In re 1990's Caterers Ltd.

531 B.R. 309, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 1848, 2015 WL 3545184
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJune 5, 2015
DocketCase No.: 13-74884-AST
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 531 B.R. 309 (In re 1990's Caterers Ltd.) 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
In re 1990's Caterers Ltd., 531 B.R. 309, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 1848, 2015 WL 3545184 (N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

[311]*311 DECISION AND ORDER TO DIRECT THE UNITED STATES MARSHALS TO TAKE RICHARD BIVO-NA INTO CUSTODY AND HOLD HIM IN THEIR CUSTODY UNTIL SUCH TIME AS HE PURGES HIS CIVIL CONTEMPT

Alan S. Trust, United States Bankruptcy Judge

For the reasons set out herein, this Court has determined that an Order should be entered directing the United States Marshals Service to take Mr. Richard Bivona into their custody, as a coercive civil contempt sanction.

Jurisdiction

This Court has jurisdiction over this core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(b)(2)(A), (B), (E) and (0), and 1334(b), and the Standing Orders of Reference in effect in the Eastern District of New York dated August 28, 1986, and as amended on December 5, 2012, but made effective nunc pro tunc as of June 23, 2011. The following constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law to the extent Rule 7052 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (the' “Bankruptcy Rules”) so requires.1 See Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7052

Background and Procedural History

This case, which started as a questionable involuntary chapter 7 filing, is one in a series of bankruptcy filings which have' been tainted with improprieties, and have been intermingled with multiple litigations involving this debtor, 1990’s Caterers Ltd aka Vina de Villa Caterers (“Debtor”), its affiliates (collectively the “Debtor Entities”), and an entity known as MHRP Realty, LLC (“MHRP”). MHRP was the owner of and the landlord for the property located at 2005 Route 112, Medford, New York 11763 (the “Property”), at which the Debtor Entities operated a catering venue under a lease with MHRP (the “Lease”). Some of the litigious history involving the Debtor Entities with MHRP is set forth in this Court’s Order concerning MHRP’s request for sanctions (the “Sanctions Order”) [dkt item 56]; this history includes an eviction proceeding commenced by MHRP and two voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by Debtor2, the second of which was prejudicially dismissed by this Court. The focus of this Order is Mr. Richard Bivona and his on-going, flagrant and open defiance of this Court’s Orders in this bankruptcy case.

Proceedings leading up to this bankruptcy case and the entrg of an order for relief

By way of brief background, on June 28, 2013, Debtor and MHRP entered into a stipulation for dismissal of the second 1990’s chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which this Court so ordered, and provided that “[t]he dismissal of this case is with prejudice against the filing of a subsequent petition under Title 11 of the United States Code by this Debtor for a period of two (2) years from the date of this Order” (the “Prejudicial Dismissal Order”), [dkt item 26, Case No. 13-72354-ast]

After several litigation tactics failed, with eviction yet again looming after a failed attempt by Debtor to remove an eviction action to federal court,3 and with Debtor still unable to voluntarily file for [312]*312bankruptcy relief, on September 24, 2013, Mr. Bivona, Mr. John DeJohn and Ms. Jacqualene Dyber4 joined together as petitioning creditors to commence this involuntary chapter 7 bankruptcy case against Debtor (collectively, the “Petitioning Creditors”). As stated in the Sanctions Order, this involuntary case appeared to have been filed to circumvent the Prejudicial Dismissal Order.5

On October 9, 2013, this Court entered an Order granting MHRP stay relief to proceed with the eviction and pursue its state law remedies against Debtor, [dkt item 15]

On November 5, 2013, MHRP filed an emergency motion seeking, inter alia, entry of an order for relief and the immediate appointment of an interim chapter 7 trustee pursuant to § 303(g) (the “Emergency Motion”), based on its discovery that Debtor had conducted an auction sale of its assets at the Property on October 30, 2013. [dkt item 21] In order to avoid immediate and irreparable harm to the estate, that same day the Court entered an order (1) directing Debtor to show cause on November 19, 2013, as to why an interim chapter 7 trustee should not be appointed and (2) imposing a temporary restraining order pending the November 19 hearing, prohibiting Debtor and the auctioneer who conducted the sale, Michael Amodeo & Co., Inc., (the “Auctioneer”) from distributing any auction sale proceeds.

On November 19, 2013, the Court held a hearing on, inter alia, the Emergency Motion. At the November 19 hearing, the Petitioning Creditors, through Mr. Pop-kin,6 made an oral application to withdraw the involuntary petition and dismiss this case, again raising the specter of impropriety. The Court denied that request on the record. MHRP then offered into evidence the Auctioneer’s receipt from the sale showing that the auction sale had yielded net proceeds in the amount of $30,613.00 and that Mr. Bivona was in possession of these sale proceeds (the “Sales Proceeds”). Mr. Bivona then testified to the following: (1) an auction sale had occurred at the Property; (2) he had signed the auction receipt on Debtor’s behalf, but that he was not Debtor’s owner as reflected on the receipt; and (3) he had received approximately $29,500 in sale proceeds and still had them in his possession. Mr. Bivona also testified that he and his uncle Mr. DeJohn were creditors of Debt- or and that the Sale Proceeds were generated from the sale of equipment owned by Manor East of Massapequa, LLC, a company he testified he and his uncle owned (and a prior chapter 11 debtor before this Court [case no. 12-71127-ast]).

At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court determined that regardless of the questionable route by which this case came before it, Debtor should be administered under chapter 7 by an independent trustee. The Court further determined that the Sales Proceeds should be safeguarded until this Court could determine to whom the funds legally belonged, as the bank[313]*313ruptcy estate appeared to have prima fa-cie title to them as property of the bankruptcy estate under § 541 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”). The Court clearly and unambiguously directed Mr. Bivona from the bench to turn the Sales Proceeds over to the chapter 7 trustee, with ownership to be determined at a later date. Immediately following the hearing, the Court entered an Order restraining any disposition of the Sales Proceeds, and directing Mr. Bivona or any other party in possession of the auction proceeds to turn those funds over to the trustee (the “November 19, 2013 Order”), [dkt item 28] The Petitioning Creditors were served with the November 19 Order, [dkt item 29] No appeal was taken from the November 19, 2013 Order.

On November 22, 2013, the Court entered an order for relief under chapter 7. [dkt item 30]

On December 18, 2013, Kenneth P. Sil-verman was appointed as the chapter 7 trustee (the “Trustee”).

Mr. Bivona’s repeated failures to comply with this Court’s directives

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
531 B.R. 309, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 1848, 2015 WL 3545184, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-1990s-caterers-ltd-nyeb-2015.