In re McCurnin
In re McCurnin
Opinion of the Court
This matter comes before the Court on the motion of Defendants South Anna, Inc., and Stephanie Jeter Tumlin to dismiss the complaint (the "Complaint") filed by chapter 7 trustees Bruce H. Matson and Peter J. Barrett (collectively, the "Trustees"). For the following reasons,
BACKGROUND
Leah Christine McCurnin ("Mrs. McCurnin") filed a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on December 29, 2015, and Peter J. Barrett was appointed to serve as trustee in her case. Shelby Farrell McCurnin ("Mr. McCurnin") filed his own voluntary chapter 7 petition for relief on January 8, 2016, and Bruce H. Matson was appointed to serve as trustee in his case.
Mr. McCurnin and Mrs. McCurnin (collectively "the Debtors") were, at all relevant times, married and together owned all of the shares of Isis, Inc. ("Isis"), which they founded in 1998.
The Trustees
On January 31, 2018, the Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) and (b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), (6),
JURISDICTION
The Court has jurisdiction pursuant to
FACTS
The Trustees allege the following facts.
Tumlin joined Isis in 1999 as a computer programmer, writing accounting software programs. Several years later she was promoted to manager of development. Her duties expanded to include managing Isis's team of eight to nine software developers as well as several employees of Isis's affiliate, Izida, LLC, which was located in Bulgaria.
Beginning in 2008, Isis's revenues fell and never recovered. It faced increasing collection pressure and litigation from its creditors. In October of 2014, its former landlord filed a complaint against Isis and the Debtors, as guarantors, in the Circuit Court for Henrico County, Virginia, seeking over $150,000 in unpaid rent.
In late 2014, the Debtors and Tumlin "devised a scheme to continue the business of Isis without its mounting debt."
Isis ceased operations in June of 2015, and its registration with the Virginia State Corporation was subsequently terminated. In August, Isis defaulted on its loan with M & T Bank, and in December, M & T Bank filed a complaint against Isis and the Debtors in the Henrico County, Virginia, Circuit Court. By order dated February 26, 2016, the circuit court granted M & T Bank judgment against Isis for $99,661.44, plus interest and late fees of $2,029, as well as attorneys' fees and costs (the "Judgment").
*736South Anna solicited Isis's customers and arranged for most of them to enter into contracts with South Anna. One customer refused to execute a new contract, so South Anna continued to do work for that customer under the old Isis contract. With the former Isis employees, in their new roles as employees of South Anna, servicing the former Isis customers, South Anna became profitable immediately. From May through August, South Anna used Isis's property, including its computer equipment and furniture.
By October of 2015, the Debtors' personal relationship had deteriorated, and Mr. McCurnin left Isis.
On December 29, 2015, Mrs. McCurnin filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, and one week later Mr. McCurnin filed his own petition, completing the "final step in the scheme to continue Isis's business through South Anna [and] shed the personal guarantees [the McCurnins] had given to Isis's creditors."
Mr. McCurnin listed his 49% interest in Isis as having a value of $147,000, from which the total value of Isis would be calculated as being close to $300,000. "South Anna 'acquired' this full enterprise value for almost no consideration."
On December 14, 2017, M & T Bank executed an "Unconditional and Absolute Assignment of Judgment" (the "Assignment") wherein it assigned any and all interest in the Judgment to the Debtors' bankruptcy estates. The Assignment purports to assign "all of M & T's right, title, and interest in and to the Judgment, including all sums of money that may be obtained by means of or as a result of the Judgment." It further provides that the assignment is "unconditional, absolute and without consideration" and grants the bankruptcy estates the power and authority to "acknowledge satisfaction or to discharge and release the Judgment."
LEGAL STANDARDS AND POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
Rule 12(b)(1). A motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is brought pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Counts II, III(a), and IV of the Complaint are proceedings to "determine, avoid or recover fraudulent conveyances" pursuant to provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and are therefore core matters.
Counts I, III(b), V, and VI of the Complaint are claims brought under state law, over which the Court may exercise subject matter jurisdiction as a proceeding "related to" a case under title 11.
Rule 12(b)(6). A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted is brought under Rule 12(b)(6). When considering a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court must accept as true the well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint, and all reasonable inferences must be drawn in favor of the complaining party:
To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to "state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.
