EnTitle Insurance v. Durling (In re Durling)
EnTitle Insurance v. Durling (In re Durling)
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM DECISION
On March 7, 2011, EnTitle Insurance Company sued Christopher Durling and other defendants in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging state law claims of breach of contract, fraudulent concealment, and fraudulent transfer. Not long thereafter, the parties entered into a Settlement and Release Agreement on September 30, 2011. The Settlement Agreement provided that the parties agreed to the entry of a consent judgment, and on October 14, 2011, the District Court entered a Consent Judgment against Durling and the other defendants for $3.9 million.
Durling filed his petition under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on December 6, 2011, and EnTitle filed a timely complaint alleging that its claim should be excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2)(A), (a)(4), and (a)(6).
Durling admits signing the Consent Judgment, but argues that it is not entitled to preclusive effect. Durling raises four principal arguments on his behalf. First, the elements of the claims pled in the District Court are not identical to, and therefore cannot establish, the elements of EnTitle’s nondischargeability claims. Second, the Consent Judgment does not specifically stipulate to a judgment on a cause of action for fraud; instead, it only stipu
In addition, Durling argues that summary judgment should not be granted because there is a genuine dispute on the issue of damages. Durling contends that an undetermined amount of the $8.9 million judgment is attributable to EnTitle’s breach of contract claim, which would be dischargeable in bankruptcy.
The Court held a hearing on EnTitle’s Motion for Summary Judgment on September 24, 2013 and took the matter under advisement. After considering the evidence properly before the Court, considering the arguments of counsel, and conducting an independent review of applicable law, the Court issues the following Memorandum Decision denying EnTitle’s Motion for Summary Judgment.
I. JURISDICTION
The Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and § 157. This proceeding concerns the dis-chargeability of a particular debt and is therefore a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)®. Notice of the hearing was properly given, and venue is appropriately laid in this District under 28 U.S.C. § 1409.
II. DISCUSSION
A. Summary Judgment Standard
Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a), made applicable to adversary proceedings by Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7056, the Court is required to grant a motion for summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
The moving party bears the burden to show that it is entitled to summary judgment,
When considering a motion for summary judgment, the Court views the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.
B. Undisputed Facts
The Court finds the following facts are not in dispute:
1. On March 7, 2011, EnTitle filed suit against Durling and other defendants in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
2. EnTitle asserted state law claims for breach of contract, fraudulent concealment, and fraudulent transfer.
3. On October 14, 2011, EnTitle, Dur-ling, and the other defendants entered into a Consent Judgment.
4. The Consent Judgment states that the complaint filed in the District Court “alleged state law claims of (a) breach of contract, (b) fraudulent concealment, and (c) fraudulent transfer.”
5. The Consent Judgment states that it “is entered into prior to a trial on the merits.”
6. The Consent Judgment orders that “a consent judgment in the amount of [$3.9 million] is hereby entered against the Defendants, jointly and severally, in favor of EnTitle on the claims asserted against them.”
C. Application of Collateral Estoppel
Having found these facts as undisputed, the Court turns to an analysis of the principles of collateral estoppel, which is also known as issue preclusion. EnTitle relies on this doctrine to argue that the Consent Judgment establishes Durling’s liability on EnTitle’s § 523(a) claims.
“Issue preclusion is a judicially created, equitable doctrine that operates to bar relitigation of an issue that has been finally decided by a court in a prior action.”
Which preclusion law to apply depends on the forum from which the prior judgment arises. Where a party in a bankruptcy proceeding attempts to collaterally estop another party from relitigat-ing an issue determined in a prior state court proceeding, the full faith and credit statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1738, directs the bankruptcy court “to refer to the preclusion law of the State in which judgment was rendered.”
The present motion for summary judgment presents a situation similar to that in Matosantos. Because the Consent Judgment was entered by the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, which was sitting in diversity, this Court arguably should apply Colorado preclusion law to the Consent Judgment. But like the Tenth Circuit in Matosantos, the Court does not have to decide which preclusion law to apply because federal pre-elusion law and Colorado preclusion law are nearly identical, and the application of one over the other would not alter the outcome.
