Paul Baisier, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge.
Before the Court is the Motion of Defendant-Debtor (the "
Under Rule 12(b)(6), a dismissal should be granted if a complaint fails "to state a claim upon which relief can be granted."
To obtain relief under Section 523(a)(2)(A), therefore, it must be shown that the Debtor obtained money, property or credit from the Plaintiffs: (1) by false representation, pretense, or fraud; (2) knowingly made or committed; (3) with the intent to deceive or to induce acting on same; (4) upon which the Plaintiffs actually and justifiably relied; and (5) from which the Plaintiffs suffered damages, injury or loss as a proximate result.
As the Debtor properly observes, to assert a claim under Section 523(a)(2)(A) for false representation, the Plaintiffs must allege more than a representation of an intent to perform a certain act in the future. See Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Farmery (In re Farmery), 2014 WL 2986630, *2, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 2865, *5 (Bankr. N.D.Ga. Apr. 11, 2014), citing Bucciarelli, supra, 429 B.R. at 375. Rather, it must be shown that when the Debtor entered into the loan agreement with the Plaintiffs she knew then either that she could not repay the loans or that she did not intend to repay them. See Bropson v. Thomas (In re Thomas), 217 B.R. 650, 653 (Bankr. M.D.Fla. 1998); American Surety & Cas. Co. v. Hutchinson (In re Hutchinson), 193 B.R. 61, 65 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 1996). In addition, an inability to pay does not give rise to the inference that the Debtor intended not to repay the loans as an actual fraud. Farmery, 2014 WL 2986630 at *2, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 2865 at *5-*6 (cite omitted).
The Plaintiffs maintain that their factual allegations, if accepted as true, establish grounds for relief under Section 523(a)(2)(A). In the Complaint, they pled that the parties entered into a contractual agreement whereby the Debtor borrowed funds to use in connection with Harold's Chicken in Atlanta as evidenced by two (2) promissory notes. Plaintiffs further assert that the Debtor took advantage of the parties' friendship by inducing them to lend her the money. Whether or not the proceeds were actually used for this business purpose, the Plaintiffs allege that these loans have not been repaid, and further, that the Debtor borrowed the money from them knowing that she never intended to repay it and they have been harmed as a result.
The Debtor admits in her Answer that these loans have not been repaid. In the Motion, however, the Debtor asserts that the Plaintiffs have failed to plead with sufficient particularity specific facts and circumstances in connection with their claims under the above-cited provisions. For instance, Debtor states that the Plaintiffs must set forth the nature and timeframe of the injury at issue including specific facts pertaining to the statements and/or actions they maintain constitute misrepresentations and deception, and support the basis of their reliance thereon in making these loans and leading to their financial loss. Further, according to the Debtor, the Plaintiffs fail to offer sufficient allegations regarding Debtor's intent to act in a fraudulent manner, offering instead conclusory statements that the Debtor did not intend to repay the loans.
In accordance with the above standards, the Court finds that the Complaint fails to allege a sufficient factual basis pertaining to specific actions and conversations, including time, place, and content, from which to plausibly infer that the Debtor made a misrepresentation about the subject loans with intent to deceive. Further, the Complaint does not allege facts regarding
Next, with regard to the Plaintiffs' allegations in Count II of the Complaint, the Court observes that under Section 523(a)(6) a willful and malicious injury is limited to acts, such as intentional torts, committed with an actual intent to cause injury as distinguished from acts taken intentionally that result in injury. See Kawaauhau v. Geiger, 523 U.S. 57, 118 S.Ct. 974, 140 L.Ed.2d 90 (1998); see also Hope v. Walker (In re Walker), 48 F.3d 1161 (11th Cir. 1995). This distinction recognizes that reckless conduct that results in injury characterized by an entire want of care or conscious indifference to the result is not adequate in accordance with the legal standard set forth in this discharge exception. In other words, Section 523(a)(6) only applies when a debtor intends the injury caused by his actions. It does not cover a failure to meet a duty of care that leads to injury. See Boggus, supra, 479 B.R. at 157, citing Herndon v. Brock (In re Brock), 186 B.R. 293 (Bankr. N.D.Ga. 1995); Myrick v. Ballard (In re Ballard), 186 B.R. 297, 299-301 (Bankr. N.D.Ga. 1994).
As noted in Henderson v. Woolley (In re Woolley), 288 B.R. 294, 301-02 (Bankr. S.D.Ga. 2001), whereas Geiger may appear to have generally narrowed the scope of this subsection to "trespassory intentional torts," the requisite state of mind has been analyzed further in the case law. Examining Eleventh Circuit precedent in Walker, the court in Woolley found that evidence of a "debtor's personal substantial certainty" in relation to the injury caused by his actions remains essential under Section 523(a)(6), as contrasted with a purely objective or reasonable person test that could reimpose the "previously rejected `reckless disregard standard.'" 288 B.R. at 302; quoted in Boggus, 479 B.R. at 157; accord Miller v. J.D. Abrams, Inc. (In re Miller), 156 F.3d 598 (5th Cir. 1998) (allowing either an objective or a subjective finding to satisfy willful and malicious injury).
In Count II (¶ 35), Plaintiffs allege that the Debtor "willfully and knowingly breached her contractual obligations" under their loan agreement by failing to repay what she owed. Although Plaintiffs allege that Debtor "never intended to repay the loans," the Complaint also includes statements that Debtor's "knowingly failing to remit the amount due" after obtaining the loan and "despite repeated representations that payments were forthcoming prior to the bankruptcy filing" that Debtor "knew or should have known" would cause harm and amount to a nondischargeable claim under Section 523(a)(6). See Complaint, ¶¶ 36-40.
Such imprecise allegations demonstrate why courts must be careful simply equating a breach of contract with actions
Assuming the veracity of any well-pleaded allegations to the extent made by Plaintiffs herein, the Court concludes that they do not "`plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.'" See generally American Dental, 605 F.3d at 1290, quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. at 1950. Similar to the analysis stated above, the Complaint fails to allege sufficiently that the Debtor acted with a specific intent to cause economic injury, or knew injury was substantially certain to result, from his failing to remit payment on the subject loans. For instance, the Plaintiffs' allegations in ¶¶ 36 and 37 seem to expand the focus on Debtor's intent and knowledge to both the time when the loans were made up to the time before the bankruptcy filing. Further, a knowing breach of contract or failure to act without more does not support a plausible inference of maliciousness as Plaintiffs must allege aggravating circumstances, such as the scope of injury that would necessarily be caused or further allegations about the relations between the parties.
Accordingly, based upon the above discussion, it is
The Clerk is directed to serve a copy of this Order upon the Defendant-Debtor, counsel for the Defendant-Debtor, counsel for the Plaintiffs, the Chapter 7 Trustee, and the United States Trustee.
11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A). These elements must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. See Grogan v. Garner, 498 U.S. 279, 291, 111 S.Ct. 654, 661, 112 L.Ed.2d 755 (1991); League v. Graham (In re Graham), 191 B.R. 489, 493 (Bankr. N.D.Ga. 1996); accord City Bank & Trust Co. v. Vann (In re Vann), 67 F.3d 277 (11th Cir. 1995).