Fed. Trade Comm'n v. Lanier (In re Lanier)

589 B.R. 901
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedOctober 4, 2017
DocketCase No. 3:16-bk-3307-JAF; Adv. No. 3:17-ap-0035-JAF
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 589 B.R. 901 (Fed. Trade Comm'n v. Lanier (In re Lanier)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fed. Trade Comm'n v. Lanier (In re Lanier), 589 B.R. 901 (Fla. 2017).

Opinion

Jerry A. Funk, United States Bankruptcy Judge

This proceeding is before the Court on Plaintiff FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION'S (the "Commission's") motion for summary judgment (Doc. 30), Defendant MICHAEL W. LANIER'S ("Debtor's") response in opposition (Doc. 41), the Commission's reply (Doc. 48), as well as Debtor's cross-motion for summary judgment (Docs. 44 & 47), the Commission's response to Debtor's cross-motion (Doc. 49), and Debtor's reply (Doc. 50). For the reasons stated herein, the Court grants the Commission's motion and denies Debtor's cross-motion.

Background

On August 30, 2016 (the "Petition Date"), Debtor filed a Chapter 13 petition. (Doc. 1, in Case No. 3:16-bk-3307). On February 22, 2017, the Chapter 13 case *905was converted to a Chapter 11 case. (Doc. 99 in 3:16-bk-3307). The Commission filed a proof of claim for almost $13.6 million as to a judgment debt (the "Judgment Debt") resulting from litigation in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (the "District Court"), in case number 3:14-CV-0786 (the "Underlying Action"). (Claim 10-1). The District Court entered an interlocutory order granting summary judgment, on July 7, 2016. (Doc. 1-3). Final summary judgment was rendered on August 12, 2016, eighteen days before the Petition Date. (Doc. 1-2).

The instant Complaint seeks to except the Judgment Debt from discharge, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A). (Doc. 1). Count I is the primary count alleging nondischargeability, while Count II includes an argument for issue preclusion based on the Underlying Action. The Commission claims the Judgment Debt arises from fraudulent conduct related to a mortgage-relief services scheme. (Doc. 30-1 at 5-7).1 The Commission pursues a false-representation theory and an actual-fraud theory under § 523(a)(2)(A). (Doc. 30-1 at 20, 26). The Commission argues that § 523(a)(2)(A) requires the Court to except the Judgment Debt from discharge based on the fraudulent conduct for which Debtor was found liable in the Underlying Action, even if he did not personally engage in the direct fraudulent conduct himself. (Doc. 30-1 at 20-21).

In his response, Debtor asserts two essential theories of defense: 1) the independently-contracted sales staff engaged in the fraudulent activity, not Debtor himself, therefore Debtor is insulated and the debt is dischargeable; and 2) all fraudulent statements made by the sales staff were oral statements "respecting" Debtor's "financial condition" and, therefore, the debt is dischargeable, citing In re Appling, 848 F.3d 953 (11th Cir. 2017). Debtor contends the "[p]hone solicitation 'conversations' with consumers facing mortgage foreclosure focused upon [Debtor]'s law practice business model and the financial strategy of his foreclosure defense law practice." (Doc. 41 at 6). Debtor contends the "details of his professional strategy and the success rate that he enjoyed certainly 'impacted on' his financial condition reflecting 'his overall financial status.' " (Doc. 41 at 6); (Docs. 47 & 44). Debtor attached an affidavit to his reply in support of his cross-motion, which the Court fully considered in determining the present issues. (Doc. 50 at 7-19).

Undisputed Facts

The Commission sued Debtor (who is a Florida attorney)2 and his law firms, Lanier Law and Liberty & Trust Law Group of Florida, among other codefendants, for violating the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule (MARS Rule or Regulation O). The essential allegations were that the defendants misrepresented their ability to obtain mortgage modifications and reduce loan obligations, charged consumers disallowed advance fees for mortgage relief services, failed to communicate required disclosures to customers and potential customers, and initiated impermissible outbound telephone sales calls.

*906The District Court entered a 78-page interlocutory order granting summary judgment (the "Interlocutory Order") (Doc. 1-3) and a final order of summary judgment (the "Final Order") (Doc. 1-2). The Final Order enjoined Debtor and his codefendants from engaging in various practices, entered a joint-and-several money judgment against Debtor and his codefendants, appointed an agent to liquidate Debtor's assets and turn over the proceeds to the Commission, and imposed standards for Debtor's (and his codefendants') compliance reporting. (Doc. 1-2).

The common enterprise.

Debtor's codefendants included his law firms, other attorneys, and other law firms. The District Court concluded that this group of law firms and attorneys operated as a "common enterprise." (Doc. 1-3 at 43). The common enterprise used independently contracted sales staff to market mortgage relief services to consumers, and used contracted of-counsel attorneys to expand operations throughout the nation. (Doc. 1-3 at 43); (Doc. 1-3 at 15). It appears the codefendants had hoped the independent nature of the sales staff and the of-counsel attorneys would insulate the members of the common enterprise against liability. As detailed below, the consumers were led to believe they would receive legal representation from the codefendants through local of-counsel attorneys, while the contracted of-counsel attorneys were told they were responsible only for document review and that they did not represent the consumers. Ultimately, none of the consumers received the legal representation that was promised.

The staffing agencies and salesforce personnel.

Specifically, the District Court concluded the law firms "used separate companies, such as DOLMF,[3 ] Pinnacle, and FURF[4 ](the 'staffing' agencies), to solicit consumers, answer calls from consumers, and convince consumers to retain a law firm's services." (Doc. 1-3 at 23) (footnotes added). In the Underlying Action, the Commission presented "declarations from over sixty consumers who largely recount similar experiences with Lanier Law, the DC Entities[5 ] and Liberty & Trust (the Law Firms)." (Doc. 1-3 at 27) (footnote added). "[T]hese declarations describe conversations with salespersons which were replete with misrepresentations about the Law Firms." (Doc. 1-3 at 27). "In these introductory conversations, either the initial contact person or the case manager would tell the consumer that the Law Firm could obtain a loan modification for the consumer with significantly lower payments and a lower interest rate." (Doc. 1-3 at 28). "Sometimes, the representative would specifically state the amount of the anticipated reduced mortgage payment, and/or that the interest rate would be lowered to 2 or 3%." (Doc. 1-3 at 28). "Many consumers were told that the Law Firm could get the consumer a reduction in principal, removal of fees, or amounts past due wiped away." (Doc. 1-3 at 28). "Some consumers recall that they were even 'promised'

Related

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
589 B.R. 901, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fed-trade-commn-v-lanier-in-re-lanier-flmb-2017.