, Treasurer or other senior finance and accounting personnel ...." (Motion ¶ 2.)
Second, Defendants argue that the allegations that they exercised total control over TSE's internal accounting functions, acted with complete autonomy, and exerted unfettered influence over decisions that affected the Debtor's operations are entirely conclusory. Defendants therefore contend that these allegations are not entitled to credit on a motion to dismiss. (Id. ¶ 4.)
Third, Defendants argue that the allegation that they functioned as TSE's management is inconsistent with the Trustee's separate allegation, remaining from the Initial Complaint, that TSE's and Tri-State's owner, Robert Cassera ("Cassera"), totally controlled TSE and was the mastermind of the subject fraud. (Id. )
Finally, Defendants argue that the complaint does not allege the necessary degree of control over the Debtor's affairs to be considered an insider, even if, as the Trustee alleges, Defendants controlled TSE's internal accounting functions. In support of this point, they argue that the alleged control is not the same as "dictat[ing] corporate policy and the disposition of corporate assets" particularly where, as here, the complaint alleges that TSE was controlled by Cassera. (Id. ¶¶ 43-44.)
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
To survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, made applicable here by Rule 7012 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, a complaint need only allege "enough facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face." Vaughn v. Air Line Pilots Ass'n, Int'l ,
*706Medcalf v. Thompson Hine LLP ,
Courts use a two-pronged approach when considering a motion to dismiss. Pension Benefit Guar. Corp. v. Morgan Stanley Inv. Mgmt. Inc. ,
Courts do not make plausibility determinations in a vacuum; it is a "context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense."
III. DISCUSSION
A. Applicability of the Wagoner Rule to the Trustee's Second Amended Complaint
It is a "fundamental principle of agency that the misconduct of managers within the scope of their employment will normally be imputed to the corporation." Wight v. BankAmerica Corp. ,
Under the Bankruptcy Code, a trustee "stands in the shoes of the bankrupt corporation and has standing to bring any suit that the bankrupt corporation could have instituted had it not petitioned for bankruptcy." Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc. v. Wagoner ,
The Trustee acknowledges that the Debtor, TSE, for which he is chapter 11 trustee, engaged in misconduct. The Trustee states that "TSE 'financed' its accommodations to CRS by willfully failing to pay federal employment taxes for TSE employees that were supplied to CRS customers, as well as other obligations." (Second Amended Complaint ¶ 5.) The Trustee alleges that Defendants participated in this scheme by "hid[ing] TSE's financial condition from the outside world, thus permitting TSE to continue amass[ing] unpaid liabilities." (Id. ¶ 7.) The Trustee also specifically alleges that Defendants, in their capacity as TSE accountants, executed the scheme by making false representations related to federal and state tax preparation, eve-of-bankruptcy journal entries, and additional malfeasance. (Id. ¶¶ 98-105.) Taking the complaint as a whole, the Trustee alleges that Defendants participated in the same misconduct for which the corporation, and therefore the Trustee, stands accused.
If Defendants are third-parties, then the Second Circuit's Wagoner rule bars the Trustee from pursuing claims against the Defendants. Wagoner ,
B. Non-Statutory Insider Exception to the Wagoner Rule
1. The Non-Statutory Insider Standard and Prior Kossoff Opinion
The Wagoner rule does not apply to insiders. In re Optimal U.S. Litig. ,
The statutory definition of an insider provided by the Bankruptcy Code § 101(31) reads in relevant part:
The term "insider" includes-
...
(B) if the debtor is a corporation-
(i) director of the debtor;
(ii) officer of the debtor;
(iii) person in control of the debtor;
(iv) partnership in which the debtor is a general partner
(v) general partner of the debtor; or *708(vi) relative of a general partner, director, officer or person in control of the debtor ....
While the insider designation has various implications within different bankruptcy proceedings, within the context of the Wagoner rule, "courts have defined 'insider' as one that is 'on the board or in management, or in some way control[s] the corporation.' "
Courts will determine whether a party is an insider on an individualized basis based on the "totality of the circumstances." In re Borders Grp., Inc. ,
The PHS court distilled the relevant case law to a non-exclusive list of factors for courts to consider:
(1) the close relationship between the debtor and the third party, In re 455 CPW Assocs. , No. 99-5068,2000 WL 1340569 , at *5 (2nd Cir. Sept. 14, 2000) (finding an insider as one who has a sufficiently close relationship to the Debtor that his conduct is subject to closer scrutiny); (2) the degree of the individual's involvement in the debtor's affairs, In re Borders, Inc. ,453 B.R. at 469 ; (3) whether the defendant had opportunities to self-deal, In re ABC Elec. Servs. ,190 B.R. 672 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 1995) ; and (4) whether the defendant holds or held a controlling interest in the debtor corporation, In re Borders ,453 B.R. at 469 .
