Costell v. Costell (In Re Costell)

75 B.R. 348, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 1037
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedApril 28, 1987
Docket18-17642
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 75 B.R. 348 (Costell v. Costell (In Re Costell)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Costell v. Costell (In Re Costell), 75 B.R. 348, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 1037 (Ohio 1987).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RICHARD L. SPEER, Bankruptcy Judge.

This cause comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Complaint to Determine Dis-chargeability of Certain Debts, Plaintiff’s Objections to Defendant’s Discharge and Exemptions. The Trustee filed a Counterclaim. A Pre-Trial was held on these matters, at which time the Court granted leave to file Motions for Summary Judgment. All parties, the Trustee, Plaintiff, and Debtor, filed Motions for Summary Judgment and Memoranda respecting the merits of those Motions. The Court has reviewed the written arguments of counsel, the affidavits and exhibits, as well as the entire record in this ease. Based on that review, and for the following reasons, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment should be granted in part and denied in part, Defendant-Debtor’s Motion for Summary Judgment should be granted in part and denied in part, and Trustee’s Motion for Summary Judgment should be granted in part and denied in part.

FACTS

Debtor, Louis Costell, and Plaintiff, Leslie Costell, were divorced in 1984. During their marriage, the parties were owners of property on Golden Road, Toledo, Ohio. The nature of the estate is somewhat unclear. Plaintiff’s Memorandum states that the property was held as an estate by the entireties, while the Trustee’s Memorandum refers to the property as being held “jointly”. The decree of dissolution was issued on June 28,1984. The decree directed the Debtor-Husband to convey his right, title and interest in the property, by quitclaim deed, to the Plaintiff within seven (7) days of the filing of the decree. In the event that the Debtor failed to convey the property, the decree provided that “this Agreement shall be, constitute and operate as such conveyance, and the County Auditor and County Recorder are hereby respectively authorized and directed to transfer and record same for the public record of such conveyance.”

The Debtor failed to transfer and record a quitclaim deed within the specified time period, and the decree was never filed by the County Recorder or Auditor. In addition, while the decree recites that a legal description of the subject property is attached to the decree, an affidavit by the Trustee, and admissions by Plaintiff’s counsel, indicate that the original legal description is, at least at this time, not attached.

On May 16, 1986, the Debtor filed a voluntary petition under 11 U.S.C. Chapter 7. On July 29, 1986, subsequent to the filing of the petition, Plaintiff, through her agent, caused a copy of the decree of dissolution to be filed in the office of the Lucas County Recorder. The Plaintiff attached a copy of the legal description of the property referred to in the Judgment Entry. On or about November 18, 1986, the Plaintiff mailed the Trustee a stipulation for signature which states that the attempted transfer, through the recording of the Judgment Entry, was “invalid and held for naught” and directing the Lucas County Recorder to invalidate the recordation. A review of the record reflects that the Trustee has not, at this time, signed the stipulation. *351 There are no allegations before the Court that the legal description appended is not a true and accurate description of the property which the Judgment Entry was intended to transfer.

Based on the above facts, the Trustee has filed a Counterclaim to Plaintiffs Motion to Determine Dischargeability. The Trustee seeks to have Debtor’s interest in the property quieted in the Trustee through the “strong arm” powers of § 544(a). For violation of the automatic stay, the Trustee prays for attorney’s fees, court costs and punitive damages in the amount of $50,000.00. The Trustee also asks for fees and costs, plus $25,000.00 punitive damages for fraud upon the Trustee, resulting from the appending of the exhibit and the recording of the decree. The Trustee has moved for Summary Judgment on all issues.

The decree of dissolution also provided that the Debtor pay the first and second mortgage on the former marital residence, in which the Plaintiff and the couple’s three minor children now reside. In addition, the Debtor was directed to make repairs on the residence, to make payments on the couple’s VISA account, and to pay the Plaintiff $5,690 as her interest in the Debtor’s pension program. The Plaintiff has moved for Summary Judgment on all issues, including the Plaintiff’s right to the residential property and the Trustee’s counterclaim for damages. The Debtor has moved for Summary Judgment on all issues except those brought by the Trustee.

LAW

I

Summary Judgment is properly granted when the Movant can demonstrate that there are no genuine issues of material fact, and that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See, Bankruptcy Rule 7056 and Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. However, Movant must be able to demonstrate all the elements of a cause of action in order to prevail. In re Hartwig Poultry, Inc., 57 B.R. 549, 551 (Bankr.N.D.Ohio 1986). A Motion for Summary Judgment must be construed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the Motion. In re Sostarich, 53 B.R. 27 (Bankr.W.D.Ky.1985).

The Trustee seeks to use the “strong arm” provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 544(a) to quiet title to the subject real estate in the Trustee. § 544(a) states in pertinent part:

(a) The trustee shall have, as of the commencement of the case, and without regard to any knowledge of the trustee or of any creditor, the rights and powers of, or may avoid any transfer of property of the debtor or any obligation incurred by the debtor that is voidable by—
(3) a bona fide purchaser of real property, other than fixtures, from the debt- or, against whom applicable law permits such transfer to be perfected, that obtains the status of a bona fide purchaser and has perfected such transfer at the time of the commencement of the case, whether or not such a purchaser exists.

In response, the Plaintiff argues that under the facts of the present case, the Judgment Entry transferred the property at the time of journalization, and did not need to be recorded to defeat the Trustee’s claim under Ohio law.

This position appears to be contrary to the provisions of section 5301.25(a) of the Ohio Revised Code, which states:

(A) All deeds, land contracts referred to in division (B)(2) of section 317.08 of the Revised Code, and instruments of writing properly executed for the conveyance of encumbrance of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, other than as provided in section 5301.23 of the Revised Code, shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the premises are situated, and until so recorded or filed for record, they are fraudulent, so far as relates to a subsequent bona fide purchaser having, at the time of purchase, no knowledge of the existence of such former deed or land contract or instrument.

Clearly, the Judgment Entry is, by its terms, an instrument of writing properly executed for the conveyance of land. Thus, if it is not recorded, it is fraudulent as to a subsequent bona fide purchaser

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
75 B.R. 348, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 1037, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/costell-v-costell-in-re-costell-ohnb-1987.