Bank of America, N.A. v. Fulcrum Enterprises, LLC

20 F. Supp. 3d 594, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68229, 2014 WL 2069466
District Court, S.D. Texas·Decided May 19, 2014·No. Civil Action No. H-12-313·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S MEMORANDUM AND RECOMMENDATION

SIM LAKE, District Judge.

Having reviewed the Magistrate Judge’s Memorandum and Recommendation dated April 21, 2014, and the objections and responses filed thereto, the court is of the opinion that said Memorandum and Recommendation should be adopted by this court.

It is, therefore, ORDERED that the Memorandum and Recommendation is hereby ADOPTED by this court.

The Clerk shall send copies of this Order to the respective parties.

MEMORANDUM, RECOMMENDATION, AND ORDER

NANCY K. JOHNSON, United States Magistrate Judge.

Pending before the court1 are Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss and No-Evidence Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 29), Plaintiffs Motion to Exclude Defendant’s Expert (Doc. 30), and Plaintiffs Motion for [597] Summary Judgment (Doc. 31). The court has considered the motions, the responses, all other relevant filings, and the applicable law. For the reasons set forth below, the court GRANTS Plaintiffs motion to exclude and RECOMMENDS that Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment be GRANTED and Defendant’s motion be DENIED.

I. Case Background

Bank of America, N.A., (“BANA”) filed this action against Fulcrum Enterprises, LLC, (“Fulcrum”) pursuant to the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (“TUF-TA” or “Act”).2

A. Factual Background

On August 7, 2009, BANA commenced a separate suit (“Underlying Proceeding”) against Nancy Groves (“Groves”), among others, alleging participation in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders.3 Groves was served with the Underlying Proceeding on February 22, 2010, and filed her answer on April 7, 2010.4

On May 13, 2010, BANA filed a motion seeking a preliminary injunction against Groves to prohibit her from selling, assigning, transferring, or encumbering any interest she had in any real property.5 On July 6, 2010, a memorandum and recommendation was issued recommending that BANA’s motion be granted.6 The district court adopted the memorandum and recommendation on September 8, 2010.7

Between May 28, 2010, and July 20, 2010, Groves transferred eight properties (“Properties”) to Fulcrum, a real estate company operated by Allan Groves.8 [598] Groves and Allan Groves were married from 1959 until 1990 and have maintained a friendly relationship since their divorce.9 Allan Groves had previously assisted Groves in her business affairs, including facilitating the purchase of properties from her by companies he owned.10 Groves dealt only with Allen Groves in transferring the Properties to Fulcrum.11

Pursuant to an oral agreement, Groves received nothing from Fulcrum in exchange for transferring the Properties, collectively valued at approximately $533,000 by the Harris County Appraisal District, to Fulcrum.12 For a five year period after the transfer, Groves would retain the right to receive rental income and concurrent responsibility to pay all bills and taxes related to the properties.13

On March 26, 2013, BANA and Groves entered into a Settlement Agreement whereby Groves agreed to pay BANA $345,000 to resolve the claims against her in the Underlying Litigation.14 Pursuant to the agreement, Groves and BANA executed an Agreed Judgment granting BANA judgment against Groves in the amount of $500,000 plus post-judgment interest to be presented to the court for immediate entry in the event BANA did not receive the settlement funds by September 1, 2013.15 The Settlement Agreement stipulated that the Agreed Judgment could not be appealed or otherwise challenged in any way.16 The Agreed Judgment was entered on October 8, 2013, after Groves failed to make any payments to BANA.17 Groves then filed a motion to vacate the Agreed Judgment on November 5, 2013, on the basis that BANA lacked standing to file suit.18 The motion was denied on November 20, 2013.19 Groves filed a notice of appeal on December 18, 2013.20

B. Procedural Background

BANA filed this suit on February 1, 2012, and an Amended Complaint on February 8, 2012, alleging that Groves’s transferring the Properties to Fulcrum violated the TUFTA, specifically Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §§ (“Sections”) 24.005(a)(1) and [599]*59924.006(a).21 BANA sought to void Groves’s transfer of the Properties to Fulcrum or, in the alternative, to recover judgment against Fulcrum for the value of the property transferred to the extent necessary to satisfy BANA’s claim against Groves.22 BANA also sought actual damages caused by the transfers, punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees and costs.23 Fulcrum filed a motion to dismiss and no-evidence motion for summary judgment on November 21, 2013.24 BANA filed a response on December 12, 2013, and Fulcrum filed a reply on December 28, 2013.25 BANA moved to exclude Fulcrum’s expert and for summary judgment on November 21, 2013.26 Fulcrum filed responses on December 12, 2013, and BANA filed replies on December 27, 2013.27

II. Fulcrum’s Motion

Fulcrum moves to dismiss on the basis that BANA is not a creditor of Groves and therefore lacked standing to file suit pursuant to Sections 24.005(a)(1) and 24.006(a). Alternatively, Fulcrum contends that BANA’s claims against it are not ripe. Lastly, Fulcrum argues that it is entitled to summary judgment on the basis that BANA has introduced no evidence that it is a creditor of Groves.

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Bank of America, N.A. v. Fulcrum Enterprises, LLC, 20 F. Supp. 3d 594, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68229, 2014 WL 2069466 (S.D. Tex. 2014).

20 F. Supp. 3d 594 (Bank of America, N.A. v. Fulcrum Enterprises, LLC) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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