Ashcroft v. Iqbal ,
The Defendants assert that the Trustees have no authority under the Bankruptcy Code to pursue claims on behalf of non-debtor entities, in this case Isis, or a creditor of the bankruptcy estates, in this case M & T Bank.
Generally, a motion to dismiss for lack of standing is governed by Rule 12(b)(1), "because standing is a jurisdictional matter." Ballentine v. United States ,
Here, the Defendants argue that the Trustees do not have standing under the Bankruptcy Code to pursue their claims. This is not a constitutional or prudential standing argument but rather an argument that the Trustees lack statutory standing, i.e., that the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code do not confer upon the Trustees the power to make the claims they assert in the Complaint. Therefore, the Motion, to the extent that it seeks dismissal for lack of statutory standing, is properly analyzed under Rule 12(b)(6) as a failure to state a claim. See Kerns v. United States ,
Alternatively, the Defendants claim that the successor liability and alter ego counts should be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) because the Trustees have failed to allege any corporate affiliation or commonality of ownership between Isis and South Anna. They argue that the fraudulent transfer counts should be dismissed for failure to allege a transfer of property of the Debtors and that the business conspiracy count should be dismissed for failure to allege an independent crime or tort upon which a claim of conspiracy may be based.
Abstention. Finally, to the extent that the Trustees are allowed to proceed, the Defendants argue that the case should be litigated in state court. They urge that because the Judgment was issued by a state court, "any action to collect on that judgment should be brought in state court." The Court interprets this as a request for judicial abstention pursuant to
DISCUSSION
The Assignment
The Trustees maintain that they have standing to sue South Anna and Tumlin by virtue of the "unconditional" assignment of the claim of a creditor, M & T Bank. The Assignment is attached as an exhibit to the Complaint and contains the following language:
On February 26, 2016, judgment was entered in the Circuit Court for the County of Henrico, Case No. CL15-3264-00 in favor of M & T and against the defendant ISIS, Inc. in the principal amount of $99,661.44 plus interest and late fees ....
M & T hereby assigns, without recourse and without representation or warranty of any kind, to the Estates, all of M & T's right, title, and interest in and to the Judgment, including all sums of money that may be obtained by means of or as a result of the Judgment. Such assignment is unconditional, absolute and without consideration. From and after the date hereof, the Estates, by and through their respective trustees, shall have full power and authority, at the expense of the Estates, to use all lawful means for the recovery of the money due or to become due on the Judgment and to acknowledge satisfaction or to discharge and release the Judgment.
The Trustees state that "M & T could have independently pursued the same claims now advanced by the Trustees against the Defendants to satisfy the debt owed to it by the Debtors, but instead fully assigned those rights to the Trustees for the benefit of the estates as a whole."
The Defendants argue that the Trustees have no authority under the Bankruptcy Code to pursue the claim of M & T Bank, citing *740Caplin v. Marine Midland Grace Trust Co. ,
M & T Bank, as a creditor of Isis, had standing under state law to pursue a claim against South Anna and Tumlin.
*741Causes of action under the Bankruptcy Code
In Counts II, III(a), and IV the Trustees seek to avoid and recover the transfer of assets from Isis to South Anna pursuant to §§ 548(a)(1)(A) and (B)
Under § 541(a)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code, property of the estate includes "all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case." The determination of what constitutes property of the estate is a matter of federal bankruptcy law; however, the extent of a debtor's interests in property is determined by applicable state law. See Butner v. United States ,
Under Virginia law, a corporation is a legal entity separate and distinct from its stockholders. Barnett v. Kite,
The Debtors in this case were Mr. McCurnin and Mrs. McCurnin, not Isis. The Debtors owned the shares of Isis, not its assets. The Complaint does not allege that either of the Debtors transferred any of their shares in Isis or any of the assets of Isis. The shares of stock in Isis are assets of the bankruptcy estates, but the assets of Isis are not, nor have they ever been, the property of the Debtors. Applying the plain language of §§ 548(a)(1) and 544(b)(1) to the facts alleged in the Complaint, there was no transfer of an interest of property of the Debtors to South Anna or Tumlin, an element required by both §§ 548(a)(1) and 544(b)(1).
Other courts have recognized that there must be a depletion of the estate in order to establish a cause of action under § 548.
