ROBERT H. JACOBVITZ, Bankruptcy Judge.
Plaintiff Edward A. Mazel, Chapter 7 Trustee of the Bankruptcy Estate of Darla Kelly ("Trustee"), seeks summary judgment on his claims to recover certain transfers of property. See Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Counts 2 - 8 ("Motion") — Docket No. 20. Trustee asserts that the alleged transfers are recoverable as preferential transfers under 11 U.S.C. § 547; as constructively fraudulent transfers under 11 U.S.C. § 548 and applicable state law; and as actual fraudulent transfers under 11 U.S.C. § 548 and applicable state law. Defendant Clare Varela a/k/a Clare Griego, opposes the motion. See Response to Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Counts 2 - 8 ("Response") — Docket No. 25.
The proper use of summary judgment streamlines litigation and avoids the unnecessary expense of proceeding to trial. See Farnell v. Albuquerque Publ'g Co., 589 F.2d 497, 502 (10
In considering a motion for summary judgment, the Court must "examine the factual record and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment." Wolf v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 50 F.3d 793, 796 (10th Cir. 1995) (quoting Applied Genetics Int'l, Inc. v. First Affiliated Sec., Inc., 912 F.2d 1238, 1241 (10th Cir. 1990)). The party opposing summary judgment "may not rest on its pleadings, but must bring forward specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial as to those dispositive matters for which it carries the burden of proof." Kannady v. City of Kiowa, 590 F.3d 1161, 1169 (10
New Mexico Local Bankruptcy Rule 7056-1 requires the movant to number all material facts movant contends are not subject to genuine dispute, with references to the portions in the record upon which the movant relies to establish each material fact. See NM-LBR 7056-1 ("The facts shall be numbered and shall refer with particularity to the portions of the record relied upon."). Similarly, the party opposing a motion for summary judgment must number each material fact the party contends is in genuine dispute, with references to particular portions of the record upon which the party relies, and must identify which of the moving party's numbered facts the opposing party contends are disputed. See NM-LBR 7056-1(b). Unless the party opposing summary judgment specifically controverts a material fact, all properly supported material facts identified in the motion for summary judgment are deemed admitted. See NM-LBR 7056-1(b) ("All facts in movant's statement of facts that are properly supported shall be deemed admitted unless respondent specifically controverts them."). The Court has discretion to summarily deny a motion for summary judgment that does not comply with NM-LBR 7056-1. See NM-LBR 7056-1(a) ("The court may summarily deny any motion that does not comply with this rule.").
Defendant is not represented by counsel. Her Response does not comply with the requirements of NM-LBR 7056-1(b) because it does not include a statement of numbered facts Defendant alleges are disputed, nor does the Response identify by number which of the Trustee's facts she contends are subject to genuine dispute. Instead, the Response attempts to address in narrative form the Trustee's statement of facts surrounding the transfers at issue in this adversary proceeding. The Response also attaches copies of various documents in support of Defendant's position. Despite Defendant's failure to comply with the requirements of NM-LBR 7056-1(b), the Court will consider the substance of Defendant's Response together with the documents attached to the Response to determine whether any of Trustee's properly supported material facts are subject to genuine dispute.
1. Darla J. Kelly ("Debtor") filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code on January 28, 2015. Complaint, ¶ 1 (Docket No. 1); Response to Complaint, ¶ 1 (Docket No. 12) ("I agree that regarding filing of bankruptcy but was not notified as such and had no knowledge of.").
2. Pre-petition, Debtor borrowed money from Defendant Clare Varela a/k/a Clare Griego on several occasions. See Motion, ¶ 15 (referencing pre-existing promissory notes executed by the Debtor in favor of the Defendant); Response, p. 2 ("Debtor Darla Kelly had borrowed money from Defendant Clare Varela a/k/a Clare Griego for several years").
3. Defendant is the Debtor's cousin.
4. Pre-petition, Debtor owned a 2001 Dodge Ram 3500 VIN # 1B7HF13Yo1J589507 (the "Dodge Truck"). See Motion, Exhibit B — Certificate of title for the Dodge Truck dated July 18, 2013 reflecting Darla Fox
5. Debtor assigned the title of the Dodge Truck to Defendant on August 8, 2014. Id.; Response, p. 2 ("Debtor Darla Kelly gave her interest of the 2001 Dodge to Defendant Clare Varela a/k/a Clare Griego . . .").
6. Pre-petition, Debtor owned certain real property described as Meadow Lake Subdivision Unit 2, Tract 31, known as 57 Navajo Lane, Los Lunas, New Mexico (the "Navajo Lane Property"). See Motion — Exhibit D, Warranty Deed executed by Carol Trujillo dated April 10, 2007 conveying the Navajo Lane Property to Darla Fox.
