Roth v. Carlyle Real Estate Ltd. Partnership VII

472 N.E.2d 836, 129 Ill. App. 3d 433, 84 Ill. Dec. 699, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 2596
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedDecember 11, 1984
DocketNo. 83—1538
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 472 N.E.2d 836 (Roth v. Carlyle Real Estate Ltd. Partnership VII) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roth v. Carlyle Real Estate Ltd. Partnership VII, 472 N.E.2d 836, 129 Ill. App. 3d 433, 84 Ill. Dec. 699, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 2596 (Ill. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

JUSTICE PERLIN

delivered the opinion of the court:

In November 1978, Sheri Roth (plaintiff) and Donald Lewis filed a complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief against Carlyle Real Estate Limited Partnership VII (Carlyle) in which they sought to have the legality and validity of their investment in Carlyle determined by the court. They asked that Carlyle be ordered to return to them their original investment and any dividends due thereon.

In March 1979, Timothy J. McGreevy filed a petition to intervene. He alleged that the funds used by plaintiff and Donald Lewis to purchase their limited partnership interest in Carlyle were funds belonging to Worm World, Inc. (WW), a Colorado corporation. Mc-Greevy had been appointed receiver for WW by the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota in 1978. Uncontradicted documents filed by McGreevy indicated that in July 1978, a class action lawsuit was filed in that Federal court on behalf of all investors in WW, alleging that Tom Roth (husband of plaintiff Sheri Roth) and Donald Lewis were officers of WW; that they and WW had engaged in the selling of “securities” in WW, in violation of both Federal and South Dakota law; and that they had made false and fraudulent misrepresentations to investors. The Federal judge in that case had appointed McGreevy receiver, authorizing him to take all necessary steps to collect obligations owing to WW. In August 1980, judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiff class against Lewis, Tom Roth and WW in the amount of $737,571.24, the aggregate sum paid by the known class member investors in WW.

McGreevy also filed with the trial court in the instant action undisputed documents showing that in April 1979, Tom Roth and Donald Lewis had been indicted by a United States grand jury in the State of Colorado and charged with six counts of fraud. The indictments charged that from June 1976 to December 1978 Roth and Lewis:

“devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud and for obtaining money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises from that class of persons who could be induced to sign a Purchase Agreement and pay sums of money specified therein, agreeing to be an earthwork ‘Grower’ for Worm World, Inc. *** well knowing at the time that said pretenses, representations and promises hereinafter specifically described would be and were false and fraudulent when made ***.”

On October 5, 1979, Tom Roth pleaded guilty to one count of fraud, and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. (The disposition of Lewis’ case is not noted in this record.)

McGreevy contended that plaintiff’s and Donald Lewis’ interests in Carlyle were purchased with money belonging to WW. (Roth purchased one 50-share interest for $50,000 in November 1977, and a second 50-share interest for the same sum in January 1978. Lewis purchased his 50-share interest for $50,000 in November 1977.) Mc-Greevy requested the trial court to impose a constructive trust in favor of the receiver on those partnership interests and all monetary benefits arising out of those interests.

Over plaintiff’s and Lewis’ objections, the trial court granted McGreevy’s petition to intervene.

In responding to McGreevy’s request to admit facts, the following was admitted by plaintiff:

“On November 18, 1977, Donald L. Lewis caused funds to be withdrawn from the account of Worm World, Inc. in the total of $50,000.00, said fund payable to the order of Don L. Lewis or otherwise to be used for his benefit. On November 18, 1977 and on January 25, 1978 Tom Roth caused funds to be withdrawn from the account of Worm World, Inc. in separate withdrawals of $50,000.00 on the aforementioned dates. These funds were transferred for the use and benefit of Sheri A. Roth. Sheri A. Roth used those funds to purchase, on two separate occasions, at the aforesaid dates, 50 interests in Carlyle Real Estate Limited for her own use and benefit.”

Plaintiff further admitted that her shares in Carlyle were purchased “solely” with the funds withdrawn from WW by her husband.

