Harrington v. MVP Home Solutions, LLC (In re Nina)

562 B.R. 585
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. New York
DecidedDecember 13, 2016
DocketCase No. 14-70004 (CEC), Case No. 14-41669 (CEC), Case No. 14-70005 (CEC), Case No. 14-70027 (CEC), Case No. 14-70028 (CEC), Case No. 14-40074 (CEC), Case No. 14-40076 (CEC), Case No. 14-40147 (CEC), Case No. 14-40184 (CEC), Case No. 14-40284 (CEC), Case No. 14-40516 (CEC), Case No. 14-40567 (CEC), Case No. 14-41071 (CEC), Case No. 14-41073 (CEC), Case No. 14-41116 (CEC), Case No. 14-41117 (CEC), Case No. 14-41118 (CEC), Case No. 14-41214 (CEC), Case No. 14-41215 (CEC), Case No. 14-41292 (CEC), Case No. 14-41446 (CEC), Case No. 14-41447 (CEC), Case No. 14-41448 (CEC), Case No. 14-41584 (CEC), Case No. 14-41585 (CEC), Case No. 14-41671 (CEC), Case No. 14-41749 (CEC), Case No. 14-40703 (CEC), Case No. 14-41747 (CEC), Case No. 14-41699 (CEC); Adv. Pro. Nos. 15-08230 (CEC), 15-01099 (CEC), 15-08231 (CEC), 15-08234 (CEC), 15-01101 (CEC), 15-01103 (CEC), 15-01106 (CEC), 15-01108 (CEC), 15-01110 (CEC), 15-01112 (CEC), 15-01114 (CEC), 15-01116 (CEC), 15-01118 (CEC), 15-08233 (CEC), 15-01100 (CEC), 15-01102 (CEC), 15-01104 (CEC), 15-01107 (CEC), 15-01109 (CEC), 15-01111 (CEC), 15-01113 (CEC), 15-01115 (CEC), 15-01117 (CEC), 15-01119 (CEC), 15-01120 (CEC), 15-01121 (CEC), 15-01122 (CEC), 15-01123 (CEC), 15-01124 (CEC), 15-01125 (CEC)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 562 B.R. 585 (Harrington v. MVP Home Solutions, LLC (In re Nina)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harrington v. MVP Home Solutions, LLC (In re Nina), 562 B.R. 585 (N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

DECISION ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT

CARLA E. CRAIG, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge

This matter comes before the Court on the motion for summary judgment of William K. Harrington, United States Trustee, Region 2 (“Plaintiff’ or “U.S. Trustee”), requesting the Court to (1) direct MVP Home Solutions, LLC, Silverstein & Wolf Corp., Marcus A. Mullings, Amal M. Balmacoon and John Nelson (collectively the “Defendants”) to forfeit all fees they received from the debtors in these cases under 11 U.S.C. § 110(h)(3)(A) and (B); (2) impose treble fines for each violation of § 110(b), (d), (e)(1), (£), (g) and (h)(2), as set forth in 11 U.S.C. § 110(Z )(1); and (3) enjoin the Defendants from acting as bankruptcy petition preparers under § 1100'Xl) (the “Summary Judgment Motion”).1 The U.S. Trustee alleges that Defendants prepared, signed and filed thirty handwritten skeletal chapter 13 petitions in the names of twenty-nine debtors in these cases and violated numerous statutory requirements, engaged in fraudulent, unfair and deceptive acts, filed the petitions to stay foreclosure without prior notice to the debtors, forged the debtors’ signatures on the petitions, and abused the bankruptcy system.2 Because the undisputed material facts support the U.S. Trustee’s claims, the motion for summary judgment is granted and the Defendants are enjoined from acting as bankruptcy petition preparers, and are directed to forfeit fees and pay treble fines.

JURISDICTION

This Court has jurisdiction of this adversary proceeding under 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 [591]*591and 1334. This adversary proceeding is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(b)(2)(A) and (E). This decision constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law to the extent required by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052.

BACKGROUND

The facts set forth below are not in dispute except where otherwise noted.

