Mukamal v. BMO Harris Bank N.A. ex rel. Merger to M & I Marshall & Ilsley Bank (In re Palm Beach Finance Partners, L.P.)

501 B.R. 792
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida.
DecidedNovember 4, 2013
DocketCASE NO.: 09-36379-BKC-PGH; ADV. NO.: 11-03015-BKC-PGH-A
StatusPublished

This text of 501 B.R. 792 (Mukamal v. BMO Harris Bank N.A. ex rel. Merger to M & I Marshall & Ilsley Bank (In re Palm Beach Finance Partners, L.P.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mukamal v. BMO Harris Bank N.A. ex rel. Merger to M & I Marshall & Ilsley Bank (In re Palm Beach Finance Partners, L.P.), 501 B.R. 792 (Fla. 2013).

Opinion

CHAPTER 11

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO STRIKE JURY DEMAND (ECF NO. 140)

Paul G. Hyman, Chief Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court

THIS MATTER came before the Court for hearing upon the Motion to Strike Jury Demand (the “Motion to Strike”) (ECF No. 140) filed by BMO Harris Bank N.A. as Successor by Merger to M & I Marshall & Ilsley Bank (the “Defendant”). The Motion to Strike seeks an order striking the Jury Demand (ECF No. 109) filed by Barry Mukamal (the “Plaintiff’) in his capacity as Liquidating Trustee for the Palm Beach Finance Liquidating Trust and the Palm Beach Finance II Liquidating Trust. For the reasons discussed below, the Court denies the Defendant’s Motion to Strike.

BACKGROUND

According to the allegations of the Amended Complaint (ECF No. 65), Palm Beach Finance Partners, L.P. and Palm Beach Finance II, L.P. (collectively, the “Debtors”) were investors in the purchase financing operation run by Thomas Petters and Petters Company, Inc. (collectively, “Petters”). In soliciting investments, Pet-ters represented to investors that investment funds would be used to finance consumer electronic merchandise transactions. Petters claimed he would arrange for the sale and delivery of consumer electronic merchandise from suppliers to “big box” retailers, such as Costco and Sam’s Club. Based upon these representations, the Debtors and other investors wired funds directly to the bank accounts of Petters’ two primary suppliers — Nationwide International Resources, Inc. (“Nationwide”) and Enchanted Family Buying Company (“Enchanted,” and together with Nationwide, the “Suppliers”). After receiving these wire transfers, the Suppliers were expected to ship the consumer electronic merchandise to retailers. The retailers were then to send payment for the merchandise to one of Petters’ depository accounts, which was maintained by Petters with the Defendant (the “M & I Account”). In theory, those retailer funds were to be used first, to re-pay investors and second, to pay a commission to Petters.

Petters, however, was not operating a legitimate purchase financing operation. Petters was running a Ponzi scheme1— there were no purchase orders, no merchandise, no retailers, no sales to any retailers, and no payments from any retailers. Instead, according to the allegations of the Amended Complaint, after receiving wire transfer funds from investors, the Suppliers would deduct a commission and then remit the remaining funds to the M & I Account. Thereafter, the funds were [796]*796allegedly used to repay earlier investors and to fund Petters’ lavish lifestyle.

The Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant, as Petters’ primary depository bank, is liable to the Plaintiff for allegedly fraudulent transfers received from the Suppliers. The Plaintiff, in his Amended Complaint, asserts four causes of action2 against the Defendant: (1) avoidance and recovery of fraudulent transfers pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 541 and Florida Statute § 726.105; (2) avoidance and recovery of fraudulent transfers pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(1)(B) and § 550; (3) avoidance and recovery of fraudulent transfers pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 544 and Florida Statutes § 726.105(()(b) and § 726.108; and (4) avoidance and recovery of fraudulent transfers pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 544 and Florida Statutes § 726.106 and § 726.108.

Citing the conventional fraudulent transfer provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, Counts 2, 3, and 4 seek to recover from the Defendant the same category of transfers: monetary transfers made by the Debtors to the Suppliers and then by the Suppliers to the Defendant (the “Conventional Fraudulent Transfer Claims”). Count 1, on the other hand, seeks to recover fraudulent transfers made by the Suppliers to the Defendant on a relatively uncommon theory. According to the Plaintiffs allegations, prior to filing for bankruptcy protection, the Debtors possessed state law fraudulent transfer claims against the Defendant by virtue of: (1) the Debtors’ alleged status as pre-petition creditors of the Suppliers; and (2) state fraudulent transfer laws which enable a creditor of a trans-feror to seek avoidance and recovery of a fraudulent transfer from a third party transferee. When the Debtors’ filed for bankruptcy protection, all of the Debtors’ pre-petition claims became property of the Debtors’ bankruptcy estate pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 541. The Plaintiff, as the Debtors’ Liquidating Trustee, was thus able to step into the shoes of the Debtors and assert the pre-petition claims which the Debtors themselves could have asserted prior to filing for bankruptcy. Therefore, Count 1 (the “Section 541 Fraudulent Transfer Claim”) differs from the Conventional Fraudulent Transfer Claims in that it seeks avoidance and recovery of monetary transfers made by one third party, the Suppliers, to another third party, the Defendant, without any allegation that the funds at issue are traceable to property of the Debtors.

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9015, the Plaintiff filed a timely demand for a jury trial on “all issues so triable.” See PL’s Jury Demand. The Plaintiff and the Defendant also filed their Consent to Bankruptcy Court Conducting Jury Trial (the “Joint Consent”) (ECF No. 110), in which the parties consented “to a trial by jury in this adversary proceeding of all issues so triable, by and before the Bankruptcy Court.” Subsequently, the Defendant filed the Motion to Strike now before the Court, asserting that the Plaintiff, as the Debtors’ Liquidating Trustee, has no right to a jury trial on any of the fraudulent transfer claims. The Plaintiff filed a Response in Opposition to [797]*797the Defendant’s Motion to Strike (the “Defendant’s Response”) (ECF No. 152), arguing that the Defendant’s Motion to Strike should be denied for two reasons: (1) the Defendant consented to a jury trial on all claims by filing, along with the Plaintiff, the Joint Consent, and cannot now withdraw that consent absent the Plaintiffs permission; and (2) under the Seventh Amendment, the Plaintiff is entitled to a jury trial on all four fraudulent transfer claims. After conducting a hearing on the Motion to Strike (the “Hearing”), the Court took the matter under advisement.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

I. The Joint Consent is not determinative

To begin with, the Plaintiff contends that the Defendant’s Motion to Strike must be denied because the Joint Consent filed by both the Plaintiff and the Defendant constitutes the Defendant’s consent to a jury trial or an independent jury demand. However, as the Court stated on the record at the hearing, the Court finds that the Defendant did not demand a jury trial or consent to a jury trial on all issues and claims by filing the Joint Consent.

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Bluebook (online)
501 B.R. 792, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mukamal-v-bmo-harris-bank-na-ex-rel-merger-to-m-i-marshall-ilsley-flsb-2013.