In May 1982, the trial court granted McGreevy’s motion for summary judgment as to Donald Lewis. (Lewis did not appeal from that judgment, and his effort to join in Roth’s subsequent appeal in the instant case was denied by this court.)

In February 1983, McGreevy filed a motion for summary judgment against plaintiff based primarily on admissions by plaintiff and the aforestated Colorado and South Dakota court documents. The trial court granted the motion. Plaintiff then filed a motion to vacate the summary judgment. The trial court denied her motion and, finding that it contained untrue statements made without reasonable cause, awarded McGreevy $1,000 in attorney fees.

On appeal, plaintiff contends that summary judgment should not have been entered. She appears to contend that there exist material questions of fact with regard to whether her husband was “entitled” to the money he withdrew from the WW account and then transferred to her and with regard to whether she was the recipient of an untainted “gift” from her husband. Plaintiff also contends that under the facts of this case the court should not have imposed a constructive trust.

The standards governing the determination of motions for summary judgment have been often stated:

“It is established that summary judgment should be granted only when the pleadings, depositions and admissions on file, together with the affidavits (if any) show there was no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. [Citations.] However, summary judgment is a drastic remedy and should be granted only when the movant’s right thereto is clear and free from doubt [citation], and, in passing on the motion, the trial court must construe the documents presented strictly against the movant and liberally in favor of the opponent [citation]. Further, the opponent may rely upon reasonable inferences which may be drawn from the materials considered on the motion in the determination of whether a genuine issue of material fact exists. [Citation.]” Molloy v. Santucci Construction Co. (1979), 78 Ill. App. 3d 249, 251.

It need be mentioned that both in the trial court and in this court plaintiff is unable to state with certainty the material facts she finds to be in issue. It appears she is now contending that there existed a factual issue as to whether Tom Roth was entitled to the $100,000 he took from WW’s account and transferred to his wife. First, we observe that this contention was not raised at the trial level and, therefore, may not be raised on appeal. (Witek v. Leisure Technology Midwest, Inc. (1976), 39 Ill. App. 3d 637, 350 N.E.2d 252.) However, even if it could be shown that this contention was suggested below, we would find it to be without merit.

First, in response to a request to admit that the funds withdrawn by Tom Roth from WW and then transferred to plaintiff “consisted of monies received by investors and deposited into the account of WW,” plaintiff first so admitted.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

APS Holmes Group, LLC v. Sorkin
2023 IL App (1st) 211668-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
Smithberg v. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
735 N.E.2d 560 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2000)
Fritzsche v. Union Pacific Railroad
707 N.E.2d 721 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1999)
Fritzsche v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1999
Savage v. Cochran
259 Ill. App. 3d 328 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
Matter of Estate of Savage
631 N.E.2d 797 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
American Garden Homes, Inc. v. Gelbart Fur Dressing
606 N.E.2d 106 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
Frankel v. Otiswear, Inc.
576 N.E.2d 955 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
Anthony J. Amendola v. Gary R. Bayer
907 F.2d 760 (Seventh Circuit, 1990)
Central Production Credit Ass'n v. Hans
545 N.E.2d 1063 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
Suttles v. Vogel
533 N.E.2d 901 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1988)
Muhammad v. First Pacific Bank
520 N.E.2d 795 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
In Re Estate of Muhammad
520 N.E.2d 795 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
Harrington v. Chicago Sun-Times
502 N.E.2d 332 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1986)
Garde v. Country Life Insurance Co.
498 N.E.2d 302 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1986)
People Ex Rel. Daley v. Warren Motors, Inc.
483 N.E.2d 427 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1985)
Roth v. CARLYLE REAL ESTATE LTD. PART.
472 N.E.2d 836 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
472 N.E.2d 836, 129 Ill. App. 3d 433, 84 Ill. Dec. 699, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 2596, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roth-v-carlyle-real-estate-ltd-partnership-vii-illappct-1984.