Estate of Leon Tawil v. Sutton

2024 NY Slip Op 30575(U)
CourtNew York Supreme Court, Kings County
DecidedFebruary 23, 2024
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2024 NY Slip Op 30575(U) (Estate of Leon Tawil v. Sutton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court, Kings County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Estate of Leon Tawil v. Sutton, 2024 NY Slip Op 30575(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2024).

Opinion

Estate of Leon Tawil v Sutton 2024 NY Slip Op 30575(U) February 23, 2024 Supreme Court, Kings County Docket Number: Index No. 527569/2023 Judge: Leon Ruchelsman Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 02/23/2024 08:58 AM INDEX NO. 527569/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 94 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/23/2024

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF KINGS : CIVIL TERM: COMMERCIAL 8 - ----------- ------ - --------- ------· -x ESTATE OF LEON TAWIL, Plaintiff, Decision and order

- against - Index No. 527569/2023

MEIR SUTTON, ISAAC SUTTON, ABRAHAM DUSHEY, arid lSS0 EAST 5TH LLC, De-fendants, February 23, 2024 - -·- - - - . . -.-.. - - - - -· - - - - - - -·-.. _ .. - - -·- - - -·- --------2{ PRESENT: HON. LEON ROCHELSMAN Moti6n Seq. #1 & #2

The defendants have moved and cross-moved seeking to dismiss

the complaint pursuant to CPLR §3211 oh the grounds it fails to

allege any causes of action. The plaintiff opposes the motion.

Papers were submitted by the parties and arguments held. After

reviewing all the arguments this court how makes the following

determination.

On February 9, 2016 Abraham Dushey obtained a judgement

against Isaac Sutton in the amount of $741,287.20. TQ satisfy

the judgement, on September 27, 2017 Isaac sold property loca,ted

at 1580 East 5ti, Street in Kings county to Dushey. The purchase

price was-agreed upon as $1,650,000 arid the prope~ty ~as sold for

$919, 119·. 47 which included a satisfaction of the amount Sutton

owed Dushey satisfying the judgement. Oh May 7, 2020 Dus.hey sold

the property to Isaac's son Meir, the defendant in this action., :i:hrou,gh an ent:Lty calied 1580 East 5 th LLC for $'1; 700, doo. .That

amount was based upOn an ~pprai:Sal conducted by Wells Farg'ci Barik

which loaned eighty percent of the purchase price and then

1 of 15 [* 1] FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 02/23/2024 08:58 AM INDEX NO. 527569/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 94 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/23/2024

obtained a mortgage on the property.

The plaintiff has now instituted the within lawsuit. The

plaintiff, the estate of Leon Tawil, obtained a judgement against

Isaac Sutton on June 29, 2022 in the amount of $3,254, 537 .4 0

which remains unsatisfied. That judgement was the result of a

lawsuit Corrimenced in 2015. The complaint alleges that the sale

between Dushey and Meir Sutton was made to he1p Isaac avoid paying its judgement to the plaintiff. The compl 9 int alleges

three Causes of action pursuant to the Debtor Creditor Law

(§§273, 275, 276 and 278). The defendants, the Suttons and

Dushey have moved seeking to dismiss the law$uit on the grounds

it fails to allege any valid causes of action. As noted, the

motions have been opposed.

Conclusions of Law

It is well settled that upon a motion to dismiss the court

must determine, accepting the allegations of the complaint as

true, whether the party can succeed upon any reasonable view of

those facts (Perez v. Y & M Transportation Corpo.ration, 219 AD3d

14 49; 196 NYS3d 145 [2d Dept., 2023]) . Further, all the

allegations in the complaint are deemed true and all reasoriable

inferences .may .be drawn in favor of the. plaintiff (Archival Inc .. ,·.

