JOAN N. FEENEY, Bankruptcy Judge.
The matter before the Court is the adversary proceeding commenced by Lacourse Builders, LLC ("Lacourse Builders") against Matteo D'Anello ("Mr. D'Anello" or the "Debtor"), through which it seeks to except a debt from discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4). The Court conducted a trial on May 2, 2012 at which two witnesses testified, Kenneth Lacourse ("Mr. Lacourse") and Andrew C. Fantasia, C.P.A., ABV, CVA and CFF ("Mr. Fantasia"),
The Court now makes its findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7052.
The Debtor filed a voluntary Chapter 13 petition on October 27, 2010. He listed Lacourse Builders as the holder of a contingent and unliquidated claim in the sum of $172,000 on Schedule F-Creditors Holding Unsecured Nonpriority Claims. Lacourse Builders timely filed a complaint to except that debt from discharge.
The Plaintiff, Lacourse Builders, a Massachusetts limited liability company, brought its Complaint through Mr. Lacourse, its manager on its own behalf and derivatively on behalf of Crestwood Builders, LLC ("Crestwood Builders"). Lacourse Builders was a member of Crestwood Builders. MD Management, LLC ("MD Management") was its only other member. Crestwood Builders was a limited liability company organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its manager was Mr. D'Anello. Lacourse Builders, through Mr. Lacourse, and Mr. D'Anello were involved in a joint venture to develop real estate in Framingham through their limited liability companies.
Specifically, on or about December 26, 2007, Lacourse Builders and MD Management, a limited liability company whose manager was the Debtor's spouse, Adele D'Anello, and whose SOC [Secretary of the Commonwealth] signatory was Paul A. D'Anello, formed Crestwood Builders and entered into a written Operating Agreement (the "Agreement") to govern their duties and obligations to each other. Pursuant to the Operating Agreement, MD Management and Lacourse Builders were equal members of Crestwood Builders. The Debtor served as the sole manager of Crestwood Builders whose intended purpose was the acquisition, development and sale of real estate. Mr. Fantasia, in a report dated September 21, 2009 (Plaintiff's Exhibit 6), indicated that "[t]he initial and only project developed [by Crestwood Builders] was land located at 567 Winter Street in Framingham, MA. The land was appraised on March 11, 2008 by Joseph R. Evangelista, RAS. His report indicated the real estate had an appraised value of $1,000,000. The land was to be subdivided into three lots."
Lacourse Builders was responsible for the construction of homes on land purchased by Crestwood Builders; and Mr. D'Anello was responsible for keeping and maintaining the books, records and accounts of Crestwood Builders, including all checking accounts and financial records. Mr. Lacourse described the arrangement succinctly: "He [Mr. D'Anello] would handle all the books, the payments of the subs, any of the daily bookkeeping of the company, and I would handle all the site visits, site construction costs, outside construction, and scheduling of the subcontractors." In other words, Mr. Lacourse scheduled and hired the subcontractors and ordered the materials, while Mr. D'Anello paid the invoices submitted for materials and labor. Mr. D'Anello, as the manager, had the sole check writing authority.
Crestwood Builders developed and constructed three residences in Framingham, Massachusetts, at least two of which sold for over $1.0 million. As discussed in more detail below, it obtained financing for the acquisition of the land and construction costs from Heritage Hill Finance. In addition
Mr. Lacourse testified, however, that after the construction of the first home, problems arose. He stated:
Despite the efforts of Mr. Lacourse, the subcontractors remained unpaid and the progress on the project slowed.
Mr. Lacourse made a more formal demand on Mr. D'Anello to examine the books and records of Crestwood Builders, but he failed to respond. Lacourse Builders engaged counsel and then commenced legal action against Mr. D'Anello and MD Management on February 24, 2009 by filing a complaint in the Middlesex Superior Court, Department of the Trial Court, CA No. 2009-00717.
The Debtor and MD Management failed to make the required payments, and Lacourse Builders filed, on June 22, 2010, another complaint for contempt against Mr. D'Anello and the other defendants for failing to comply with the order of the Superior Court. Shortly before the trial scheduled for November 30, 2010 (rescheduled from October 14, 2010) was to begin, Mr. D'Anello, on October 27, 2010, commenced his Chapter 13 case.
