Berthoud v. Veselik

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 27, 2018
Docket1:01-cv-06895
StatusUnknown

This text of Berthoud v. Veselik (Berthoud v. Veselik) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berthoud v. Veselik, (N.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION JOHN BERTHOUD, individually ) and as trustee, ) ) Case No. 01-cv-6895 Plaintiff, ) ) Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr. Vv. ) ) RANDALL VESELIK, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER For the reasons stated below, Plaintiff's second amended petition to revive judgment [142] is granted in part and denied in part. Plaintiff's May 9, 2003 judgment against Defendant Veselik is revived in the original amount of $1,400,000 (with Veselik to be credited at least $168,012.52 and perhaps as much as $290,762.52 in the event that Plaintiff attempts to collect additional amounts in supplemental proceedings or execution), plus post-judgment interest in an amount to be determined in supplemental proceedings.! As a final housekeeping matter, the Court directs the Clerk of Court to remove the gavel by the unnumbered docket entry dated 6/19/2018, as Defendant’s motion to quash the original petition to revive judgment 1s moot given the subsequent filing of amended petitions to revive judgment [127, 142]. 1. Background Way back in 2001, Plaintiff John Berthoud (“Plaintiff”) filed this case against Defendants Randall Veselik (“Veselik”) Kevin Dermody, H. Beck, Inc., Tower Square Securities, Inc. (“Tower Square”), Hilltopper Enterprises, LLC (‘“Hilltopper”), Emerald Fund I, LP, Emerald Investment Advisors, Ltd., and Emerald Investments, Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”) for alleged

' As explained below, the Court declines to quantify a specific amount of post-judgment interest.

violations of federal and Illinois securities laws, deceptive practices, common law fraud, negligent supervision, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with Plaintiffs contract to invest $1,400,000 in Hilltopper. See generally [1]. The docket sheet shows that Plaintiff’s total demand was $1,800,000. On May 1, 2003, Judge Andersen (who presided over the case until it was reassigned to this Court in 2012), granted Defendant H. Beck Inc.’s motion to dismiss and terminated H. Beck Inc. as a party. See [81]; see also [80] (motion to dismiss on basis that arbitrator denied all of the claims asserted by Plaintiff against H. Beck Inc.). On May 9, 2003, Judge Andersen entered judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant Veselik in the amount of $1,400,000. See [84]. On June 22, 2004, Judge Anderson dismissed Defendant Tower Square Securities [96] due to “a settlement” between those parties [95]. And in July 2004, Judge Anderson dismissed the case with prejudice pursuant to stipulation [98] after the remaining parties “reached an agreement to settle the case in principle” [97]. The docket sheet does not reflect whether Plaintiff entered into formal settlement agreements with any of the settling Defendants. Over the next several years, Plaintiff issued a number of citations to discover the assets of certain Defendants. Most recently, in June 2018, Plaintiff filed a petition to revive the judgment against Defendant Veselik [120]. Veselik objected and moved to quash on the bases that (1) the judgment has, on information and belief, been satisfied because “Plaintiff has recetved several substantial payments from insurance companies that have compensated Plaintiff fully for his loss”; and (2) Plaintiff's petition allegedly did not comply with the requirements of 735 ILCS 5/2-1602 because it was not served on Veselik and did not contain a statement as to credits received on the judgment. [124] at 2-4. Veselik also requested “leave to conduct discovery” and “an evidentiary

hearing as to his defense of satisfaction of judgment.” /d. at 4. Plaintiff filed an amended petition [127], which Veselik again opposed. On August 20, 2018, the Court denied Plaintiffs original and amended petitions without prejudice [141]. The Court explained that 735 ILCS 5/2-1602 required Plaintiff “to include a statement of any ‘credits to the judgment,’ while at the same time directing that an order reviving a judgment shall be for the original amount of the judgment and stipulating that [c]redits to the judgment shall be reflected by the plaintiff in supplemental proceedings or execution.” [141] at 3. The Court therefore ordered Plaintiff to submit an amended petition that incorporated a statement of credits for payments that Plaintiff acknowledged he had received from other Defendants. /d. The Court overruled Veselik’s objection that he had a satisfaction defense as to which he was entitled to discovery because that defense was not evident from the face of the record, as the Court determined was required by governing case law applying the revival statute. The Court’s disposition left any “further efforts to drill down on potential credits to ‘supplemental proceedings or execution’ as the statute provides.” /d. (quoting 735 ILCS 5/2-1602(d)). Plaintiff filed a second amended petition, in which he provided a statement of credits to the judgment for payments by Defendants Hilltopper ($168,012.52), Tower Square ($112,500), and Veselik ($5,250). See [142] at 1-2. Plaintiff requested revival of the May 9, 2003 judgment in the amount of $1,400,000, with the revival order showing a credit against the Judgment in the amount of $168,012.52, thereby leaving a Judgment balance of $1,231,987.48; plus post-judgment interest on the judgment balance to be calculated pursuant to 28 U.S.C 1961(a), with a credit against the accrued interest in the amount of $117,750.00. Veselik moved for reconsideration of the Court’s August 20, 2018 order and also requested leave to file defenses to the second amended petition to revive judgment. See [144]. Veselik

argued that the Court prematurely found that he had no valid defenses and overruled objections that he had yet to assert. Veselik contended that he is entitled to file an answer and affirmative defenses to the petition and is also entitled to a hearing on his defenses. /d. at 2. He asserted two defenses to the motion: that the judgment was satisfied, and that the judgment was released. Veselik contended that under Illinois law, both arguments are recognized defenses to a petition to revive judgment. See id. at 4. Veselik requested leave to conduct discovery as to the amount of any settlement payments Plaintiff received from other Defendants and as to the contents of any written settlement agreements. The Court granted in part and denied in part Defendant’s motion for reconsideration. See [146]. The Court allowed Defendant an opportunity to file an answer and affirmative defenses to Plaintiff's second amended petition to revive judgment and ordered the parties to submit briefs addressing “what the courts mean when they confine the inquiry that a court may make in considering a petition to revive a judgment to the ‘face of the record.’” Jd. at 2. Defendant filed an answer and affirmative defenses. In his first affirmative defense, satisfaction, Defendant asserts that Plaintiff has received the following payments: $5,250 from the law firm Connor & Gallagher; $168,012.52 from the clerk for the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; and payments of “an unknown amount made by on or behalf of Tower Square pursuant to a settlement agreement.” [147] at 6-7. Defendant also asserts on information and belief that Plaintiff “may have also received settlement or restitution payments” from a number of other entities. See id. at 7.

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Bluebook (online)
Berthoud v. Veselik, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berthoud-v-veselik-ilnd-2018.