Limberger v. Cleary (In re Cleary)

487 B.R. 633
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Maryland
DecidedFebruary 28, 2013
DocketBankruptcy No. 08-10319-RAG; Adversary No. 08-00264
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 487 B.R. 633 (Limberger v. Cleary (In re Cleary)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Limberger v. Cleary (In re Cleary), 487 B.R. 633 (Md. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION IN SUPPORT OF JUDGMENT ORDER DECLARING CERTAIN DEBTS TO BE NON-DISCHARGEABLE AND EXCEPTING THE SAME FROM THE DEBTOR’S DISCHARGE AND DISMISSING THE COMPLAINT AS TO OTHER DEBT THAT SHALL BE DISCHARGED

ROBERT A. GORDON, Bankruptcy Judge.

I. Preliminary Statement

This litigation represents a part of Plaintiffs Timothy and Lisa Limberger’s effort to be made whole in the wake of their badly bungled, $1.2 million dollar new home construction project commenced in 2006. Interminable contractual breaches and the resulting frustration ultimately convinced the Limbergers that their original contractor — Trinity Home Builders, L.L.C. (Trinity), partially owned and fully controlled by the Debtor/Defendant, Michael Cleary — had to be terminated, a new contractor able to complete the job hired and a state court complaint against Trinity, their lender SunTrust Mortgage (Sun-Trust), the Debtor’s sister (Mary Kate), and Mr. Cleary, filed.1 The Limbergers’ decision was justified: the evidence that chronicled the missteps and queer business practices of SunTrust and the Debtor was often astounding and, while he may have known how to build large homes, Mr. Cleary was simply in well over his head as a financial manager. Per his sister’s testimony, pre-bankruptcy Trinity, a company born in 1994, was frequently in need of emergency lending as a direct result of Mr. Cleary’s fiscal mismanagement.2 Likewise, from October 2006 until its bankruptcy filing Trinity’s operating account was often overdrawn. While evidence detailing the foregoing broad overview was proffered to either establish or rebut certain points, or simply for context, this Opinion is limited to the narrow inquiry of whether the debts arising from the Limbergers’ three claims for relief should be excepted from the Debtor’s discharge.

The Court concludes that Mr. Cleary’s fraudulent procurement of ‘deposit’ money from SunTrust by falsely representing that the same was needed as a condition to purchasing specific construction materials, but which money was neither needed nor used for the purposes represented, and which money was charged against the Limbergers’ construction loan, supplies a clear and convincing basis for declaring non-dischargeable the debts arising from those transactions and for that reason, excepting them from the Debtor’s discharge. Conversely, the Limbergers’ third claim, arising from the money paid to Trinity by SunTrust to cover the cost of a pre-exist-ing water well that Trinity did not construct, but which SunTrust had prior knowledge of, cannot be declared non-dis-chargeable because SunTrust, and therefore the Limbergers, cannot be held to have justifiably relied upon any misrepre[637]*637sentation of Mr. Cleary that caused the payment to be made.

II. Procedural History

Mr. Cleary filed for personal bankruptcy in this Court on January 7, 2008 at least in part to stay the state court litigation filed against him by the Limbergers.3 On April 14, 2008, the Limbergers filed a three count Complaint to Determine Non-Dis-chargeability (Complaint) against Mr. Cleary.4 The Complaint relies upon 11 U.S.C. §§ 523(a)(2)(A), 523(a)(4) and 523(a)(6) and prays that three distinct debts be excepted from the Debtor’s discharge.5 The Debtor filed his Answer to the Complaint to Determine Non-Dis-chargeability on August 5, 2008 and generally denied the Complaint’s factual allegations.6 Trial was held on October 26th, 27th and November 12, 2010 and closing arguments were heard on January 24, 2011. The parties were encouraged to submit post-hearing memoranda and the same were filed on February 23, 2011. The dispute is now ripe for decision.7

III. Factual Background

At the time of the events in question, the Debtor was President and a forty per cent (40%) shareholder of Trinity. Mary Kate testified that she and their mother were also shareholders but she made it clear that it was the Debtor who was in charge, directing and managing Trinity’s day to day operations.8 On May 2, 2006, Trinity entered into a construction contract with the Limbergers. The contract’s purpose was to build a home on a parcel of unimproved land located at 1109 Glenville Road in Churchville, Maryland (Glenville Road). Around the same time, in order to fund the project, the Limbergers entered into construction financing arrangements with SunTrust. One agreement among several was a Construction-Permanent Loan Retail Commitment Letter (Commitment Letter) executed on May 16, 2006 and another was a Construction Loan Agreement (Loan Agreement) dated May 26, 2006. There was no real dispute that, among other things, those agreements were intended to govern the disbursement [638]*638of financing to Trinity in order to fund Glenville Road’s construction.

Per Section II of the Commitment Letter, funds were only supposed to be advanced to Trinity in accordance with an “Approved Draw Schedule”, incorporated into the Commitment Letter and Loan Agreement. The Commitment Letter expressly provided that the, “funding of Draws will be for completed work only.”9 A total of approximately $844,661.51 in draws was paid by SunTrust to Trinity over the course of the project and, for the most part, it appears draws were made in accordance with the quoted requirement: an inspector would visit Glenville Road and inscribe percentages within different category headings on a printed form and thereby confirm completed work.10 The Limbergers complained of three specific instances of payment to Trinity, one of which occurred subsequent to an inspection and two of which did not.

a. The Well

The first debt complained of is the payment by SunTrust of $23,793.29 — two per cent (2%) of the total loan amount — to Trinity on July 21, 2006 for the completion of the water well. On July 20, 2006, the same day the building permit was issued, Mr. Cleary marked up a draw request by hand and submitted it to SunTrust. At the bottom of the facsimile that Mr. Cleary used to transmit the Draw Schedule, he also hand wrote, “Kathy, I included a copy of the Limberger’s draw schedule and I have document (sic) what items are done to this point. Thanks Mike”. The attached Draw Schedule was filled in and signed by Mr. Cleary with five separate percentages (spanning five separate categories) identified.11 The two per cent payment for the well was handwritten next to category 17, “Septic/Well/Tap Fees” listed on the Draw Schedule.

Before issuing the payment, SunTrust sent an inspector — Alan “Bud” Howe — to examine the project. Mr. Howe testified that he approved the two per cent draw request for the well because while inspecting Glenville Road he observed a well cap. Mr. Howe did not encounter Mr. Cleary during his inspection and Mr. Cleary never made any representations to Mr. Howe about the construction of the well. In sum, Mr. Howe testified that because the well cap was visible, he confirmed in writing the well’s completion by noting an appropriate percentage on the Inspection Report.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
487 B.R. 633, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/limberger-v-cleary-in-re-cleary-mdb-2013.