As a result of the legal action, Mr. Lacourse on behalf of Lacourse Builders learned about "[n]umerous checks written against the account that had no involvement with [the] Crestwood project whatsoever, numerous accounts [sic] that were written out towards other projects that he [Mr. D'Anello] had going at the time." Mr. Lacourse, by way of example, testified that checks were written to Gateway On The River, LLC, an entity with whom Crestwood Builders had no involvement and for which there was no authorization for payments totaling approximately $183,000.
Lacourse Builders produced a list of checks signed by Mr. D'Anello made payable to persons or entities that had nothing to do with the Crestwood Builders project. [Plaintiff's Ex. 5]
After Mr. Lacourse learned that checks were written to persons and entities unaffiliated with Crestwood Builders or its project, he confronted Mr. D'Anello at the job site in Framingham. He stated:
Mr. Lacourse testified that the parties had contemplated that, after the completion of the homes on Lots 1 and 2, Crestwood Builders would have minimal debt of approximately $50,000 on Lot 3. As a result of the additional mortgage, however, he stated that there was "a $250,000 debt on Lot 3 so we [Lacourse Builders] ended up finishing it." He added: "Heritage Hill fronted I think it was 80 percent loan of value on it [sic]. It was for $450,000 so 80 percent of that is what he [Clea Blair of Heritage Hill Finance] financed and I had to come up with the difference to finish the project." In short, Lacourse Builders finished the project (both Lots 1 and 2) for Crestwood Builders. As part of the settlement agreement in the Superior Court litigation, the Debtor agreed to turn over Lot 1 to Lacourse Builders.
As noted above, Crestwood Builders was funded with loans from private sources. Crestwood Builders obtained three loans from Heritage Hill Finance: a $750,000 loan of which $747,000 was released; a $500,000 loan used to construct the first house on Lot 3; and a $900,000 loan used to construct a house on Lot 2 of which $658,982.89 was disbursed. The proceeds of that loan were used to make interest payments on the outstanding loans and to pay material suppliers, in particular Wachusett Lumber & Building Supply, Inc. ("Wachusett Lumber"). As a result of the actions of the Debtor, Mr. Lacourse testified that he infused "pretty close to about $150,000 to $200,000" into the project on behalf of Lacourse Builders.
Mr. Fantasia provided a detailed report based upon documents obtained from Mr. D'Anello, his attorney, Mr. Lacourse, the attorney for Lacourse Builders, Heritage Hill Finance, the closing attorney for Heritage Hill Finance, and other individuals as well as the Office of the Secretary of State for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He listed numerous documents and sources, including the Citizens Bank account of Crestwood Builders, in his report from which he gleaned information. Based upon the extensive documentation he collected, Mr. Fantasia prepared Excel spreadsheets to document cash receipts and disbursements with the following captions: 1) Analysis of Land Note Payable: Advances, Interest Payments and Note Repayment; 2) Analysis of Lot #3 Note Payable: Advances, Interest Payments and Note Repayment; 3) Analysis of Lot #2 Note Payable: Advances, Interest Payments and Note Repayment; 4) Summary of Loans Issued and Related Payments; 5) Transaction Detail by Account: Citizens Bank Account; 6) Schedule of Funds Due from Matteo D'Anello; and 7) an Interest Rate Calculation for the unauthorized payments. The spreadsheet relating to the funds due from the Debtor contained columns for the check number, the check date, a description/payee, comments, the check amount, as well as the total amount of checks made payable to Gateway On The River, LLC, Matteo D'Anello, the Winchendon Project, the Town of Holliston, the North Brookfield
Mr. Fantasia found that as early as May 29, 2008, Mr. Lacourse was required to issue checks from his personal or other business accounts to vendors and subcontractors associated with the project. He determined that Mr. Lacourse expended $86,615.09 of his own funds ($175,615.09 less $89,000 of checks issued to him by Crestwood Builders). Additionally, Mr. Fantasia confirmed that on or about October 30, 2008, Mr. Lacourse requested Heritage Hill Finance to assume responsibility for paying project vendors and subcontractors from remaining available loan proceeds. Heritage Hill Finance routinely made direct payments to Wachusett Lumber because of a common ownership. Mr. Fantasia also found that Heritage Hill Finance advanced $150,000 to Mr. D'Anello for a construction project in Charlton, Massachusetts and then required Lacourse Builders to assume that obligation to induce it to continue funding the construction of the home on Lot 1 of the Framingham project.
