Heide v. Juve (In re Juve)

479 B.R. 848, 2012 WL 4497556, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 4635, 57 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 18
United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Minnesota·Decided September 28, 2012·No. Bankruptcy No. 09-60966; Adversary No. 09-6057·Published

Opinion

ORDER FOR JUDGMENT

DENNIS D. O’BRIEN, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter came before the court for trial following reversal by and remand from the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Appearances are noted in the record. At the conclusion of the trial, the court allowed the parties time to file supplemental briefs. The court now being fully advised makes this order pursuant to the Federal and Local Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.

During the initial proceedings, this court: (1) granted summary judgment to plaintiff, David A. Heide, holding the debt in the amount of $400,000 nondischargeable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A); denied the plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgment under § 523(a)(4) and (a)(6), and granted summary judgment to the defendants on those counts; dismissed the plaintiffs’ § 523 claims against Mona Juve; and dismissed the motion for summary judgment filed by Kaia and Leah Heide. Allegations under § 727(a) were to proceed to trial.

After this court entered its summary judgment order, the parties to the adversary proceeding entered into a stipulation for the entry of a money judgment and a judgment of nondischargeability, and they also agreed to the dismissal of the remaining claims that were scheduled for trial. They stipulated that the plaintiff would have a judgment against the debtor in the amount of $400,000; that the judgment would be excepted from the debtor’s discharge under § 523(a)(2)(A); that all re[852]*852maining counts of the complaint would be dismissed with prejudice; and that the debtor’s appeal rights would be preserved. On January 19, 2011, the bankruptcy court approved the stipulation and entered its order and judgment in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $400,000 and dismissed all remaining counts in the complaint with prejudice.

Following the disposition on appeal, this court set the matter for trial for determination pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A). For the reasons set forth below, the court finds that judgment for the plaintiff is appropriate and shall be so entered.

I. FINDINGS OF FACT

The thorough trial held in this matter following the disposition on appeal has resulted in a clear factual record somewhat more developed but not materially different from the first findings of fact revealed by the record on summary judgment. The court recites an exceedingly complete factual background here, for purposes of total transparency and hopefully a higher level of reliability in the analysis and conclusion.

David Juve was in the car sales business throughout his adult life. David Heide was a school teacher and a football coach. While Heide was a teacher, he also worked various construction jobs, a paper route and, eventually, Heide started selling vehicles at Russ Honda. Heide was a hard worker and a diligent saver and, over a long period of time he amassed a substantial savings.

During the 1990s Heide worked part-time (and later full-time) for David Juve at the used car dealership “Imports Plus.” At all relevant times, Juve retained all the titles and paperwork — for vehicles purchased and sold through his ownership or otherwise transacted under his direct management and authority — at his home, and his wife, Mona Juve, performed the bookkeeping.1

In 1998, Juve approached Heide about funding the purchase of specific vehicles for the Imports Plus lot. Because of Juve’s prior bankruptcy, Juve was not able to get a high enough line of credit to purchase any more cars on his own credit. Heide thought that sounded like a good opportunity and a safe investment. At first Heide began to finance purchases of used cars to sell one car a time, with interest payments to be made to him while and until the car remained unsold on the lot. The relationship at the beginning was mutually beneficial. Juve could purchase more ears, and made a profit from the “Heide cars” that were sold on the Imports Plus lot. Heide received a 10% return on his investments, one by one, one automobile transaction at a time.

Over the course of the next three years, Heide and Juve continued to sell Heide’s cars on the Imports Plus lot. Neither Dennis Borgen, the owner of Imports Plus, or the other sales people at the dealership, knew that Heide and Juve were selling Heide’s cars. They were independent contractors at the time as were other individuals selling cars on the Imports Plus lot.

Later, in 2001, Juve needed capital. He approached Heide about simplifying the deal so that Heide would receive a flat monthly interest rate plus periodic commissions at the time of sales. At the time, the principal outstanding amount that Heide had loaned to Juve to purchase vehicles for the Imports Plus lot amounted to $187,000.

[853]*853Heide was not concerned about being repaid his principal investment because he could see the cars on the lot and he knew that his cars were being sold. And, because Juve repeatedly represented to Heide that Heide owned the cars on the lot free and clear, Heide continued to extend and re-extend the funds for Juve’s continued use and re-investment into the purchase and resale of cars.

Heide always received his interest payments on time and had no reason to believe that Juve was not credible. Moreover, there was a relationship of personal trust between Heide and Juve — they were good friends, had known each other a long time, often visited each other’s families, did not feel the need to develop or observe business formalities between them, and had successfully maintained a friendly informal financing and purported investment arrangement for several years.

Heide therefore agreed to change the arrangement to ongoing financing of multiple vehicles for a monthly interest payment on the total aggregate outstanding balance. This went on for many years. There was never a written agreement between the parties until very late in the already deteriorating relationship and financial situation.2

Around 2001, when Heide and Juve’s agreement changed, Juve also became an owner of the Imports Plus business. However, the vehicle purchasing relationship that Heide and Juve had did not change. Borgen was still an owner of Imports Plus, and he remained uninformed and unaware of the arrangement between Heide and Juve.

In 2003 and 2004, Heide disbursed two more $50,000 loans to Juve, in addition to the revolving ongoing extension of credit based on previously loaned amounts, bringing the total amount of outstanding debt owed by Juve to Heide to $300,000. Juve continued to use that money through 2008. In other words, as Heide vehicles were sold, instead of being repaid the principal as was his right at any particular time, Heide re-extended the credit and use of the proceeds to Juve, and Juve repeatedly borrowed those funds anew, all based upon Juve’s ongoing assertions of the equity and liquidity of the Heide inventory sufficient to satisfy the entire balance of funds owning to Heide.

At the time, Borgen remained unaware that Juve and Heide were selling vehicles financed and purportedly owned by Heide on the Imports Plus lot. Even after Juve was an owner of Imports Plus, Borgen remained unaware. Heide conducted the lending transactions with Juve individually.

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Heide v. Juve (In re Juve), 479 B.R. 848, 2012 WL 4497556, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 4635, 57 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 18 (Minn. 2012).

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