In re PHS ,
In the Prior Opinion , this Court found that Defendants' close relationship to the Debtor weighed in favor of a finding of insider status but was insufficient to determine insider status without the inclusion of additional facts. Kossoff , 597 B.R. at 551. The allegations regarding the Defendants' relationship to the Debtor are repeated in the Second Amended Complaint. They include a long-term professional relationship between the Defendants and the Debtor, the Defendants' work across Cassera's businesses, and the Defendants' regular private jet travel from Florida to New York with Cassera. Those allegations support an inference that there was a close relationship between the Debtor and the Defendants. (Second Amended Complaint ¶¶ 16 & 37.)
The Trustee cites case law that purportedly indicates satisfaction of the first factor alone is sufficient to warrant a finding of insider status. In re Cont'l. Capital Inv. Servs', Inc. , 03-3370,
*709In re Chari ,
2. Second PHS Factor Weighs in Favor of Non-Statutory Insider Status
The allegations made by the Trustee against Defendants support an inference that Defendants meet the required level of control to satisfy the non-statutory insider exception to the Wagoner rule. Specifically, the Trustee satisfies the second factor's "degree of involvement" requirement by plausibly alleging that Defendants fulfilled the role of a CFO or Treasurer to the extent that they were "making decisions regarding how to account for the Debtor's business activities," and that Defendants "exerted significant influence over decisions that affected the Debtor's operations." Id. at 551.
When determining a third party's degree of involvement in a Debtor's affairs, courts consider the "totality of the circumstances." In re Borders ,
In the Second Amended Complaint, the Trustee alleges that TSE did not employ a CFO, Treasurer, or other accounting personnel. (Second Amended Complaint ¶ 6.) Instead, all accounting "functions were performed by Defendants, who ostensibly acted as Tri-State's and TSE's outside accountants but exercised direct, complete, and virtually exclusive control over the financial reporting systems and internal accounting functions of TSE." (Id. ) The Trustee alleges that Defendants utilized their control over TSE's accounting and financial reporting systems to "exert unfettered influence over decisions that affected the Debtor's finances and operations." (Id. ¶ 39.) Rather than acting as outside advisors to TSE, the Trustee alleges that the Defendants "exercised decisionmaking (sic ) authority over financial matters involving TSE, Tri-State, and other Cassera businesses." (Id. ¶ 7.) Exercising decision making authority over the Debtor concerning financial matters clearly qualifies for insider-status according to the standard followed by this Court. See In re Borders ,
It is a well-established principle that "an employee's title alone will not dictate their status as an insider for Wagoner purposes." In re PHS ,
Furthermore, courts consider that "actual management of the Debtor's affairs equals control" in determining insider status. In re ABC ,
Defendants argue the allegations that Defendants exercised total control over TSE's internal accounting functions and acted with autonomy while exerting unfettered influence over decisions that affected the Debtor's finances and operations are entirely conclusory, and therefore not entitled to credit. (Motion ¶ 28.) Defendants cite to case law reaffirming the well-established principle that this Court is not bound to accept conclusory statements as factual allegations. See , e.g. , *711Twombly ,
Rather than submitting a "legal conclusion couched as a factional allegation," Iqbal ,
3. More Than One Party May Be Considered in Control of the Debtor
Defendants further argue that because the Initial Complaint alleged that Cassera "exerted total control" over TSE and was the "mastermind of the alleged fraud," the allegations in the Second Amended Complaint that "Defendants exercised direct, complete, and virtually exclusive control over the financial reporting systems ... " are inconsistent and contradictory to the Initial Complaint and should therefore be discarded. (Motion ¶¶ 34-40.) The Trustee does not dispute that Cassera exercised control over TSE by ownership of the business. However, this does not mean that other individuals or entities did not also control key aspects of the business. To the contrary, courts routinely find one party to be an insider, notwithstanding another party's control over a debtor. See, e.g. , In re PHS ,
Therefore, given the early stage of this litigation and the nature of the allegations alleged in the Second Amended Complaint, the Court concludes that the Trustee is entitled to proceed with this case. Defendants dispute many of the facts alleged in the Second Amended Complaint, but a motion to dismiss is not the place to test the veracity of the pleadings.
IV. CONCLUSION
Accordingly, the Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint is DENIED. Defendants shall answer the Second Amended Complaint on or before July 22, 2019.
A separate order will be entered scheduling a Case Management Conference. In advance of the conference, counsel for the parties shall confer on the dates to be *712included in a case management and scheduling order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
The second exception to the Wagoner rule is the "adverse interest" exception, which this Court already rejected when it dismissed the Initial Complaint in this case. Feltman v. Kossoff & Kossoff LLP (In re TS Empl., Inc.) ,
During the hearing on the Motion, Defendants' counsel agreed that if Defendants held corporate titles, they would be considered insiders against whom the motion to dismiss would be denied. "COURT: If Kossoff had the title of CFO, the complaint would withstand the motion to dismiss, correct? CHUBAK: Correct." ("June 25, 2019 Hearing Transcript," ECF Doc. # 26, at 10:11-13.)
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: TS EMPLOYMENT, INC., Debtor. James S. Feltman, not individually but solely as chapter 11 trustee for TS Employment, Inc. v. Kossoff & Kossoff LLP and Irwin Kossoff
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published