Mr. Fantasia reported and testified that Crestwood Builders issued checks from only one bank account at Citizens Bank. He also stated that the Debtor, as the only person authorized to write checks from the account, wrote checks to himself or for his benefit between March 12, 2008 and February 27, 2009 and that the total of net unauthorized expenditures was $290,787.13. Mr. Fantasia also calculated an interest assessment in the sum of $28,214.84 using an interest rate of 9 %, the same rate used by Heritage Hill Finance, with respect to the unauthorized funds obtained by the Debtor, for a total of $319,001.97. He also included the $150,000 loan which Lacourse Builders assumed. Mr. Lacourse admitted, however, that he obtained Lot 1 in settlement of that unauthorized encumbrance.
On cross-examination, counsel to Mr. D'Anello attempted to establish that Mr. Lacourse authorized the expenditures because they were in furtherance of future projects. Mr. Lacourse emphatically rejected that notion, however. He explained that he told the Debtor "whether or not we move forward it's going to determine how this project ends up and that's as far as we went. He came to me with a couple of other projects and I said, `I really want to finish off this road, Crest Road, before we move on to anything else.'" He also rejected the suggestion that he and Mr. D'Anello were attempting to obtain work at the Fatima Shrine and had discussions about that project after problems had arisen at the Crestwood project. Mr. Lacourse testified as follows:
Mr. Lacourse testified that although the Debtor wanted a $50,000 finder's fee, Lacourse Builders paid him substantially less. He stated:
At the outset, the Court finds that there is a threshold issue of the standing of Lacourse Builders to seek an exception to discharge of the debt owed to Crestwood Builders. Lacourse Builders seeks determinations that the Debtor's conduct constituted fraud while acting in a fiduciary capacity and embezzlement. Were this Court to conclude that there was no express trust created by the Operating Agreement, state law, or the conduct of the party, the Court would be required to address the issue of whether the Debtor embezzled funds from Crestwood Builders. Thus, this Court would be required to determine whether Lacourse Builders has standing to pursue an exception to discharge on behalf of Crestwood Builders.
In In re Hayes, 393 B.R. 259 (Bankr.D.Mass.2008), this Court set forth the law applicable to standing. It stated:
In re Hayes, 393 B.R. at 266-67 (citing In re Newcare Health Corp., 244 B.R. 167 (1st Cir. BAP 2000), and In re Shamus Holdings, LLC, No. 08-1030-JNF, 2008 WL 3191315 (Bankr.D.Mass. Aug. 6, 2008)). In summary, to establish constitutional standing, a plaintiff must show that it "suffered an actual, concrete and particularized injury in fact, caused by the defendant's conduct, which a favorable judgment will likely redress." See Fawn Ridge
Pertinent to the standing issue, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 156C, § 56, which governs suits on behalf of limited liability companies, provides:
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 156C, § 56. The Superior Court action was not a derivative suit on behalf of Lacourse Builders as the plaintiff. Rather, it was commenced by Lacourse Builders against Mr. D'Anello, MD Management and Crestwood Builders as defendants. In the caption of its adversary proceeding, however, Lacourse Builders identified itself as a member of Crestwood Builders and indicated that it was bringing suit on behalf of Crestwood Builders, although it did not elaborate on its derivative standing in the body of its Complaint.
