In Re De Kleinman

156 B.R. 131, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 924, 1993 WL 244268
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJuly 1, 1993
Docket18-23461
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 156 B.R. 131 (In Re De Kleinman) 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
In Re De Kleinman, 156 B.R. 131, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 924, 1993 WL 244268 (N.Y. 1993).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION GRANTING MOTION OF DIME SAVINGS BANK OF WILLIAMSBURGH TO LIFT AUTOMATIC STAY (185 WEST END AVENUE, APARTMENT b-D, NEW YORK CITY)

PRUDENCE B. ABRAM, Bankruptcy Judge.

The debtors in these Chapter 11 cases are mother and daughter. Both pre- and post-petition the mother has attempted to fend off foreclosures of her interests in various apartments located in New York City through prolific litigation which the mother has stated has all but consumed her life. This matter appears to be a garden variety motion to lift the automatic stay to permit foreclosure of a lien on a residential cooperative apartment. In another case, the matter would have long ago been resolved. However, the mother has undertaken to embark on a scorched earth campaign of litigation, including making numerous attacks on the court’s integrity. As soon as this court has heard and rendered a decision on one matter in these cases, the mother has filed motions for reargument, appeals, and even a corporate bankruptcy case. What taken individually could be viewed as a reasonable exercise of right, taken collectively reflects an abject unwillingness to be bound by the rulings of any court, if she deems these rulings to be adverse to her. 1

A brief summary of this matter would indicate that there can be little doubt as to the proper outcome: the automatic stay should be lifted. Neither debtor resides in the apartment. Nor is either debtor paying or capable of paying the maintenance charge or the mortgage payments for the apartment. The debtors urge that they could sublet the apartment. Yet they admit they could not sublet the apartment for an amount sufficient to pay the monthly maintenance charge and mortgage payment. Moreover, there are substantial pre- and post-petition arrears in the maintenance payments. The cooperative corporation does not permit long-term sublets and has never approved a sublet for a tenant in arrears. Nor do the debtors dispute that the present value of the apartment is less than the amount of the mortgage.

Against this the debtors have woven a tale of misconduct by the lender and the cooperative corporation. This matter is *133 further complicated by extensive pre-petition litigation among the debtors, the lender and the cooperative corporation. Unfortunately, the lender has not offered any comprehensive analysis of the history of that litigation or its present status and the cooperative corporation did not join in the lender's lift-stay motion.

This is the fourth decision this court has written in the mother’s case on motions to vacate the automatic stay. See In re de Kleinman, 136 B.R. 69 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.1991) (“de Kleinman I ”) (stay lifted as to Unit 38C, Olympic Towers, 641 Fifth Avenue, New York City on grounds that the Debtor had no rights to the apartment, the natural term of the lease having expired); In re de Kleinman, 136 B.R. 74 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.1992) (“de Kleinman II”) (stay lifted as to Unit 26A in the same building for cause since the Debtor was not the record owner and was using the automatic stay in lieu of an appeal bond in connection with her various litigations involving this unit; court directed hearing on valuation as to Unit 39E); and In re de Kleinman, 150 B.R. 524, (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.1992) (Request for hearing date and for stay pending appeal denied). Familiarity with these decisions will be presumed.

This matter involves a motion made by The Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh (“Dime”). Dime seeks to lift the automatic stay to permit it to foreclose a lien on a cooperative apartment, Apartment 4-D, located at 185 West End Avenue, New York City (the “Apartment”). The Apartment is jointly owned by the debtors.

The debtors oppose the motion. The mother has appeared pro se and as attorney-in-fact for her daughter. As is the case with Unit 26-A in Olympic Tower (See de Kleinman II) the debtors do not seek to use the processes of the Bankruptcy Court to effectuate a sale of the Apartment. An all-day trial was held on March 10, 1992 (the “Trial”).

This decision contains the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. For the reasons set forth below, the court grants the motion. A separate order lifting the stay and denying the balance of the relief sought by Dime is being signed concurrently herewith.

Findings of Fact

The Debtors

1. Karen de Kleinman (“Karen”), the mother, filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on April 27, 1991.

2. Sabrina Eve Kleinman, a/k/a Sabrina de Kleinman (“Sabrina”), the daughter, filed a Chapter 11 petition October 28, 1991. Sabrina and Karen will be referred to collectively as the “Debtors”.

The Apartment

3. Neither of the Debtors currently lives in the Apartment. Karen originally rented the Apartment in 1968 and she lived there for approximately thirteen years with Sabrina. In 1981 Karen began living part time in an apartment in Olympic Towers in New York City. In 1982, Karen moved out of the Apartment completely while Sabrina continued to live there by herself. Since 1988 however, Sabrina has not been living in the Apartment because she has been living in California attending college and graduate school. While Sabrina’s plans for the future are. uncertain, she has no present intention to occupy the Apartment in the definite future.

4. The Apartment is a two bedroom, two bath apartment located on a corner of the 4th floor in a building which is one of a complex of eight buildings known as Lincoln Towers. The Apartment, which has a terrace, faces the street and has a tree-top view. Karen considers the Apartment to be one of the most desirable in the building due to its location.

5. Since the Apartment is a cooperative, the Debtors own shares in a cooperative cooperation, which is known as 185 West End Avenue Owners Corp. (the “Cooperative Corporation”), and have a proprietary lease to the Apartment. The buildings in the Lincoln Towers complex were converted from rental units to cooperative ownership in or about 1987. Each of the buildings is a separate cooperative corporation.

*134 Dime’s Loan and the Debtors’ Subsequent Default

6. The Debtors purchased the Apartment in 1987 for $131,000, which was the insider price. Within two weeks, they had obtained a secured loan from Dime for $250,000. The Debtors pledged the 458 shares of common stock allocated to the Apartment and the proprietary lease for the Apartment to Dime as collateral for the loan. Both Debtors signed a Loan Note (the “Note”) and Loan Security Agreement (the “Loan Security Agreement”) with Dime. There is nothing in the record which indicates how the Debtors utilized the $119,000 of loan proceeds that exceeded the cost of the Apartment. Neither Debtor reflects possession of cash or cash equivalents in her Schedules in this amount.

7. The Note is dated June 19, 1987 and, absent acceleration, comes due on July 1, 2017. The payments are based on a floating rate, adjustable yearly. The present monthly payment is $2,034.27. As of the date Karen’s case was filed, Dime was owed $282,894.41.

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Bluebook (online)
156 B.R. 131, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 924, 1993 WL 244268, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-de-kleinman-nysb-1993.