There must be a depletion of the estate for there to be an avoidable transfer under § 548 or § 549. In re Jarax Int'l, Inc.,164 B.R. 180 , 185 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 1993). Ownership of stock in a corporation does not mean that the corporation is property of the estate. In re Peoples Bankshares, Ltd.,68 B.R. 536 , 539 (Bankr. N.D. Iowa 1986). The extent of a debtor's interest in property is determined by state law. In re Cedar Rapids Meats, Inc.,121 B.R. 562 , 567 (Bankr. N.D. Iowa 1990). Technical, legal distinctions between corporations and shareholders will be respected in bankruptcy cases. Peoples Bankshares,68 B.R. at 539 . A debtor's property interest as a shareholder of a corporation is limited to rights represented by the stock certificates.Id. Dismissal of a § 548(a) claim was affirmed in In re Miner,185 B.R. 362 , 367 (N.D. Fla. 1995), aff'd,83 F.3d 436 (11th Cir. 1996), where corporate property was transferred and the debtor was a shareholder of the corporation. The court concluded *743that because the debtor had no interest in the property transferred, no § 548(a) claim existed as a matter of law.Id.
Cambridge Tempositions, Inc. v. Cassis (In re Cassis ),
In failing to show a transfer of property of the Debtors, the Trustees have not established all the elements of §§ 548(a)(1) and 544(b)(1) and thus have not stated a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to those sections. For the same reason, the Trustees do not have statutory standing to assert causes of action under §§ 548(a)(1) and 544(b)(1) on behalf of Isis because those sections do not give bankruptcy trustees the authority to avoid transfers of property interests of nondebtors. Accordingly, Counts II, III(a), and IV must be dismissed.
State Law Claims
Counts I, III(b), V, and VI assert causes of action under Virginia law. As the Court has already stated, these claims do not "arise under" the Bankruptcy Code, nor do they "arise in" a bankruptcy case.
Whether the Court should exercise "related to" jurisdiction in this case is another question. A determination that a bankruptcy court has "related to" jurisdiction is not dispositive of whether the court should exercise jurisdiction. Hagan v. Lawyers Title Insurance Corp. (In re LandAmerica Fin. Grp., Inc.) , Adv. No. 10-03168-KRH,
*744[N]othing in this section prevents a district court in the interest of justice, or in the interest of comity with the State courts or respect for State law, from abstaining from hearing a particular proceeding arising under title 11 or arising in or related to a case under title 11.
A bankruptcy court has considerable discretion when deciding whether to abstain. Kepley Broscious, PLC v. Ahearn (In re Ahearn) ,
(1) the court's duty to resolve matters properly before it; (2) the predominance of state law issues and non-debtor parties; (3) the economical use of judicial resources; (4) the effect of remand on the administration of the bankruptcy estate; (5) the relatedness or remoteness of the action to the bankruptcy case; (6) whether the case involves questions of state law better addressed by the state court; (7) comity considerations; (8) any prejudice to the involuntarily removed parties; (9) forum non conveniens; (10) the possibility of inconsistent results; (11) any expertise of the court where the action originated; and (12) the existence of a right to a jury trial.
Applying these factors to this case leads the Court to conclude that it should abstain. Counts I, III(b), V and VI involve purely state law claims that are more appropriately addressed by the state court. First, but for the Assignment of M & T Bank's Judgment, the Trustees would have no standing to pursue a fraudulent conveyance action. M & T Bank, if it had retained the Judgment, would have been required to pursue its claims against Isis in state court. In this instance, the Trustees should have no greater rights than M & T Bank, including in their choice of forum.
*745Second, if the Trustees are successful in their action under § 55-80, avoidance of the fraudulent transactions, rather than an award of damages, is the only remedy available under Virginia law. La Bella Dona Skin Care, Inc. v. Belle Enter., LLC ,
Code § 55-80, however, does not impose liability upon the participants of a fraudulent conveyance. The statute merely "renders void every conveyance or transfer made 'with intent to delay, hinder or defraud creditors ... of or from what they are or may be lawfully entitled.' " Cheatle v. Rudd's Swimming Pool Supply Co. ,234 Va. 207 , 212,360 S.E.2d 828 , 830 (1987) (quoting Code § 55-80 ). This remedy returns the fraudulently conveyed assets to the transferor, but, as a general rule, it does not authorize "a court to award an in personam judgment when [the transaction] is set aside." Mills v. Miller Harness Co. ,229 Va. 155 , 158,326 S.E.2d 665 , 667 (1985).
