Barbara J. Houser, United States Bankruptcy Judge.
Before the Court are the (1) Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [AP No. 72]
A hearing on the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment was held before this Court on August 3, 2016 (the "
In deciding a motion for summary judgment a court must determine whether the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. FED. R. CIV. P. 56, as made applicable by FED. R. BANKR. P. 7056. In deciding whether a fact issue has been raised, the facts and inferences to be drawn from the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Berquist v. Washington Mut. Bank, 500 F.3d 344, 349 (5th Cir.2007). A court's role at the summary judgment stage is not to weigh the evidence or determine the truth of the matter, but rather to determine only whether a genuine issue of material fact exists for trial. Peel & Co., Inc. v. The Rug Market, 238 F.3d 391, 394 (5th Cir.2001) ("the court must review all of the evidence in the record, but make no credibility determinations or weigh any evidence") (citing Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 135, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000)); see also U.S. v. An Article of Food Consisting of 345/50-Pound Bags, 622 F.2d 768, 773 (5th Cir. 1980) (the court "should not proceed to assess the probative value of any of the evidence...."). While courts must consider the evidence with all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-movant, the nonmoving party must come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Matsushita
"After the movant has presented a properly supported motion for summary judgment, the burden then shifts to the nonmoving party to show with `significant probative evidence' that there exists a genuine issue of material fact." Hamilton v. Segue Software Inc., 232 F.3d 473, 477 (5th Cir.2000) (internal citation omitted). However, where, as here, "the burden at trial rests on the non-movant, the movant must merely demonstrate an absence of evidentiary support in the record for the nonmovant's case." Miss. River Basin Alliance v. Westphal, 230 F.3d 170, 174 (5th Cir.2000) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)).
The District Court for the Northern District of Texas has subject matter jurisdiction over the Debtor's bankruptcy case (the "
The Bankruptcy Case and all core and non-core proceedings in the Bankruptcy Case have been referred to this Court under the Order of Reference of Bankruptcy Cases and Proceedings Nunc Pro Tunc adopted in this district on August 3, 1984. This Memorandum Opinion contains the Court's analysis of the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.
The Debtor filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Eastern District of Texas on May 1, 2014 (the "
On April 30, 2015, the Plaintiffs filed their original complaint against the Debtor. That complaint was amended twice, resulting in the Complaint being the live complaint before this Court. As noted previously, the Complaint objects to the Debtor receiving a discharge in the Bankruptcy Case, as well as the dischargeability of the Amended Final Judgment, on multiple grounds. The only ground on which the Debtor seeks summary judgment, however, is the objection to his receipt of a discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(A).
Section 727(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that a discharge may be denied where:
11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(A). As explained by the Fifth Circuit:
Pavy v. Chastant (In re Chastant), 873 F.2d 89, 90 (5th Cir.1989) (citations omitted). Intertwined with this Court's consideration of the statute is "the basic principle of bankruptcy that exception to discharge must be strictly construed against a creditor and liberally construed in favor of a debtor so that the debtor may be afforded a fresh start." Judgment Factors, L.L.C. v. Athol Packer (In re Packer), 816 F.3d 87, 91 (5th Cir.2016) (quotations and citation omitted).
Turning to the Complaint, the Plaintiffs' § 727(a)(2)(A) allegations fall into one of two categories: (1) transfers of property from the Debtor himself, and (2) transfers of property from an entity that is alleged to be the Debtor's alter ego (an "
As to the first category of transfers, the summary judgment record contains sufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact that the Debtor transferred property belonging to him within one year of the Petition Date, satisfying the first three elements of the statute. For example, the Debtor obtained a homeowners' insurance policy from Farmers Insurance effective February 6, 2013 (the "
The summary judgment record also contains evidence of $96,000 in checks made payable to the Debtor, but which he deposited directly into the bank account of Lloyd Ward Group,
As just explained, the summary judgment record contains sufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact that (1) there was a transfer of property, (2) belonging to the Debtor, (3) within one year of the Petition Date. Thus, the remaining element is whether the transfers were made with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor or officer of the estate. Although actual intent is required to prove this element, it may be inferred from the actions of the Debtor and may be proven by circumstantial evidence. Chastant, 873 F.2d at 91 (citations omitted). And, because the Debtor moved for summary judgment on a no-evidence basis, this Court must view the facts established by the summary judgment record in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs.
