Lassman v. Robinson (In re Toli)

534 B.R. 245
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedAugust 14, 2015
DocketCase No. 12-19194-WCH; Adversary Proceeding No. 13-1373
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 534 B.R. 245 (Lassman v. Robinson (In re Toli)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lassman v. Robinson (In re Toli), 534 B.R. 245 (Mass. 2015).

Opinion

[248]*248MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

William C. Hillman, United States Bankruptcy Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

The matter before the Court is the Complaint filed by Donald R. Lassman (the “Trustee”), the Chapter 7 trustee of the estates of Stephen C. Toli and Cindy L. Toli (jointly, the “Debtors”), through which he, as the assignee of rights from the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”), seeks: (1) to avoid and preserve for the benefit of the estate certain transfers made to Robert E. Robinson (“Robert”) and Dina M. Robinson (“Dina,” jointly with Robert, the “Defendants”) as fraudulent transfers under Massachusetts law and 11 U.S.C. § 548; and (2) damages for common law fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 98A (“Chapter 93A”). I conducted a two-day trial on May 18 and 19, 2015, at which seventeen exhibits were admitted into evidence and five witnesses testified. For the reasons set forth below, I will enter judgment in favor of the Trustee only against Robert on Counts VI and VII for common law fraud and aiding and abetting fraud, and against Dina on Count VII negligent misrepresentation.

II. BACKGROUND

On September 8, 2014, the parties filed a Joint Pre-Trial Statement setting forth facts which the parties agreed were admitted and required no proof.1 Thus, in large part, the salient facts are undisputed. The agreed facts are as follows.

A. The Stipulated Facts

On February 23, 2006, the Debtors as buyers and Defendants as sellers executed a purchase and sale agreement (the “P & S”) for the sale of business assets and commercial real property located in Taun-ton, MA (the “Property”).2 The Property consists of a two-story building that houses a bar on the first floor and a rooming house with seven rooms on the second.3 The P & S listed the sale price of the Property as $400,000.00.4 Section 1.5 of the P & S, which sets forth the purchase price expressly provides in bold face type that “[i]f any of the Balance is to be paid by a private note 'from Buyer to Seller, state that amount here and attach details of such note and the related mortgage,” and is left blank.5 The P & S also contains an integration clause in Section 2.13 that provides that “[a]ll offers and agreements made prior to this Agreement are hereby discharged and all further obligations of the parties are contained only in this Agreement.”6

In order to complete the sale transaction, the Debtors needed financing. To that end, the Debtors, through a corporation known as Steve’s Backstage Pass, Inc. (“Backstage”), obtained two conventional mortgage loans from Mechanics’ Co-operative Bank (“Mechanics’ ”) totaling approximately $266,000.00, and a 20-year loan in the amount of $147,000.00 evidenced by a debenture issued by South Eastern Economic Development Corporation (“SEED”) [249]*249acting as the Certified Development Company, which was guaranteed by the SBA.7 In order to obtain the so-called SBA 504 loan, the Debtors were required to provide SEED and the SBA with a copy of all the closing documents and the executed P & S, supply accurate financial statements, and allow verification of financial information.8 Additionally, the Debtors were each required to execute unconditional guarantees of the loans in favor in favor of SEED.9

The Defendants knew that the Debtors were seeking to borrow money from the mortgage lenders to fund the sale and without it, they could not close.10 They further understood that the Debtors would provide the P & S to the mortgage lenders in order to obtain approval of the financing, and that the lenders would rely on the truthfulness and completeness of the terms set forth in the P & S and HUD-1, including the purchase price and amounts of any other outstanding loans, in granting that approval.11 Nevertheless, the Defendants had no direct interactions with the Debtors’ lenders other than signing the P & S and HUD-1 at the closing and receiving sale proceeds from the loan funding.12

The sale of the Property closed on September 6, 2006 (the “Closing”).13 Stephen Toli and the Defendants each signed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Settlement Statement (the “HUD-1”) at the Closing.14 The HUD-1 recites a contract sales price as $400,000.00.15 Directly above the signatures of Stephen Toli and the Defendants on the HUD-1, it states: “I carefully reviewed the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and to the best of my knowledge and belief, it is a true and accurate statement of all receipts and disbursements made on my account or by me in this transaction.”16

Following the Closing, the Debtors and Defendants met at Dina’s workplace and the Debtors executed a promissory note (the “Promissory Note”) in favor of the Defendants in the amount of $100,000.00.17 The Promissory Note was drafted by the Defendants’ attorney and notarized by an acquaintance of Dina.18 The Promissory Note is jointly payable to the Defendants and has a term of five years with payments of at least $1,000.00 due on the first of each month commencing October 1, 2006, with discretionary periodic balloon payments permitted at the Debtors’ option.19 Upon a payment default, the entire balance then remaining unpaid would be accelerated and become due and payable at the option of the Defendants.20 Additionally, in the event of default, the Debtors would become liable for all costs of collection including attorney’s fees.21 The Promissory Note simply states that the loan is on account of “for value received,” [250]*250and did not obligate the Defendants to provide any property, services or other consideration in exchange for the payment obligation.22

The parties agree that the $100,000.00 obligation under the Promissory Note was always intended to be part of the purchase price for the Property, meaning that despite the express terms of the P & S, the true purchase price for the Property was $500,000.00.23 Indeed, the Defendants concede that they would not have sold the Property to the Debtors for a purchase price of $400,000.00 as stated on the P & S and HUD-1.24 The Defendants wanted the additional consideration of $100,000.00 in cash, but understood the Debtors lacked the resources for such a payment.25 Knowing that the sale would not close if the Debtors were unable to obtain financing, the Defendants agreed to be paid the additional $100,000 through the Promissory Note “outside of the Closing.”26 Neither the Debtors nor the Defendants ever disclosed the existence of the Promissory Note or subsequent payments made thereon to the Debtors’ lenders.27

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Bluebook (online)
534 B.R. 245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lassman-v-robinson-in-re-toli-mab-2015.