Hough v. Margulies (In re Margulies)

476 B.R. 393
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York
DecidedAugust 13, 2012
DocketBankruptcy No. 10-14012 (SMB); Adversary No. 10-04050
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 476 B.R. 393 (Hough v. Margulies (In re Margulies)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hough v. Margulies (In re Margulies), 476 B.R. 393 (N.Y. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION DENYING USAA MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION, FOR PERMISSIVE ABSTENTION TO STAY THIS ADVERSARY PROCEEDING AND TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM

STUART M. BERNSTEIN, Bankruptcy Judge.

The plaintiff Dennis Hough was injured when he was struck by a car driven by the debtor, Joshua Simon Margulies. He recovered a judgment against Margulies which Margulies’ liability insurer, defendant USAA Casualty Insurance Company (“USAA”), refuses to pay. Hough has brought this adversary proceeding to declare the judgment non-dischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6), or alternatively, to recover the unsatisfied judgment from USAA up to the policy limits. USAA moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, for permissive abstention, to stay this adversary proceeding, or to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim for relief. The Court concludes that it enjoys subject matter jurisdiction over Hough’s claim against USAA, and declines to abstain in the exercise of discretion, stay this proceeding or dismiss the complaint.

BACKGROUND

A. The State Court Proceedings

The relevant facts are not in dispute. Margulies struck Hough with his automobile on August 3, 2000, (Complaint Objecting to Dischargeability Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6), for Judgment Pursuant to Section 3120 of the New York State Insurance Law, and for Declaratory Relief Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 105(a), dated Oct. 25, 2010 (“Adversary Complaint ”), at ¶ 14 (ECF Doc. # l)),1 and eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in the third degree under New York Penal Law § 120.00(2).2 (Id. at ¶ 17.) Three years later, Hough sued Margulies in New York state court contending that Margu-lies negligently operated his vehicle. (Id. at ¶ 18.) USAA failed to appear or answer on Margulies’ behalf, or commence a declaratory judgment action that it did not have the duty to defend or indemnify.3 (Id. at ¶¶ 19-20.) USAA also failed to serve Hough with a notice of disclaimer pursuant to New York State Insurance Law § 3420(d)(2).4 (Id. at ¶21.) The state court entered a judgment on default on November 16, 2005 in the total amount of $4,868,263.56, inclusive of interest, costs [397]*397and disbursements (the “Judgment”). (Id. at ¶¶ 22, 24.)

The Judgment was never paid, and on May 4, 2007, Hough commenced a direct action against USAA in New York state court to recover the unpaid Judgment up to the limits of the Policies pursuant to § 3420 of the New York State Insurance Law (the “3420 Action”).5 Hough moved for summary judgment, (id. at ¶ 31), and USAA opposed the motion arguing that the Policies did not cover the Judgment because Margulies intentionally caused Hough’s injuries. (Id. at ¶ 32.) Initially, the state court concluded that USAA had breached its duty to defend, and could not, therefore, go behind the default judgment to raise defenses to Hough’s claim against Margulies. (Decision & Order, dated July 1, 2010 (“July 2010 Order”), at 2.)6 However, the defense to coverage did not implicate a defense to Hough’s claim against Margulies, whether Margulies acted intentionally was never litigated and collateral estoppel did not bar USAA from raising the intentional nature of Margulies’ conduct in the 3420 Action. (Id.) Finally, Margulies’ plea to a crime with a criminal intent of recklessness did not foreclose a finding that his actions fell within the Policies’ intentional actions exclusions. (Id.) In the end, whether Margulies intentionally caused Hough’s injuries was a question of fact that precluded summary judgment. (Id.)

Hough appealed from the July 2010 Order,7 and also moved to renew and reargue his motion for summary judgment. (Adversary Complaint at 7, n.l.) The state court granted reargument and vacated the July 2010 Order, although for the most part, reaffirmed its prior determination denying the motion for summary judgment. (See Decision & Order, filed May 13, 2011 [398]*398(“May 2011 Order”), at 2-3.)8 The one exception is that it granted summary judgment to the extent of dismissing USAA’s defense that Margulies failed to cooperate. (Id. at 3.) The Appellate Division affirmed the May 2011 Order earlier this year. See Hough v. USAA Cas. Ins. Co., 93 A.D.3d 405, 940 N.Y.S.2d 41, 42 (N.Y.App.Div.2012).

B. The Bankruptcy Case

Margulies filed this chapter 7 case on July 26, 2010, and received his discharge on March 17, 2011. In the interim, Hough filed this adversary proceeding asserting a single claim for alternative relief. He contends that Margulies caused his injuries willfully and maliciously, and the Judgment is not dischargeable under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6). Alternatively, Margulies did not intentionally cause his injuries, and Hough is entitled to recover under the Policies to the extent of their limits. Mar-gulies moved for judgment on the pleadings and for summary judgment, and the Court denied his motion. Margulies has moved to reargue the denial of his motion for judgment on the pleadings, and that motion will be addressed in a separate decision.

USAA filed its own motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, for permissive abstention, to stay this adversary proceeding and to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Its principal contention is that the resolution of the insurance litigation between itself and Hough will not affect the administration of the case. Even if jurisdiction exists, the Court should abstain from deciding the insurance coverage dispute as part of the adversary proceeding, and stay this adversary proceeding pending the resolution of the 3420 Action. Finally, USAA contends that the complaint is legally insufficient.

DISCUSSION

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

When considering a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1), a court must accept the material factual allegations in the complaint as true, but need not draw inferences favorable to the plaintiff. J.S. v. Attica Cent. Schs., 386 F.3d 107, 110 (2d Cir.2004), cert. denied, 544 U.S. 968, 125 S.Ct. 1727, 161 L.Ed.2d 616 (2005); Shipping Fin. Servs. Corp. v. Drakos, 140 F.3d 129, 131 (2d Cir.1998). A court may also consider materials outside of the pleadings to resolve any jurisdictional disputes, but cannot rely on conclusory or hearsay evidence. J.S., 386 F.3d at 110; Zappia Middle East Constr. Co. v. Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
476 B.R. 393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hough-v-margulies-in-re-margulies-nysb-2012.