Bosman v. Glod (In re Glod)

528 B.R. 517
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. New York
DecidedApril 1, 2015
DocketCase No.: 13-61372; Adv. Pro. No.: 13-80020
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 528 B.R. 517 (Bosman v. Glod (In re Glod)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bosman v. Glod (In re Glod), 528 B.R. 517 (N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER

Honorable Diane Davis, United States Bankruptcy Judge

This matter is before the Court for decision following a bench trial1 on the Adversary Complaint of Plaintiff A.J. Bosman (“Plaintiff’), wherein Plaintiff seeks a determination of nondischargeability against Debtor-Defendant Matthew J. Glod (“Defendant”) pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(4).2 (The “Complaint,” ECF Adv. No. 1.)3

Defendant filed a Voluntary Petition for chapter 13 relief on August 19, 2013, wherein Defendant scheduled as disputed a debt owed to Plaintiff in the amount of $5,000.00. Plaintiff thereafter commenced this adversary proceeding on November 27, 2013, by filing the Complaint seeking to except from the discharge issued to Defendant a debt allegedly owed to Plaintiff in the amount of $53,334.00 pursuant to §§ 523(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(4). (ECF Adv. No. 1.) Defendant filed an Answer to the Complaint on December 16, 2013, therein denying the material allegations and requesting dismissal of the Complaint. (ECF Adv. No. 5.) The Court thereafter issued a Scheduling Order, which required, inter alia, objections to witness qualifications, a joint stipulation of facts, a list of exhibits and pretrial statements, and copies of exhibits intended to be offered at trial by November 7, 2014. (ECF Adv. No. 9.) The matter came to trial on December 2, 2014,4 and was eontin-[522]*522ued oil December 16, 2014. After the close of Plaintiffs case, Defendant unsuccessfully moved for a “directed verdict.”5 Plaintiff and Defendant filed Post-Trial Memoranda on January 23, 2015 (ECF Adv. Nos. 37 and 36, respectively), on which date the matter was fully submitted and taken under advisement. For the reasons set forth below, the Court having considered all the pleadings and the evidence adduced at trial, the Court finds in favor of Defendant. As is required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52, made applicable to this adversary proceeding by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052, this Memorandum-Decision and Order sets forth the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.

JURISDICTION

The Court has jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter of this adversary proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334, 157(a), and 157(b)(1). This matter constitutes a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(I).

FACTS

The facts of this matter are highly disputed as evidenced by the limited Stipulation of Undisputed Fact filed by the parties on November 10, 2014. (ECF Adv. No. 19.) The Court’s ruling is therefore predicated on the evidentiary record, which consists mainly of testimonial evidence elicited by both sides from five witnesses, including Plaintiff, Timothy Taciak, Michael Bellinger, Brian “Terry” Skinner, and Defendant. (ECF Adv. No. 39.) Although Plaintiff carries the burden and Plaintiffs counsel elicited lengthy testimony at trial regarding the parties’ relationship, few material facts were proven with regard to Plaintiffs causes of action under § 523(a).

The record reflects that between 2002 and 2005, Defendant, a licensed master electrician, was hired by Plaintiff, an attorney, to perform certain work on Plaintiffs newly constructed home in Rome, New York. The testimony establishes that, during the initial stages of construction, in 2002, Plaintiffs flaneé, Richard MeCli-mans, served as the general contractor. Upon the advice of his friend and colleague, Terry Skinner, McClimans selected Defendant’s proposal to perform certain plumbing and heating services. (Skinner Trial Tr. (“TT”) 9-10.) Plaintiff-thereafter retained these services.

The relationship between Plaintiff and Defendant was memorialized by two home improvement contracts dated September 2, 2002 (Pl.’s Trial Exs., Ex. 2, “Contract I”), and November 20, 2005 (Pl.’s Trial Exs., [523]*523Ex. 1, “Contract II”),6 wherein Defendant agreed to perform certain plumbing and heating services for Plaintiff, in exchange for payment in the amount of $2,472.557 pursuant to Contract I and $54,974.59 pursuant to Contract II (collectively, the “Contracts”).8 The Contracts provided that Plaintiff was to pay Defendant for the materials and labor to be performed, and that Defendant was to furnish all materials and perform the labor described in the respective proposals. Thus, during the parties’ relationship, Plaintiff was to advance monies to Defendant to purchase the materials necessary for the renovations in accordance with the payment schedules identified in the respective' Contracts. The advancements to Defendant were funded by a construction loan Plaintiff obtained from a lending institution, which required the • authorization of a general contractor prior to each draw. (Skinner TT 8, 16.) Defendant testified that, while the work performed for Plaintiff was a “contract job,” each of the Contracts “was broken up by proposals.” (Def. Trial Tr. (“TT”) 59.) In other words, Plaintiff could select or decline certain proposals within each contract, “and that’s what happened. It came to whatever the amount was and then after that, [Plaintiff] started adding things that she wanted done or changes.” (Def. TT 59.)

Midway through the construction project, Defendant filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy protection on October 15, 2005, assigned case number 05-72431, just prior to execution of Contract II.9 Defendant did not list a debt owed to Plaintiff on his schedules in that bankruptcy filing. Defendant’s case was dismissed for failure to make plan payments on June 6, 2007 and thereafter administratively closed on September 20, 2007. Debtor did not receive a discharge. At trial, Plaintiff testified that she was unaware of Defendant’s first bankruptcy filing at that time and proceeded to enter into Contract II with Defendant. (PI. Trial Tr. (“TT”) 49.)

Plaintiff testified generally that she was dissatisfied with the speed at which the construction progressed, Defendant’s low quality of workmanship, and his use of inferior, aged products. Plaintiffs largest grievance with regard to the Contracts, however, relates to Defendant’s purchase and storage of a boiler which was to be installed in Plaintiffs home in connection with the heating services to be provided by Deféndant. The record is incomplete with regard to the timing of events relating to the same. In Plaintiffs direct examination, Plaintiff identified a proposal dated November 14, 2002, listing a 200,000 BTU Weil McClain boiler at a cost of $2,150.00. (PI. TT 12; Pl.’s Trial Exs., Ex. 3.) Plaintiff acknowledged that some time after the purchase of this boiler in 2002 (Plaintiff TT 24), Defendant agreed to store the boiler for Plaintiff at no cost to her until the date of installation because Plaintiff had no place to store the boiler herself.

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Bluebook (online)
528 B.R. 517, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bosman-v-glod-in-re-glod-nynb-2015.