In re Jerome Markowitz Trust

71 A.3d 289, 2013 Pa. Super. 128, 2013 WL 2253380, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 744
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 23, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 71 A.3d 289 (In re Jerome Markowitz Trust) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Jerome Markowitz Trust, 71 A.3d 289, 2013 Pa. Super. 128, 2013 WL 2253380, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 744 (Pa. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION BY

STEVENS, P.J.

This is an appeal from the April 16, 2012 Final Order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, Orphans’ Court Division, directing a surcharge of $11,700.00 to be imposed upon Glenmede Trust Company, N.A. (“Glenmede”), for its breach of fiduciary duty owed to Appellants 1 as it relates to investments Glen-mede managed for the Jerome Markowitz Trust. On appeal, Appellants contend (1) the Orphans’ Court’s factual findings are not supported by competent and adequate evidence, (2) the Orphans’ Court failed to acknowledge the full breadth of Glen-mede’s breach of its fiduciary duty to the Trust, (3) the Orphans’ Court erred in failing to find Glenmede breached the parties’ contract, and (4) the Orphans’ Court erred in its calculation of the surcharge. We affirm.

The relevant facts and procedural history have been aptly set forth by the Orphans’ Court, in part, as follows:

[291]*291[On November 6, 2009, Petitioner, Steven Markowitz, filed a] Petition Seeking Reimbursement of Investment Funds and Other Relief From Glen-mede Trust Company, N.A., (“hereinafter Markowitz’s Petition”)[.] [The petitioner sought] relief from Glenmede in relation to services Glenmede provided or failed to provide as the investment advisor, custodian, and agent for the Jerome Markowitz Revocable Trust under agreement dated October 6, 1983, as amended February 19, 1985 (“Trust”).2
The petitioner is Steven Markowitz[.] Although Markowitz’s Petition identifies the petitioner only as Steven Markowitz, individually, and not in his fiduciary capacity as Trustee of the Trust, the parties conducted the hearing as though [Steven] Markowitz brought this action in his capacity as Trustee. Therefore, we find that Markowitz’s Petition was brought in [Steven] Markowitz’s fiduciary capacity and all references herein to “Steven Markowitz” refer to Steven Markowitz as Trustee. [Moreover,] [b]y Order dated March 16, 2010, (approximately two months after the death of the life income beneficiary and cotrus-tee, Martha Markowitz, on January 29, 2010), Steven Markowitz, Marc Markow-itz, Sandra Goldstein and Judy Roberts (the remaindermen of the Markowitz Trust) were added as individual petitioners. The Respondent, is Glenmede, a corporation having its principal place of business at 1650 Market Street, Suite 1200, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[Steven] Markowitz has been responsible for, and has managed, all financial aspects of the Trust since 1991. This included investments, distributions, disbursements, and responsibility for tax returns. It also included the selection of, and interaction with, investment managers or advisors, for the Trust. [Steven] Markowitz is a sophisticated investor, .experienced fiduciary and follower of the financial markets. Since 1992, [Steven] Markowitz has served as the sole trustee of Allen Organ’s3 $20 million pension fund and has had sole responsibility for making the pension fund’s investment decisions. He also has served and continues to serve as Trustee of other trusts. [Steven] Mar-kowitz has been assisted in his role as Trustee of the Trust and in connection with Allen Organ’s corporate affairs and the Allen Organ pension fund by Allen Organ’s Chief Financial Officer, Nathan Eckhart (“Eckhart”). Eckhart, a Certified Public Accountant, has provided accounting services to the Trust. Eckhart maintained Trust records and accounts, prepared Trust tax returns, reviewed monthly Trust statements, discussed Trust investment decisions with [Steven] Markowitz, participated in the selection of Trust investment advisors, communicated with Trust investment advisors on behalf of the Trust, and attended and participated in every quarterly meeting between Glenmede and [Steven] Mar-kowitz.
The Trust was a majority shareholder in the Allen Organ Company. In 2006, [292]*292in anticipation of the Trust’s receipt of proceeds from the conversion of Allen Organ from a publicly held corporation to a closely held corporation, [Steven] Markowitz sought to hire an investment advisor. On August 16, 2006, he hired Wachovia Bank (“Wachovia”) to hold the proceeds from the privatization of Allen Organ in its Short Term Investment Management (“STIM”) product while the Trust explored long-term investment strategies. Wachovia’s STIM portfolio at that time included Auction Rate Securities (“ARS”), [which] ... typically refers to corporate or municipal bonds with a long-term nominal maturation date and for which the interest rate is regularly reset through an auction. Auctions are held usually every 7, 28, or 35 days and the interest on ARSs is paid at the end of each auction period. To participate in an auction, the owner of an ARS must possess the auction rights for that ARS. Auction rights are normally memorialized by a written document or are acknowledged by a remarketing agent. At all times relevant to this dispute, most ARSs were AAA rated and insured. In the event of a failure at auction, ARSs typically pay an increased interest rate to the ARS owner.
On August 31, 2006, the Trust (defined as “Client”) entered into an Investment Management Agreement with Wachovia (‘Wachovia Agreement”). Of significance to the present matter are Paragraphs 9, which provides that Wa-chovia “shall distribute Assets from the Account in accordance with the Client’s written instructions” and Paragraph 13, which provides that, upon termination, “the assets then held by [Wachovia] shall be delivered as the Client may direct in writing and [Wachovia] shall have no further responsibility for the Account.”
On September 28, 2006, [Steven] Mar-kowitz and Eckhart met with Wachovia representatives to discuss investment issues and [Steven] Markowitz directed Wachovia to place $9 million of Trust funds in the STIM. The Trust deposited $9 million of Trust funds into the Trust’s Wachovia Bank account (“Wachovia Account”) on October 4, 2006.
By October 31, 2006, the Wachovia Account was invested 99.9% in fixed income tax exempt investment grade securities made in the ARS market. The Trust’s ARS investments at the end of October 2006 included a $400,000 investment in Mobile County, Alabama Limited Obligation Warrants (Cusip # 607341AA2) (“Mobile ARS”). The Mobile ARS then had a Moody’s Aaa rating and an AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, meaning that it was investment grade and that there was little or no risk of default. Payment of the principal and interest on the Mobile ARS when due was also insured by a financial guaranty insurance policy issued by AMBAC Assurance Corporation. AMBAC’s bond insurance business had an AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s Rating Services as of October 2006 and held that rating until June 2008.
During the period that Wachovia served as temporary investment advisor, [Steven] Markowitz continued to meet with other candidates to serve as the Trust’s long-term investment advisor. By late October 2006, [Steven] Markow-itz had contacted Glenmede for this purpose. On October 30, November 16, and November 27, 2006, [Steven] Markowitz and Eckhart met with Glenmede representatives to discuss Glenmede’s products and services and to review’ Glen-mede’s operations. On December 11, 2006, [Steven] Markowitz decided to retain Glenmede as an investment advisor [293]

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71 A.3d 289, 2013 Pa. Super. 128, 2013 WL 2253380, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 744, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-jerome-markowitz-trust-pasuperct-2013.