Cox v. Grube (In re Grube)

500 B.R. 764, 2013 WL 343459, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 358
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedJanuary 29, 2013
DocketBankruptcy No. 09-81713; Adversary No. 10-8055
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 500 B.R. 764 (Cox v. Grube (In re Grube)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cox v. Grube (In re Grube), 500 B.R. 764, 2013 WL 343459, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 358 (Ill. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

THOMAS L. PERKINS, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the motion filed by the Defendant, Suzanne H. Grube (SUZANNE), to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint filed by the Plaintiff, A. Clay Cox (TRUSTEE), as Trustee of the bankruptcy estate of the chapter 7 debtor, James R. Grube (DEBTOR).

BACKGROUND

The DEBTOR filed a Chapter 7 petition on June 2, 2009. Richard E. Barber,-the first Trustee of the DEBTOR’S bankruptcy estate, filed a complaint against SUZANNE on June 3, 2010, seeking to recover transfers made by the DEBTOR to Dragonfly Restaurant Group, LLC, doing business as “Jill's on Galena,” for the benefit of SUZANNE, alleged to be its majority owner. The complaint, stated in three counts, alleged that the transfers were constructively fraudulent and sought recovery of $463,000 transferred within two years of the filing under section 548(a)(1)(B) of the Bankruptcy Code, and of $1,236,000 transferred within four years, under the Illinois Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (Illinois UFTA) and section 544 and applicable state law.

SUZANNE answered the original complaint, characterizing the alleged facts as “confusing and convoluted.” She set forth, in considerable detail, her interest in Dragonfly Restaurant Group, LLC, (DRG), the holding company for Cutter Lake, LLC and Hound Peoria, LLC, d/b/a Firkin & Hound. She also set forth her status as sole shareholder of Dragonfly Enterprises, Inc. (INC), the owner of “Jill’s on Galena,” as of December 31, 2008. Based on Trustee Barber’s misperception of DRG’s identity, SUZANNE admitted that certain transfers had taken place, but otherwise denied the allegations as confusing, noting it was unclear whether the Trustee was alleging that the transfers had been made to DRG or to INC. Noting that the DEBTOR had guaranteed INC’s loans from Bu-sey Bank, she also denied that the transfers had been made for her benefit.

Two other adversary proceedings were filed by Trustee Barber against SU[768]*768ZANNE. In Adversary No. 09-8111, he sought to recover transfers made by the DEBTOR from the balance of the proceeds of the sale of his insurance agency, which he received in May, 2008, as constructively fraudulent transfers.1 The transfers sought to be avoided consisted of five separate transfers to SUZANNE totaling $225,000 and a payment of $835,497 to Busey Bank in payment of the full balance on a loan made to Cutter Lake, LLC, allegedly made for the benefit of SUZANNE. Adversary No. 10-8011, filed against SUZANNE and Associated Bank, involved transfers of the DEBTOR’S ownership interest in two entities, KMA Builders, LLC and Queenwood, LLC, to SUZANNE. Trustee Barber sought to avoid and recover each transfer based on actual fraud and, alternatively, for constructive fraud.2

An initial pretrial conference in this proceeding was scheduled along with the two related adversaries filed by Trustee Barber against SUZANNE. The same attorney represented Trustee Barber in all three adversaries and continues to represent Trustee Cox as well. The attorney advised the Court that he was focusing on one of the related proceedings and would be off work as a result of a medical problem. Continued pretrial hearings were held in all three proceedings on February 15, 2011 and May 31, 2011. Shortly before the last hearing, on May 18, 2011, Trustee Barber filed a motion for summary judgment in Adversary No. 09-8111. On September 6, 2011, at a continued hearing, the Trustee’s attorney remained uncertain whether he would file a motion for summary judgment in this proceeding, again noting that the focus of his attention was on the other two proceedings. A motion for summary judgment was filed in Adversary No. 10-8011 on September 29, 2011. After the Court issued its ruling in Adversary No. 09-8111, in October, 2011, granting the summary judgment in part, the case was set for trial on April 3, 2012.

A continued pretrial in this case was held on December 13, 2011, at which Trustee Barber indicated he was in the process of preparing a motion for summary judgment. After the new year, A. Clay Cox replaced Richard Barber as the Trustee. Based in part on the appointment of a new trustee and the impending trial, the DEBTOR and SUZANNE requested a settlement conference in all three adversary proceedings. The parties were unable to reach an agreement and litigation resumed. Cross-motions for summary judgment were filed in Adversary No. 09-8111 and discovery resumed in Adversary No. 10-8011.3 At a pretrial conference in [769]*769this case, the TRUSTEE indicated that he would be filing an amended complaint.

The TRUSTEE filed a first amended complaint on June 5, 2012, three years and three days after the filing of the petition and two years and two days after the filing of the original complaint. In the first amended complaint, the TRUSTEE separated the transfers made to DRG from those made to INC. The TRUSTEE sought to avoid transfers of $1,078,244 made to INC within the four years preceding the filing of the petition, based alternatively on actual and constructive fraud under the Illinois UFTA.4 The TRUSTEE also sought to avoid transfers totaling $538,484 to DRG as constructively fraudulent based alternatively on bankruptcy law and on the Illinois UFTA and as actually fraudulent under state law.5 SUZANNE moved to dismiss the amended complaint, pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 7012(b) and for a more particular statement. SUZANNE contended that the amended complaint failed to state the allegations of fraud with particularity, noting that the transfers were lumped together. The Court agreed with SUZANNE, granting the motion and giving the TRUSTEE an opportunity to file a second amended complaint. In issuing its ruling, the Court told the TRUSTEE that it regarded the complaint as confusing and that it appeared that the claims for actual and constructive fraud were jumbled together. The Court advised the TRUSTEE that he needed to separate the two kinds of fraud claims and expand upon how SUZANNE benefitted from the transfers, whether it was in her role as an owner, creditor or as an insider.

The TRUSTEE filed a second amended complaint on August 14, 2012. For the first time, the TRUSTEE set forth the transfers made by the DEBTOR by date, amount and transferee. The counts of the second amended complaint may be summarized as follows.

Count Initial Transferee Description of Claim Amount

I INC Section 548: constructive fraud $205,000

II INC 740 ILCS 160/5(a)(2): constructive fraud 657,660

III INC 740 ILCS 160/5(a)(l): actual fraud 657,660

IV DRG Section 548: constructive fraud 258.500

V DRG 740 ILCS 160/5(a)(2): constructive fraud 583.500

VI DRG 740 ILCS 160/5(a)(l): actual fraud 583,500

The TRUSTEE alleges that the DEBTOR had no ownership interest in either entity nor was he listed as a creditor of either entity. At their inception, both INC and DRG were owned by Jill Grube (Jill), the daughter of the DEBTOR and SUZANNE.

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Bluebook (online)
500 B.R. 764, 2013 WL 343459, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 358, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cox-v-grube-in-re-grube-ilcb-2013.