Aslakson v. Freese (In re Freese)

472 B.R. 907, 2012 WL 1357557, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 1700
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. North Dakota
DecidedApril 18, 2012
DocketBankruptcy No. 10-30655; Adversary No. 10-7021
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 472 B.R. 907 (Aslakson v. Freese (In re Freese)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. North Dakota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aslakson v. Freese (In re Freese), 472 B.R. 907, 2012 WL 1357557, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 1700 (N.D. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SHON HASTINGS, Bankruptcy Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Procedural Background

By Complaint filed August 19, 2010, Plaintiff Terrance Paul Aslakson, individually and derivatively on behalf of North Country Auto Brokers, LLP, initiated this adversary proceeding seeking a determination that Debtor/Defendant Todd James Freese’s obligation to Aslakson is nondis-chargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2) and (4). Aslakson also pled a cause of action under 11 U.S.C. § 727. Debtor filed an Answer on September 7, 2010, denying the allegations. The matter was tried on September 27, 2011.

Prior to the presentation of evidence at trial, Aslakson abandoned his section 727 claim. At the close of evidence, Aslakson also abandoned his section 523(a)(4) claim to the extent he pled a cause of action alleging that the debt owed to Aslakson was not dischargeable because it resulted from embezzlement or larceny. Consequently, the only causes of action before this Court are Aslakson’s claim under section 523(a)(2)(A), asserting that the debt to [912]*912Aslakson is not dischargeable because it was obtained by false pretenses, false representations or actual fraud; and his claim under section 523(a)(4), alleging that the debt to Aslakson is not dischargeable because it resulted from fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity.

B. Motion to Admit Evidence

Two weeks after trial, Aslakson filed a Motion to Admit Evidence, arguing his failure to offer Plaintiffs Exhibit 10 at trial was an oversight. Plaintiffs Exhibit 10 includes contracts of sale from North Country Auto Brokers and bills of sale from Tri-State Auto Auction-Fargo. At trial, Debtor identified these documents and Aslakson questioned Debtor about information included in these documents. Debtor did not file a response to Aslak-son’s motion. Because proper foundation for the receipt of these documents was offered at trial and the Court received no objection to the admissibility of this evidence, Aslakson’s motion is GRANTED. Plaintiffs Exhibit 10 is RECEIVED into evidence.

II. FINDINGS OF FACT

In December 2001, Aslakson and Debt- or, who was married to Aslakson’s stepdaughter at the time,1 formed a North Dakota limited liability partnership for the purpose of owning, holding, managing, leasing and selling pre-owned vehicles. Although Aslakson had no experience selling used cars, he agreed to form a partnership with Debtor because Debtor was unemployed and Aslakson wanted to help him start a business. The name of the partnership and the business formed by it was North Country Auto Brokers, LLP (NCAB).

Aslakson and Debtor executed a Partnership Agreement on December 21, 2001, appointing Debtor the Managing Partner of NCAB. Under the Partnership Agreement, the Managing Partner handled the day-to-day affairs of the partnership and provided such services to the operation of the partnership’s business as he deemed “proper and necessary.” Pl.’s Exh. 1 at ¶¶ 8b, 10. The Partnership Agreement required the Managing Partner to keep and maintain complete records of each and every transaction of the partnership and deposit the funds of the partnership in a designated bank account. Pl.’s Exh. 1 at ¶¶ 8c, 8d. Other responsibilities were left to the discretion of the Managing Partner. The Partnership Agreement granted the Managing Partner a great deal of discretion and gave him the benefit of the doubt regarding the exercise of this discretion. The agreement provided:

The Managing Partner shall not be liable to the Partnership or to any Partner for any mistake, error in judgment, act or omission believed in good faith to be within the scope of authority conferred by this Agreement. The Managing Partner shall be liable only for acts or omissions involving intentional wrongdoing.

Pl.’s Exh. 1 at ¶ 8e. As compensation for these services performed for the partnership, the Managing Partner was guaranteed a salary of $3,000 per month. Pl.’s Exh. 1 at ¶ 8.

Consistent with the Partnership Agreement, Debtor assumed responsibility for all functions and operations of NCAB. As-lakson’s role in the business was to provide collateral for the loans to NCAB. He also provided a location for NCAB, allowing it to operate from the same property as As-lakson’s trucking company. Other than occasionally repairing vehicles NCAB of[913]*913fered for sale or lease, Aslakson did not have any direct involvement in the business after it was formed, leaving the day-to-day operations to Debtor, who was employed in the car business for fifteen to twenty years prior to forming a partnership with Aslakson.

To fund operating capital used to pay business expenses, including the purchase of vehicles NCAB offered for sale, NCAB borrowed money from Community Bank of the Red River Valley, now known as Frandsen Bank and Trust (Frandsen Bank). The loans included an operational line of credit, a “floor plan” loan and a third loan for approximately $5,500.00 to pay business debt.

The first loan from Frandsen Bank to NCAB was a $100,000.00 revolving line of credit secured, at least in part, by personal guaranties from both Aslakson and Debt- or. After two or three years, the operating loan was depleted because NCAB was not a profitable business. In 2004, Aslak-son and Debtor decided to continue with the business and made arrangements to borrow additional money. Frandsen Bank extended NCAB a $75,000.00 “floor plan” line of credit to purchase cars for sale by the partnership. To secure the line of credit, Aslakson offered additional collateral and both Aslakson and Debtor provided a personal guaranty to the bank. In addition, NCAB granted Frandsen Bank a security interest in the vehicles acquired with proceeds from the floor plan line of credit. Frandsen Bank kept an inventory of vehicles.

According to Aslakson, Frandsen Bank held titles to the vehicles purchased with the floor plan line of credit until it received proceeds from the sale of a specific vehicle, at which time it would release the title to the vehicle sold.2 Based on this testimony, it appears that Aslakson assumed that the bank and/or Debtor routinely reconciled the inventory list with the sale documentation to ensure that the proceeds from every NCAB sale were applied to the debt owed against the vehicle. Aslakson maintained he would not have agreed to enter into an agreement to borrow money under the floor plan line of credit or offer collateral for this line of credit had he known that the proceeds from the sale of the vehicles would not be promptly applied to the loan as expected.

Debtor testified that the floor plan line of credit did not require that NCAB notify the bank and remit the proceeds from each sale of a vehicle immediately after sale of a vehicle listed on the floor plan inventory. However, Debtor offered no detail or documentation regarding any grace period to notify the bank or pay off the debt against the vehicle purchased with funds from the line of credit.

The Parties stipulated that NCAB was never profitable. Financial statements prepared by NCAB’s accountant, Clarence V. Vetter, show a bleak financial picture.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
472 B.R. 907, 2012 WL 1357557, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 1700, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aslakson-v-freese-in-re-freese-ndb-2012.