Karaeff v. Hart (In re Hart)

533 B.R. 765
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. California
DecidedJuly 16, 2015
DocketCase No. 14-42598; Adversary No. 14-04081
StatusPublished

This text of 533 B.R. 765 (Karaeff v. Hart (In re Hart)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Karaeff v. Hart (In re Hart), 533 B.R. 765 (Cal. 2015).

Opinion

[768]*768MEMORANDUM OF DECISION REGARDING PLAINTIFF BEVERLY KARAEFF’S ADVERSARY PROCEEDINGS AGAINST DEFENDANT CLYDE HART

William J. Lafferty, III, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

This matter came.for trial on May 4, 2015. Steven J. Hassing represented the Plaintiff Beverly Karaeff (“Karaeff’ or the “Plaintiff’ as the context may require); David Smyth represented the Defendant Clyde E. (“Toby”) Hart (“Toby” or the “Defendant” as the context may require). At the conclusion of trial, the parties agreed that in- lieu of closing statements they would provide the court with post-trial briefs, summing up their assertions and defenses. Per agreement reached at the conclusion of the trial, Defendant filed and served his post-trial brief (“Defendant’s Post-Trial Brief’) on May 11, 2015; Plaintiff filed and served her post-trial brief (“Plaintiffs Post-Trial Brief’) on May 25, 2015. The matter having been tried and submitted, the Court issues this Memorandum Decision.

For the reasons set forth below, the Court determines that the Plaintiff has demonstrated that three of the four transactions set forth in the Complaint created non-dischargeable debts owed by Defendant within the -meaning of 11 U.S.C. § 528(a)(2)(A), and the Court will accordingly enter Judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant in the original principal amount of $400,000.

I.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This matter is closely related to that certain Adversary Proceeding styled as Beverly Karaeff v. Debra Hart et al., Adv. Pro. No. 11-4177 (the “Prior AP”). Toby was originally named in the Prior AP, but was dismissed from that action by Order entered on December 80, 2011. On May 9, 2012, Karaeff filed an action against Toby in Contra Costa County Superior Court for Fraud, Embezzlement, and Conversion, styled Beverly Karaeff v. Clyde E. Hart, Two Harts Inc. and New Horizons Investments, Inc., Case No. 12-01087 (the “State Court Action”). When Toby filed the underlying chapter 7 bankruptcy case on June 16, 2014, Karaeff timely removed the State Court Action to this Court via a Notice of Removal filed June 24, 2014. Although the State Court Action described causes of action cognizable under California law, and did not expressly reference non-dischargeability issues under § 523(a) of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Code”), Defendant has not objected to the form or contents of the Complaint, and, as will be discussed in greater detail below, the Court determines that with respect to three of the transactions set forth below, the allegations set forth in the Complaint, and proven at trial, satisfy the requirements of § 523(a)(2)(A) of the Code.

Debra Hart is the spouse of Toby Hart, and the theories asserted against Debra Hart in the Prior AP included not only theories based upon Debra’s direct actions, but also upon Toby’s actions, on the theories that (a) as husband and wife and partners in a California limited partnership known as “GTP II”, Debra and Toby were each liable for each others’ alleged bad acts in the Prior AP, (b) Debra and Toby were each alter egos of the entities that were alleged to have performed certain bad acts, and (c) that Debra and Toby working in concert perpetrated a fraud upon Beverly. Accordingly, even though Toby was not a party in the Prior AP, the Court still necessarily examined in great detail the actions of Toby in connection with the transactions set forth in the Complaint, and made a number of findings of [769]*769fact and conclusions of law concerning Toby’s involvement in those transactions.

The Court determined in the Prior AP that three of the four transactions set forth therein created non-dischargeable debts owing by Debra Hart to Plaintiff in the original principal amount of $400,000. In connection with the disposition of the Prior AP, the Court issued a lengthy Memorandum Decision1 on March 14, 2014, setting forth the Court’s findings and conclusions (the “March 2014 Decision”), and a Judgment. Debra Hart appealed the Judgment to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (the “BAP”), and on February 26, 2015, the BAP issued its Judgment affirming this Court’s determination that Debra Hart owed a non-dischargeable debt to Beverly Karaeff in the original principal amount of $400,000.

In preparation for the trial of this matter, the parties entered into a number of stipulations with respect to the admissibility of matters admitted in the Prior AP. In particular, the parties stipulated to the admissibility of each exhibit offered by both parties in this matter, many of which had been admitted in the Prior AP. Trial Tr. 4:3-25; 5:1-8, May 4, 2015. In addition, the parties also stipulated to the admission of the testimony contained in certain depositions conducted in the Prior AP, as well as all of the testimony offered in the Prior AP. Trial Tr. 6:9-25; 7:1-6.

However, the parties did not stipulate, and Plaintiff has not expressly asserted, that matters determined in the Prior AP should be given preclusive effect — and Defendant raised two issues, or, more precisely, advanced, on different grounds than those advanced in the Prior AP, two defenses to the claims asserted by Plaintiff: (a) that for reasons different from those argued in the Prior AP, Plaintiffs claims herein are barred by the statute of limitations, and (b) that Plaintiffs alleged reliance on representations made by Toby (and Debra) was not justifiable, as required by § 523(a)(2)(A).2 Accordingly, essentially all of Defendant’s efforts during the trial focused on these issues, and Defendant did not expressly challenge Plaintiffs assertions that (a) Defendant made false statements to her, (b) Defendant knew that the statements were false when made, (c) Defendant made the statements to induce Plaintiff to rely upon and to act upon them to her detriment, and (d) that Plaintiff was damaged thereby.3

The Defendant’s apparent concessions as to four of the elements that Plaintiff is required to prove to establish liability under. § 523(a)(2)(A) notwithstanding, the Court’s analysis below will discuss every element of Plaintiffs cause of action and [770]*770proof, out of respect for the importance of this matter to the parties, and in the hope that a comprehensive discussion of the issues will assist any reviewing court, should this Court’s determination be appealed.

II.

FACTS4

In the March 2014 Decision, the court made several findings based on the testimony and exhibits submitted by the parties. Karaeffs testimony at the May 4 trial is consistent with testimony in the Prior AP, and the Court’s findings presented in the March 2014 Decision. Toby’s testimony at the May 4 trial was limited to establishing a statute of limitations defense, and did not controvert, let alone undermine, Karaeffs testimony concerning the history and context of the transactions. Consequently, many of the findings made by the Court in this adversary proceeding are similar to, and in some cases identical to, findings made by the Court in the Prior AP.

A. The Harts and Their Entities

In the March 2014 Decision, the Court went into necessary and lengthy detail with respect to the Harts’ background and the entities which they created and controlled.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
533 B.R. 765, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/karaeff-v-hart-in-re-hart-canb-2015.