Defendant MVP Home Solutions, LLC (“MVP”) is a New Jersey Corporation formed on July 1, 2008, that provides “foreclosure rescue services” to distressed homeowners, through a nationwide network of sales directors, managers, and agents. (Mot. for Summ. J., Stmt, of Undisputed Material Facts, March 1, 2016, ¶¶ 1, 3, ECF. No. 20.)3 Defendant Marcus M. Mullings (“Mullings”) is an officer and Acquisition Director of MVP, who oversees MVP’s day-to-day operations. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 2, ECF No. 20.) Defendant Silverstein & Wolf Corp. (“S & W”) is a New York corporation, formed in February 2014, which is involved in real estate investment. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶4, ECF No. 20.) Defendant Amal M. Balmacoon (“Balmacoon”) is the Chief Executive Officer and sole shareholder of S & W. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 5, ECF No. 20.) Neither Mullings nor Balmacoon is a lawyer, and MVP and S & W are not law firms. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 6, ECF No. 20.) Defendant John Nelson (“Nelson”) is a paralegal and independent contractor employed by S & W. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶7, ECF No. 20.)

During late 2013, Balmacoon met with Mullings to discuss the foreclosure business and staying foreclosure sales. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 8, ECF No. 20.) On December 10, 2013, MVP, through Mullings, and 5 & W, through Balmacoon, entered into a contract (the “Consultant Service Agreement”) for S & W to provide services related to MVP’s foreclosure rescue business. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 9, ECF No. 20, Ex. 4.) Defendant Balmacoon disputes the assertion that S & W entered into the Consultant Service Agreement, stating that S & W was not in existence when the Consultant Service Agreement was signed. Balmacoon alleges that the Consultant Service Agreement was between MVP and an entity identified as Silverstein & Wolf Financial Corp. (Statement of Disputed Material Facts, at 6-7, ECF No. 28.) Under the terms of the Consultant Service Agreement, Silverstein & Wolf Financial Corp. agreed to stay foreclosure sales for MVP’s clients by filing skeletal Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions, (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 11, ECF No. 20.) MVP agreed to pay S 6 W $1,850.00 ($400.00 upfront and $200.00 per month thereafter) for every MVP client referred to S & W. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 12, ECF No. 20.) Balmacoon alleges that, notwithstanding the terms of the Consultant Service Agreement, he worked in his individual capacity throughout the relevant period. (Statement of Disputed Material Facts, at 7, ECF No. 28.) Balmacoon adds that he personally did not prepare or file any bankruptcy petitions. (Statement of Disputed Material Facts, at 7, ECF No. 28.)

During December 2013, MVP began re- . cruiting distressed homeowners for the “Stop the Sale Date Program,” also known as “Stop the Sheriff Sale” (“Stop the Sale [592]*592Date”), through MVP’s nationwide network of affiliates. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 13, ECF No. 20.) MVP used the word “legal” in the informational brochure disseminated to clients and potential clients, and in the Stop the Sale Date contracts it entered with homeowners. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 14, ECF No. 20.) Between January and April, 2014, MVP recruited 29 homeowners for Stop the Sale Date (collectively, the “Debtors”), and referred the Debtors to S & W to stay impending foreclosure sales. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 15, 16, ECF No. 20.) As MVP Clients, the Debtors executed two agreements with MVP: under the MVP Service Agreement, MVP agreed to stay the Debtors’ foreclosure sales as long as the Debtors remained current on monthly payments for a minimum of four months at a cost of $1,095.00 upon signing and $995.00 per month thereafter; and under the MVP Authorization, the Debtors agreed to designate MVP as agent in fact “to do whatever is reasonably and legally possible to avoid foreclosure.” (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶¶ 17-19, ECF No. 20.)

Between January and April 2014, MVP referred the Debtors, all of whom were facing imminent foreclosure sales, under Stop the Sale Date to Balmacoon and provided him with the MVP Authorization for each' Debtor. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 20, 21, ECF No. 20.) Balmacoon then forwarded the referrals and documents to Nelson, who prepared and filed the Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions in this Court for each of the Debtors (the “Petitions”). (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 22, ECF No. 20.) Balmacoon alleges that Nelson functioned as an independent contractor for Balmacoon, not S & W. (Statement of Disputed Material Facts, at 8, ECF No. 28.) Nelson handwrote the skeletal Petitions and filed them, or delegated the preparation and filing to one of two friends named Ty and Sankore. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶23, ECF No. 20.) The Debtors did not sign the Petitions. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶ 26, ECF No. 20.) Although none of the Debtors resides within the Eastern District of New York, each of the Petitions prepared by Nelson contained two addresses for the Debtors: one of five false addresses in the district (four in Queens and one in Long Island), and as a mailing address, the Debtors’ residence out of state. (Mot. for Summ. J. ¶¶ 24; 25, ECF No.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
562 B.R. 585, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harrington-v-mvp-home-solutions-llc-in-re-nina-nyeb-2016.