Hufford v. Griesgraber (In re Griesgraber)

56 B.R. 653
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. California
DecidedJanuary 14, 1986
DocketBankruptcy No. 83-01801-M7; Adv. No. C84-0623-M7
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 56 B.R. 653 (Hufford v. Griesgraber (In re Griesgraber)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hufford v. Griesgraber (In re Griesgraber), 56 B.R. 653 (Cal. 1986).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

(Bankruptcy Rule of Procedure 7041) F.R.C.P. Section 41(b)

JOHN J. HARGROVE, Bankruptcy Judge.

I.

INTRODUCTION

On April 13, 1983, John Griesgraber, the defendant in this case, filed his Voluntary Petition for Relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Thereafter, on August [654]*65413,1984, the plaintiff filed her Complaint to Determine Dischargeability of Debt and Objections to Discharge under 11 U.S.C. Section 523(a). Although the Complaint failed to state with any specificity precisely what subsection of section 523 she relied on, it became apparent during the trial that the plaintiff alleges violations under Section 523(a)(2)(A) and 523(a)(6).

After plaintiff completed the presentation of her evidence, the defendant moved for dismissal of the case under Bankruptcy Rule of Procedure 7041. Plaintiff requested additional time to file written Points and Authorities in opposition to the Motion and defendant requested additional time to submit written Points and Authorities in opposition thereto. The matter was then taken under submission.

II.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On or about October 6, 1979, plaintiff entered into a written Listing Agreement with defendant real estate broker, authorizing defendant to sell her real property known as 2586 Majella Road, Vista, California. Plaintiff testified that she wanted $150,000.00 for the property. She also testified that prior to listing the property with defendant she was told by other brokers that she could never get $150,000.00 for the property and in fact one broker told her that she could only get $75,000.00 for the property. Plaintiff also testified that the property had a large amount of “debris” on it and that the road on the property needed repair work. After unsuccessful attempts to sell the property for $150,000.00, plaintiff testified she agreed to lower the price of the property to $120,000.00. She also testified that she told the defendant that she did not want cash for the property but wanted income and told the defendant that she needed about $800.00 per month.

Apparently, after plaintiff still could not attract a buyer for the real property at the $120,000 listing price, she and the defendant entered into a written Real Estate Purchase Contract and Receipt for Deposit on November 24, 1979, by which plaintiff sold to defendant her real property for the sum of $120,000.00. Pertinent portions of the written Real Estate Purchase Contract stated that:

“Seller will receive notes totalling 117,-000 initially, (until $10,000 is deducted from same). AFTER resale note(s) will be adjusted. Interest rate is to be 10%, amortized over 30 years all due in 8 years. Seller to receive 10% of profits from resale over 130,000 after deducting all renovation costs. Seller will subordinate to reconstruction or other financing buyer obtains. The agreement depends on buyer being satisfied with Paul (sic) Griesgraber’s provision of renovation funds.... ”

Plaintiff received the sum of $3,000.00 cash as a down payment and also received three promissory notes secured by deeds of trust in the respective amounts of $60,000.00, $45,000.00 and $12,000.00, for a total amount of $117,000.00. On November 27, 1979, plaintiff executed three separate documents each entitled “Subordinated Deed of Trust and Assignment of Rents” which deeds of trust secured the three promissory notes. Each of the three documents entitled Subordinated Deed of Trust and Assignment of Rents, which appear to be forms produced by Transamerica Title Insurance Company, contain the following language directly under the words Subordinated Deed of Trust and Assignment of Rents:

“NOTICE: This Deed of Trust and Assignment of Rents contains a subordination clause which may result in your security interest in the property becoming subject to and of lower priority than the lien of some other or later security instrument.”

The above-notice is blocked with a dark black line.

Thereafter, the escrow relating to the sale of the property was amended to provide for title to be in the name of Anna M. Schurmann. Plaintiff testified that defendant told her that Schurmann was his sister and that he needed to obtain more money [655]*655to clean up the property and that the only way that he could do this was to put the property in the name of his sister. Plaintiff testified that defendant told her that it would not take long to do this and that the property would be back in his name. Plaintiff further testified that defendant told plaintiff that if he sold the property for more than he paid for it, he would give plaintiff 10% of the profit.

The escrow closed on March 26, 1980. On May 12, 1980, Anna M. Schurmann quit-claimed the subject real property to Gries-graber Company, Inc., a California corporation. On May 13, 1980, plaintiff and Anna M. Schurmann executed a written Subordination Agreement which was recorded on May 16, 1980. The written Subordination Agreement contained the following language in capital letters directly under the words “Subordination Agreement”:

“NOTICE: THIS SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT RESULTS IN YOUR SECURITY INTEREST IN THE PROPERTY BECOMING SUBJECT TO AND OF LOWER PRIORITY THAN THE LIEN OF SOME OTHER OR LATER SECURITY INSTRUMENT.”

Under the terms of the written Subordination Agreement, the three deeds of trust were held by plaintiff as beneficiary and were subordinated to a new deed of trust, securing an obligation in the amount of $40,000.00 to Oceanside Financial Services, Inc.

On May 4, 1981, over a year after plaintiff sold the subject real property, plaintiff, the Griesgraber Company, Inc., a California corporation, and Stephen G. Feeney and Rosalie Feeney (collectively “Feeney”) entered into a written “Financing Agreement” pursuant to which the Griesgraber Company sold all of its interest in the subject property to the Feeneys and the Fee-neys substituted three new Promissory Notes secured by Deeds of Trust in the amount of $43,772.63, $62,737.05 and $11,-927.42; the Notes were secured by the subject property. The written Financing Agreement stated in paragraph 1.2(d) that, “These notes shall be a novation of and substitute for the existing obligation of Griesgraber to Hufford.” Pursuant to the terms of the $43,772.63 Note, dated April 16, 1981, the plaintiff was to receive a principal installment of $5,000.00 some four months later on August 12, 1981. The Financing Agreement also indicated that, “All parties are aware that John Griesgra-ber and Feeney are real estate licensees in the State of California acting as principals only in this Agreement and the escrow in conjunction therewith. The parties acknowledge that no commissions are being paid by any party to any other party in connection with this escrow.”

Plaintiff testified that she met with Fee-ney by herself at the Airporter Inn in Newport Beach, California. She testified that the defendant was not present. She testified that she asked Feeney what the effect of the sale of the property and the Subordination Agreements would have on her promissory notes and he advised her that the sale and Subordination Agreements would have no effect. Plaintiff also testified she received $5,000.00 in cash from Feeney as part of the transaction.

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Bluebook (online)
56 B.R. 653, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hufford-v-griesgraber-in-re-griesgraber-casb-1986.