V. 177 Realty- Corp., 220 AD3d 909,. 198 NYS2d 567 [2d Dept. 1

2023] i ~. Whether the c::ompiaint will late+ svrvive a motion fol:'

surrtmary judgment, or whether the plaintiff wil.l ultimately be

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-able ·to p,rove its. c.la.im:-s, of course·, plays no part in. t:he

cieterm:j.;nation of a pre-tjiscovery C.P-LR -~3.2)1 motion. t.o d.i,smiss

.(see; Lam v. Weiss, 219 AD3d 713, 195 NYS3d 488 [2d Dept.,

20231). Pursuant to §2.73 cif the Debt.ar Creditor Law every conveyance

made- by a: party which then render-s. the party inscilv.ent i=s

fr·audulent without regard to intetit if the conveyance is made

Without ·tair consideration ( Paragon v. Paragon, 164 AD3d 14 60, 84

NY'S3d 582 [2d Dept., 2018]). Further, .such transfers are fraudul.ent if the transferor intende.d ._or believed the tr_ansferor

woµ-ld i._ncur debts beyo.r:id his or her ab-ility to pay the:m. whE?n tl;l.ey

ma·t.ured (Dept.or (:,re_d.i,.to"t Law §275.) or ev.en if fair consideration

was present the trans-fer was made with. the intent to defraµd

(Debtor Creditor Law §27.6). Pursuant to Debtor Creditor Law §278

·any c:redi tor may have f ra-udulent conveyances set aside exc·ept

aga:irtst any good. faith, :_purchaser for v_alue, which is. ciefin~q as

,.any- -pe.rson who te:nd_eretj -f ai;r considE?rati..o:n without ·-knowledge of

any fraud (.::,ee, Cornmodi ty Futures T.rading Conimi::,::,ion v .. Walsh, l 7

NY3d 162, 927'~YS2d 821 [2011]}.

The plaintif.f has -only oppos.ed ·the- motion seeking ·to dismiss

·oebto_r _Creditor _Law §_2i.76 and Debto.r Cr.editor Law §2.7H. Thus, the

motion s.eek:irtg- to dismiss any c-1.aims based upo.n Debtor Credi.to.r

Law §2 7 3 and Debtor Crecii tor Law §275 is gr:anted;

The fraudulent transfer law contained -within the Debtor

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Creditor Law is designed to prevent debtors from avoiding the

payment of their debts (Leifer v. Murphy, 149.Misc 455, 267 NYS

701 [Supreme Court Bronx County 19331). Debtor Creditor Law

former §27.6 states that "every conveyance made . . . with actual

intent . . to hinder, delay, or defraud either present or

future creditors; is fraudulent" (id), Thus, a creditor must

demonstrate, by clear and convincing evidence that a defendant

had the actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors (see,

Jensen v. Jensen, 256 AD2d 1162, 682 NYS2d 77 4 [ 2d Dept., 1998 ]) .

Since fraudulent or improper intent is difficult to prove,

courts have developed 'badges of fraud' which can give rise to

intent. Badges of fraud include: ''a close relationship between

the_parties to the alleged fraudulent transaction; a questionable

transfer not in the usual course of business; inadequacy of the

consideration; the transferorls knowledge Of the creditor's claim

and the inability to pay it; and retention of control of the property by the transferor after the conveyance1' (Goldenberg v.

Friedman, 191 AD3d 641, 141 NYS3d 111 [2d Dept., 2021]).

In this case, as notedi the plaintiff first became a

creditor bf Isaac on June 29; 2022 when a jury awarded the

plaintiff a judgement against Isaac in the amount of

$3254,547.40.

There are three overlapping rec:1sons the plaintiff cannot

maintain any fraudulent conveyance claims against the defendants.

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. .

First, the two transfers, from Isaac to Dushey and then

Dushey to Meir all concluded two years before tll.e plaintiff

obtained ariy judgement. Tn fact, the transfer from Isaac to

Dushey occurred almost five years before the judgement was

obtained.

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Related

Denio v. State of New York
851 N.E.2d 1153 (New York Court of Appeals, 2006)
Goldenberg v. Friedman
2021 NY Slip Op 00546 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2021)
In re the Estate of Ross
254 A.D. 805 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1938)
Leifer v. Murphy
149 Misc. 455 (New York Supreme Court, 1933)
Domenech v. Drew
256 A.D.2d 438 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1998)
Jensen v. Jensen
256 A.D.2d 1162 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1998)
Nonas v. Romantini
271 A.D.2d 292 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2000)
Perez v. Y & M Transp. Corp.
196 N.Y.S.3d 145 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2023)
People ex rel. Schram v. Molina
220 A.D.3d 909 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2023)

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