In re Elverson

492 B.R. 831, 2013 WL 2138875, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2042
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 15, 2013
DocketNo. 11-19455-MDC
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 492 B.R. 831 (In re Elverson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Elverson, 492 B.R. 831, 2013 WL 2138875, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2042 (Pa. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

MAGDELINE D. COLEMAN, Bankruptcy Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This involuntary proceeding arises from a dispute between the petitioning creditor, Catherine E. Moore (the “Petitioning Creditor” or “Moore”) and her nephew, Thomas J. Elverson (the “Proposed Debt- or” or “Elverson”), regarding loans allegedly made by Moore to Elverson over an almost twenty year time period. The Proposed Debtor requests that the Court dismiss the involuntary petition because (1) he is generally paying his debts as they become due, and (2) the alleged debts owed to Moore are subject to a bona fide dispute as to liability.

For the reasons discussed below, this Court finds that dismissal is warranted. Although the Proposed Debtor is generally not paying his debts as they become due and it is admitted that he has fewer than twelve creditors, the Petitioning Creditor’s claim is subject to a bona fide dispute.

II. BACKGROUND

On December 13, 2011 (the “Petition Date”), Moore filed the involuntary petition (“Petition”) against Elverson, the son of her deceased sister. He is apparently Moore’s only family member who lives in the Philadelphia area. She presently resides at 200 N. Wynnewood Avenue, Apt. 1051, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. He presently resides at 506 Ogden Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (the “Property”).

It appears that for the last fifteen to twenty years, Moore has written checks to Elverson to assist him with the payment of his various living expenses. As a result of this custom, the Petitioning Creditor claims to have loaned to the Proposed Debtor a total of $850,000 (the “Claim”). [834]*834Whereas, the Proposed Debtor testified that while he did regularly receive such payments from the Petitioning Creditor, he understood that these monies were gifts to him and that he was under no obligation to repay the Petitioning Creditor. The parties did little if anything to document these transactions.

On January 20, 2012, the Proposed Debtor filed his Involuntary Answer and Counterclaim (“Motion to Dismiss”) wherein the Proposed Debtor requested this Court dismiss the Petition. In the Motion to Dismiss, the Proposed Debtor denied that he was generally not paying his debts as they became due and argued that Moore lacked standing to file the Petition because her claim is subject to a bona fide dispute. The Proposed Debtor alleged that Moore had no expectation of repayment of the various checks written to the Proposed Debtor because they were gifts to him made in recognition of the Moore’s gratitude for the assistance provided to her by the Proposed Debtor. Alternatively, the Proposed Debtor alleged that Moore’s claim was barred by the applicable statute of limitations, and the doctrines of laches and estoppel. Finally, the Motion to Dismiss requested this Court find that the Proposed Debtor was entitled to a judgment pursuant to § 303(i) against Moore for his costs and attorney’s fees plus punitive damages as sanction for Moore’s alleged bad faith.

After the appearance of the parties before this Court, this Court entered an Order dated April 12, 2012, setting forth a schedule in anticipation of trial. The parties were ordered to complete discovery on or before May 11, 2012, to file any disposi-tive motions on or before May 25, 2012, and to appear at a trial scheduled for June 27, 2012 (the “Trial”).

On June 25, 2012, counsel for the Proposed Debtor caused to be filed with this Court a letter raising for the first time his client’s intent to contest the authenticity of certain documents that Moore intended to rely upon at the Trial. The Proposed Debtor apparently desired to obtain originals of the documents in order to have them reviewed by an expert in hand writing analysis. In this letter, the Proposed Debtor requested a continuance of the Trial that was set to be held two days later.

On June 26, 2012, the Proposed Debtor filed a formal motion requesting a continuance of the Trial scheduled for the following day. This motion restated the Proposed Debtor’s intent to contest the authenticity of certain documents and the need to postpone the Trial to allow for their review by a handwriting expert. As stated by Moore’s response to the Proposed Debtor’s motion requesting a continuance, she did not consent to the continuance because of her belief that the Proposed Debtor’s request was no more than a delay tactic. Moore correctly observed that this Court had scheduled a discovery period during which the Proposed Debtor had opportunity to address his concerns. Yet, for whatever reason, the Proposed Debtor waited until the eve of the Trial to raise these issues for the first time.

The next day, the parties appeared before this Court. This Court denied the Proposed Debtor’s request for a continuance and proceeded with the Trial as scheduled. At the Trial, this Court heard the testimony of Moore and the Proposed Debtor. At the close of the Trial, this Court advised the parties that the evidence was sufficient to establish that the Proposed Debtor was generally not paying his debts as they became due. The parties then requested the opportunity to submit briefs addressing the issue of whether, based on the evidence provided to this Court, Moore’s claim was subject to a bona [835]*835fide dispute. This Court granted the request and permitted the filing of simultaneous briefs. Having received the parties’ briefs and after considerable deliberation, this Court is now prepared to issue its decision.

III. DISCUSSION

Section 303(b) of the Code provides that a single petitioning creditor may commence an involuntary bankruptcy case if (1) “there are fewer than 12 such holders;” 11 U.S.C. § 303(b)(2); and (2) the petitioning creditor’s claim is “not contingent as to liability or the subject of a bona fide dispute as to liability or amount ...” 11 U.S.C. § 303(b)(1). The parties do not dispute that the Proposed Debtor has fewer than twelve creditors and this Court finds that the evidence produced at Trial was sufficient to establish that the Proposed Debtor was generally not paying his debts as they became due. Therefore, the only issue for this Court to address is whether the Petitioning Creditor has standing to file the Involuntary Petition. To have standing, the Petitioning Creditor must be the holder of a bona fide claim against the Proposed Debtor. London v. Hunt, 977 F.2d 829, 832 (3d Cir.1992) (“The Bankruptcy Code clearly states that an involuntary proceeding can only be filed by creditors who hold claims that are not contingent as to liability or subject to a bona fide dispute”) (emphasis in original); B.D.W. Assocs., Inc. v. Busy Beaver Bldg. Ctrs., Inc., 865 F.2d 65, 66 (3d Cir.1989) (recognizing that if a creditor’s claim is subject to a bona fide dispute, that creditor lacks standing to file an involuntary petition); In re Tama Manufacturing Co., Inc., 436 B.R. 763, 768 (Bankr.E.D.Pa.2010) (same).

To be not subject to a bona fide dispute, a petitioning creditor’s claim must be certain as to both liability and amount. 11 U.S.C. § 303(b)(1);

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
492 B.R. 831, 2013 WL 2138875, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 2042, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-elverson-paeb-2013.