With this standard in mind, the Court turns to the evidence in the summary judgment record, which shows that the jury in the District Court action returned a verdict on September 11, 2013. Soon thereafter, but prior to entry of the Final Judgment (and the Amended Final Judgment), the Debtor deposited $43,000 of checks made out to him personally into the bank account of Lloyd Ward Group. See Plaintiffs' App. 184-85 ($15,000 deposited with Lloyd Ward Group on October 1, 2013), 186-89 ($28,000 deposited with Lloyd Ward Group on October 15, 2013). This is exclusive of $63,000 that was deposited with Lloyd Ward Group and WFT in the months preceding entry of the jury verdict. Id. 177-78 ($34,000 deposited with Lloyd Ward Group on July 23, 2013), 179-80 ($4,000 deposited with Lloyd Ward Group on August 14, 2013), 182-83 ($15,000 deposited with Lloyd Ward Group on August 29, 2013), 63 & 86-89 ($10,000 deposited with WFT on May 13, 2013). Based on this summary judgment evidence and the timing of the transfers, the Court concludes that a trier of fact could reasonably infer that the Debtor transferred his personal property with an intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors, specifically the Judgment Creditors, in the year prior to the Petition Date. Thus, the Plaintiffs have raised a genuine issue of material fact as to each element of their 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(A) claim with respect to transfers made by the Debtor personally.
Accordingly, the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is denied as to transfers made by the Debtor within the year prior to the Petition Date.
Before turning to its analysis of transfers of property by one or more of the
According to the Plaintiffs, once this Court makes an alter ego finding with respect to the Debtor and one or more of the Alleged Alter Ego Entities, the assets held by that alter ego entity retroactively become property of the Debtor's bankruptcy estate so that transfers of those assets made within one year of the Petition Date fall under the ambit of § 727(a)(2)(A). However, the Court need not determine whether the Plaintiffs have raised a genuine issue of material fact regarding their alter ego allegations because their § 727(a)(2)(A) claim fails as a matter of law for other reasons. To fully explain this ruling, the Court will focus its analysis on Section VIII of the Complaint (¶¶ 97-101), which is titled "Facts Supporting Denial of Discharge under 727(a)(2)(A)," parsing this section of the Complaint and the supporting summary judgment evidence on a by-paragraph and by-entity basis.
With respect to the WFT, the Complaint alleges:
Complaint ¶¶ 97-98. The Plaintiffs' Brief explains these allegations by stating that: (1) "[b]etween April of 2011 and May of 2013, nearly $650,000 was deposited into the [WFT] and later withdrawn from the trust to finance Ward's and A. Ward's business and personal expenses," Plaintiffs' Brief at 7 (citing Plaintiffs' App. 383-84 (A. Ward 2004 Exam at 120:20-121:9) and 9, 12-13, 15, 21, 23, 25, 28, 39, 63, 86-101 (bank records)), and (2) "in May of 2013, alone, the Debtor caused a total of $54,500 to be withdrawn from the WFT," id. (citing Plaintiffs' App. 61, 64-65 (bank records)).
As to the nearly $650,000 in alleged transfers between April 2011 and May 2013, only the May 2013 transfers fall within one year of the Petition Date, the
Based upon the evidence in the summary judgment record, the Plaintiffs' § 727(a)(2)(A) claim involving transfers by WFT within one year of the Petition Date fail for two reasons. First, even assuming WFT is the Debtor's alter ego and the funds were transferred by WFT to the Debtor "and certain of his alter-egos" as alleged in the Complaint, no transfers occurred, as explained below.
To understand this conclusion, one must consider the legal effect of an alter ego finding under Texas law, which is far from clear.
