Bollinger v. Polk (In re Polk)

183 B.R. 1020, 1995 Bankr. LEXIS 927
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedJune 28, 1995
DocketBankruptcy No. 92-44292-172; Adv. No. 92—4395-172
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 183 B.R. 1020 (Bollinger v. Polk (In re Polk)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bollinger v. Polk (In re Polk), 183 B.R. 1020, 1995 Bankr. LEXIS 927 (Mo. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

JAMES J. BARTA, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter is before the Court on a complaint objecting to the dischargeability of a debt under section 523(a)(4). At issue is a debt owed by Gary Robert Polk (“Debtor”) to his ex-wife, Sherri R. Bollinger (“Plaintiff’) pursuant to a Decree of Dissolution and related documents.

This is a core proceeding pursuant to Section 157(b)(2)(I) of Title 28 of the United States Code. The Court has jurisdiction over the parties and this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sections 151, 157 and 1334, and Rule 29 of the Local Rules of Missouri.

These findings and conclusions are based on the Stipulation of Facts and the Memo-randa of Law submitted by the parties and are the final determinations of the Bankruptcy Court.

Facts

The marriage of the Plaintiff and Debtor was dissolved by a Decree of Dissolution entered on June 18, 1991. The decree awarded the Debtor, as his sole and separate property, all right, title and interest in a parcel of real estate located at Route 2, Box 855A in Salem, Missouri. The Plaintiff was to convey all of her right, title and interest to the property to the Debtor by a quit claim deed. Decree of Dissolution, Joint Exhibit [1022]*1022“A” to Stipulation of Facts, page 10 at paragraph 7. The Debtor was to pay the Plaintiff $13,345.00 on or before June 18, 1992 in consideration of her equity in the marital property of the parties. Decree of Dissolution, page 10 at 8.

The Plaintiff refused to sign the quit claim deed. On December 3, 1991, pursuant to an order on a Motion for Contempt filed by the Debtor, the Plaintiff signed and delivered the quit claim deed to the Debtor rather than go to jail for contempt. In the same order, the Circuit Court required the Debtor to deposit his net proceeds of the sale, after payment of all costs and any lien, into the registry of the court. The net proceeds were to be paid over to the Plaintiff June 18, 1992 as a payment on the property settlement owed to her by the Debtor. The Debtor was to receive any interest earned by the net proceeds. Memorandum Order of the Circuit Court of Phelps County, Missouri, Joint Exhibit “B”, Stipulation of Facts, pp. 1, 2.

On December 4, 1991, prior to the commencement of this case, the Debtor gave his parents a second deed of trust on the real property as additional security for a note dated September 5, 1991. This note, in the amount of $39,832.50, was payable by the Debtor to his father (Robert Gail Polk) for a sale of the Debtor’s partnership interest in Polk Farms to his father, as part of his father’s agreement to assume the partnership debt. On December 11, 1991, the Debt- or closed on the sale of the real property that had been under contract since October 4, 1991. The closing statement shows the payment of the first deed of trust to Dent County Bank in the amount of $58,505.50, a second deed of trust to Robert and June Polk in the amount of $5,935.21, and expenses totaling $8,788.29 leaving no net proceeds due the Debtor. No net proceeds were deposited with the registry of the court.

The Debtor filed for Chapter 7 relief on June 19, 1992.

Discussion

Section 523(a)(4) states that a discharge under section 727 does not discharge an individual from any debt for fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity, embezzlement, or larceny.

The Plaintiff alleges the Debtor was her fiduciary with respect to her equity in the real property that was awarded to the Debt- or pursuant to the decree of dissolution. The Plaintiff further alleges the Debtor fraudulently transferred funds received from the sale of this property to his parents, thus acting defalcatantly in failing to deposit these funds with the registry of the court.

Three elements are necessary for a finding of non-dischargeability under section 523(a)(4) in this case; a debt, a fiduciary relationship, and a fraud or defalcation. In re Butts, 46 B.R. 292, 294 (Bankr.D.N.D.1985). The courts narrowly define a fiduciary relationship under section 523(a)(4) to mean an express or technical trust. Butts, 46 B.R. at 294-295; see Davis v. Aetna Acceptance Co., 293 U.S. 328, 55 S.Ct. 151, 79 L.Ed. 393 (1934), Barclays American/Business Credit v. Long (In re Long), 774, F.2d 875, 878 (8th Cir.1985). The Plaintiff has not established that there was such a fiduciary relationship between the Plaintiff and the Debtor.

If the Debtor is to be charged as a trustee for the Plaintiff under the decree, the Plaintiff must have retained or been awarded some equitable interest in the Debtor’s property. See In re Brown, 21 B.R. 377, 380 (Bankr.E.D.Cal.1982). The decision of the state court which granted the couple’s divorce determines the nature of the parties’ interests created in the real property and is to be afforded full faith and credit by the Bankruptcy Court. In re Porter, 112 B.R. 979, 981 (Bankr.W.D.Mo.1990) citing 28 U.S.C. § 1738 (1948). The state court decree in this matter did not preserve any interest for the Plaintiff in the real property awarded to the Debtor.

During their marriage, the subject property was held by the parties in a tenancy by the entirety. As a general rule, a dissolution of marriage causes a tenancy by the entirety to be converted into a tenancy in common. Barry v. Barry, 579 S.W.2d 136, 140 (Mo.App.1979). Such was not the case here.

[1023]*1023In the Decree of Dissolution, the court specifically held that the subject real estate was awarded to the Debtor as his “sole and separate property with all right, title and interest”. Not only was the Plaintiff not awarded an equitable interest in the property, but also she was ordered to quit claim all her right, title and interest to the Debtor. Decree of Dissolution, page 10 at 7. The entry of the decree thus extinguished the Plaintiffs equitable interest in the real property. See Porter, 112 B.R. at 982. The quit claim deed would have served to extinguish her legal interest and any judicial lien that attached to the property.1 Thus, a plain reading of the decree shows that the circuit court intended to award the Debtor the real property free of any interest or lien in favor of the Plaintiff.

Instead of preserving an interest in the real property, the decree awarded the Plaintiff a cash award of $13,435.00 to be paid within one year as consideration for her equity in all of the marital property, not just for her equity in the subject real property. The cash award was not co-extensive with the Plaintiff’s equity in the real property and was not in exchange for it. Since the Plaintiffs equitable interest in the real property was extinguished by the decree, the Debtor was not a trustee for the Plaintiff pursuant to the decree of dissolution.

The Plaintiff also contends that the Debtor became her fiduciary in the sale of the real property under the court order of December 3, 1991. She identifies the res of this trust as being her equity in the real property. As explained above, the entry of the decree of dissolution extinguished her equity in the property.

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Bluebook (online)
183 B.R. 1020, 1995 Bankr. LEXIS 927, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bollinger-v-polk-in-re-polk-moeb-1995.