Burtch v. Masiz (In re Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)

500 B.R. 384
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware
DecidedOctober 15, 2013
DocketCase No. 10-10855 (CSS); Adv. Pro. No. 11-52005 (CSS)
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 500 B.R. 384 (Burtch v. Masiz (In re Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burtch v. Masiz (In re Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), 500 B.R. 384 (Del. 2013).

Opinion

Chapter 11

OPINION1

Sontchi, J.

INTRODUCTION

Before the Court is a second motion for partial summary judgment filed by Plaintiff, a litigation trustee appointed under Debtor’s confirmed plan of reorganization, against a former officer and director of Debtor. Plaintiff seeks to recover payments made by Debtor to Defendant in the weeks prior to Debtor’s bankruptcy from the proceeds of a settlement payable to the Debtor.

[388]*388Plaintiffs first motion for partial summary judgment, filed on July 13, 2011, sought to recover these payments as fraudulent conveyances.2 That motion was denied, however, in part, as to this particular Defendant.3 Consequently, Plaintiff now seeks to recover these payments as avoidable preferences under 11 U.S.C. § 547.

Plaintiffs motion will be granted.

JURISDICTION

This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1408 and 1409. This is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2) and this Court has the judicial power to enter a final order.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

I. Procedural History

On March 11, 2010 (the “Petition Date”), Vaso Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Debtor” or “Vaso”) commenced its reorganization by filing a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code. An adversary action against Iroquois Master Fund, Ltd., Vaso’s secured lender, was filed and thereafter settled with approval by this Court (the “Iroquois Settlement Order”).4 The Iroquois Settlement Order included the following representation:

Joseph Frattaroli and John Masiz hereby represent and warrant that they have not and will not in the future fraudulently transfer any of their assets, including without limitation the cash payments they received from the Debtor in December 2009 from the Settlement Funds, outside the reach of creditors.5

On October 2, 2010, Vaso filed its Second Amended Chapter 11 Plan of Reorga-nization6 which was confirmed by the Court in November 2010.7 Pursuant to the confirmation order, Jeoffrey L. Burtch (the “Trustee” or “Plaintiff’) was appointed as the Avoidance Action Trustee (as defined in the Plan) pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 321-33, and was assigned all avoidance actions and other claims under 11 U.S.C. §§ 544, 547, 548 and 550 to pursue for the benefit of Vaso’s creditors.

Thereafter, on May 20, 2011, the Trustee commenced this present adversary proceeding (via the Complaint) against John J. Masiz (“Masiz”) and Joseph F. Frattaroli (“Frattaroli,” and together with Masiz, the “Defendants”) seeking, among other things, avoidance of preferential transfers, avoidance of fraudulent transfers (under multiple federal and state theories), disallowance of claims, and unjust enrichment.8 Within weeks of Defendants’ Answer to the Complaint,9 the Trustee filed a motion for partial summary judgment as to whether transfers made to [389]*389Defendants were fraudulent conveyances.10 On October 9, 2012, this Court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law in its Opinion and Order (the “Opinion”), granting, in part, and denying, in part, the first motion.11 More specifically, the motion was granted against Frattaroli under Count VII of the Complaint.12 While the Opinion granted partial summary judgment against Masiz on certain elements of various causes of action in the Complaint, it did not find all the required elements for any one cause of action.13

Based on the Opinion, the Court entered summary judgment (the “Judgment”) on December 19, 2012, in favor of the Trustee against John J. Masiz only, as to the following:

a) Denying the applicability of the earmarking defense;
b) ... [Masiz] received Five Hundred Ninety Eight Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($598,000.00) directly from the Robinson & Cole settlement, and subsequent payments from Vaso of One Hundred Seventy Eight Thousand Three Hundred Sixty Three and 00/100 Dollars ($178,363.00) (the “Transfers”);
c) Masiz concealed the nature and existence of the Transfers from Debtor’s creditors at the time the Transfers were made;
d) As of the date of the Transfers and the Petition Date of Debtor, substantially all of Debtor’s assets were transferred to Masiz and Frattaroli;
e) Masiz concealed assets by not disclosing to Iroquois or Debtor’s other creditors ... the terms and amount of the [settlement] proceeds ... payments [made] under the Kell[e]y Drye Settlement Agreement; and ... the basis for and the amount of the payments of Debtor’s assets to Frattaroli and Masiz;
f) The Debtor was insolvent at the time of the Transfers and Masiz knew at the time of the Transfers that Debtor was insolvent;
g) Masiz paid himself ahead of Debtor’s other creditors with intent to hinder, delay [or] defraud those creditors;
h) Masiz lacked good faith in connection with the Transfers of part of the Robinson & Cole settlement to himself;
j) At the time of the transfer to Debtor, Masiz knew that the Debtor had insufficient capital and had intent to incur debt beyond the Debtor’s ability to pay.14

Masiz promptly filed a Notice of Appeal of the Judgment to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware on January 2, 2013.15 That appeal remains pending.

Separately, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint due to lack of standing on November 6, 2012.16 The motion to dismiss was denied by this Court through an order on April 25, 2013.17

On January 3, 2013, the Trustee filed Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Section 547 Against John J. Masiz.18

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Bluebook (online)
500 B.R. 384, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burtch-v-masiz-in-re-vaso-active-pharmaceuticals-inc-deb-2013.