Id. at 256,
Virginia law requires payment of a corporation's creditors before assets of the corporation may be disbursed to its shareholders, who in this case are the Debtors. See Marshall v. Fredericksburg Lumber Co. ,
The remaining Ahearn factors also weigh in favor of abstention. State law issues predominate over bankruptcy issues, including the Defendants' challenges to the adequacy of the Complaint's state law allegations. These issues are better addressed by the state court. See Massey Energy Co. v. W. Va. Consumers for Justice ,
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the Court will grant the Defendants' Motion to dismiss Counts II, III(a), and IV of the Complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court will abstain from hearing Counts I, III(b), V, and VI of the Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C.§ 1334(c)(1), and those Counts will be dismissed.
A separate order shall be issued.
The Court is not required to state findings or conclusions when ruling on a motion to dismiss. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a)(3), made applicable by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7052.
Count III of the Complaint appears to assert causes of action for avoidance of transfers under both the Bankruptcy Code and the Virginia Code. For clarity, the Court will refer to the cause of action for avoidance of transfers asserted under the Bankruptcy Code as Count III(a) and the cause of action for avoidance of transfers asserted under the Virginia Code as Count III(b).
Isis is not a party to this proceeding. There is no evidence or allegation that Isis has filed bankruptcy or has been the subject of an involuntary petition in bankruptcy.
All facts set forth herein are gleaned from the Complaint. See infra note 12.
Although the Trustees are presumably proceeding as joint plaintiffs pursuant to Rule 20 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Fed. R. Civ. P. 20, made applicable by Bankruptcy Rule 7020, Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7020, it is not clear how the Trustees intend to dispose of any recovery that may be obtained or how they intend to deal with the related fees and expenses. Neither case docket reflects the existence of an agreement between the Trustees. The two bankruptcy estates are not being jointly administered.
On December 14, 2017, the bankruptcy estates obtained an unconditional assignment from M & T Bank of a judgment M & T Bank obtained against Isis on February 26, 2016. See infra text accompanying note 22.
The counts in the Complaint can be summarized as follows:
Count I - South Anna should be liable for the debts and liabilities of Isis as Isis's successor in interest;
Count II - the transfer of the property of Isis to South Anna is an avoidable fraudulent conveyance pursuant to11 U.S.C. § 548 (a)(1)(A) and (B) ;
Count III - the transfer of the property of Isis to South Anna is an avoidable fraudulent conveyance pursuant to11 U.S.C. § 544 (b)(1) andVa. Code Ann. § 55-80 ;
Count IV - the avoided transfers are recoverable pursuant to11 U.S.C. § 550 (a) ;
Count V - South Anna should be liable for Isis's debts as Isis's alter ego; and,
Count VI - Tumlin conspired with the Debtors to fraudulently transfer the assets of Isis in violation ofVa. Code Ann. §§ 18.2-499 and 500.
All references to the Bankruptcy Code are to
Count VI of the Complaint alleges that Tumlin conspired with the Debtors to fraudulently transfer the assets of Isis to South Anna in violation of
Made applicable by Bankruptcy Rule 7012(b), Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7012(b).
The Court has jurisdiction to determine whether it has subject matter jurisdiction over this adversary proceeding. See Chicot Cty. Drainage Dist. v. Baxter State Bank ,
When addressing a facial challenge to subject matter jurisdiction, the Court must accept the factual allegations of the complaint as true. Kerns v. United States ,
Izida, LLC, is 100% owned by Mr. McCurnin and was created to provide a less expensive workforce for Isis. Complaint ¶ 17 and accompanying footnote.
In ¶ 18 of the Complaint, the Trustees assert that this quotation was taken from a Rule 2004 examination of Tumlin.
Complaint, ¶ 22.
The suit was stayed as to the Debtors as a result of their bankruptcy filings.
South Anna made a $5,000 payment to Isis for office equipment in August 2015.
The Debtors are in the process of divorcing.
Complaint, ¶ 45.
Complaint, ¶ 46.
Complaint, ¶ 50.
Complaint, Ex. C.
Made applicable to this adversary proceeding by Bankruptcy Rule 7012(b), Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7012(b).
