Gecker v. LG Funding, LLC (In re Hill)

589 B.R. 614
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 15, 2018
DocketCase No. 16 B 17113 (Jointly Administered); Adv. No. 17 A 00072
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 589 B.R. 614 (Gecker v. LG Funding, LLC (In re Hill)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gecker v. LG Funding, LLC (In re Hill), 589 B.R. 614 (Ill. 2018).

Opinion

Jacqueline P. Cox, United States Bankruptcy Judge

The matter before the Court arises from the adversary complaint filed by the plaintiff, Frances Gecker, as the chapter 7 trustee (the "Trustee") of the jointly administered bankruptcy estates of Network Salon Services, LLC ("Network Salon") and Anthia R. Hill ("Ms. Hill," collectively, the "Debtors"), against the defendant, LG Funding LLC ("LG Funding"), to recover alleged preferential and constructively fraudulent transfers pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 547(b) and 548(a)(1)(B), and to disallow claims against the bankruptcy estate filed by LG Funding pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 502(d). For the reasons that follow, judgment is granted in favor of LG Funding on all three counts.

I. BACKGROUND

The following facts are derived from the parties' Joint List of Stipulated Facts and Documents [Dkt. 50] and the evidence heard at trial on May 24, 2018.

Network Salon was a distributor of beauty products founded in 2004 by Ms. Hill's husband, Brian Hill; it was located in Chicago, Illinois. While Mr. Hill managed the business and its financial affairs, Ms. Hill performed warehouse and shipping work for the business. At that time, Ms. Hill neither owned nor managed any part of the business. Until 2010, Network Salon struggled financially, which required Mr. Hill to work elsewhere to keep the company and his family afloat.

In 2011, Ms. Hill took over the operation of Network Salon following the brief illness and subsequent death of Mr. Hill. Ms. Hill had no business or financial training or experience prior to taking over the business. At first Ms. Hill was able to effectively run the business. However, it ran into problems accessing products and selling them profitably. She soon became overwhelmed by the financial issues that both her family and Network Salon were experiencing and could not obtain traditional loans through various lenders.

She received a solicitation from Merchant Capital Advance, a merchant cash advance firm, telling her she could access $250,000 by submitting bank records. That deal went through; $250,000 was transferred into the business' bank account and $1090 payments were taken out of the business' account on a daily basis pursuant to that transaction.

LG Funding is a New York commercial finance company engaged in the merchant cash advance ("MCA") business. The MCA industry provides working capital to businesses, particularly small businesses who suffered financially as a result of the 2008 financial crisis.

*619In an MCA transaction, the merchant sells its accounts receivable for a discounted amount that is paid by the MCA company up-front. The MCA company, as purchaser, recovers the receivables by taking a pre-determined percentage of the merchant's receipts until the MCA company is paid in full.

Network Salon and LG Funding entered into two MCA transactions within two years prior to the date that Network Salon and Ms. Hill filed their chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions on May 20, 2016, ("the Petition Date"). The first contract is dated November 3, 2015 (the "First Agreement"); the second is dated January 8, 2016 (the "Second Agreement," collectively, the "Agreements"). Each agreement was made using LG Funding's standard form contract; each agreement was signed by Ms. Hill as owner of Network Salon. Ms. Hill also signed personal guaranties in connection with each transaction. Each agreement contains the following terms describing the nature of the transactions:

Merchant hereby sells, assigns, and transfers to LG (making LG the absolute owner) in consideration of the funds provided ("Purchase Price") specified below, all of Merchant's future accounts, contract rights and other obligations arising from or relating to the payment of monies from Merchant's customers' [sic] and/or third party payors (the "Receipts" defined as all payments made by cash, check, credit or debit card, electronic transfer or other form of monetary payment in the ordinary course of the merchant's business), for the payment of Merchant's sale of goods or services until the amount specified below (the "Purchased Amount") has been delivered by Merchant to LG.
The Purchased Amount shall be paid to LG by Merchant's irrevocably authorizing only one depositing account acceptable to LG (the "Account") to remit the percentage specified below (the "Specified Percentage") of the Merchant's settlement amounts due from each transaction, until such time as LG receives payment in full of the Purchased Amount.
...
1.9 Sale of Receipts. Merchant and LG agree that the Purchase Price under this Agreement is in exchange for the Purchased Amount and that such Purchase Price is not intended to be, nor shall it be construed as a loan from LG to Merchant. Merchant agrees that the Purchase Price is in exchange for the Receipts pursuant to this Agreement equals the fair market value of such Receipts.

Trustee's Exs. 18 and 28 (emphasis added). Each agreement contains a choice of law provision which selects New York law as the governing law of the contract. See Paragraph 4.5.

In total, LG Funding paid Network Salon $125,000 to purchase an interest in a percentage of Network Salon's receivables; in return, Network Salon became obligated to pay LG Funding $176,432. Network Salon granted LG Funding access to a specific bank account, from which LG Funding could, pursuant to the Agreements, make debits to obtain funds due it. LG Funding was also allowed access to Network Salon's operating account. Transcript, p. 14. Under the First Agreement, LG Funding could debit no more than $3,999 from Network Salon's bank account each week. After debiting a $1,500 administrative fee from Network Salon's account on November 9, 2015, LG Funding debited $3,999 from the account each week from November 16, 2015 through March 28, 2016. Under the Second Agreement, LG Funding debited an additional $2,500 from Network Salon's account each week. Thus, from January 19, *6202016 through March 28, 2016, LG Funding was debiting a total of $6,499 each week from Network Salon's account. During the ninety days preceding the Petition Date, LG Funding debited $38,994 from the account (the "Transfers"). Overall, Network Salon remitted $112,979 to LG Funding.

Overall, Ms. Hill entered into MCA agreements with at least thirteen MCA businesses, including LG Funding, in order to continue operation of Network Salon and to support her family from January 2013 until the Petition Date. In the six months prior to filing the instant bankruptcy case, Network Salon owed money to at least seven different MCA companies pursuant to multiple agreements. As of November 3, 2015, there were eleven UCC-1 financing statements filed against Network Salon in the office of the Illinois Secretary of State.

By March 2016, Network Salon was paying MCA providers over $30,000 each business day out of fourteen different bank accounts maintained by Network Salon.

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Bluebook (online)
589 B.R. 614, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gecker-v-lg-funding-llc-in-re-hill-ilnb-2018.