Bird v. McCauley (In re McCauley)

520 B.R. 874, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 4188
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Utah
DecidedSeptember 30, 2014
DocketBankruptcy No. 10-30907; Adversary No. 12-2313
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 520 B.R. 874 (Bird v. McCauley (In re McCauley)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bird v. McCauley (In re McCauley), 520 B.R. 874, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 4188 (Utah 2014).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

R. KIMBALL MOSIER, Bankruptcy Judge.

On March 19, 2014, the Court commenced the trial in this adversary proceeding. The trial continued through March 20, 2014, and on March 21, 2014, the Court made its ruling from the bench. The following findings of fact and conclusions of law augment any findings and conclusions stated by the Court during the hearing of March 21, 2014.

[878]*878 I. FINDINGS OF FACT

The Court did not find any of the Defendants’ testimony particularly credible. They all failed to remember facts and events of significance, except in those instances where their testimony supported facts or events that may be helpful to their case. Notwithstanding the lack of witness credibility, the following facts are clearly established by the record.

Ruth E. McCauley had four children, Eugene V. McCauley, Jr. (Debtor), Michael G. McCauley, Susan K. Knorr and Nancy L. Gallegos. On June 1, 2000, the Debtor was incarcerated. At the time of his incarceration, the Debtor was married to Elizabeth McCauley.

Four days after Eugene was incarcerated, Ruth created the Ruth E. McCauley Revocable Trust (Trust). Ruth was the sole beneficiary under the Trust and she appointed herself and Susan co-trustees. The Trust directed that upon Ruth’s death, after paying certain Trust obligations, the “Trust Estate shall then be distributed ... with the children of Ruth E. McCauley, to wit, Eugene V. McCauley, Jr., Michael G. McCauley, Susan K. Knorr and Nancy L. Gallegos, each receiving equal shares.”1 On the same day Ruth created the Trust she also executed a separate will bequeathing all of her property to the Trust. Sometime after the formation of the Trust, Ruth quitclaimed property she owned in Lehi, Utah to the Trust.

In November 2002, while Eugene was incarcerated, Yukon Excavation, LLC obtained a judgment against him in the principal amount of $92,754.03. In December 2003, the Trust sold its interest in the Lehi property to Wentworth Development LLC. As part of the transaction, Ruth received a quitclaim deed to some of the real property the Trust had sold to Wentworth. The quitclaim deed conveyed proposed lots 1 and 2 of the Bull River Ridge subdivision to Ruth. In connection with the sale of the Lehi property, the Trust also entered into a 1031 tax exchange with Everet and Janet West whereby the Trust was to receive real property in Uinta County, Utah (Ballard Property). The Ballard Property consisted of a 60-acre tract of ranch land with a residence, a 120-acre tract of ranch land, and Dry Gulch Irrigation water shares.

On January 23, 2004, Ruth formed RE McCauley, LLC (REM) with herself as the sole member and manager. The Trust’s 1031 exchange for the Ballard Property was completed in March 2004. In June 2004 the Trust conveyed the Ballard Property to REM. Susan testified that Ruth transferred the Ballard property to REM to avoid liability for any potential personal injury claims. REM never engaged in any business activities, maintained any business records, or filed any tax returns. REM maintained a bank account at Mountain America Credit Union (REM Account) in May 2005.2 Ruth updated REM’s records filed with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code of the Utah Department of Commerce (Utah Department of Commerce) to add Susan as a member. Susan held her REM membership interest in her capacity as Ruth’s personal representative and trustee of the Trust.3

In February 2004 Susan formed EMSN, LLC. Susan was EMSN’s only member [879]*879and manager but Susan testified that EMSN was formed at Ruth’s request. In April of that same year, Ruth conveyed lots 1 and 2 of the Bull River Ridge subdi-visión to EMSN. There was a home on lot 2, but lot 1 was raw land. Susan testified that lot 2 was transferred to EMSN to hold for Nancy but she didn’t know what was going to happen to lot 1. There were also water shares associated with the Lehi property that were transferred to EMSN.

Ruth died on July 22, 2006, and Susan became the sole trustee of the Trust. Under the terms of the separate will, all of Ruth’s non-Trust assets were to “pom-over” and become assets of the Trust upon her death. Susan also served as executor of Ruth’s will. Susan failed to maintain any accounting, informal or otherwise, with respect to Ruth’s assets or the Trust assets. The evidence before the Court is, at the time of Ruth’s death, the Trust had bank accounts at Mountain America Credit Union, a home in Roosevelt, Utah, and a membership interest in REM, but there is no evidence as to the value of the assets. The Court was not provided with a comprehensive list of the assets or an accounting of the assets that were to be distributed pursuant to the terms of the Trust or the will.

The Defendants offered no accounting of the Trust assets. The Trustee did introduce into evidence selected statements and checks for one of the Trust’s bank accounts. The statements and checks are clearly only a small portion of the total statements and checks, and the Trustee did not attempt to create a complete picture with respect to the disposition of Trust assets. The statements show that the Trust’s combined accounts totaled over $225,000 in July and August of 2005. By February and March 2007 the Trust’s accounts totaled just under $60,000. At the beginning of November 2007 the accounts totaled just over $90,000. By the end of November, Susan had transferred approximately $40,000 to herself and $50,000 to the REM Account. The funds transferred to the REM Account can be traced to a savings account designated “EVM,” originally opened while Ruth was alive. All of the Trust’s accounts were apparently closed near the end of November 2007. The selected checks drawn on the Trust’s accounts establish that Michael received just over $58,000 from the Trust in 2006. There were also some selected statements and checks from the REM Account introduced into evidence. Again, these records are incomplete, but the checks show that Nancy or her designees received over $18,000 from REM in 2006.

In January 2007 Nancy was added as a member of EMSN. In September 2007 Susan sold the water shares owned by EMSN for $90,000. The sale proceeds were distributed to Susan and Nancy. In December of that year, Susan, as the managing member of EMSN, conveyed lot 1 in the Bull River Ridge subdivision to Michael.

By May 2008 Susan had distributed substantially all of the cash assets of the Trust. The evidence shows that Michael received over $58,000 from the Trust’s accounts, Susan received approximately $40,000, and approximately $50,000 was transferred to REM. The balance of the Trust’s cash assets in excess of $125,000 is unaccounted for. In May 2008 the home that was Trust property and the Trust’s interest in REM, including the REM Account, remained in the Trust.

Eugene was released from prison on May 20, 2008, and about that time Susan arranged for Eugene and Elizabeth to move into and live at the Ballard Property. Within three weeks of Eugene’s release, Susan also arranged to make him a signatory on the REM Account. On the signatory application prepared under Susan’s [880]*880direction, the Debtor was identified as an “authorized signer/manager” for REM, his address was listed as REM’s address, his phone number was listed as REM’s phone number, and his e-mail address was listed as REM’s e-mail address. When Susan made Eugene a signatory, there was $49,303. 20 in the REM Account.

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Related

Bird v. McCauley (In re McCauley)
549 B.R. 400 (D. Utah, 2016)
CFD Payson, LLC v. Christensen
2015 UT App 251 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2015)

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Bluebook (online)
520 B.R. 874, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 4188, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bird-v-mccauley-in-re-mccauley-utb-2014.