7. A mobile home is situated on the Navajo Lane Property. See Motion — Exhibit D, Property Record Card from the Valencia Assessor; Response, p.2.
8. On December 11, 2014, Debtor conveyed the Navajo Lane Property to Defendant by Warranty Deed. See Motion — Exhibit C, Warranty Deed executed by Darla J. Kelly dated December 11, 2014 conveying the Navajo Lane Property to Clare Varela.
9. On the same date, Debtor conveyed certain real property described as Meadow Lake Subdivision Unit 2, Tract 101 (the "Vacant Land") to Defendant. See Motion — Exhibit E, Warranty Deed executed by Darla J. Kelly dated December 11, 2014 conveying the Vacant Land to Clare Varela.
10. Debtor transferred the Dodge Truck, the Navajo Lane Property, and the Vacant Land to Defendant in payment of existing indebtedness Debtor owed to Defendant. See Motion, ¶ 15; Response, p. 2 ("Debtor Darla Kelly gave her interest of the 2001 Dodge to Defendant Clare Varela a/k/a Claire Griego for moneys owed to her." "Debtor Darla Kelly had borrowed money from Defendant Clare Varela for several years, and agreement was made to take the "Properties" in payment of debts owed to Defendant Clare Varela a/k/a Clare Griego.").
11. The value of the Debtor's scheduled assets as of the petition date was $84,750.00. See Debtor's Bankruptcy Case No. 15-10164-j7 — Docket 1.
12. The total amount of the Debtor's scheduled liabilities as of the petition date was $142,680.19. Id.
Section 547 of the Bankruptcy Code authorizes the Trustee to avoid preferential transfers for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate. It provides, in relevant part:
An avoidable preferential transfer under § 547(b) has six elements: 1) the debtor must have had an interest in the transferred property; 2) the transfer must be to a creditor, or for the benefit of a creditor; 3) the transfer must be on account of a debt owed by the debtor to the creditor before the transfer was made; 4) the transfer must be made at a time that the debtor is insolvent; 5) the transfer must have occurred within the preference period — i.e., within 90 days before the date of the petition, or, if the creditor is an insider, between 90 days and one year of the petition date; and 6) the transfer must enable the creditor to receive more than the creditor otherwise would have received if the transfer had not occurred and the bankruptcy estate were liquidated under Chapter 7. 11 U.S.C. § 547(b). See also, Brown v. KOT, Inc. (In Hertzler Halstead Hosp.), 334 B.R. 276, 286 (Bankr.D.Kan. 2005) (enumerating the six elements) (citing In re M & L Bus. Mach. Co., Inc., 84 F.3d 1330, 1339 (10
With respect to the insolvency element under § 547(b)(3), the Trustee is entitled to a presumption of the Debtor's insolvency for transfers made within 90 days of the petition date. See 11 U.S.C. § 547(f) ("For the purposes of this section, the debtor is presumed to have been insolvent on and during the 90 days immediately preceding the date of the filing of the petition."). Unless the creditor presents evidence to rebut the statutory presumption of insolvency, the presumption is sufficient to satisfy the insolvency element on summary judgment. See Sandoz v. Fred Wilson Drilling Co. (In re Emerald Oil Co.), 695 F.2d 833, 835 (5
The Trustee asserts that the Dodge Truck is avoidable as a preferential transfer to an insider of the Debtor made between ninety days and one year before the petition date. The facts not subject to genuine dispute establish that the Debtor had an interest in the Dodge Truck, transferred the Dodge Truck to Defendant, and made the transfer on account of a debt owed by the Debtor to the Defendant before the transfer was made, satisfying elements 1), 2), and 3). However, the undisputed facts are insufficient to satisfy element 4), insolvency.
Even if the Court were to accept that the Defendant, who is the Debtor's cousin, is an "insider"
A debtor is "insolvent" if the debtor's financial condition shows that the total amount of the debtor's debts exceeds the total value of the debtor's assets. See 11 U.S.C. § 101(32)(A) (defining "insolvent" as a "financial condition such that the sum of such entity's
The undisputed facts establish that the Debtor's transfers of her interests in the Navajo Lane Property and the Vacant Lot to Defendant were made on account of antecedent debts Debtor owed to Defendant, and were made within 90 days of the date of the filing of the petition date. The Trustee is entitled to the presumption of insolvency with respect to these transfers. Thus the Trustee has satisfied elements 1), 2), 3), 4), and 5) necessary to establish an avoidable preferential transfer under § 547(b). The only element at issue with respect to the transfers of these two properties is element 6), found in § 547(b)(5): whether the transfers enabled Defendant to receive more than she otherwise would have received in a Chapter 7 liquidation had the transfers not occurred.
