Bullock v. Becker

52 Misc. 2d 698, 276 N.Y.S.2d 213, 1965 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1325
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 22, 1965
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 52 Misc. 2d 698 (Bullock v. Becker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bullock v. Becker, 52 Misc. 2d 698, 276 N.Y.S.2d 213, 1965 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1325 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1965).

Opinion

George Tilzer, J.

Plaintiff is the owner of future interests in two trust estates which are distributable to him at three stages. He received a distribution in 1960 of one third of the principal in each estate. A second was to be made on June 16, 1964 and the final one third is to be made on June 16, 1969. Plaintiff is a college graduate, a sophisticate with some experience in business affairs. In 1960 and later he was in need of funds in addition to substantial annual benefits received from the estates. Over a period of time he made a series of assignments of portions of his future interests. There was also in each instance the assignment of insurance policies. He has instituted four actions against various assignees and successors. He claims and contends that while absolute sales in form, the transactions were loans and usurious. He seeks their cancellation and return and reassignment of the policies. In each action he has moved for summary judgment and in this action the defendants and third-party plaintiffs have moved for summary [699]*699judgment dismissing the amended complaint or for alternate relief. In each transaction the documents recite plaintiff’s understanding that it is a sale, not a loan, so understood and that plaintiff is without personal liability, that the assignment is not made as collateral securing a loan and is not subject to rescission or redemption and the assignees’ only recourse is to the estates.

The concept of the vulnerability of the transactions is sound. In examining each transaction the court must determine ‘ ‘ whether the intent which pervaded it was one which violated the statute ”. (Hall v. Eagle Ins. Co., 151 App. Div. 815, 826.) In Union Dime Sav. Inst. v. Wilmot (94 N. Y. 221, 227), while there was “ no evidence whatever that the transaction took the form it did as a cover for usury ” the court stated that “ in one sense it took this form for the purpose of escaping usury. But the parties had a perfect right to deal with each other with the usury laws before their eyes, and to so shape the transaction as to avoid the condemnation of those laws ”. In Matter of Meadow Brook Nat. Bank (N. Y. L. J., Nov. 5, 1965, p. 19, cols. 5, 6) the court stated:

“ A sale is the transfer of general or absolute interest in property for a price in money. A loan is the delivery of a sum of money to another under a contract for the return of an equivalent amount at a future time with or without an additional sum agreed upon for its use, and if such is the intent of the parties, the transaction will be deemed a loan regardless of its form (Milana v. Credit Discount Co., 163 P. 2d 869). The intent of the parties govern (Thomas v. Hunt Mfg. Corp’n, 269 P. 2d 12; In re Smith, 280 App. Div. 947, affd. 305 N. Y. 764; Matter of Bechtoldt, 159 Misc. 725).

“ The court finds that the parties intended a sale of a fixed amount of the trust fund and not a loan. The assignment is to be paid only by the estate and the assignor is not personally responsible for the repayment of the consideration received, nor for the payment of the assignment. Therefore, usury is not involved since the transaction was a sale. ‘Although the bargain may have been hard, the transactions cannot be avoided as being unconscionable ’ (In re Smith’s Will, .supra).” That matter was decided after trial. Summary judgment simulates trial and therefore the question is whether plaintiff has submitted any proof capable of establishing any merit in his claim and particularly with respect to the question of intent by testimony or documentary proof outside the transaction documents.

To begin with, the actions are concerned with most in number and amount of the transactions between plaintiff and several [700]*700assignees. There were other transactions not directly .involved. It is conceded on all sides for the purpose of these motions that all transactions took the form of absolute sale. Further, plaintiff concedes he had been unable to secure from any banking institution any loan to be secured by the assignment of the future interests, although such lending institutions, no doubt, were also aware of the claimed lack of risk, the competence of the trustees and of all other elements affecting the risk. He sought advances and was informed that no loans would be made. He was represented in each instance by counsel, a member of the law firm now representing him. All parties other than the plaintiff deny there was any desire or purpose on their part to make a loan or that there was any discussion of a loan; that from the inception of negotiations in each instance a sale was demanded. It appears that for the most part those who acquired future interests and were the real parties in interest in such acquisitions, were traders in future interests. Plaintiff states merely that he knew he was making a sale but the sale was a cloak to disguise usury. In his brief he makes some statement that the loan was to be repaid in four years, but no such statement is found in his affidavit. There is no mention of duration, interim payments, interest, installment payment, amount or time. There is no proof of coercion, fraud or other infirmity. The burden is on the plaintiff to establish intent to make a loan by more than mere preponderance (Streeter Constr. Co. v. Kenny, 209 App. Div. 697), by ‘1 clear, unequivocal and convincing” proof (Bascombe v. Marshall, 129 App. Div. 516, affd. 198 N. Y. 538), and by proof, that is clear and decisive (Brown v. Robinson, 224 N. Y. 301).

In Matter of Smith (280 App. Div. 947, affd. 305 N. Y. 764) it appears that the trust beneficiary was 35 years of age, having an interest which would vest on the death of a grandmother 81 years of age and ill. The beneficiary received $75,000 for an assignment of $210,000 of the contingent interest. The grandmother died two months later. In reversing the determination of usury, the Appellate. Division stated (p. 948): “ There was no evidence or assertion of actual fraud or other manner of imposition, objectant and the corporation having been represented by counsel of long standing; and there was no duress by force of circumstances, it being established that objectant had a combined annual income of $37,000 from her grandfather’s and her mother’s estates. Although the bargain may have been hard, the transactions cannot be avoided as being unconscionable. * * * These were mature people dealing at arm’s length and each was represented by an [701]*701attorney when executing formal documents embodying their transactions.”

There was indeed considerable resort to words purporting to effectuate a loan in Matter of Bechtoldt (159 Misc. 725, 729 — 730) where the court there stated:

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Bluebook (online)
52 Misc. 2d 698, 276 N.Y.S.2d 213, 1965 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1325, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bullock-v-becker-nysupct-1965.