Hebel v. Windeshausen (In re Windeshausen)

568 B.R. 299
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedMarch 3, 2017
DocketCase Number: 15-10704-7; Adversary Number: 15-83
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 568 B.R. 299 (Hebel v. Windeshausen (In re Windeshausen)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hebel v. Windeshausen (In re Windeshausen), 568 B.R. 299 (Wis. 2017).

Opinion

DECISION

Hon. Catherine J. Furay, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

A relationship—business and romantic— gone wrong led to this adversary proceeding. The Defendant, Bradley A. Windesh-ausen (“Windeshausen”), filed a voluntary chapter 7 petition on February 28, 2015. The Plaintiff, Katherine Hebl (“Hebl”), filed an adversary complaint on June 2, 2015, alleging an arbitration award of $310,000 is nondischargeable. The arbitration award did not contain any findings of fact or parse out whether the award was for a breach of contract or conversion. Thus, the Court determined an evidentiary hearing on dischargeability was required. At the conclusion of the first day of hearing, Hebl rested. The following day, Win-deshausen moved to dismiss under Rule 9015(c).

At the continued hearing, -the Court granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss. Specifically, the Court found Hebl failed to establish 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A)’s element of intent, but found Hebl established a prima facie case for liability under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(4). The Court then heard testimony from the Defendant and the Plaintiffs rebuttal testimony. Counsel presented closing arguments and the Court took the matter under advisement.

Based on the record and the evidence submitted, the Court finds the arbitration award is dischargeable. This decision constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Facts

In 2005, Windeshausen and his former business partner, Blake Handrick (“Han-drick”), acquired property located in Altoo-na, Wisconsin, on a land contract. They intended to operate the property as a bar/restaurant. From May 2006 to approximately November 2006, Windeshausen leveraged his solely-owned construction company, Kaizen Builders, LLC (“Kaizen”), to “gut” and renovate the bar, Win-deshausen and Handrick formed Untouchables Enterprises, LLC, to hold the real property, formed Whiskey Dicks, LLC [303]*303(the “LLC”) to operate the bar, and entered into a real estate lease between those entities.

In November 2006, Hebl began working at the LLC as a server. After a short time, Windeshausen and Hebl became romantically involved. Sometime between November 2006 and July 2007, Windeshausen’s business relationship with Handrick began to break down. Thereafter, an idea was hatched whereby Hebl would buy out Han-drick’s membership interest in the LLC and become a 50% owner.

On July 25, 2007, after a meeting between Windeshausen, Handrick, Hebl, and her father, Hebl bought out Handrick’s interest in the LLC. Hebl and Windeshau-sen agreed to split the LLC’s profits and losses equally according to a Membership Agreement.

Hebl agreed to pay Handrick $65,000 for his interest in the LLC. She paid him an initial down payment of approximately $25,000, and then agreed to pay $1,000 per month for forty (40) months on the balance of the purchase price. Hebl took $1,000 per month from the LLC to pay Handrick the monthly payments.

Windeshausen and Hebl further agreed that in order for her to become a full 50% owner, an investment of $365,000 was required to equal his investment. This included $295,000 to be invested in Untouchables Enterprises, LLC, and $105,000 to be invested in the LLC. Hebl apparently borrowed these amounts from family, agreeing to repay the $295,000 loan at the rate of $1,000 per month and the other loan at the rate of $750 per month. Hebl consulted with her father before making these investments. Hebl also signed a mortgage in favor of her parents, Joseph and Karen Hebl, to secure the $105,000 loan. That mortgage purported to grant a mortgage on the Untouchables Enterprises, LLC, real estate despite the fact it was not granted by that LLC.

Once she became a 50% owner, Hebl took on more responsibility at the LLC. Her primary duties consisted of running the “front of house”: hiring/firing employees, human resources, promotions, tending to customers, and training the staff. Hebl also sometimes made bank deposits, wrote checks, and helped with closeout. Windesh-ausen’s primary duties consisted of managing the “back of house.” He handled most of the LLC’s finances, working with approximately five different office managers or accountants over 3.5 years. Additionally, Windeshausen fixed things around the LLC during the day, ordered supplies, occasionally tended bar, worked with the vendors, and eventually started acting as a deejay.

Hebl did not take a regular draw. Each month she received money from the LLC to pay the loans to her family and to Handrick. These three loan payments totaled $2,750. She also took cash from the till at times.

Plaintiff and Defendant lived together during the approximately 3.5-year period. Defendant paid the rent and all of their other living expenses from funds withdrawn from the LLC. While Hebl’s parents paid her insurance and phone and gave her occasional money, she testified most of her money came from the LLC. Plaintiff and Defendant typically ate at the bar or went out. When they went out, Defendant paid the bill. They would also take others to concerts or shopping. She and employees would have hair and makeup done and she would take employees out. These expenses were paid by the LLC. Finally, she periodically took or was given unspecified amounts of cash from the LLC.

With the loans Hebl arranged from her family, the LLC did not owe “anything [304]*304significant” to Kaizen for the renovation. Kaizen’s employees were paid through the LLC for maintenance and renovation costs. To this end, the LLC paid Kaizen’s employees unspecified payroll amounts from August 6, 2007, to March 17, 2008. This arrangement was, according to Han-drick, the continuation of a practice established before Plaintiffs involvement in the business. In addition, at times when a vendor billed Kaizen, the LLC was invoiced for reimbursement. Various witnesses (other than Plaintiff and Defendant) testified that Kaizen employees were constantly performing maintenance and repairs at the LLC, although the descriptions of the extent of that work varied greatly. However, no evidence regarding the actual value of those services, the vendor invoices between the LLC and Kaizen for material reimbursements, or the actual amounts of reimbursements that were alleged not to relate to the bar was ever presented.

Unfortunately, the relationship between the Plaintiff and the Defendant soured. Hebl confronted Windeshausen about whether she was receiving her equal share and the two struck an alternative working arrangement. This new arrangement did not last long. In 2012, Hebl brought an action in Eau Claire County Circuit Court against Windeshausen alleging conversion and breach of contract.

Hebl conducted what she describes as an investigation and analysis of certain of the LLC’s bank accounts and records, Windeshausen’s personal bank accounts, and Kaizen’s bank accounts. Hebl created her own selective flow chart and summary of how she believes money flowed from the LLC to Windeshausen’s personal and solely-owned business accounts. This summary is self-serving and incomplete. It omits any substantial supporting data.

Windeshausen’s accountant, Amy Say-kally (“Saykally”), reviewed that summary and tried to reconcile it with the LLC’s and Kaizen’s books and records.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
568 B.R. 299, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hebel-v-windeshausen-in-re-windeshausen-wiwb-2017.