Powell v. Judd (In re Judd)

207 B.R. 708, 1997 Bankr. LEXIS 432
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Kansas
DecidedApril 2, 1997
DocketBankruptcy No. 93-22304-11; Adversary No. 94-6035
StatusPublished

This text of 207 B.R. 708 (Powell v. Judd (In re Judd)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Powell v. Judd (In re Judd), 207 B.R. 708, 1997 Bankr. LEXIS 432 (Kan. 1997).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION1

JOHN T. FLANNAGAN, Bankruptcy ' Judge.

James B. Judd gave Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., a $250,000 note guarantied by [710]*710his Mend, Earl W. Powell. When Judd defaulted, Powell paid the note, honoring his guaranty and creating a right of reimbursement from Judd.2 Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(B), such a claim will be excepted from discharge if Powell proves that he gave his guaranty in reasonable reliance on a false written statement of financial condition that Judd published with intent to deceive. Since Judd stipulated that he had given Powell a false balance sheet, Powell needed to prove only two elements to except his reimbursement claim from discharge. He needed to prove that he gave his guaranty by reasonably relying on Judd’s balance sheet and that Judd issued it with intent to deceive. The Court finds that Powell proved Judd intended to deceive, but he failed to prove that in giving his guaranty, he actually or reasonably relied on the false balance sheet.

Powell’s complaint contained six counts, four of which he dismissed, leaving Counts I and IV.3 The previous paragraph of this opinion explained the gravamen of Count I. In Count IV, Powell charged that a liability different from the reimbursement claim should be excepted from discharge under § 523(a)(2)(B). That different liability is Judd’s obligation on the note to Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. Powell makes this charge as the noteholder, which he became by assignment from the bank when he honored his guaranty. At the close of plaintiffs evidence,4 the Court dismissed Count IV, primarily because Powell failed to prove that the bank actually relied on Judd’s balance sheet when it extended the loan, and secondarily because the Court questioned whether as a matter of law Powell could predicate a nondischargeability action on the note he held by assignment.

James B. Judd

When the events triggering this controversy occurred. James B. Judd, a Certified Public Accountant, was the managing partner of the profitable Kansas City, Missouri, office of the national accounting firm. KPMG Peat Marwick. He earned over $500,000 annually, allowing him to participate in various investments, including partnerships and Subchapter “S” corporations with real estate holdings, investments that eventually led to his downfall.

His descent began, for the purposes of this opinion, in May 1992 when the Kansas City Business Journal featured him in a front page article with a lead that read: “At a time when the integrity of the accounting profession has come under unprecedented attack, the managing partner of KPMG Peat Mar-wick’s Kansas City office owes at least $2.5 million to one of the firm’s audit clients.”5 The news story explained that in January 1992, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”) announced a new “independence rule.” With some exceptions, the new rule banned an audit client of a CPA firm (usually a bank) from granting an unsecured loan to a member of the firm. This rule impacted Judd because prior to 1986 he had borrowed from Merchants Bank of Kansas City, an audit client of Peat Mar-wick, to invest in 13 Kansas City real estate partnerships with two partners. One of his partners was Dane Brooksher, the managing partner of Peat Marwick’s Chicago office and [711]*711Judd’s immediate superior.6 Judd’s borrowing left him in potential conflict with the new AICPA pronouncement, unless he could replace any offending loan before July 1, 1992.

Meeting the deadline would have been less of a problem but for Judd’s difficulties with Dane Brooksher. After the 1986 tax law changes eliminated passive loss deductions for real estate investments, Dane Brooksher refused to pay his share of the operating deficits of the partnerships, leaving those costs for Judd to pay. Unfortunately, Judd’s available cash was limited by his pay structure with Peat Marwick. Although -he earned over $500,000 per year, he was only paid an annual salary of $25,000 with a draw on July 15 of each year. This meant he needed additional cash during the year to meet expenses. Consequently, in addition to Merchants Bank, Judd borrowed money from Commerce Bank of Kansas City and Mercantile Bank of Kansas City. All three banks were audit customers of Peat Marwick. Thus, to avoid conflicts that could adversely affect his job, Judd needed to shift these loans to other lenders before July 1, 1992.

Earl W. Powell

Judd’s friend, Earl W. Powell, was a wealthy Miami, Florida, businessman and himself a former Certified Public Accountant. Powell was one of three owners of Trivest Service Corporation of Miami, Florida, and he served as the company’s CEO. Trivest is apparently a venture capital company, for when asked what Trivest did, Powell replied: “We raise pools of capital from wealthy individuals and financial institutions and we invest that money in the equity of private companies that we control.”7 In 1990, Powell’s annual compensation from Trivest was $3,732,500, and his net worth exceeded $17 million. He also held an interest in Bay-shore Partners, an entity through which he developed a banking relationship with Chase Manhattan Bank of Florida, the lender that recommended the loan in this dispute, although the loan was approved and made by an affiliated bank.

Before joining Trivest, Powell was a managing partner with Peat Marwick. He had managed the firm’s Miami, Florida, office and had worked in its New York office. His tenure with Peat Marwick began in 1971 and lasted until he left the firm to enter private business in 1985.

Powell and Judd became acquainted at Peat Marwick and remained friends after Powell left the firm. Joined by their wives, the men met socially once or twice a year from 1985 to 1992. During that time, the Judds visited the Powells at their North Carolina vacation home and on one occasion in 1991 the couples cruised the Florida Keys in a boat Powell had rented. During the voyage, Patricia Judd confided to Powell that her husband was concerned about his investments with Dane Brooksher.

Because of his prior affiliation with Peat Marwick and his friendship with Judd, Powell knew some of Judd’s financial circumstances before the transaction in dispute. Powell testified that he knew Judd was a “high unit” member of the Peat Marwick firm who earned in the neighborhood of half a million a year as the managing partner of the firm’s Kansas City office. He knew Judd was investing in real estate partnerships with the managing partner of Peat Marwick’s Chicago office, Dane Brooksher, a person well known to Powell who had himself invested with Brooksher in past years.8 And from the conversation with Patricia Judd during the boat trip to the Florida Keys, Powell was aware of Judd’s concern about his investments with Dane Brooksher. Also, Powell acknowledged as a former CPA that he was familiar with the AICPA rule change coming on July 1, 1992, and its possible effect on Judd’s employment.

Julie L. Neitzel

Julie L. Neitzel was a vice president of Chase Manhattan Bank of Florida, N.A., a [712]*712loan production bank for Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., of New York City. As a loan producer, the Florida bank processed and recommended loan applications to the New York bank.

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207 B.R. 708, 1997 Bankr. LEXIS 432, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/powell-v-judd-in-re-judd-ksb-1997.