Kramer ex rel. estate of Chin v. Chin (In re Chin)

492 B.R. 117
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJune 4, 2013
DocketCase No. 1—11—46968—jf; Adv. Pro. No. 1-12-01231-jf
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 492 B.R. 117 (Kramer ex rel. estate of Chin v. Chin (In re Chin)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kramer ex rel. estate of Chin v. Chin (In re Chin), 492 B.R. 117 (N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

Chapter 7

DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Jerome Feller, United States Bankruptcy Judge

In July 2007, Louise Chin (“Louise” or “Debtor”) transferred her 50 percent interest in a house located at 52-52 71st Street, Maspeth, New York (“Property” or “Premises”) to her younger brother Lawrence (“Defendant”) in exchange for $10 (“Transfer”). The Chapter 7 trustee (“Trustee”) commenced this adversary proceeding to avoid the Transfer and recover the Debtor’s interest in the Property or its purported value of $282,500. Defendant seeks summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56, made applicable here by Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7056. He contends the Trustee lacks evidence to support an essential element of each of her claims. The Trustee argues the motion must be denied because there are genuine disputes of material fact as to these elements. However, the Trustee fails t'o support her claims with probative evidence. For the reasons stated herein, Defendant’s motion is granted.

I.

The Debtor filed her petition on August 12, 2011. Case No. 11-46968 (ECF No. 1). She was unemployed at the time, listed the Property as her address, scheduled over $170,000 in unsecured claims, and did not disclose the Transfer. The Trustee examined the Debtor at the meeting of creditors under 11 U.S.C. § 341(a) on September 16, 2011. A month later, the Debtor received a discharge. Id. (ECF No. 10). However, a continuance of the meeting of creditors was scheduled for December 16, and on May 22, 2012, the Clerk of Court issued a Notice of Discovery of Assets. Id. (ECF No. 12). In June, the Court authorized the Trustee to examine the Debtor under Fed. R. Bankr.P.2004 (“Rule 2004 Order”). Id. (ECF No. 17).

The Trustee commenced this proceeding on August 1, 2012.1 The complaint seeks recovery based on: (i) 11 U.S.C. §§ 544, 550, and 551 utilizing (a) the constructive fraud provisions of New York Debtor and Creditor Law (“DCL”), namely § 273 (Claim One), § 274 (Claim Four), and § 275 (Claim Six) and (b) the DCL’s actual fraud provision, § 276 (Claim Seven); and (ii) common law unjust enrichment (Claim Nine). ECF No. I.2 On August 23, 2012, Defendant filed an answer to the complaint. ECF No. 4. On October 11, the Court entered a joint scheduling order, which allowed three months for discovery. ECF No. 7.

[122]*122On February 4, 2013, Defendant filed his motion. ECF No. 10. The motion is accompanied by a statement pursuant to E.D.N.Y. LBR 7056-1 of material facts not in dispute (ECF No. 10-1); a memorandum of law (ECF No. 11); an affidavit of Bik Ching Chin, Louise and Lawrence’s mother (“Ms. Chin”), attaching nine exhibits (ECF No. 12); and an affidavit of the Debtor, attaching 17 exhibits (ECF No. 13). The Trustee filed a memorandum of law in opposition, a counterstatement of material facts in dispute, and four exhibits. ECF No. 16. Defendant filed an amended E.D.N.Y. LBR 7056-1 statement (ECF No. 18), and later filed a reply memorandum (ECF No. 20), an additional affidavit by the Debtor (ECF No. 22), and affidavits by Defendant (ECF No. 21); Tony Chang, an attorney who represented Robert Gee, Louise’s first husband (ECF No. 23); Robert Reddington, Louise’s second, and now estranged, husband (ECF No. 24); and Connie Tom, the owner of a jewelry store, attaching a valuation of Louise’s jewelry (ECF No. 25). On March 5, 2013, the Court held a hearing on Defendant’s motion, at which the parties appeared by counsel and were heard, and reserved decision.

II.

“The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The “purpose of summary judgment is to pierce the pleadings and to assess the proof in order to see whether there is a genuine need for trial.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (“Matsushita”) (internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, the issue before the court is “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

“In moving for summary judgment against a party who will bear the ultimate burden of proof at trial, [defendant’s] burden will be satisfied if he can point to an absence of evidence to support an essential element of [plaintiffs] claim.” Goenaga v. March of Dimes Birth Defects Found., 51 F.3d 14, 18 (2d Cir.1995) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). If this burden is met, plaintiff, in order to defeat the motion, “must come forward with evidence that would be sufficient to support a jury verdict in his favor.” Goenaga, 51 F.3d at 18. “The evidence of the non-movant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The court may not make credibility determinations or weight conflicting evidence. Although plaintiffs evidentiary burden is not substantial, it nonetheless requires “significantly probative” evidence and “merely colorable” evidence will not suffice. Id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348 (stating plaintiff “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts”). Plaintiff “may not rely simply on conclusory statements or on contentions that the affidavits supporting the motion are not credible” (Goenaga, 51 F.3d at 18), and “denials in legal memorandum or [at] oral argument are not evidence and cannot by themselves create a genuine issue of material fact where none would otherwise exist” (Fletcher v. Atex, Inc., 68 F.3d 1451, 1456 (2d Cir.1995) (internal quotation marks omitted)).

[123]*123Defendant submitted numerous affidavits and exhibits in support of the motion. In contrast, the Trustee submitted: (i) Debtor’s petition; (ii) the complaint; (iii) a 2007 tax assessment relating to the Property; and (iv) a statement relating to an account held by the Debtor. ECF Nos. 16-2; 16 — 8; 16-4; 16-5.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
492 B.R. 117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kramer-ex-rel-estate-of-chin-v-chin-in-re-chin-nyeb-2013.