Rodgers v. Fallon (In re Fallon)

29 B.R. 491, 1983 Bankr. LEXIS 6595, 10 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 1054
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 17, 1983
DocketBankruptcy No. 81-989; Adv. No. 81-403
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 29 B.R. 491 (Rodgers v. Fallon (In re Fallon)) 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
Rodgers v. Fallon (In re Fallon), 29 B.R. 491, 1983 Bankr. LEXIS 6595, 10 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 1054 (Fla. 1983).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND MEMORANDUM OPINION

ALEXANDER L. PASKAY, Chief Judge.

THIS IS a contested discharge proceeding and the matter in controversy is the [492]*492dischargeability, vel non, of a debt allegedly owing to Dr. Richard Rodgers, the Plaintiff who instituted the above-captioned adversary proceeding. The claim of non-dis-chargeability is asserted against Francis Stewart Fallon, Jr., the Debtor, who seeks relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Inasmuch as this is a civil proceeding arising in a case filed under Title 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, by virtue of the Emergency Local Rule (d)(2) it can be resolved by the entry of a final dispositive order by this Court which will become effective upon the entry by the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court, unless stayed on an appropriate motion either by the undersigned Bankruptcy Judge or by a District Judge.

It is the contention of the Plaintiff that the Debtor obtained money from the Plaintiff under false pretenses or by actual fraud. Thus, according to the Plaintiff, the debt owed by the Debtor to the Plaintiff should be excepted from the protective provisions of the general bankruptcy discharge by virtue of § 523(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code.

The facts relevant and germane to the resolution of this factually complicated controversy, as established at the final eviden-tiary hearing, can be summarized as follows:

The Plaintiff, Dr. Rodgers, is a practicing physician and investor in various properties, primarily properties that qualify as tax shelters. The Defendant, Mr. Fallon, was a principal in numerous corporate entities including the three most relevant to this controversy, Blackhawk International Corp., Blackhawk Productions, Inc., and Global Films, Inc. The Defendant was the president and controlling stockholder of Black-hawk International and of Blackhawk Productions. He was also one of four organizers of Global Films, a corporation formed to purchase the film, “The Intruder,” and with the intent of making additional purchases in the future for resale to investors seeking tax shelters.

Intruder Ltd. (Intruder) is a limited partnership in which Chris Robinson, a well-known movie actor was a general partner. Intruder was the owner and producer of a full-length motion picture entitled “The Intruder,” starring Mickey Rooney, Yvonne DeCarlo, Ted Cassidy and Chris Robinson.

On May 7, 1976, Global purported to grant a 90 day option to purchase “The Intruder” to D.C.T.I. (Pi’s Exh. # 5). D.C. T.I. is a Florida limited partnership composed of physicians and formed primarily to acquire properties to be used as tax shelters. Global, however, did not actually acquire an option from Intruder until May 5, 1976, three days after the Global-D.C.T.I. option agreement (Pi’s Exh. # 13). Furthermore, the option obtained by Global from Intruder was a 60 day option; Global, however, purported to assign a 90 day option to D.C.T.I.

The Defendant learned of Plaintiff’s interest in purchasing “The Intruder,” and arranged a showing of the film. On July 14, 1976, after Global’s 60 day option had expired, and after Global had already assigned its option to D.C.T.I., Blackhawk International Corp. entered into an acquisition agreement whereby it purported to convey all right, title and interest in “The Intruder” to the Plaintiff (Pi’s Exh. # 1). In addition, Blackhawk unequivocally warranted that Blackhawk:

“is the exclusive and sole owner of all right, title and interest in the film and the territory, including, without limitation, all rights in and to the physical properties, the literary, dramatic and musical material contained in the film, and the right of distribution, marketing and exhibition of the film; and seller is able, without restrictions, to enter into the within agreement for the purchase of all of seller’s rights, as herein set forth."

It is without dispute that at the time this acquisition agreement was signed, Black-hawk had no cognizable legal or equitable ownership interest in “The Intruder.” The assignment by Intruder to Global was no longer in force at the time Global purported to assign its interest in the option to Black-hawk. The fact of the matter is, and it is without dispute, that at the time the acquisition agreement was signed there was still [493]*493an outstanding valid option in favor of D.C. T.I. Be that as it may, even if one assumes that Blackhawk still had some form of option to purchase “The Intruder,” there is no question that Blackhawk did not own the film “The Intruder.”

It further appears that Global’s right to obtain “The Intruder” (Exh. # 13), was not co-extensive with the terms under which “The Intruder” was sold to the Plaintiff by Blackhawk (Exh. # 1). The acquisition agreement (Pi’s Exh. # 1) gave the Plaintiff the following principal rights:

(a) Dr. Rodgers was to have the sole right to distribute or select the distributor for “The Intruder,” (Section 3F);
(b) Dr. Rodgers was to receive the first $261,000 net proceeds from the movie before any retirement to pay any monies to Intruder Ltd. and when such monies were to be paid, Dr. Rodgers would be entitled to receive 55% of the net proceeds whereas Intruder, Ltd. would only receive 45% of the net proceeds (Section 5C).

It is without dispute that, in spite of the foregoing requirements of the contract, the film could not be conveyed to the Plaintiff simply because contrary requirements contained in the option granted by Intruder to Global (Exh. # 13), provided that Pyramid Pictures (Pyramid) should be the guaranteed distributor of “The Intruder,” as opposed to the provision in the acquisition agreement which granted the Plaintiff the sole right to select the distributor (See paragraph 5 at page 5 of Exhibit # 13). In addition, the option further provided that immediately upon the payment of the theater rentals, Intruder Ltd. and the Plaintiff would split the income on a 50/50 basis, which is again contrary to the provisions in the acquisition agreement which provided that the Plaintiff should receive the first $261,000 net income after the theater rentals generated by “The Intruder” with a 55/45 split thereafter (See paragraph 5 at page 5, Exhibit # 13).

It is without dispute that Plaintiff paid as downpayment for the film the sum of $170,000 to Blackhawk. While it is unclear from the record whether or not the monies paid by the Plaintiff were paid directly to Blackhawk International or Productions or to some other entity controlled by the Debt- or, there is no question that the Debtor was the controlling principal in all these entities, including Global, the original holder of the option to purchase “The Intruder.”

In spite of the Plaintiff’s inability to obtain a satisfactory resolution of this problem, the Plaintiff maintained further contact with the Debtor and negotiated the purchase of another motion picture entitled “Combat Killers,” which was supposed to be the replacement for “The Intruder,” provided the Plaintiff would pay an additional $15,000. It appears that “Combat Killers” was not a new picture. It had been on the market for three or four years before, without success of any sale or sale of distribution rights in the United States and could have been obtained in the open market for about $25,000 plus brokerage and other fees.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
29 B.R. 491, 1983 Bankr. LEXIS 6595, 10 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 1054, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodgers-v-fallon-in-re-fallon-flmb-1983.