Gorman v. Aldofo, Ashford, Bronzini, Robert Bruce, Chartwell Ind. (In re Racusin, Inc.)

169 B.R. 100, 1994 Bankr. LEXIS 977
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 28, 1994
DocketBankruptcy No. 5-86-00189; Adv. No. 5-93-0084
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 169 B.R. 100 (Gorman v. Aldofo, Ashford, Bronzini, Robert Bruce, Chartwell Ind. (In re Racusin, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gorman v. Aldofo, Ashford, Bronzini, Robert Bruce, Chartwell Ind. (In re Racusin, Inc.), 169 B.R. 100, 1994 Bankr. LEXIS 977 (M.D. Pa. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN J. THOMAS, Bankruptcy Judge.

Defendant, Hart, Schaffner & Marx, (hereinafter “Defendant”), has filed the instant Motion to Dismiss the above-captioned complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and, in the alternative, a Motion for Summary Judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, both of which are made applicable to bankruptcy proceedings by the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. For the reasons provided herein, the Defendant’s Motion is denied. Final trial is scheduled for this matter to be held on Tuesday, August 2,1994 at 10:00 o’clock AM. in Courtroom No. 1, Federal Building, 197 South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

There are essentially no disputed facts. Racusins, Inc. filed a Chapter 11 voluntary bankruptcy petition in 1986. Thereafter, the case was converted to one under Chapter 7 and the Plaintiff, Joseph Gorman, Esquire, (hereinafter “Plaintiff’), filed this instant action on April 19, 1993. The action is to recover alleged preferential payments made by the Debtor to the Defendants. Based upon the timing of the filing of the complaint, the Defendant moved the court for an order dismissing the action on the grounds that the “Debtor” was time-barred from filing his complaint against the Defendant because the complaint was filed more than two (2) years after the date the Debtor was named Debt- or-In-Possession. The court notes that the Motion does not pray for any relief directed against the Trustee.

In support, the Defendant draws the court’s attention to Section 546(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.

That section, in its entirety, provides as follows:

§ 546. Limitations on avoiding powers.
(a) An action or proceeding under section 544, 545, 547, 548, or 553 of this title may not be commenced after the earlier of—
(1) two years after the appointment of a trustee under section 702, 1104, 1163, 1302, or 1202 of this title; or
(2) the time the case is closed or dismissed.

The Defendant further relies primarily upon a recent Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the ease of In re Coastal Group, Inc., 13 F.3d 81 (3rd Cir.1994). Defendant cites this case for the proposition that Section 546(a) applies to “Debtors-in-Possession” as well as the Trustee.

In the alternative, the Defendant argues that based upon In re Timothy F. Lyons, 130 B.R. 272 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.1991) and In re Sandra Cotton, Inc., 92 B.R. 595 (Bankr.W.D.N.Y.1988), that the conversion of this case from one chapter to another had no effect on the tolling of the statute of limita[102]*102tions as provided in Section 546(a) and, therefore, even though the Trustee filed his complaint within two (2) years from the date of his original appointment, the complaint was beyond the statute of limitations as provided in Section 546(a).

The Plaintiff argues that the operative date found in Section 546(a) is two (2) years after the “appointment” of the Trustee and because the Trustee was appointed in 1993, the complaint was timely filed.

Based upon the above arguments, the court will now analyze the instant case under the dictates of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 56(c) and 12(b)(6).

Pursuant to Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which is made applicable to this proceeding through Bankruptcy Rule 7056, summary judgment may be entered only “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Hollinger v. Wagner Mining Equipment Co., 667 F.2d 402, 405 (3d Cir.1981); Franklin Federal Savings & Loan Association of Wilkes-Barre v. Ripianzi (In re Ripianzi), 27 B.R. 15 (Bankr.M.D.Pa.1982). Additionally, “the moving party has the burden of demonstrating the absence of any material factual issue genuinely in dispute.” In re Euro-Swiss Int’l Corp., 33 B.R. 872 (S.D.N.Y.1983). The plaintiff must “do more than whet the curiosity of the court, he must support vague accusations and surmise with concrete particulars.” See In re Euro-Swiss Int’l Corp., citing Applegate v. Top Associates, 425 F.2d 92, 96 (2d Cir.1970). The Third Circuit has made it clear “that courts are to resolve any doubts as to the existence of genuine issues of fact against moving parties.” Hollinger, supra; Ness v. Marshall, 660 F.2d 517, 519 (3d Cir.1981). In addition, “[ijnferences to be drawn from the underlying facts contained in evidential sources submitted to the trial court must be viewed in light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.” Goodman v. Mead Johnson Co., 534 F.2d 566, 573 (3d Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1038, 97 S.Ct. 732, 50 L.Ed.2d 748 (1977).

We find much guidance when confronted with a 12(b)(6) Motion in 2A Moores Federal Practice, § 12.07[2.-5] at page 12-63 et seq. wherein we find the following:

Failure To State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted.
A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted performs substantially the same function as the old common-law demurrer. A dismissal under this provision is on the merits and is accorded res judicata effect. For this reason, dismissal under subdivision (b)(6) is generally disfavored by the courts.
The burden of demonstrating that no claim has been stated is upon the movant. In determining the motion, the court must presume all factual allegations of the complaint to be true and all reasonable inferences are made in favor of the non-moving party. However, legal conclusions, deductions or opinions couched as factual allegations are not given a presumption of truthfulness.
Generally, the allegations of a complaint are to be liberally construed. This is especially true when the complaint is made pro se.
After thus construing the complaint, the court should deny a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim “unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief’. In Scheuer v. Rhodes, the Supreme Court stated:

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169 B.R. 100, 1994 Bankr. LEXIS 977, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gorman-v-aldofo-ashford-bronzini-robert-bruce-chartwell-ind-in-re-pamd-1994.