Gibbons v. First Fidelity Bank, N.A. (In re Princeton-New York Investors, Inc.)

255 B.R. 366, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1383, 37 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 9
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedNovember 13, 2000
DocketBankruptcy Nos. 94-25534(RG), 94-25535(RG); Adversary No. 95-2826(RG)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 255 B.R. 366 (Gibbons v. First Fidelity Bank, N.A. (In re Princeton-New York Investors, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gibbons v. First Fidelity Bank, N.A. (In re Princeton-New York Investors, Inc.), 255 B.R. 366, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1383, 37 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 9 (N.J. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

ROSEMARY GAMBARDELLA, Chief Judge.

MATTER BEFORE THE COURT

Before this Court is a motion by First Union National Bank, f/k/a First Fidelity Bank, N.A., (“Defendant”) for the entry of an order dismissing Chapter 7 Trustee Robert P. Gibbons’s (“Plaintiff’) complaint against Defendant. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant violated a state fraudulent con[368]*368veyance statute. This Court has previously ruled that federal bankruptcy law preempts one provision of that statute. Defendant now seeks dismissal on the grounds that the preempted provision may not be severed from the remainder of the statute. Defendants Eugene Mulvihill joins in the motion to dismiss. In opposition to the motion, Plaintiff argues that the statute is indeed severable. A hearing on this motion was held on September 28, 2000. The following constitutes this Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.

FACTS

Prior to filing a petition for relief, Princeton-New York Investors, Inc. (“Princeton”) financed the acquisition of certain real estate through a $6,000,000 mortgage loan from First Fidelity Bank, N.A., now known a First Union National Bank. See Gibbons v. First Fidelity Bank, N.A. (In re Princeton-New York Investors, Inc.), 199 B.R. 285, 288 (Bankr.D.N.J.1996) (“Gibbons I”), aff'd 219 B.R. 55 (D.N.J.1998).

On August 12, 1994, Princeton and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Seasons Resorts, Inc., (collectively, “Debtors”) filed separate petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. See id. at 289.

On October 6, 1994, Robert P. Gibbons was appointed Chapter 11 Trustee for Debtors. See id. By order dated March 11, 1999, the Chapter 11 cases were converted to Chapter 7 cases. On or about March 25, 1999, Robert P. Gibbons was appointed as the interim Chapter 7 trustee in both Chapter 7 cases.1

Plaintiff Files Complaint

On October 6, 1995, Plaintiff filed the complaint (the “Complaint”) upon which this adversary proceeding is based and a Second Amended Complaint on June 19, 1996. See id. On September 1, 1988, Princeton acquired the former Playboy Hotel property in Vernon, New Jersey, consisting of a 678 room hotel situated on 577 acres of land, including a 27 hole golf course. Plaintiff alleges that, on November 14, 1990, Princeton sold to an investor a golf course and adjacent land for the amount of $20,000,000. See id. at 288. Pursuant to that transaction, Plaintiff alleges, $4,000,000 of the sale proceeds were allocated toward the payment and satisfaction of, not Princeton’s indebtedness to Defendant, but the indebtedness of other non-debtor obligations to Defendant without the knowledge or consent of Princeton’s creditors. See id. Mulvihill, a defendant in this action, allegedly served as a director and chief executive officer of Princeton. See id.

In Count I of the Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that the transfer to Mulvihill constitutes a fraudulent conveyance pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 544 and 548 and the New Jersey Fraudulent Transfer Act (“NJFTA”), encoded at N.J.S.A. § 25:2-1. See id. at 289, 292. In Count II, Plaintiff alleges, pursuant to the same statutes, that the transfer constitutes a constructively fraudulent transfer. See id. The remaining counts are not relevant for the purposes of the determination of this matter.

First Motion For Dismissal

On December 14, 1995, Defendant moved to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be [369]*369granted. See First Union Nat’l Bank v. Gibbons (In re Princeton-New York Investors, Inc.), 219 B.R. 55, 57 (D.N.J.1998) (“Gibbons II”). Defendant argued, first, that Plaintiff had failed to state a claim under 11 U.S.C. § 548 on the grounds that the allegedly fraudulent transfer had occurred more than one year prior to the filing of the petition. See Gibbons I, 199 B.R. at 292. At the time Debtors had filed their petitions, 11 U.S.C. § 548 provided in relevant part:

(a) The trustee may avoid any transfer of an interest of the debtor in property, or any obligation incurred by the debtor, that was made or incurred on or within one year before the date of the filing of the petition, if the debtor voluntarily or involuntarily—
(1) made such transfer or incurred such obligation with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any entity to which the debtor was or became, on or after the date that such transfer was made or such obligation was incurred, indebted....

11 U.S.C. § 548(a) (1994).

The trustee agreed to dismiss his claims under § 548 without prejudice to restoring those claims should facts be disclosed in discovery which demonstrate the requirements of § 548 have been met. See Gibbons I, 199 B.R. at 291.

Defendant argued, second, that Plaintiff possessed the rights of a hypothetical unsecured creditor pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 544. See Gibbons I, 199 B.R. at 292. At the time of Debtors’ petition filings, § 544 provided that applicable nonbankruptcy law governed such a creditor’s right to avoid a transfer. See 11 U.S.C. § 544(b) (1994) (“The trustee may avoid any transfer of an interest of the debtor in property or any obligation incurred by the debtor that is voidable under applicable law by a creditor holding an unsecured claim....”). In this case, NJFTA constitutes the applicable nonbankruptcy law. Defendant argued that Plaintiff had failed to state a claim under § 544(b) on the grounds that the right to state a claim under NJFTA had allegedly extinguished on or about November 14, 1994 pursuant to NJFTA, N.J.S.A. § 25:2-31. See Gibbons I, 199 B.R. at 292. N.J.S.A. § 25:2-31, a “statute of repose”, provided in relevant part:

A cause of action with respect to a fraudulent transfer or obligation under this article is extinguished unless the action is brought:
a. Under Subsection a. of R.S. 25:2-25, within four years after the transfer was made or the obligation was incurred, or, if later, within one year after the transfer or obligation was or could reasonably have been discovered by claimant.

N.J.S.A. § 25:2-31 (1994).

On June 6, 1996, this Court entered an order dismissing Plaintiffs § 548 claims and denying Defendant’s motion with respect to Plaintiffs § 544 claims. See id. at 298. This Court found that the Bankruptcy Code, § 546 in particular, preempts N.J.S.A. § 25:2-31. See id. At the time of Debtors’ petition filings, 11 U.S.C. § 546(a) provided:

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Bluebook (online)
255 B.R. 366, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1383, 37 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 9, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gibbons-v-first-fidelity-bank-na-in-re-princeton-new-york-investors-njb-2000.