Balvich v. Spicer

894 N.E.2d 235, 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 2117, 2008 WL 4379226
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 29, 2008
Docket37A03-0803-CV-101
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 894 N.E.2d 235 (Balvich v. Spicer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Balvich v. Spicer, 894 N.E.2d 235, 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 2117, 2008 WL 4379226 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

BAKER, Chief Judge.

Appellants-defendants John, Arlene, Jordan, and Beth Balvich (collectively, the Balviches) appeal the trial court’s judgment entered in favor of the appellees-plaintiffs Stephen and Maureen Spicer (the Spicers) regarding the Spicers’ claim against them for contribution on various deficiency judgments that had been entered against the Spicers. Specifically, the Balviches argue that the Spicers’ action against them was barred by the statute of limitations, that joint and several liability should not have attached, and that the Spicers erroneously obtained a judgment against them with regard to tax liabilities of the various business entities because the Indiana Tax Court had exclusive jurisdiction over such matters. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

*237 FACTS

Dr. James Balvich (Dr. Balvich) and several of his family members owned and operated various Hardee’s Restaurant franchises in Indiana. More specifically, the business named Group Management, Inc. (GMI), owned and operated a Har-dee’s in Rensselaer, Group Management II operated the Hardee’s in Middlebury, and Group Management III engaged in business in Remington. Each restaurant was separately incorporated, and the distinct corporate entities did not share common ownership.

At some point, Dr. Balvich asked the Spicers to participate in the business. After agreeing to do so, the Spicers jointly owned 25% of GMI, 50% of Group Management II, and 16.55% of Group Management III. Beth and Jordan Balvich jointly owned a 5% interest in GMI and a 5.34% combined interest in Group Management III. However, neither Beth nor Jordan actively participated in the operation of the businesses.

Dr. Balvich was the president of the GMI entities beginning in October 1991, and Stephen served as the treasurer of all three corporations. GMI borrowed $700,000 from Bank One in Rensselaer as a small business loan. Several of the Bal-viches and the Spicers personally guaranteed the loan on October 15,1991.

At some point, the corporate Board of Directors, which consisted of Balvich family members, voted Stephen out of office after he questioned some financial dealings. The businesses began to fail, and during the summer of 1995, John and Beth Balvich and the Spicers took control of the corporate records in an attempt to salvage the businesses. Dr. Balvich eventually left Monticello and relocated his medical practice to South Carolina. As a result, the Spicers and John and Arlene Balvich became the shareholders who operated the three businesses.

GMI ultimately defaulted on the loan and Bank One filed an action to foreclose the mortgage liens on the property that secured the loan. After Bank One obtained judgment on November 8, 1996, the properties were sold through a Sheriffs sale on May 21, 1997,' which resulted in a deficiency judgment in the amount of $199,000. The judgment was entered against all guarantors jointly and severally.

Four of the guarantors were released because of bankruptcy proceedings, and no service was ever obtained on Joann Bal-vich. On January 14, 2002, the Spicers obtained a release of the judgment following their payment to Bank One in the sum of $152,500.

On July 9, 1998, John and Arlene Bal-vich paid $5000 to obtain a release from Bank One, and Jordan and Beth Balvich also paid $5000 to obtain a release on judgment.

Group Management II had obtained its financing from AT & T Financial Corporation (AT & T). After that loan went into default, a judgment was entered against Group Management II in a New Jersey court in the amount of $247,998.57. Thereafter, AT & T registered its judgment in Indiana. The Spicers paid AT & T $60,000 on September 13, 1997, and obtained a release of the judgment. AT & T also released John and Arlene Balvich after they paid the sum of $15,000.

The Indiana Department of Revenue (Department of Revenue) sought payment of Trust Withholding Tax Accounts that were for sales tax and employee withholding taxes. The Spicers paid the State the sum of $75,182 to satisfy the obligations of the businesses. The Department of Revenue entered a finding declaring that the *238 Spicers were the responsible parties for paying the taxes.

On February 13, 2004, the Spicers instituted an action against the Balviches for contribution for the $152,500 payment to Bank One, the $60,000 payment to AT & T, and the $75,182 payment to the Department of Revenue.

Following the trial, which commenced on October 19, 2007, the trial court took the matter under advisement. The parties were ordered to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and on December 26, 2007, the trial court entered judgment for the Spicers and issued the following findings:

FINDINGS OF FACT
The evidence at trial showed that on July 9, 1998, John and Arlene Balvich paid ... $5,000 to gain a release from Bank One; Jordan and Beth Balvich paid ... $5,000 to gain a release from Bank One on the deficiency judgment previously entered. It was represented by the parties at trial that no one conveyed that information to Stephen or Maureen Spicer.
[[Image here]]
Further, the Court finds that A.T. & T. entered a release of judgment against John and Arlene Balvich in which John and Arlene Balvich paid to A.T & T the sum of ... $15,000.
[[Image here]]

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

The Court finds that there are three issues to be decided:

First, what statute of limitations controls the actions before the Court for the purposes of an action on contribution, and when does the time on that particular action begin to run.
Second, are the Spicers entitled to contribution from the other guarantors and shareholders within the particular corporation; and
Third, are the Spicers entitled to contribution from the remaining shareholders, John and Arlene Balvich, for the payment of Indiana trust account taxes.
[T]he Court makes the finding that it makes no difference whether the Court determines whether the six (6) year statute applies or the ten (10) year statute because of the following reasoning: Steve and Maureen had no right to seek contributions from any of the Defendants until such time as they had been forced to pay sums of money to Bank One to satisfy the obligation under [GMI’s] ... $700,000 loan and deficiency of ... $199,000 plus. Until they had been forced to pay certain sums of money and until Bank One had released them of obligations thereunder, they had no right to ask for contributions since that contribution could not be established with any certainty until they had been released from any obligations by Bank One.
The Court finds that that release by Bank One was filed with the Court on January 14, 2002. Therefore, whether the Court applies the ten ... year statute or the six ...

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kohl's Indiana, L.P. and Kohl's Dept. Store, Inc. v. Dennis Owens
979 N.E.2d 159 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2012)
Small v. Rogers
938 N.E.2d 18 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2010)
Hardy v. Hardy
910 N.E.2d 851 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
894 N.E.2d 235, 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 2117, 2008 WL 4379226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/balvich-v-spicer-indctapp-2008.