Under Tenth Circuit law, the requirements for collateral estoppel are: “(1) the issue previously decided is identical with the one presented in the action in question, (2) the prior action has been finally adjudicated on the merits, (3) the party against whom the doctrine is invoked was a party, or in privity with a party, to the prior adjudication, and (4) the party against whom the doctrine is raised had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue in the prior action.”
Under Colorado law, the requirements for collateral estoppel are: “(1) the issue precluded is identical to an issue actually litigated and necessarily adjudicated in the prior proceeding; (2) the party against whom estoppel was sought was a party to or was in privity with a party to the prior proceeding; (3) there was a final judgment on the merits in the prior proceeding; and (4) the party against whom the doctrine is asserted had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issues in the prior proceeding.”
Consent judgments are typically not entitled to preclusive effect because they do not satisfy the “actually litigated” requirement. “It is the general
Under Colorado preclusion law, the “actually litigated” element requires that “ ‘the issue must [have been] submitted for determination and then actually determined by the adjudicatory body.’”
But there is an exception to the general rule that consent judgments are not usually entitled to preclusive effect. Collateral estoppel may apply to a consent judgment where the parties intend that their agreement have such an effect.
Some jurisdictions have found that parties intend a consent judgment to preclude litigation of particular issues in a subsequent proceeding where they make that intent explicit. For example, in Shadow Factory Films Co. v. Swilley (In re Swilley),
Still other jurisdictions apply collateral estoppel to consent judgments where the parties’ intent can be inferred from the words of the agreement or the record, or where the parties “reasonably could have foreseen the conclusive effect of their actions” in agreeing to the judgment.
The Court, having reviewed the Parties’ Stipulation, hereby enters judgment against Defendants Gary D. Hauck and Brenda K. Hauck, jointly and severally, and in favor of Plaintiff Stephanie M. Martin in the amount of $200,000, said entry of judgment being based upon Plaintiffs 2nd Claim for Relief, Deceit Based on Fraud, and 4th Claim for Relief, Civil Theft pursuant to C.R.S. § 18-4-401, as stated in the Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint and Jury Demand, filed December 21, 2007.38
The bankruptcy court granted summary judgment to plaintiff, holding that the stipulated judgment operated as a final adjudication of those two claims and precluded the defendant from challenging those claims in the dischargeability context.
The Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida considered a similar issue in the case of Dorminy v. IRS (In re Dorminy).
The Court does not have to decide the precise standard by which parties must demonstrate their intent to be collaterally bound by a prior consent judgment, because EnTitle has not met its burden to show the parties’ requisite intent under any of the standards discussed above. The Court notes that the Consent Judgment between EnTitle and Durling does not contain an express statement that the judgment will be nondischargeable in a subsequent bankruptcy proceeding. The Settlement and Release Agreement that preceded the entry of the Consent Judgment, however, includes a provision that imposes consequences if Durling subsequently declares bankruptcy. It states succinctly that default occurs if Durling files for federal bankruptcy protection. Nondischargeability is not a consequence of filing bankruptcy. The default provision in the Settlement Agreement evinces that the parties contemplated the possibility that Durling might seek relief under the Bankruptcy Code, but they did not — or were not able to — come to an agreement that the judgment would be nondischargeable in bankruptcy.
The Consent Judgment also does not contain a list of stipulated facts that would establish a cause of action under § 523(a). The Consent Judgment is similar to the consent order in Halversen, which recited the amount of the judgment and provided
After careful consideration, this Court does not find that the Consent Judgment demonstrates the parties’ intent to be collaterally bound by it in this proceeding.
III. CONCLUSION
All elements of issue preclusion must be proved for the doctrine to apply.
A separate Order will be issued in accordance with this Memorandum Decision.
. All future statutory references are to Title 11 of the United States Code unless otherwise indicated.
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a).
. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
. Id.