The Trustee relies upon case law which holds that this element can be satisfied upon a showing that unsecured creditors will not receive a 100% distribution on their claims through a hypothetical chapter 7 liquidation. See, e.g., Palmer Clay Products Co. v. Brown, 297 U.S. 227, 229, 56 S.Ct. 450, 80 L.Ed. 655 (1936) (explaining that a payment of 10 per cent on account of a claim "will necessarily result in such creditor receiving a greater percentage than other creditors, if the distribution in bankruptcy is less than 100 per cent").
The petition date is the relevant date for conducting the hypothetical liquidation analysis under § 547(b). In re Castletons, Inc., 990 F.2d 551, 554 (10
There is no evidence of the value of the Navajo Lane Property or the Vacant Lot currently before the Court. Nor is there sufficient evidence of the amount of Defendant's unsecured claim. Without these amounts, the Court cannot conclude that the transfer of the Navajo Lane Property and the Vacant Lot to Defendant enabled Defendant to receive more than she otherwise would have been entitled to receive had the transfer not occurred and the bankruptcy estate, including the Navajo Lane Property and the Vacant Lot, been liquidated and the proceeds distributed to creditors. It is possible (though not likely probable) that inclusion of the Navajo Lane Property and the Vacant Lot in the bankruptcy estate, even taking into account Ms. Varela's claim resulting from the avoidance of the transfers, would render the estate solvent. In addition, the promissory note for $9,500 executed on April 25, 2012, suggests that the Defendant may have accepted the Navajo Lane Property and the Vacant Lot in full satisfaction of the debt. The result of the transfer could be a discount of Defendant's claim that is less than the distribution she would otherwise have received from the bankruptcy estate had the transfer not occurred.
The Trustee also seeks to avoid the transfers of the Dodge Truck, the Navajo Lane Property and the Vacant Lot premised on constructive fraud under §548(a)(1)(B) and applicable state law.
The Trustee seeks to avoid the transfers of the Dodge Truck, the Navajo Lane Property and the Vacant Lot based on actual fraud. To recover a transfer based on actual fraud, whether under the Bankruptcy Code or under New Mexico, law requires actual intent. See 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(1) (a trustee may avoid a transfer if the debtor "made such transfer . . . 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 . . . indebted."); N.M.S.A. 1978 § 56-10-18(A)(1) (requiring that the transfer be made "with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud any creditor of the debtor."). Because a debtor rarely admits to an intent to hinder, delay, or defraud, actual intent may be established based on the facts and circumstances surrounding the transfer, often referred to as the so-called "badges of fraud." See Zubrod v. Kelsey (In re Kelsey), 270 B.R. 776, 782 (10
However, even though a Court may infer a debtor's actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud based on the existence of several badges of fraud, the focus of the Court's inquiry must be on the debtor's state of mind. "Because the Debtor's subjective intent is in issue, summary judgment is generally not an appropriate mechanism for adjudication of an actual fraudulent transfer claim." Rieser v. Hayslip (In re Canyon Systems Corp.), 343 B.R. 615, 636 (Bankr.S.D.Ohio. 2006) (citations omitted).
The circumstantial evidence upon which the Trustee relies to establish the Debtor's actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud, is not so overwhelming as to conclusively establish by summary judgment the requisite actual intent necessary to recover the transfers. The Debtor's credibility must also be examined. See Citizens Bank of Clearwater v. Hunt, 927 F.2d 707, 711 (2d Cir. 1991) (whether property was transferred with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors "involves issues of intent and credibility that were inappropriate for summary judgment and that should be resolved by the fact finder after a trial."). The Court declines to grant summary judgment on the Trustee's claims to recover the transfers based on actual fraud.
Finally, the Trustee seeks summary judgment on her claim to avoid the transfers of the Dodge Truck, the Navajo Lane Property and the Vacant Lot under N.M.S.A. 1978 § 56-10-19(B). That statute provides:
The facts not subject to genuine dispute may be sufficient to establish that the transfers to Defendant were made to an insider, the Debtor's cousin,
Based on the foregoing, the Court will deny the Trustee's Motion for Summary Judgment. The Court will enter a separate order consistent with this Memorandum Opinion.
Similarly, under N.M.S.A. 1978 § 56-10-18(A)(2), a transfer is fraudulent as to present and future creditors if it was made:
And under N.M.S.A. 1978 § 56-10-19(A), a transfer is fraudulent as to a present creditor of the debtor,
N.M.S.A. 1978 § 56-10-18(B).