In Re Succession of Scurria

47 So. 3d 620, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1183, 2010 WL 3329058
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 25, 2010
Docket45,292-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 47 So. 3d 620 (In Re Succession of Scurria) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Succession of Scurria, 47 So. 3d 620, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1183, 2010 WL 3329058 (La. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

DREW, J.

hThe heirs have been litigating this succession for over 27' years. 1 The present administratrix, Angelina llardo (“llardo”), appeals a partial judgment placing 10 of the heirs in possession of their pro rata portions of the remaining asset of the estate of Anthony Scurria (“Anthony”), who died December 16,1983. The sole asset of Anthony’s succession is an unpaid judgment for $416,666.67 2 plus interest from the date of judicial demand. This court awarded that judgment in Scurria v. Hodge, 31,207 (La.App.2d Cir.10/30/98), 720 So.2d 460, 469, writ denied, 1999-0011 (La.3/19/99), 739 So.2d 782.

The underlying dispute is the unsuccessful (to date) effort by one group of Anthony’s hems to collect the foregoing judgment owed to Anthony’s estate by Joe Scurria (the decedent’s brother) and Billy Hodge (the decedent’s nephew by marriage). The administratrix and those heirs aligned with her have asserted in this and other pending litigation that Joe Scurria and Billy Hodge fraudulently engaged in numerous financial maneuvers to put their assets beyond the reach of their creditors, thereby improperly avoiding payment of the judgment in favor of Anthony’s estate. Because the judgment debtors maintained possession of the properties transferred to various legal entities, the administratrix alleged that the transfers were presumed to be fraudulent simulations. Notwithstanding the 12foregoing, what we have before this court for review is the partial judgment of possession in favor of some of the heirs allied with the judgment debtors.

For the following reasons, the judgment is reversed. The matter is remanded for further proceedings deemed necessary by the adversaries.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

At his 1983 death, Anthony had eight heirs including his brothers, sisters, and a niece, many of whom have since died, leav *622 ing 19 surviving heirs whose names are underlined below:

Sara Scurria Phillips, deceased Josephine Phillips Hodge (married to the judgment debtor, Billy Hodge, and mother of three Finlayson heirs of Jennie Scurria)
Marie Phillips Michele
Philip S. Scurria, deceased Dr. Sam Scurria
Philip Scurria
Tommy Scurria
Jennie S. Scurria, no children, deceased Jennie’s heirs are the children of Joseph Scur-ria (Larry Scurria, Jennie Sue “GiGi” Ball, Maria O’Dowd) and Josephine Phillips Hodge (Sara Ann Finlayson, Charles Michael Finlayson, Billye Jo Finlayson)
Annie Scurria Lombardo, deceased Andrew Lombardo
Sammy Lombardo
Sam Scurria, Jr., deceased Maria Wall O’Dowd
Sam Scurria, HI
Patrina Weems
Vincent Scurria (predeceased Anthony) Dr. Sandra Scurria
Joseph S. Scurria (judgment debtor) (three children who are heirs of Jennie)
] ¡Angelina Scurria llardo (administratrix) (sister of the decedent)

Judge Caraway, writing the opinion in Scurria v. Hodge, supra, set out the background. In 1979, Anthony (whose succession is at issue), his brother, Joe Scurria, and a nephew by marriage, Billy Hodge, formed the Tallulah Cablevision Corporation (“TCC”). Each shareholder received 50 shares of stock. TCC borrowed $150,000 from a bank with each shareholder signing the loan and each shareholder advancing the corporation $70,000. Anthony was president and executed TCC promissory notes to each shareholder for the $70,000 loans. Anthony also made other loans to the corporation. At his death, the $70,000 loan was outstanding along with $27,500 in other loans.

Following Anthony’s December 1988 death, two of decedent’s brothers, Joe and Sam, were named co-administrators of Anthony’s estate. Leroy Smith, Jr., was retained as attorney for the succession.

Smith hired CPA Harry G. Frazer to value the assets for estate purposes. Frazer acknowledged he had no particular expertise at valuing cablevision systems but set the value of Anthony’s one-third interest in TCC at $195,050.

The first documented TCC shareholders’ meeting was held on February 27, 1984, at which Billy Hodge and Joe Scurria were elected directors of TCC. Joe acted as administrator of Anthony’s succession at the meeting and voted the shares of the succession. In February 1984, the directors listed TCC for sale for $8,000,000 with a media brokerage firm. No sale was made and the brokerage contract was terminated.

14Funds were needed to pay inheritance taxes. Each of the heirs would have *623 owed $17,000 to $18,000 to liquidate the succession’s debts and pay the taxes. Joe Scurria and Billy Hodge offered to buy Anthony’s interest in TCC for $100,000. A petition for authority to sell was initially opposed by some heirs. Ultimately, the opposition was withdrawn and the court granted the authority to sell for $100,000 in September 1984. Joe Scurria and Billy Hodge bought the succession’s interest in TCC for $100,000 and had TCC repay $91,000 in debts owed to Anthony’s estate.

Four months later in January 1985, Joe Scurria and Billy Hodge listed TCC for sale at $2.8 million and sold it for $1.9 million on May 30,1985. On May 29,1986, Philip Scurria sued Joe Scurria and Billy Hodge, alleging that as officers and majority shareholders of TCC, the pair violated their fiduciary duties and that Joe Scurria ■violated his fiduciary duties as co-administrator of Anthony’s estate. Later, Philip sued to have the succession reopened and was appointed provisional administrator. Philip, as provisional administrator of the succession, then brought an action against Joe Scurria, Billy Hodge, and TCC with the same allegations.

Following completion of plaintiffs’ evidence at the 1997 trial, the trial court found the evidence did not prove intentional fraudulent misrepresentations by Joe Scurria and Billy Hodge and dismissed the claims of fraud. After the defense was heard, the trial court found that neither Joe Scurria nor Billy Hodge breached any fiduciary duties to Anthony’s succession.

In Scurria, supra, this court reversed the trial court’s judgment. To overcome the appearance of self-dealing to the possible detriment of the succession, Joe Scur-ria and Billy Hodge had to prove that the transaction was an arms-length sale, ie., that the purchase price paid by the fiduciary was the equivalent of the fair market value. Further, we held that a succession administrator is required to know the fair market value of a succession asset to be sold.

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Bluebook (online)
47 So. 3d 620, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1183, 2010 WL 3329058, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-succession-of-scurria-lactapp-2010.