Laspro Consultores LTDA. v. Alinia Corp. (In re Massa Falida Do Banco Cruzeiro Do Sul S.A.)

567 B.R. 212
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida.
DecidedMarch 23, 2017
DocketCase No.: 14-22974-BKC-LMI; Adversary Proceeding No.: 16-01315-LMI
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 567 B.R. 212 (Laspro Consultores LTDA. v. Alinia Corp. (In re Massa Falida Do Banco Cruzeiro Do Sul S.A.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Laspro Consultores LTDA. v. Alinia Corp. (In re Massa Falida Do Banco Cruzeiro Do Sul S.A.), 567 B.R. 212 (Fla. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS AMENDED COMPLAINT (ECF #29)

Laurel M. Isicoff, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge

THIS MATTER came before me on November 22, 2016, (the “Hearing”) on the Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint (the “Motion to Dismiss”) (ECF # 29) filed by the Defendants, Alinia Corporation (“Alinia”) and 110 CPS, Inc. (“CPS”) (collectively, the “Defendants”). I have considered the Motion to Dismiss, the Amended Complaint (the “Amended Complaint”) (ECF # 25) filed by the Plaintiff, Laspro Consultores LTDA, Trustee of BCSUL (the “Plaintiff’),.the response filed by the Plaintiff to the Motion to Dismiss (ECF #33), the reply filed by the Defendants (ECF #34), the arguments of counsel at the hearing, and the submission of competing proposed forms of order on the Motion to Dismiss as well as supplemental briefing on the aiding and abetting counts1. For the reasons more fully set forth herein, the Motion to Dismiss is granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

The Plaintiff is the Brazilian trustee of Banco Cruzeiro do Sul, S.A., a Brazilian bank (“BCSUL" or the “Debtor”). The Amended Complaint alleges that BCSUL was established in August, 1989. In 1993, BCSUL’s shares were acquired by the In-dio da Costa Family. Luis Felippe Indio da Costa (“Felippe”) and Luis Octavio Indio da Costa (“Octavio”) (collectively the “In-dio da Costas”), were the members of the family primarily involved in the management of BCSUL. Felippe and Octavio, residents of Brazil, are not parties in the adversary proceeding.2

[217]*217The Plaintiff alleges that the Indio da Costas were the principals, officers and directors of BCSUL, and orchestrated a diversion of funds from BCSUL through a fraudulent loan scheme where funds taken by the Indio da Costas were “booked” as pay-day loans subject to less stringent documentation requirements under Brazilian law. The Amended Complaint further alleges that over a period of several years, through a scheme of creating fake salary loans totaling over 1.4 billion Reais, the Indio da Costas diverted millions of Brazilian Reais from BCSUL. The Plaintiff alleges that a portion of these diverted funds was used to purchase the real and personal property currently owned by the Defendants. The Plaintiff also alleges that Fel-ippe is the sole director of Alinia and that Octavio is a director of CPS.

On June 4, 2012, the Central Bank of Brazil placed BCSUL under the Special Temporary Administration of the Brazilian Credit Guaranty Fund. As a result, the management of BCSUL was transferred to special administrators appointed by the Central Bank of Brazil. In September, 2012, the Central Bank placed BCSUL into extra judicial liquidation.

On June 4, 2014, the Debtor, through its Florida counsel, filed a Petition for Recognition of Foreign Main Proceeding, pursuant to Sections 1515 and 1517 of the Bankruptcy Code (Main Case ECF # 2)3. The Order of Recognition was entered on July 14, 2014 (Main Case ECF # 16).

On August 12, 2015, the Brazilian Bankruptcy Court decreed the bankruptcy of the Debtor. On September 30, 2015, the Plaintiff was appointed as the “ad hoc” judicial trustee of the Debtor. On January 21, 2016, the Plaintiff was formally appointed as a co-trustee of the Debtor. On June 22, 2016, the Plaintiff became the sole trustee of the Debtor’s estate.

