Lindros v. Brewer (In re Brewer)

500 B.R. 130
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedJune 10, 2013
DocketCase No.: 3:07-bk-218-JAF; Adv. No.: 3:09-ap-344-JAF
StatusPublished

This text of 500 B.R. 130 (Lindros v. Brewer (In re Brewer)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lindros v. Brewer (In re Brewer), 500 B.R. 130 (Fla. 2013).

Opinion

Chapter 7

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S RULE 59 MOTION TO ALTER OR AMEND JUDGMENT

JERRY A. FUNK, United States Bankruptcy Judge

This proceeding is before the Court on Defendant Michael Anthony Brewer’s [132]*132(“Defendant”) Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment (Doc. 87, the “Motion”) filed on May 7, 2012. Plaintiff Gary Lindros (“Plaintiff’) filed a response in opposition to the Motion (Doc. 89, the “Response”).

After a continuance (Doc. 105), a final evidentiary hearing on the Motion was held on February 1, 2013. At the conclusion of the hearing, and in lieu of oral argument, the Court directed the parties to file memoranda in support of their respective positions. Such memoranda having been filed (Docs. 112, 113), the matter is now ripe for the Court’s determination. For the reasons stated herein, the Motion (Doc. 87) is denied.1

I. Background

By way of background, on January 19, 2007, Defendant filed for protection under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code2 (Case No. 3:07-bk-218-JAF, the “Main Case”). Subsequently, on February 26, 2008, after a successful mediation, Defendant entered into a settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) with the Chapter 7 Trustee, Robert Altman (the “Trustee”), regarding three adversary proceedings (Adv. Nos. 3:07-ap-149-JAF; 3;07-ap-150-JAF; 3:07-ap-229-JAF).3 Additionally, the Settlement Agreement provided for Defendant’s re-purchase of estate property.

On April 21, 2008, the Trustee served notice of the Settlement Agreement on all parties in interest through a Notice of Intent to Compromise Claims and to Sell Certain Property of the estate (3:07-bk-218-JAF, Doc. 62, the “Notice of Settlement”). The Notice of Settlement attached the Settlement Agreement and contained a detailed description of both the claims being settled and the estate assets being purchased by Defendant {id. at 14-21).

In the Notice of Settlement, the Trustee identified and discussed, inter alia, a claim for which he filed suit regarding an aggregate $55,000 in transfers made by Defendant to Royal Palm Contractors Corp. (“Royal Palm”) (Adv. No. 3:07-ap-149-JAF, the “Royal Palm Adversary”). In the Royal Palm Adversary, the Trustee asserted the $55,000 in transfers were loans made by Defendant to Royal Palm, which Royal Palm never repaid (3:07-ap-149-JAF, Doc. 1). As such, the Trustee claimed Royal Palm owed the estate $55,000 (id.).

The Notice of Settlement additionally identified three cash withdrawals from Royal Palm’s bank account totaling $98,046 (3:07-bk-218-JAF, Doc. 62 at 8-9). This amount was allegedly avoidable based on the Trustee’s contention that Defendant owned 100 percent of Royal Palm {id. at 8-9). Based on the foregoing, the Trustee moved to amend the complaint in the Royal Palm Adversary (3:07-ap-149-JAF, Doc. 26), claiming Royal Palm was the alter ego of Defendant {see also Def.’s Ex. 10 at 16).

The Notice of Settlement further provided that Defendant and Royal Palm disputed the allegations of the Trustee, supra [133]*133(3:07-bk-218-JAF, Doc. 62 at 8). In what appears to be Royal Palm’s justification for not repaying the loans made to it by Defendant, the Notice of Settlement set forth the following:

On January 17, 2008, Royal Palm provided to the trustee a check written on an account in the name of Royal Palm and Michael Brewer [Defendant], dated July 17, 2005 payable to Citibank signed by Mr. Brewer in the amount of $80,000. Royal Palm contends that even though [Defendant’s] name appears on the account, the account was solely in Royal Palms’ [sic] name. It [Royal Palm] further contends that the $80,000 was paid toward an obligation owed by [Defendant] in his individual capacity,

(Id at 9).

On May 9, 2008, Plaintiff filed an Objection to the Notice of Settlement (3:07-bk-218-JAF, Doc. 69, the “Objection”). On May 15, 2009, after several continuances due in part to Plaintiffs efforts to obtain discovery (see 3:07-bk-218-JAF, Docs. 98, 117, 124), the Court held a final evidentia-ry hearing on the Objection. In his pretrial memorandum in support of the Objection, Plaintiff asserted that he was concerned the proposed settlement might encompass what Plaintiff purported to be a fraudulent transfer into Defendant’s homestead property (3:07-bk-218-JAF, Doc. 131 at 6-7). More particularly, it was Plaintiffs contention that the $80,000 payment made to Citibank, supra, was actually a transfer that paid down a significant portion Defendant’s home equity line of credit. Plaintiff claimed this transfer of nonexempt property into Defendant’s exempt homestead property was made in an effort to defraud his creditors (id.).

Plaintiff additionally noted that the Settlement Agreement did not allocate any settlement proceeds to this potential claim. Since the proposed settlement provided that it would bind the estate and all parties in interest “as to all such known claims which have been or could be asserted ... by or through the Trustee or the [e]state,” Plaintiff sought clarification as to whether the Trustee knew at the time of settlement that the $80,000 transfer was a potential claim, and if so, to explain why settlement proceeds were not allocated to it (id. at 15-17).

At the May 15, 2009 hearing, the Trustee testified that the reference to “known claims” in the Settlement Agreement referred only to claims that he was aware he could assert at the time he entered into the Settlement Agreement (ie., on or about February 26, 2008) (Def.’s Ex. 10 at 50, 85). Specifically, the Trustee stated as follows: “If there were any claims that were not disclosed or we were unaware of that we might have against any parties, we were not releasing anything regarding those [claims].” (Id. at 50).

Later in the hearing, in response to questioning regarding discovery related documents provided to the Trustee by Plaintiffs counsel, the Trustee stated, with respect to his knowledge regarding any “distributions of money from Coastline East4 to Michael Brewer,” that he recalled an $80,000 check being used to pay toward Defendant’s home (id. at 94).5 The examining attorney pointed out to the Trustee that the $80,000 check was actually issued by Royal Palm and not Coastline East (id. at 95). To which, the Trustee responded: “That may be.” (Id.). For reasons not [134]*134pertinent here, the May 15, 2009 hearing was continued to June 3, 2009.

At the June 3, 2009 continued hearing on the Objection, the Trustee testified in furtherance of clarifying, for both Plaintiff and the Court, as to what “known claims” the Settlement Agreement intended to compromise and release (Defi’s Ex. 11 at 5-6, 11-19). In response to Plaintiffs counsel’s questions regarding whether, at the time the Trustee entered into the Settlement Agreement, he knew of any other transfer(s) into the Defendant’s homestead property besides the $50,000 transfer the Trustee was suing on in Adversary Proceeding No. 3:07-ap-229-JAF,6 the Trustee testified unequivocally that he did not (id. at 17-19).

Plaintiffs counsel continued questioning the Trustee as follows:

[W]ere you aware of any other transactions between Mr. and Mrs.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
500 B.R. 130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lindros-v-brewer-in-re-brewer-flmb-2013.