Cadle Company II, Inc. v. Charles v. Lowery
Opinion
Cadle Company II, Inc. is an unsecured creditor holding a $2,002,287.31 judgment against Charles and Suzanne Lowery who have filed for bankruptcy. In their bankruptcy proceedings, the Lowerys claimed that the life insurance policy that they purchased in 1988 was exempt from creditors. The bankruptcy and district court agreed, and Cadle appeals, arguing that those courts, although addressing its claim that the life insurance payments constituted constructive fraud as described in Section 726.106, failed to address its argument that the Lowerys had committed intentional fraud pursuant to Section 726.105 of the Florida Statutes. Cadle specifically argues that the district court erred in concluding that Cadle had waived any argument with reference to intentional fraud, saying that Cadle did not “cite or rely upon Section 726.105 in any filing before the Bankruptcy Court. Instead, Cadle exclusively relied on a section 726.106 constructive fraud theory.”
*912 Like the district court, we can find no explicit reference to Section 726.105, the intentional fraud section, in Cadle’s filings with the bankruptcy court. However, Cadle did properly assert claims under Sections 222.29 and 222.30, both of which generally prohibit creditors from claiming exemptions that result from fraudulent transfers under “chapter 726.” We find that Cadle’s invocation of those Sections, along with Cadle’s allegations about the Lowerys’ fraudulent intent, was sufficient to raise a claim of intentional fraudulent conveyance, which must be addressed.
REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings herewith.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In Re: Charles v. LOWERY, Suzanne H. Lowery, Debtors. Cadle Company II, Inc., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Charles v. Lowery, Suzanne H. Lowery, Defendants-Appellees
- Status
- Unpublished