Salomon v. Kaiser (In re Kaiser)

722 F.2d 1574
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedNovember 18, 1983
DocketNo. 96, Docket 83-5019
StatusPublished
Cited by171 cases

This text of 722 F.2d 1574 (Salomon v. Kaiser (In re Kaiser)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Salomon v. Kaiser (In re Kaiser), 722 F.2d 1574 (2d Cir. 1983).

Opinion

MESKILL, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal from a decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Werker, J., dated April 11, 1983, 32 B.R. 701, affirming a decision by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Lifland, J., dated January 17, 1983.

The bankruptcy judge below denied appellant Gerald Kaiser a discharge in bankruptcy on the grounds that (a) he transferred property with intent to hinder, delay or defraud his existing and future creditors within one year before the filing of the bankruptcy petition in violation of 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(A) (1982); and (b) he knowingly, willfully and fraudulently made false oaths in his petition and schedules in contravention of 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(4)(A) (1982). In addition, the judge impressed a constructive trust on Florida property held in the name of appellant Joan Kaiser to avoid unjust enrichment of Gerald Kaiser to the detriment of his creditors.

Appellants challenge these decisions and the jurisdiction of both the bankruptcy court and the district court to hear this dispute. We reject all of appellants’ contentions and affirm.

I

The bankruptcy judge found the following facts. In 1968, appellants Gerald and Joan Kaiser lived in Lawrence, New York, in a residence owned by Joan Kaiser’s parents. Gerald Kaiser made all of the mortgage payments on the property from that date until the property was sold. In 1970, in exchange for $12,000 paid by Gerald Kaiser to his in-laws, they transferred title to the property to their daughter Joan. Until the property was sold in 1978, only Gerald Kaiser’s funds were used to pay for the expenses and improvements to the residence.

In October, 1978 Joan Kaiser took title to residential property in Miami, Florida. Joan Kaiser paid no financial consideration for the transfer to her of the Florida property; the $50,000 cash down payment was provided solely from Gerald Kaiser’s funds. Both appellants executed a purchase money mortgage in the amount of $245,000. Appellants then moved into the Florida residence.

At that time, Gerald Kaiser had no cognizable assets and had outstanding liabilities of at least $494,901.32, the majority of which remained outstanding at the time of the filing of the petition in bankruptcy.

Gerald Kaiser continued to exercise full dominion and control over the property. He claimed deductions for real estate taxes paid in computing taxable income on his individual federal income tax returns for 1979 through 1981. He listed the property among his assets on a personal financial statement given to a Florida bank when he sought to obtain a loan.

Although Gerald Kaiser’s funds were used for mortgage payments and maintenance and improvement of the Florida property, these payments were not made directly from accounts in his name. Rather, they were made from the accounts of corporations that he alone created and [1576]*1576funded. These corporations conducted no business whatsoever.

In his February 1981 bankruptcy petition, Gerald Kaiser stated that New York was his state of domicile for the 180-day period preceding the filing of the petition. In May 1982 he stated under oath at the Adjourned Meeting of Creditors that his domicile was New York. In spite of this, in an affidavit in support of his motion to dismiss the appellee’s complaint dated July 9, 1982, he swore under penalty of perjury that he had been a domiciliary of Florida for four years. He made a similar statement in a subsequent affidavit dated August 17, 1982.

Although Kaiser listed in his amended schedule several creditors to whom his obligations arose after the filing of the petition, he omitted certain obligations and assets. He failed to note in his petition his obligation on the Florida mortgage. He also failed to list as assets any interest in moneys held in corporate accounts which he controlled, including those from which he paid the expenses of the Florida residence, despite the fact that he made deposits of his funds into these accounts within one year of the petition. These statements were made under oath.

The bankruptcy judge found that Gerald Kaiser had transferred funds and incurred obligations for the purchase, maintenance and improvement of premises in Florida and New York with actual intent to hinder, delay and defraud existing and future creditors. The judge stated that the transfers Gerald Kaiser made and obligations he incurred constituted fraudulent conveyances under 11 U.S.C. § 548(a) (1982), N.Y.Debt. and Cred.Law § 276 (McKinney 1945) and Fla.Stat.Ann. § 726.01 (1969). He determined that Joan Kaiser either knew or had reasonable cause to know of Gerald Kaiser’s actual intent. The judge ruled that the trustee in bankruptcy, pursuant to 11 .U.S.C. § 548(a)(1), could avoid those transfers and obligations that occurred within one year prior to the filing of the bankruptcy petition. The judge also concluded that the trustee in bankruptcy could avoid these transfers of funds pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 544 (1982) because at all times since the date of purchase of the Florida property, Gerald Kaiser had creditors who could have avoided the transfers.

The bankruptcy judge determined that because Kaiser transferred property without adequate consideration within one year of the filing of the petition with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud his creditors, his discharge should be denied under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(A). He also concluded that Gerald Kaiser knowingly, willfully and fraudulently made false oaths and thus he denied Kaiser’s discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(4)(A). Finally, the judge impressed a constructive trust in favor of the trustee upon the Florida premises held in the name of Joan Kaiser because the retention of the premises would result in unjust enrichment to Kaiser to the detriment of the creditors of the estate.

II

Appellants contend initially that the bankruptcy judge had no jurisdiction to hear the instant dispute and to render a final judgment. They assert that the Supreme Court’s decision in Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co., 458 U.S. 50, 102 S.Ct. 2858, 73 L.Ed.2d 598 (1982) (Marathon), invalidated the bankruptcy jurisdiction of both the bankruptcy courts and the district courts granted in 28 U.S.C. § 1471 (Supp. IV 1980). They claim that even if the Court did not strike down the jurisdictional grant to the district courts, those courts could not enact Emergency Bankruptcy Rule I (Rule) to “revive” the bankruptcy courts and empower them to hear bankruptcy disputes and related matters.

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Bluebook (online)
722 F.2d 1574, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/salomon-v-kaiser-in-re-kaiser-ca2-1983.