Second, the Plaintiffs have failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact that the $54,500 in transfers were made with the requisite intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor or officer of the estate. As relevant here, all that the Plaintiffs have shown by their summary judgment evidence is that $54,500 was withdrawn from the WFT account in the year prior to the Petition Date. The summary judgment record does not establish to whom the transfers were made or what the funds transferred were used for. Standing alone, the fact that $54,500 was withdrawn from the WFT account is insufficient for this Court to infer that the withdrawals were made with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor of the Debtor or officer of the bankruptcy estate, particularly when WFT is not a named defendant liable on the Amended Final Judgment.
For either or both of these reasons, the Court concludes that summary judgment
With respect to LWAPC and BRM, the Complaint alleges that:
Complaint ¶¶ 99-100.
In support of these allegations, the Plaintiffs argue in the Plaintiffs' Brief that "Ward uses the accounts of LWA[PC] as his personal accounts, making constant transfers to his personal accounts, sometimes multiple times per day," Plaintiffs' Brief at 10,
Overall, the alleged transfers involving LWAPC and BRM fall into three categories: (1) transfers from LWAPC to the Debtor, (2) transfers from LWAPC to BRM, and (3) transfers from BRM to third parties. As explained below, with respect to each category of transfers, the Court concludes that the Plaintiffs' summary judgment evidence fails to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to each element of a § 727(a)(2)(A) claim and summary judgment must be granted in the Debtor's favor.
As to the first category of alleged transfers, the § 727(a)(2)(A) allegations fail for the same reasons explained in this Court's analysis of transfers involving WFT, see § IV.B.1, supra.
This category of transfers also suffers from two additional flaws. First, the Court notes that transfers from LWAPC to the Debtor, by definition, could not be made with an intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor or officer of the estate because such funds in the Debtor's hands would become an asset available to pay the Debtor's creditors. Second, although the summary judgment record shows numerous withdrawals from LWAPC during the relevant period, it contains no information regarding to whom the transfers were made or what the funds were used for. Thus, the summary judgment record does not support the allegation in the Complaint that the Debtor withdrew funds from LWAPC's bank accounts for his personal use.
As to the second category of transfers (transfers from LWAPC to BRM), there is a possible scenario where the Court could ultimately conclude that the Debtor and LWAPC are alter egos, but BRM is not. Thus, should the Court determine that, under Texas law, an alter ego finding results in LWPAC's assets retroactively becoming property of the Debtor (as the Plaintiffs contend), then transfers from LWAPC to BRM could be considered transfers of the Debtor's property to BRM. Although that scenario was neither pled in the Complaint nor argued at the Hearing, the Court will nonetheless explain why it also fails. Notably, the only evidence in the summary judgment record is that, in the year prior to the Petition Date, LWAPC (as the Debtor's alleged alter ego) transferred $15,260 to BRM. See Plaintiffs' App. 205, 207 ($760 transferred on November 19, 2013 from LWAPC to BRM), 242 ($9,500 transferred on September 13, 2013 from LWAPC to BRM), and 245-47 ($5,000 transferred on August 14, 2013 from LWAPC to BRM). However, neither LWAPC or BRM are liable under the Amended Final Judgment (so there is no apparent motivation to transfer funds to conceal assets), and there is nothing in the summary judgment record suggesting that alter ego allegations had been raised against LWAPC (or the Debtor) at the time these transfers were made. Simply put, there is no evidence in the summary judgment record that the transfers were made with an intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor of the Debtor or officer of the estate. Instead, the relevant allegations are that the transfers were made without adequate consideration and to conceal that the Debtor had funds that he could use to pay creditors. Complaint ¶ 99. If anything, the allegations would support a fraudulent conveyance claim; however, that cause of action does not appear in the Complaint.
Finally, as to the third category of transfers (transfers from BRM to third parties), a potential (and unpled) scenario exists where the Court could conclude that (1) Ward, LWAPC, and BRM are alter egos, and (2) under Texas law, an alter ego finding results in LWAPC's and BRM's assets retroactively becoming property of the Debtor so that (3) payments by BRM
For the foregoing reasons, the Court concludes that the Plaintiffs failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact with respect to the transfers involving LWAPC and BRM and that summary judgment must be granted in the Debtor's favor with respect to those transfers.