. Id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Murray v. City of Tahlequah, Okla., 312 F.3d 1196, 1200 (10th Cir. 2002).
. Concrete Works, Inc. v. City & County of Denver, 36 F.3d 1513, 1518 (10th Cir. 1994).
. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. McKibben v. Chubb, 840 F.2d 1525, 1528 (10th Cir. 1988) (citation omitted).
. Martin v. Hauck (In re Hauck), 466 B.R. 151, 163 (Bankr.D.Colo. 2012).
. Hill v. Putvin (In re Putvin), 332 B.R. 619, 624-25 (10th Cir. BAP 2005).
. Grogan v. Garner, 498 U.S. 279, 284-85 n. 11, 111 S.Ct. 654, 112 L.Ed.2d 755 (1991).
. Nichols v. Board of County Comm’rs of La Plata, Colo., 506 F.3d 962, 967 (10th Cir. 2007) (citing Marrese v. Am. Acad. of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 470 U.S. 373, 380, 105 S.Ct. 1327, 84 L.Ed.2d 274 (1985)).
. Melnor, Inc. v. Corey (In re Corey), 583 F.3d 1249, 1251 (10th Cir. 2009).
. Semtek Int’l Inc. v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 531 U.S. 497, 508, 121 S.Ct. 1021, 149 L.Ed.2d 32 (2001).
. Matosantos Commercial Corp. v. Applebee’s Int'l, Inc., 245 F.3d 1203 (10th Cir. 2001).
. Id. at 1207-08.
.Id. at 1208.
. Id. at 1207.
. Kus v. Zwanziger (In re Zwanziger), 467 B.R. 475, 483 (10th Cir. BAP 2012).
. Bebo Constr. Co. v. Mattox & O’Brien, P.C., 990 P.2d 78, 84-85 (Colo. 1999).
. Arizona v. California, 530 U.S. 392, 414, 120 S.Ct. 2304, 147 L.Ed.2d 374 (2000) (quoting Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 27, p. 250 (1982)).
. Id. (quoting Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 27, comment e, at 257 (1982)).
. Id. (quoting 18 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Edward H. Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure § 4443 (1981)).
. Nichols, 506 F.3d at 968 (quoting Bebo Constr. Co., 990 P.2d at 85).
. Id.
. Id.
. See, e.g., Arizona, 530 U.S. at 414, 120 S.Ct. 2304 ("[Settlements ordinarily occasion no issue preclusion ... unless it is clear ... that the parties intend their agreement to have such an effect.”).
. Halpern v. First Georgia Bank (In re Halpern), 810 F.2d 1061, 1064 (11th Cir. 1987).
. Martin v. Hauck (In re Hauck), 489 B.R. 208, 214 (D.Colo. 2013).
. Shadow Factory Films Co. v. Swilley (In re Swilley), 295 B.R. 839 (Bankr.D.S.C. 2003).
. Halpern, 810 F.2d at 1064.
. Id. at 1062.
. Id.
. Martin v. Hauck (In re Hauck), 489 B.R. 208, 214 (D.Colo. 2013) (collecting cases and quoting IB J. Moore, J. Lucas & T. Currier, Moore's Federal Practice 794 (2d ed. 1984)).
. Martin v. Hauck (In re Hauck), 466 B.R. 151, 158 (Bankr.D.Colo. 2012).
. Id. at 168.
. Martin v. Hauck (In re Hauck), 489 B.R. 208, 214-16 (D.Colo. 2013).
. Metropolitan Steel, Inc. v. Halversen (In re Halversen), 330 B.R. 291 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2005).
. Id. at 304.
. Id.
. Dorminy v. IRS (In re Dorminy), 301 B.R. 599 (Bankr.M.D.Fla. 2003).
. Id. at 604.
. E.g., Custom Heating & Air, Inc. v. Andress (In re Andress), 345 B.R. 358, 369 (Bankr.N.D.Okla. 2006).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In re Christopher Lewis DURLING, Debtor. EnTitle Insurance Company v. Christopher Lewis Durling
- Status
- Published