Aiello v. Aiello

550 B.R. 83, 2016 WL 626753, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19048
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 17, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 3:15-193
StatusPublished

This text of 550 B.R. 83 (Aiello v. Aiello) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aiello v. Aiello, 550 B.R. 83, 2016 WL 626753, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19048 (W.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

KIM R. GIBSON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

1. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the Court on Appellant’s Notice of Appeal of the Bankruptcy Court’s July 13,2015, memorandum opinion (ECF No. 1-2) and order (ECF No. 1-3) granting Appellee’s motion for summary judgment. Appellant appealed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision on July 23, 2015, (ECF No. 1), and filed a brief in support of his appeal on September 9, 2015, (ECF No. 3). Appellee filed her brief in opposition to Appellant’s appeal on October 9, 2015, (ECF No. 4), and this matter is now ripe for disposition. For the reasons set forth below, this Court will deny Appellant’s appeal and will affirm the Bankruptcy Court’s decision granting Ap-pellee’s motion for summary judgment.

II.JURISDICTION

This Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the Bankruptcy Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(a), which provides:

The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction to hear appeals (l).from final judgments, orders, and decrees ... of bankruptcy judges entered in cases and proceedings referred to the bankruptcy judges under section 157 of this title. An appeal under this subsection shall be taken only to the district court for the judicial district in which the bankruptcy judge is serving.

28 U.S.C. § 158(a). The appeal in this case is taken from the decision rendered by the Bankruptcy Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania. This Court therefore has jurisdiction to hear the appeal from the Bankruptcy Court’s, decision. See In re Michael, 699 F.3d 305, 308 n. 2 (3d Cir.2012) (“[A] district court sits as an appellate court to review a bankruptcy court.”); see also In re Professional Management, 285 F.3d 268 (3d Cir.2002) (a district court’s jurisdiction is proper as to an appeal of the final order of the bankruptcy court under-28 U.S.C. § 158(a)).

III.BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The Court adopts the facts as set forth in the Bankruptcy Court’s July 23, 2015, memorandum opinion. (See ECF No. 1-2 at 2-4.) Appellee was married to Donald Aiel-lo, Appellant’s twin brother. (Id. at 2.) When Donald Aiello passed away in 1977, Appellant became the executor of his estate after Appellee renounced her appointment. (Id.) After Appellee filed a petition seeking an accounting of Appellant’s administration of the estate, she filed exceptions to the accounting in the Court of Common Pleas of Elks County, Orphans’ Court Division, alleging self-dealing and a breach of fiduciary duty. (Id.) Following an evidentiary hearing, the Orphans’ Court concluded that Appellant failed to act in the best interest of the estate as a result of his self-dealing to promote his own interest to the detriment to the estate, failed to fulfill his obligations as executor, and breached his fiduciary duties. (Id.) The Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the decision of the Orphans’ Court. (Id.)

In 2010, based upon the surcharges with interest imposed by the Orphans’ Court, Appellee entered judgment against Appellant in the amount of $1,021,723.34. (Id. at 3.) Appellant filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on September 6, 2012. (Id.) On January 2, 2014, Appellee filed a complaint [86]*86to determine dischargeability. (Id.) Appel-lee then filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the judgment' against Appellant arising from the decision of the Orphans’ Court constituted a nondis-chargeable debt and that the doctrine of collateral estoppel precluded Appellant from relitigating issues that had been decided by the Orphans’ Court and the Superior Court. (Id. at 3, 5.) The Bankruptcy Court held a hearing and ordered briefing on Appellee’s motion. (Id. at 3-4.)

B. The Bankruptcy Court’s Decision

Applying the doctrine of collateral es-toppel, the Bankruptcy Court first determined that a final judgment on the merits of the case had been reached by the Orphans’ Court when it concluded that Appellant violated his fiduciary duty and imposed surcharges. (Id. at 8.) The Bankruptcy Court found that the identity of the parties was the same because Appel-lee was the plaintiff and Appellant was the defendant in both actions. (Id. at 8-9.) The Bankruptcy Court also found that the parties had a full and fair opportunity to litigate because the Orphans’ Court held an evidentiary hearing before rendering a decision, and the appeal was fully litigated before the Superior Court. (Id. at 9.) Regarding the identity of the issues, the Bankruptcy Court explained that the issue of whether Appellant committed defalcation while acting in a fiduciary duty was before it and that the issues of Appellant’s breach of fiduciary duty and resulting damages were before the Orphans’ Court. (Id. at 10.) The Bankruptcy Court therefore determined that the doctrine of collateral estoppel applied to the findings and conclusions of the Orphans’ Court and the Superior Court. (Id.)

In reviewing the decision of the • Orphans’ Court, the Bankruptcy Court explained that Appellee, who had relied upon Appellant because she was not knowledgeable about business, raised seven claims against him in the state-court action. (Id. at 10-11.) First, the Orphans’ Court found that Appellant redeemed 100 shares of the estate’s interest in a cable television company for a $200,000 note. (Id. at 11-12.) The shares were valued at $400,000, and Appellant redeemed the shares before the company was sold for $1.5 million. (Id. at 12.) Appellant and his other brother, Victor, were the only two remaining shareholders who benefited from the sale. (Id.) Because the shares would have been valued at $500,000 if they had been retained until after the sale, the Orphans’ Court imposed a $300,000 surcharge against Appellant for self-dealing. (Id.)

Second, the Orphans’ Court found that Appellant purchased 125.5 shares of the estate’s shares of stock in St. Mary’s Pressed Metals, Inc. without making an effort to market the estate’s shares publicly or privately. (Id. at 12-13.) An entity known. as the Ohio Carbon Group also purchased the stock. (Id. at 13.) The stock price was determined by Appellant, an attorney who was the primary advisor to the estate, and a law firm that represented the Ohio Carbon Group. (Id.) Appellant failed to seek court approval for the sale of stock to himself and his business associates, and he failed to obtain a stock certificate for the remaining eighteen shares held by the estate. (Id.) The Orphans’ Court determined that Appellant’s acts of self-dealing were “blatant” and voided the transfer of the estate’s shares of stock. (Id. at 13-14.) Third, Appellant loaned $250,000 of the estate’s funds to St. Mary’s Pressed Metals, Inc. but did not disclose the loan to Appellee. (Id. at 14.) The Orphans’ Court concluded that Appellant engaged in self-dealing and offered no reasonable explanation for forgiving the balance of the loan. (Id.)

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
550 B.R. 83, 2016 WL 626753, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19048, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aiello-v-aiello-pawd-2016.