In White v. Whittle (In re Whittle), 449 B.R. 427 (Bankr.M.D.Fla.2011), members of a limited liability company brought an action against the debtor who had been the managing member. The debtor moved to dismiss arguing that the plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue derivative claims properly asserted only by the limited liability company. Citing Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 500, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975), the court concluded that the essential question was whether the plaintiffs were creditors. In re Whittle, 449 B.R. at 429, Agreeing with the debtor, the court stated:
Id. at 430. The court added: "plaintiffs are not entitled to recover directly any damages that were inflicted on the LLC by Whittle's misuse of LLC property" because they failed to avail themselves of a Florida statute establishing the right of a member to bring a derivative action of behalf of a limited liability company. Id. (footnote omitted). See also Lewis v. Spivey (In re Spivey), 440 B.R. 539, 545 (Bankr.W.D.Ark.2010) (stating that although Arkansas limited liability company statute imposed fiduciary duties upon members to account to the company, one member had no fiduciary duties to other members and members could not "in their
Based upon the evidence presented and in view of the applicable law set forth above, the Court concludes that the evidence established that Lacourse Builders through its manager, Mr. Lacourse, effectively took over the management, operations and obligations of Crestwood Builders and is now suing Mr. D'Anello on behalf of Crestwood Builders and itself. Lacourse Builders would not have been able to obtain the required vote of the other member of Crestwood Builders, MD Management, an entity managed by Mr. D'Anello's spouse, to commence a derivative suit. Section 56 of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 156 recognizes the futility of obtaining authorization to sue derivatively in certain situations where members have adverse interests. Accordingly, the Court finds there is no impediment to Lacourse Builders seeking and obtaining relief on its own behalf and derivatively on behalf of the Crestwood Builders because MD Management's interest was adverse to those of Lacourse Builders as a result of the relationship between MD Management and Mr. D'Anello. Moreover, the Court finds that Mr. D'Anello waived any issue relating to the prudential standing of Lacourse Builders by failing to raise it either before or after trial, particularly where the caption of the Complaint filed by Lacourse Builders indicates that it was filed on its own behalf and on behalf of Crestwood Builders.
In Billings v. GTFM, LLC, 449 Mass. 281, 289 n. 18, 867 N.E.2d 714 (Mass.2007), the court observed:
Billings v. GTFM, LLC, 449 Mass. at n.18. The circumstances in Billings are similar to those present in this case. Thus, Lacourse Builders has derivative standing to seek an exception to discharge, particularly where Mr. D'Anello did not raise the issue of standing and must be deemed to have waived any reliance on lack of standing.
The United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit in Petrucelli v. D'Abrosca (In re D'Abrosca), No. 09-01070-ANV, 2011 WL 4592338 (1st Cir. BAP Aug. 10, 2011), extensively reviewed the requirements for the existence of a fiduciary relationship under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4), which excepts from discharge debts "for fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity, embezzlement or larceny." It stated:
In re D'Abrosca, 2011 WL 4592338 at *5. The bankruptcy appellate panel added:
In re D'Abrosca, 2011 WL 4592338 at *6.
The bankruptcy appellate panel also considered the fiduciary duties owed to
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Sherman v. Potapov (In re Sherman), 603 F.3d 11 (1st Cir.2010), observed the following about proof of embezzlement for purposes of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4):
In re Sherman, 603 F.3d at 13. There are three elements to proof of embezzlement:
In the context of the embezzlement by a manager of a limited liability company, the court in Wallner v. Liebl (In re Liebl), 434 B.R. 529 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.2010), considered a derivative claim on behalf of a limited liability company, finding that the debtor appropriated the limited liability company's property and did so with fraudulent intent. The court observed that under Illinois law, like Massachusetts law, a plaintiff may maintain a derivative action on behalf of a limited liability company when members or managers with authority to sue have refused to bring an action or when an effort to cause those members or managers to bring an action likely would be unsuccessful. Id. at 536. The court entered judgment in favor of the limited liability company for all funds and property, tangible and intangible taken for the debtor's personal use and benefit.
Exceptions to discharge are narrowly construed in favor of the debtor, and the burden of proof is on the creditor to prove all applicable elements by a preponderance of the evidence. See McCrory v. Spigel (In re Spigel), 260 F.3d 27, 32 (1st Cir.2001); Grogan v. Garner, 498 U.S. 279, 286-87, 111 S.Ct. 654, 112 L.Ed.2d 755 (1991).