See Holloway v. Pagan River Dockside Seafood, Inc. ,
The Third Circuit has stated that a civil proceeding is "related to" a bankruptcy case if "the outcome could alter the debtor's rights, liabilities, options, or freedom of action ... and which in any way impacts upon the handling and administration of the bankrupt estate." Pacor, Inc. v. Higgins ,
One of the principles applicable when determining whether a plaintiff has standing is that "the plaintiff generally must assert his own legal rights and interests, and cannot rest his claim to relief on the legal rights or interests of third parties ...." Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, Inc. v. Mirage Resorts, Inc. ,
The concept of statutory standing was explained in depth by the Fourth Circuit in CGM, LLC v. BellSouth Telecomm., Inc. ,
Constitutional standing and prudential standing are well-covered ground. To possess constitutional standing, a plaintiff must be injured by the defendant, and a federal court must be able to redress the injury. See, e.g., In re Mutual Funds Inv. Litig. ,529 F.3d 207 , 216 (4th Cir. 2008). Prudential standing encompasses several judicially-created limits on federal jurisdiction, "such as the general prohibition on a litigant's raising another person's legal rights, the rule barring adjudication of generalized grievances more appropriately addressed in the representative branches, and the requirement that a plaintiff's complaint fall within the zone of interests protected by the law invoked." Allen v. Wright ,468 U.S. 737 , 751,104 S.Ct. 3315 ,82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984).
Less well-known is the concept of statutory standing, which is perhaps best understood as not even standing at all. Statutory standing "applies only to legislatively-created causes of action" and concerns "whether a statute creating a private right of action authorizes a particular plaintiff to avail herself of that right of action." Radha A. Pathak, Statutory Standing and the Tyranny of Labels ,62 Okla. L.Rev. 89 , 91 (2009). This Court has framed the statutory standing inquiry as whether the plaintiff "is a member of the class given authority by a statute to bring suit...." In re Mutual Funds ,529 F.3d at 216 (examining "statutory standing" under ERISA separately from Article III standing and deeming statutory standing to exist). As the Third Circuit summed it up in Graden v. Conexant Sys., Inc. :
Though all are termed "standing," the differences between statutory, constitutional, and prudential standing are important. Constitutional and prudential standing are about, respectively, the constitutional power of a federal court to resolve a dispute and the wisdom of so doing. Statutory standing is simply statutory interpretation: the question it asks is whether Congress has accorded this injured plaintiff the right to sue the defendant to redress his injury.
496 F.3d 291 , 295 (3d Cir. 2007) (internal citations omitted).
"Because Plaintiffs are asserting a claim under § 548, the Court has core jurisdiction. No cause of action exists under § 548 outside of bankruptcy. It is more appropriate to determine whether the Complaint states a § 548(a) claim upon which relief can be granted and whether Plaintiffs have standing to assert such a claim than to dismiss based on a lack of subject matter jurisdiction." Cambridge Tempositions, Inc. v. Cassis (In re Cassis ),
Memorandum in Opposition to Defendants' Motions to Dismiss (Dkt. 11), p. 3.
Caplin v. Marine Midland Grace Trust Co. ,
"Every gift, conveyance, assignment or transfer of, or charge upon, any estate, real or personal ... given with intent to delay, hinder or defraud creditors, purchasers or other persons of or from what they are or may be lawfully entitled to shall, as to such creditors, purchasers or other persons, their representatives or assigns be void."
The Defendants have not challenged the validity of the Assignment other than to point to the failure of the Trustees to allege that it has been recorded in the local courthouse, an omission that does not render the Complaint deficient. However, under the reasoning in Logan v. JKV Real Estate Servs. (In re Bogdan) ,
Notwithstanding the Trustees' assertion that M & T Bank has a right to share pro rata in any recovery by the Trustees, it is difficult to see how M & T Bank has any remaining right to recover on a claim that it has unconditionally and absolutely transferred to another party. Nevertheless, that issue is not before the Court at this time, and for purposes of the Motion, which requires that reasonable inferences be construed in favor of the Trustees, the Court will treat the Assignment as unconditional and inclusive of the right to collect from the guarantors.