THE PARTIES AND CLAIMS

The Plaintiff asserts that as the trustee of BCSUL, under Brazilian law it represents both the Debtor and the aggregate creditor body of the Debtor (termed in Brazilian law, the “Massa Falida”), The Plaintiff asserts that it is entitled to represent the creditors of the Brazilian bankruptcy estate of the Debtor pursuant to Brazilian Bankruptcy and Judicial Reorganization Law N. 11.101/2005.

The Defendants are both British Virgin Islands corporations. The Trustee alleges that in July 2008, Felippe, using funds improperly diverted from BCSUL, purchased a penthouse apartment located at 60 East 55th Street in New York City (the “Penthouse”). In May 2011 the Penthouse was transferred to Alinia. The Plaintiff alleges that Alinia is owned by the Correas Trust and that Felippe is the settlor and sole beneficiary of the Correas Trust.

The Amended Complaint alleges that CPS is owned by a Brazilian entity known as Star Investments e Participates, which itself is jointly owned by Felippe and Octavio. According to the Amended Complaint, CPS, acting through Octavio and/or Fel-ippe and using funds improperly diverted from BCSUL, purchased 170 shares of 1Í0 Central Park South Corporation, which holds a long term lease on Apartment 6B located at 110 Central Park South in New York City (“Apartment 6B”) (collectively with the Penthouse the “Apartments”). The Plaintiff alleges that various valuable works of art located in the Penthouse and Apartment 6B were also purchased with funds wrongfully taken by Felippe and Octavio from BCSUL (the “Art”) (collec[218]*218tively with the Apartments the “Property”).

The Amended Complaint asserts a total of thirty-six counts against the Defendants based on these allegations. The claims fall into four basic categories. First, claims of Constructive Trust/Equitable Lien are alleged against the Penthouse, Apartment 6B and the Art (Counts I, XIII and XXV respectively). In these counts, the Plaintiff requests that the Court impose a constructive trust on each of the Apartments and the Art; or in the alternative, an equitable lien in favor of the Trustee.

The Amended Complaint also includes four counts for fraudulent conveyance under New York law against each of the Apartments and the Art, based on New York DCL, §§ 273, 274, 275 and 276 which correspond to Counts II, III, IV and V with respect to the Penthouse; Counts XIV, XV, XVI and XVII with respect to Apartment 6B; and Counts XXVI, XXVII, XVIII and XXIX with respect to the Art. Each of these Counts requests the Court set aside and disregard the transfers of the Apartments and the Art to the Defendants.

The Amended Complaint alsp seeks damages from the Defendants for aiding and abetting Felippe and Octavio in breaching their fiduciary duty to BCSUL, aiding and abetting Felippe and Octavio in converting BCSUL’s funds, and aiding and abetting Felippe and Octavio in committing fraud against BCSUL. These aiding and abetting claims are asserted against the Defendants with respect to each of the Apartments and the Art. Counts VI, VII and VIII relate to the Penthouse; Counts XVIII, XIX and XX relate to Apartment 6B; while Counts XXX, XXXI and XXXII relate to the Art.

Finally, the Amended Complaint includes four separate claims based in Brazilian law. Each of the Brazilian law claims is asserted with respect to each of the Apartments and the Art. Counts IX, XXI and XXXIII assert a violation of Law N. 8.08/1990 of the Brazilian Consumer Protection Code against the Defendants regarding the Penthouse, Apartment 6B and the Art respectively. Counts X, XXII and XXXIV allege violations of Article 186 of the Brazilian Civil Code against the Defendants relating to the Penthouse, Apartment 6B and the Art respectively. Counts XI, XXIII and XXXV allege violation of Article 884 of the Brazilian Civil Code relating to the Penthouse, Apartment 6B and the Art respectively.

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Bluebook (online)
567 B.R. 212, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/laspro-consultores-ltda-v-alinia-corp-in-re-massa-falida-do-banco-flsb-2017.