Bankers Trust Co. v. Feldesman

676 F. Supp. 496, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11952, 1987 WL 26353
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided December 22, 1987·No. 82 Civ. 5590 (WCC)·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

WILLIAM C. CONNER, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on defendants’ motion pursuant to Rule 3(j) of the Local Civil Rules for an order granting reargument, and upon reargument, for dismissal of the complaint pursuant to Rules 9(b) and 12(b)(6), Fed.R.Civ.P. In the underlying motion defendants 1 moved for judgment on the pleadings under rule 12(c), Fed.R.Civ.P. Defendants advanced three arguments in support of the motion: (1) plaintiff Bankers Trust Co. (“Bankers Trust”) did not adequately allege a pattern of racketeering activity, (2) Bankers lacks standing to assert a claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), and (3) Bankers’ RICO claim was barred by the statute of limitations. On September 3, 1986 the Court ruled that plaintiff had adequately alleged the commission of a pattern of racketeering activity on the part of defendants Daniel Rhoades and Milton Braten, and the motion was denied as to them, 648 F.Supp. 17. The motion was granted as to the corporate defendants and they were dismissed from the case. 2 As to defendant Herman Soifer, the Court found a sufficient allegation of a pattern of racketeering activity, but dismissed the claim on the ground that it was barred by the statute of limitations. The Court did not dismiss the claim that Soifer conspired to violate RICO, finding that the action was timely in this regard. Plaintiff was granted leave to amend the complaint to plead a timely claim of racketeering activity against Soifer, and to plead a more specific RICO claim against the corporate defendants. Plaintiff repled with respect to Soifer, but did not replead with respect to the corporate defendants. For the reasons set forth below, defendants’ motion is granted and the complaint is dismissed.

I. Facts

In deciding both the motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) and the reargument of the motion for judgment on the *499 pleadings under Rule 12(c), the allegations of the complaint must be accepted as true. Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 322, 92 S.Ct. 1079, 1081, 31 L.Ed.2d 263 (1972) (Rule 12(b)(6)); George C. Frey Ready-Mixed, Concrete, Inc. v. Pine Hill Concrete Mix Corp., 554 F.2d 551, 553 (2d Cir.1977) (Rule 12(c)). Bankers has alleged that the defendants engaged in various acts of bankruptcy fraud and bribery to prevent Bankers from recovering a debt owed by Braten Apparel Corporation (“BAC”), a corporation which the defendants controlled. BAC’s debt to Bankers, as of the date of this complaint, exceeds $4,000,000. At all relevant times BAC has been in the business of manufacturing, importing and selling goods in interstate commerce, resulting in net revenues in excess of $50,000,000 per year.

In August 1974, BAC owed substantial debts to Bankers and others, and had recently sustained severe losses. In an effort to avoid BAC’s liability on its debts, Braten and Soifer, corporate officers of BAC, agreed to conceal BAC’s recent acquisition of Brookfield Clothes, Inc. (“Brookfield Clothes”) and to seek a discharge of its debts under Chapter XI of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978.

To carry out this plan, Braten and Soifer executed a sham document hereinafter described as the shareholders’ agreement. Pursuant to the shareholders’ agreement BAC or Braten was required to furnish Brookfield Clothes with a $250,000 loan by a specified date, in default of which BAC’s stock in Brookfield Clothes would be transferred to Soifer. Soifer and Braten, however, never intended that the $250,000 loan be furnished, and intended that BAC’s creditors, upon being shown the shareholders’ agreement and being told that the condition had not been met, would believe that BAC no longer had any interest in Brook-field Clothes. Braten and Soifer agreed that Soifer would hold Brookfield Clothes in a secret trust during the pendency of BAC’s Chapter XI proceedings, and would return it to BAC after BAC had achieved the elimination or diminution of its debts through a confirmed plan of arrangement under Chapter XI. Braten and Rhoades also entered into a written agreement under which Rhoades, as attorney for Soifer, held stock in BAC to secure Braten’s commitments to Soifer.

In furtherance of the scheme, Walter Feldesman, an attorney claiming to represent Soifer, misrepresented the validity of the shareholders’ agreement to Bankers and to BAC’s other creditors, and caused the transfer to Soifer of the Brookfield Clothes stock. Thereafter, on September 5, 1974, BAC filed a petition in Chapter XI before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, omitting BAC’s ownership of the stock of Brookfield Clothes and omitting also the transfer of the stock to Soifer.

The defendants did not reveal the existence of the secret trust to Bankers, and between August 27, 1974 and March 9, 1976 they represented to Bankers and to the Bankruptcy Court that Braten did not furnish the $250,000 loan required by the shareholders’ agreement. Consequently, Soifer appeared to own BAC’s stock in Brookfield Clothes.

Bankers accepted a plan of arrangement in reliance on these omissions and misrepresentations, under which Bankers would receive only 17.5% of its allowed claim. Bankers’ acceptance of the plan was necessary to obtain the assent of the majority of creditors, in terms of dollars owed, and therefore necessary to confirmation of the plan.

On March 12, 1976, the Bankruptcy Court issued an order confirming BAC’s plan of arrangement. Consequently, BAC was relieved of more than $4.3 million in debts. At that time Brookfield Clothes had or anticipated sales of approximately $18 million per year, and net income in excess of $1.4 million per year. The stock of Brookfield Clothes was an asset of BAC worth more than $10 million. Had Bankers known that BAC owned Brookfield Clothes, Bankers would not have accepted the plan of arrangement. Likewise, if Bankers had discovered BAC’s ownership of Brookfield Clothes between Bankers’ acceptance of the plan and the court’s confirmation order, *500 then Bankers would have revoked its acceptance of the plan.

In August 1976 Soifer returned the Brookfield Clothes stock to BAC through a complicated series of transactions. Braten then transferred 45% of BAC’s stock to Soifer in October 1976, in exchange for which Soifer gave Braten $25,000 in cash and a $450,000 note in July 1977. Braten then assigned the note to Rhoades.

Rhoades, acting on behalf of Soifer and together with Braten, commenced a series of lawsuits against Bankers in New York. These suits were intended to hinder and delay Bankers from collecting BAC’s debt. In addition, in August 1977, BAC, by a South Carolina law firm to which Rhoades was counsel, instituted an action for damages against Bankers in South Carolina. This same firm was also representing BAC in a related South Carolina action in which BAC asserted claims to an escrow account in which Bankers had an interest. William H. Ballenger was the presiding judge in both South Carolina actions.

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Bankers Trust Co. v. Feldesman, 676 F. Supp. 496, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11952, 1987 WL 26353 (S.D.N.Y. 1987).

676 F. Supp. 496 (Bankers Trust Co. v. Feldesman) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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