Beck Suppliers, Inc. v. Havel (In re Havel)

72 B.R. 264, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 511
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedMarch 25, 1987
DocketBankruptcy No. 84-0239; Related Case: 84-01164
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 72 B.R. 264 (Beck Suppliers, Inc. v. Havel (In re Havel)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beck Suppliers, Inc. v. Havel (In re Havel), 72 B.R. 264, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 511 (Ohio 1987).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RICHARD L. SPEER, Bankruptcy Judge.

This cause comes before the Court upon the Motion For Summary Judgment filed by the Defendant-Debtor in the above entitled adversary action. The parties have filed their arguments respecting the merits of this Motion and have had the opportunity to respond to the arguments submitted by opposing counsel. The Court has reviewed those arguments as well as the entire record in this case. Based upon that review and for the following reasons, the Court finds that the Motion For Summary Judgment should be granted, and that Judgment should be entered for the Debtor on both Counts of the Complaint.

FACTS

The facts in this case do not appear to be in serious dispute. Prior to the filing of his Petition, the Debtor was the sole owner of a corporation known as Gas ’n Save, Inc. This corporation was engaged in the retail sales of gasoline and related products. The Plaintiff in this case was the supplier of gasoline to the Debtor’s business.

Prior to October 29, 1982, all sales of fuel made by the Plaintiff to the Debtor’s business were made to the corporation. It appears that these sales were conducted under an informal oral contract, whereby all transactions between the parties were credited on an “open-ended” account. Under this Agreement, the corporation was not required to pay for the items sold by the Plaintiff at the time they were delivered. It was, however, required to make periodic payments to the Plaintiff for the items purchased. The evidence does not reflect any regularity in the time or amount of the payments which were made prior to October 29, 1982.

However, as of October 29, 1982, the obligation owed by the corporation to the Plaintiff was approximately Ninety-five Thousand Three Hundred Sixty-two and 54/100 Dollars ($95,362.54). As the result of its concerns over the size of this obligation and the corporation’s inability to reduce the debt, the Plaintiff requested that the Debtor execute an agreement, whereby he would personally guarantee payment of the corporation’s debt. Such an agreement was executed by the Debtor on or about October 28, 1982. In addition to this request, the Plaintiff opened a new account against which all future sales of gasoline would be charged. This account was opened in the name of the Debtor in his individual capacity. It should be noted that at the time the Plaintiff initiated its sales under this new account, it did not request any financial statement or other written documents from the Debtor respecting his financial condition.

Subsequent to October 2, 1982, all sales of gasoline to the Debtor’s business were charged to the Debtor’s individual account. As business continued under this new arrangement, the Debtor made periodic payments for the items which were delivered by the Plaintiff and charged to his account. The Debtor also made payments on the account which belonged to the corporation. [267]*267However, on or about February 28, 1983, the Plaintiff requested that the Debtor execute a promissory note for the amount which was still owed by the corporation. Although the amount and terms of the instrument are not set forth, the Debtor executed such a note.

On or about August 3, 1983, the Debtor tendered two checks to the Plaintiff which were drawn on an account owned by the corporation. These instruments were given as payments for. the products delivered by the Plaintiff and were credited by the Plaintiff to the Debtor’s account. It appears that these payments were intended to be part of the regular payments which were being made by the Debtor on his account. There is no evidence which indicates that they were motivated by a particular delivery or by the expressed intentions of the Plaintiff to discontinue business with the Debtor. The Plaintiff negotiated these checks and credited their proceeds against the Debtor’s individual account. However, the instruments were subsequently returned to the Plaintiff by the drawee bank for insufficient funds.

On or about August 8, 1983, prior to the return of the August 3, 1983, checks, the Debtor issued an additional check to the Plaintiff. This check was also negotiated by the Plaintiff and was credited to the Debtor’s account. However, as with the prior instrument, it was eventually returned for insufficient funds. The Debt- or’s Affidavit reflects that these three checks were issued by the Debtor with the expectation that they were not to be negotiated until such time as the Debtor notified the Plaintiff of sufficient funds in the account.

The Plaintiff filed an action against the Debtor in the Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas. The purpose of this action was to recover the amount owed by the Debtor on the promissory note. Although the events which occurred between the parties subsequent to the filing of this action are not clear, it appears that the parties terminated their relationship on or about August 25, 1983. As of this date, there remained on the Debtor’s individual account a balance of approximately Thirty-one Thousand Five Hundred Seventy and 01/100 Dollars ($31,570.01). As of November 30, 1983, there was a balance on the corporation’s account of approximately Ninety-two Thousand Three Hundred Seventy-four and 42/100 Dollars ($92,374.42). While the dispute is not specifically made a part of these proceedings, it appears that the termination of the relationship resulted, in part, from claims made by the Debtor regarding the quality of the Plaintiff’s products. It appears that the Debtor incurred certain expenses for repairs which arose from the Plaintiff providing an allegedly improper mixture of methyl alcohol and gasoline. However, judgment was rendered for the Plaintiff in the State Court action on April 10, 1984, in the amount of Eighty-nine Thousand Fifty-one and 80/100 Dollars ($89,051.80) plus interest.

On July 17, 1984, the Debtor filed his individual voluntary Chapter 7 Petition with this Court. In the schedules which accompany that Petition, the Debtor lists the obligations owed to the Plaintiff from the operation of his business. Although the debt appears on the schedule as only one obligation, the amount of the debt is the approximate amount of the Debtor’s obligation for both his individual account and the corporation’s account.

In response to the filing of the Debtor’s Petition, the Plaintiff initiated the above entitled adversary action. In this case, the Plaintiff asserts two causes of action. The first action seeks a determination as to the Debtor’s eligibility to receive a discharge. It is alleged in the Complaint that the Debt- or failed to maintain adequate records of his business, and has destroyed such records prior to filing his Petition. The second cause of action challenges the dis-chargeability of the debts owed by the Debtor on the business accounts. In this action, it is alleged that the Debtor made fraudulent misrepresentations when he established credit with Plaintiff. It appears that the allegations of this cause are primarily directed at the issuance of the three checks which were ultimately returned for insufficient funds.

[268]*268The Motion presently before the Court seeks a summary adjudication of the Plaintiffs Complaint. In asserting that Motion, the Debtor contends that the circumstances of this case cannot, in any fashion, demonstrate sufficient facts so as to entitle the Plaintiff to the requested relief. In support of this Motion, the Debtor offers the deposition of an officer of the Plaintiff and the exhibits which accompany the testimony.

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Related

Sears v. Tipple (In Re Tipple)
80 B.R. 93 (N.D. Ohio, 1987)
Humphrey v. Smith
336 U.S. 695 (Supreme Court, 1949)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
72 B.R. 264, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beck-suppliers-inc-v-havel-in-re-havel-ohnb-1987.