Melaragno v. Lybrook (In re Lybrook)

544 B.R. 537
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 23, 2015
DocketCase No. 14-10236-TPA; Adv. No. 14-1060
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 544 B.R. 537 (Melaragno v. Lybrook (In re Lybrook)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Melaragno v. Lybrook (In re Lybrook), 544 B.R. 537 (Pa. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Thomas P. Agresti, Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court

On March 2, 2014, the Debtor, Erica Lybrook, filed a voluntary Petition under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Currently before the Court is a Complaint to Determine Dischargeability of Debt (“Complaint”) filed by Plaintiff, Atty. John C. Melaragno, Chapter 7 Trustee (“Trustee”). The Complaint seeks to deny the Debtor a discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2) for allegedly transferring property with intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors, and pursuant to § 727(a) (JO, for allegedly making a false oath or account in connection with the bankruptcy case.1 Following trial on the Complaint, the Parties filed their post-[541]*541trial briefs and, having considered all the evidence and the respective arguments, for the reasons stated below, the Court finds that the Trustee has met his burden of proving the elements of Sections 727(a)(4)(A), and therefore, the Debtor’s discharge will be denied on that basis.2

FACTS

The Debtor was formerly known as Erica Eliason. On July 2, 2011, the Debtor and Shane Lybrook, Sr. (“Shane”)3 were married and at that time she adopted her current name. For convenience, the Debt- or and Shane are sometimes referred to collectively in this Opinion as “the Lybrooks” with regard to events occurring after the date of their marriage. The facts that are relevant for the Court’s decision can best be understood if broken down to correspond to the two grounds on which the Trustee is objecting to discharge.

(A) As Relevant to Section 727(a)(2)

The Trustee bases his Section 727(a)(2) objection to discharge claim on a series of transactions involving the Debtor and Shane that occurred during the three-year period prior to the Debtor’s bankruptcy filing. The Trustee contends that through the means of these transactions, which involved real property and motor vehicles, the Debtor intentionally and systematically acted to transfer assets in which she held an interest into the sole ownership of Shane in order to shield them from her creditors.

Beginning with the real estate transactions, on June 1, 2010, the Debtor and Shane entered into Articles of Agreement for the Sale of Real Estate (“Land Contract”) for the purchase of 9797 Mark Road, Erie PA (“Mark Road Property”) for a price of $60,000. The record is not clear as to how they were to take title to the Mark Road Property. Under the Land Contract, the Debtor and Shane agreed to pay equal monthly installments of $500 per month for the first year, with a balloon payment of the $54,000 balance due on June 1,2011.

On March 10, 2011, the Mark Road Property was destroyed by fire and declared a total loss. As a result of the fire, the property insurer paid the following amounts: (a) $55,000 to the Seller under the terms of the Land Contract; (b) $102,500 to the Debtor and Shane for the balance of the structure loss; and, (c) $72,607.01 to the Debtor and Shane for personal property loss, the majority of which was attributable to personal property owned by the Debtor individually. On June 24, 2011, the Debtor and Shane sold the Mark Road Property for $15,000.

On May 6, 2011, the Debtor and Shane purchased 8571 Lake Pleasant Rd., Erie, PA for $114,502.50, paid in cash at the time of the closing (“Lake Pleasant Road Property). Again, this was prior to their marriage and the record is not entirely clear as to how title to the Lake Pleasant Road Property was held, though the Parties have stipulated it was “jointly purchased.” On April 20, 2012, Shane individually borrowed $32,250 from General Electric Federal Credit Union, ostensibly for the construction of a garage, secured by a mortgage on the Lake Pleasant Road Property. A portion of the loan proceeds [542]*542were paid to a contractor to build a garage. He completed the framing but never finished the garage. Eventually, the Lybrooks initiated criminal proceedings against the contractor for his failure to complete the garage and a $5,000 restitution order against him was ultimately entered in their favor.

On January 31, 2013, the Lybrooks sold the Lake Pleasant Road property for $123,000, receiving $79,988.10 in net proceeds after satisfaction of the General Electric Federal Credit Union mortgage and payment of closing costs. Thereafter, on March 25, 2013, Shane, individually, purchased 2326 Victory Drive, Erie, PA (“Victory Drive Property”) for $142,000. He financed $115,588 of the purchase price for the Victory Drive Property and, after application of a $1,000 deposit he had made and a $5,000 seller’s assistance, he was required to bring $28,218.61 to the closing to complete the transaction. The source of funds used by Shane for both the deposit and the closing was the Lybrook’s joint bank account into which the net proceeds from the sale of the Lake Pleasant Property had been placed. The Parties have stipulated that the Victory Drive Property transaction thus amounted to a transfer of assets from the Debtor to Shane of $14,609 (($1000 + $28, 218) + 2).

Regarding the vehicle transactions, on April 26, 2011, the Debtor and Shane jointly purchased a 2004 Mazda RX-8 (“Mazda”) for $12,938.50. On May 7, 2012, Shane purchased a 2012 Chrysler Town and Country (“Chrysler”) financed through Ally Bank and titled solely in his name. On February 4, 2013, Shane satisfied Ally Bank’s lien on the Chrysler by paying $27,581.06, which he obtained from the net sale proceeds of the Lake Pleasant Road Property retained in the couple’s joint bank account.

On March 29, 2013, the Mazda was traded in for a 2013 Dodge Ram Truck leased in Shane’s name only. The trade-in value of the Mazda in this transaction was $7,600. On September 7, 2013, Shane traded the Chrysler for a 2007 Mercury Mountaineer (“Mercury”) titled jointly in the name of the Lybrooks. On January 18, 2014, the Mercury was traded in for a 2014 Jeep Cherokee leased in Shane’s name only.

The Trustee argues that the record clearly demonstrates that the Debtor caused or knowingly permitted $17,590.53 of her assets to be transferred to Shane as a result of these vehicle transactions. This amount is comprised of one-half of the $27,581.06 loan payoff to Ally Bank for the Chrysler and one-half of the $7,600 trade in value on the Mazda.

In total, as an aggregate result of the real estate sales and vehicle transactions outlined above, the Trustee contends that during the relevant period of time the Debtor transferred at least a total of $32,199.53 to Shane with the intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors by effectively converting that value of jointly held property into individual property of Shane.

(B) As Relevant to Section 727(a) (k.)

Schedules A and B of the Debtor’s Petition state that at the time of her bankruptcy filing she did not own any real property, furs or jewelry. She listed household goods and furnishings owned by her as having a total value of merely $1,500. Her Schedule B indicated that she was not owed any tax refund nor did it disclose entitlement to any monies dues as a result of a criminal restitution order.

According to the Debtor’s Schedule F, the Debtor was faced with $84,257 of unsecured debt at the time of filing.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
544 B.R. 537, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/melaragno-v-lybrook-in-re-lybrook-pawb-2015.