Miller v. Washabaugh (In re Washabaugh)

572 B.R. 141
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. North Carolina
DecidedJune 30, 2017
DocketCase No. 14-50106; Adversary No. 15-06031
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 572 B.R. 141 (Miller v. Washabaugh (In re Washabaugh)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Washabaugh (In re Washabaugh), 572 B.R. 141 (N.C. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Catharine R. Aron, UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE

The Court heard arguments in this matter on May 3, 2017, in Winston-Salem, [146]*146North Carolina. The Defendant, Susan Washabaugh, moved for summary judgment or partial judgment as to the Bankruptcy Administrator’s Complaint, which seeks revocation of the Defendant’s Chapter 7 discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 727(d)(1) (the “Complaint”). The Defendant filed a Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. # 42] and Brief in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment on June 1, 2016 [Doc. #43] (“Defendant’s Motion”). The Plaintiff, the Bankruptcy Administrator (the “BA”), filed a Response [Doc. # 60] and Brief in Opposition to the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment on July 1, 2016 [Doc. #61] (the “BA’s Response”), and the Defendant filed a Reply in Support of the Summary Judgment Motion on July 13, 2016 [Doc. # 61] (the “Defendant’s Reply”). After this Court denied the parties’ Motion to Approve Settlement Agreement by Order entered on April 27, 2017, the Defendant’s Motion was scheduled for hearing (the “Hearing”).

At the Hearing, Robert E. Price, Jr., appeared on behalf of the BA, and John F. Bloss appeared on behalf of the Defendant. Having reviewed the file and considered the arguments of counsel, the Court will deny the Defendant’s Motion for the reasons that follow.

JURISDICTION

The Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 151, 157 and 1334, and Local Rule 83.11 of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. This is a core proceeding within 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(J). '

BACKGROUND

The following are the undisputed facts concerning summary judgment as set out in the parties’ filings and oral arguments. Prior to filing bankruptcy, the Defendant had been employed by Wake Forest Baptist Health/N.C. Baptist Hospital (the “Hospital”) as the Director of Volunteer Services. [Defendant’s Motion, at p.2; BA’s Response, at p.2; Doc. # 43-1, at p.2 (the ‘Washabaugh Affidavit”) ]. Over a period of at least two years, the Defendant made personal purchases for either herself or her daughter using the Hospital’s credit card or vendor account and did not reimburse the Hospital. [Defendant’s Motion, at p.4-5; BA’s Response, at p.3; Defendant’s Affidavit, at p.3]. In addition to her work for the Hospital, the Defendant also worked as a commissioned salesperson for Thirty-One Company, which sold handbags and other items. [Defendant’s Motion, at p.3; BA’s Response, at p.3; Defendant’s Affidavit, at p.3]. ^ During her employment with the Hospital, the Defendant made purchases from Thirty-One using the Hospital’s credit card for gifts to various volunteers, employees, and other entities; she received a commission for approximately $130,000 worth of items sold. [Defendant’s Motion, at 5-6; BA’s Response, at p.2-3]. During an internal audit in 2013, Hospital personnel, including Yates Lackey, the Director of Internal Audit, interviewed the Defendant concerning numerous personal purchases made with the Hospital’s credit card or through the Hospital’s vendor account. [Affidavit of Yates Lackey, Doc. # 61-2 (“Lackey Affidavit”); Washabaugh Affidavit, at 3]. As a result of the initial interview and additional meetings, the Defendant turned over, and the auditors found, numerous items in her home and office which she claimed were for volunteers, including a computer, as well as items from Tiffany & Co. and Pandora. [Lackey Affidavit]. The Defendant’s employment with the Hospital ended in March of 2013 as a result of these personal purchases. [Defendant’s Motion, at 2; BA’s Response, at p.2].

[147]*147Upon discovery of the Defendant’s fraudulent activities in 2013, the Hospital filed an employee dishonesty claim with its insurance company, National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA, (“National Union”). [Defendant’s Motion, at p.5]. National Union retained RGL Forensics (“RGL”) to investigate the manner and extent of the alleged fraud. Id. RGL concluded, after interviewing employees and analyzing financial statements, that the Hospital’s losses due to the Defendant’s employee dishonesty totaled $1,009,347. Id at 6. RGL summarized its findings in a report to the Hospital (the “Report”) [Defendant’s Motion, Exhibit 5].1

[148]*148The parties dispute the existence and purpose of many of the Defendant’s purchases. The parties also dispute to whom the Defendant gave' the property once it was purchased, but the parties do not dispute that certain items were shipped directly to the Defendant’s daughter or kept by the Defendant. [Defendant’s Motion, at p.4-5]. Specifically, the parties do not dispute that the Defendant used the Hospital’s credit card to purchase the following property for which she failed to reimburse her employer and intended for personal use: a Pottery Barn teen rug; an Apple IPhone gift card; an IKEA bookcase; a Pottery Barn teen lamp, shade and mirror; an Apple Store gift card; Dallas Cowboy boots; two ladies’ dresses from Nord-strom; and a personalized t-shirt. [Defendant’s Motion, at 5; Defendant’s Affidavit, at ¶ 9], In light of these eight purchases, the Defendant was charged in November, 2013, with obtaining property by false pretenses under North Carolina law. [Defendant’s Motion, at p.5, Complaint, Exhibit A & B], A hearing in the District Court of Forsyth County was scheduled for December 19, 2013. [Complaint, Exhibit A].

About two months after these charges were brought, and almost a year after she stopped working at the Hospital, the Defendant filed a Chapter 7 petition with this Court on January 31, 2014. [Case # 14-50106, Doc. 1; AP Case # 15-06031, Defendant’s Motion, at p.l; BA’s Response, at p.3]. The Defendant listed the Hospital as an unsecured, nonpriority creditor in Schedule F of her petition. The description accompanying the claim states the Defendant incurred the debt in 2013, for “medical/dental” services in the amount of $35.00. [Case # 14-50106, Doc. # 1, p. 20]. In her Statement of Financial Affairs, the Defendant listed income for the two years preceding her filing as follows:

[149]*149AMOUNT SOURCE
$ 1,730 YTD employment income
$45,000 2013 (est)
$81,000 2012

In Schedule B, the Defendant listed personal property in the amount of $4,320.00, including clothing and personal effects in the amount of $500.00, jewelry. in the amount of $500.00, and electronics in the amount of $225.00. The Defendant scheduled $98,495.00 of unsecured, non-priority debt. The case was deemed a “no asset” Chapter 7. The Hospital did not file a proof of claim.

The deadline to object to the Defendant’s discharge was May 6, 2014. The Defendant received a discharge on May 15, 2014. The case was closed on May 21, 2014.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
572 B.R. 141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-washabaugh-in-re-washabaugh-ncmb-2017.