(a)(1) The trustee may avoid any transfer (including any transfer to or for the benefit of an insider under an employment contract) of an interest of the debtor in property, or any obligation (including any obligation to or for the benefit of an insider under an employment contract) incurred by the debtor, that was made or incurred on or within 2 years before the date of the filing of the petition, if the debtor voluntarily or involuntarily
(A) made such transfer or incurred such obligation with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any entity to which the debtor was or became, on or after the date that such transfer was made or such obligation was incurred, indebted; or
(B) (i) received less than a reasonably equivalent value in exchange for such transfer or obligation; and
(ii) (I) was insolvent on the date that such transfer was made or such obligation was incurred, or became insolvent as a result of such transfer or obligation;
(II) was engaged in business or a transaction, or was about to engage in business or a transaction, for which any property remaining with the debtor was an unreasonably small capital
(III) intended to incur, or believed that the debtor would incur, debts that would be beyond the debtor's ability to pay as such debts matured; or
(IV) made such transfer to or for the benefit of an insider, or incurred such obligation to or for the benefit of an insider, under an employment contract and not in the ordinary course of business.
To the extent a transfer is avoided under § 550(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, the Trustees are permitted to seek recovery of the property transferred from the initial transferee or any immediate or mediate transferee of such initial transferee.
Courts have determined that "property belongs to the debtor ... if the transfer will deprive the bankruptcy estate of something which could otherwise be used to satisfy the claims of creditors." See Arrowsmith v. Lemberg Law, LLC (In re Health Diagnostics Lab, Inc.) ,
"The whole corporate concept would be meaningless if such were not the case." Dana v. 313 Freemason ,
See also E.A. Martin Machinery Co. v. Williams (In re Newman) ,
The Trustees claim that the transfer of assets of Isis was tantamount to a transfer of property of the Debtors because it resulted in the diminution of the value of the Debtors' equity interests in Isis. Not only does this argument fail to adequately address the fact that the stock in Isis, which represents the ultimate depository of any rights to the equity, remains in the Debtors' estates, it also overlooks that the Complaint contains no such allegation. On the contrary, the Trustees allege that Isis had a market value of $300,000 with debts of no less than $480,000, meaning that there was no equity in Isis to diminish.
A civil proceeding "arises under" the Bankruptcy Code when "federal law creates the causes of action or ... the plaintiff's right to relief necessarily depends on resolution of a substantial question of federal law." Sharif v. IndyMac Bank (In re Sharif) ,
The mandatory abstention provisions of
A similar twelve factor test was employed by this Court in McCarthy v. 88 La Gorce, LLC (In re El-Atari) , Adv. No. 11-01404-BFK,
Among the factors that may be considered when deciding whether to abstain pursuant to § 1334(c)(1) is the likelihood that the proceedings were commenced in bankruptcy court due to forum shopping. In re El-Atari ,
The Trustees argue that any recovery received by virtue of the Assignment will benefit the Debtors' creditors who are, for the most part, the same creditors as those of Isis. The Court takes judicial notice of the claims registers filed in the Debtors' cases. See Ammini v. Labgold (In re Labgold) ,
When a corporation has been terminated by operation of law, as the Trustees allege with respect to Isis,
[T]he properties and affairs of the corporation shall pass automatically to its directors as trustees in liquidation. The trustees then shall proceed to collect the assets of the corporation; sell, convey and dispose of such of its properties as are not to be distributed in kind to its shareholders; pay, satisfy and discharge its liabilities and obligations; and do all other acts required to liquidate its business and affairs. After paying or adequately providing for the payment of all its obligations, the trustees shall distribute the remainder of its assets, either in cash or in kind, among its shareholders according to their respective rights and interests.
The Debtors are the directors of Isis and under Virginia law are designated to act as its trustees in liquidation. There is nothing indicating that the Debtors have undertaken these responsibilities; indeed, if the allegations set forth in the Complaint are true, one would not expect such action by the Debtors. Likewise, the Trustees have not sought authority to operate Isis pursuant to
The circuit court ... shall have full power to liquidate the assets and business of the corporation at any time after the termination of corporate existence, pursuant to the provisions of this article upon the application of any person, for good cause, with regard to any assets or business that may remain.
The statute further provides the state court with the powers necessary to accomplish this missive:
A court in a proceeding brought to dissolve a corporation may issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian pendente lite with such powers and duties as the court may direct, take other action required to preserve the corporate assets wherever located, and carry on the business of the corporation until a full hearing can be held.
In re Farmer ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: Shelby Farrell MCCURNIN, Jr., Debtor. In re: Leah Christine McCurnin, Debtor. Bruce H. Matson and Peter J. Barrett, Trustees individually and as assignees of M & T Bank v. South Anna, Inc. and Stephanie Jeter Tumlin
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published