As alleged in the Complaint:
Id. ¶ 101 (footnote omitted); see Plaintiffs' App. 191-98 (Assignment and Assumption Agreement).
The Assignment and Assumption Agreement underlying these allegations is dated as of August 16, 2013, and purportedly transfers various contracts from LWGPC to Camden Credit Services, Inc. ("
As an initial matter, the Court notes that it is unsure whether the Plaintiffs are alleging that Camden is the Debtor's alter ego. If so, the allegations involving the transfer of contracts from LWGPC to Camden under § 727(a)(2)(A) must fail for the same reasons set forth above with respect to WFT, see § IV.B.1, supra. Namely, if an alter ego finding under Texas law would result in LWGPC's and Camden's assets retroactively becoming the Debtor's property, then no improper transfer could have occurred (as the transfer would be a transfer from the Debtor to himself). Alternatively, if an alter ego finding would only make LWGPC and/or Camden's assets liable to satisfy claims against
If the Plaintiffs are not alleging that Camden is the Debtor's and LWGPC's alter ego, or if the Court were to find that LWGPC is the Debtor's alter ego but Camden is not (although such a scenario was not pled in the Complaint), the § 727(a)(2)(A) allegations still fail due to the Plaintiffs' failure to raise a genuine issue of material fact regarding the Debtor's alleged improper intent. Indeed, the only evidence in the summary judgment record remotely supporting a finding of the Debtor's intent to hinder, delay, or defraud the Judgment Creditors is that the Assignment and Assumption Agreement was (1) signed in the interim between return of the jury verdict and entry of the Amended Final Judgment, and (2) entered into among entities allegedly controlled by the Debtor. However, LWGPC was not a defendant in the District Court action and is not liable to the Judgment Creditors under the Amended Final Judgment, so it has no apparent motivation to transfer the contracts away in an attempt to hinder, delay, or defraud the Judgment Creditors. Moreover, there is no evidence in the summary judgment record that alter ego allegations were pending against the Debtor and any of the Alleged Alter Ego Entities at the time of the transfer. And, although the Plaintiffs allege that the Assignment and Assumption Agreement was not supported by consideration, Plaintiffs' Brief at 13, there is no evidence in the summary judgment record to support such an allegation and, to the contrary, the Assignment and Assumption Agreement expressly states that (1) it was made in exchange for "good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged," and (2) Camden accepted all obligations and liabilities owing to third parties under the various related agreements. Plaintiffs' App. 191-92.
Even viewing the facts and inferences to be drawn from the summary judgment evidence in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs, the Court finds that there is simply no basis upon which it can infer that the transfers made pursuant to the Assignment and Assumption Agreement were made with the intent to hinder, delay or defraud a creditor of the Debtor or officer of the estate. For these reasons, the Court concludes that the Plaintiffs have failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact with respect to the transfers from LWGPC to Camden and that summary judgment must be granted in the Debtor's favor with respect to those transfers.
Although the Complaint contains allegations against all of the Alleged Alter Ego Entities, the Plaintiffs' Brief and their argument at the Hearing only addressed WFT, LWGPC, LWAPC, and the Debtor. The Plaintiffs have failed to cite the Court to any evidence in the summary judgment record regarding transfers from LWPC and GPC that would implicate § 727(a)(2)(A).
Based upon the summary judgment record, the Court concludes that:
An order granting in part and denying in part the Motion for Partial Summary judgment shall be entered separately.
The Court hereby directs the parties' counsel to confer with each other and attempt to submit an agreed form of order consistent with this ruling to the Court within fourteen days of the entry of this Memorandum Opinion on the Court's docket. If no agreement can be reached, each party shall submit its own proposed order on the fourteenth day after entry of this Memorandum Opinion on the Court's docket, along with an explanation of why the other side's proposed order is improper.