Although Lacourse Builders established the existence of fiduciary duties of care and loyalty on the part of Mr. D'Anello as the manager of Crestwood Builders which were owed to its members, see Freid v. Gordon, 2011 WL 1157891 at *4, the Court is unconvinced that those duties, without more, satisfy the requirement of § 523(a)(4) for the existence of an express trust, not a trust ex malificio. In Farley v. Romano (In re Romano), 353 B.R. 738 (Bankr.D.Mass.2006), this Court observed:
In re Romano, 353 B.R. at 761. Unlike the situation in In re Frain, 230 F.3d 1014 (7th Cir.2000), the Court finds that the Operating Agreement for Crestwood Builders was not structured in such a way as to concentrate overwhelming power in the Debtor's hands. In Frain, which involved a closely held corporation with three shareholders where the chief financial officer, Frain, owned 50% of the shares, had superior knowledge of day-to-day operations and exploited that position, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit concluded that "a fiduciary relationship was created by the structure of the corporation under the shareholder agreement," rejecting the debtor's contention that the violation of a contract entered into among equals was not covered by § 523(a)(4). Summarizing its holding, the Seventh Circuit stated: "A contract was
The Court finds that Lacourse Builders failed to establish that Mr. D'Anello held substantial ascendancy over it (or, for that matter, Mr. Lacourse), particularly where there was a substantial and logical division of labor and responsibilities between Mr. Lacourse and Mr. D'Anello, and Mr. Lacourse expeditiously asserted the rights of Lacourse Builders for an accounting when subcontractors alerted him to problems involving payment of invoices. Moreover, Mr. Lacourse on behalf of Lacourse Builders rejected Mr. D'Anello's attempts to expand their relationship and use the Crestwood Builders entity for other projects. His substantial responsibilities for hiring subcontractors, ordering materials and supervising the construction site coupled with his insistence that any future ventures depend on the outcome of the Crestwood project established that Mr. D'Anello did not have the ability to exercise "substantial ascendancy" over either Lacourse Builders or Crestwood Builders.
With respect to embezzlement, however, the Court finds that Lacourse Builders satisfied its burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. The testimony of Mr. Lacourse and, particularly, the testimony of, and report prepared by, Mr. Fantasia unequivocally established that the Debtor, as manager of Crestwood Builders, appropriated monies entrusted to him from the proceeds of loans from Heritage Hill Finance, the sale of Lot 3 and other sources for his own benefit, paying not only himself but his nephew, his daughter's boyfriend and costs unrelated to the project in Framingham, including substantial sums associated with a failed development project known as Gateway On The River, LLC.
Although the Court had no direct evidence of fraudulent intent, the circumstantial evidence surrounding the appropriation of funds by the Debtor compels the conclusion that the appropriations were made with fraudulent intent. The checks written by the Debtor to individuals and entities that benefitted him and conferred no benefit on Crestwood Builders compels the conclusion that he had the requisite scienter and Crestwood Builders and Lacourse Builders were substantially harmed by his conduct.
In addition, the Court draws a negative inference from the Debtor's failure to attend and testify at the trial.
Bogosian, 323 F.3d at 67. See also S.E. Nichols, Inc. v. McGohan (In re McGohan), 75 B.R. 10 (Bankr.N.D.N.Y.1986). The decision in McGohan is on point. In that case, the court stated:
In re McGohan, 75 B.R. at 13-14.
Although Lacourse Builders did not subpoena the Debtor to appear and testify at trial, the Debtor in the parties' Joint Pretrial Memorandum represented that "[t]he Defendant ... expects to testify on his own behalf." The Court draws a negative inference from the Debtor's failure to appear and to testify at trial. His absence bolsters the Court's conclusion the he misappropriated monies belonging to Crestwood Builders that were rightfully in his possession with fraudulent intent.
In view of the foregoing, the Court shall enter a judgment in favor of Lacourse Builders and on behalf of Crestwood Builders, derivatively, and against the Debtor in the sum of $319,001.97.
In re D'Abrosca, 2011 WL 4592338 at *6.