Sergeant v. S & V Trust (In re Vorhes)

569 B.R. 767
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Iowa
DecidedJune 16, 2017
DocketBankruptcy No. 16-01577; Adversary No. 17-09001
StatusPublished

This text of 569 B.R. 767 (Sergeant v. S & V Trust (In re Vorhes)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sergeant v. S & V Trust (In re Vorhes), 569 B.R. 767 (Iowa 2017).

Opinion

RULING ON S & V TRUST’S THIRD-PARTY COMPLAINT AND S & V TRUST’S MOTION TO STRIKE

THAD J. COLLINS, CHIEF BANKRUPTCY JUDGE

This matter came on for trial on April 21, 2017 in Cedar Rapids. Chad Swanson and Dan Childers appeared for Lynn Kingery as executor of the Bernice Gill estate (“Ms. Kingery”). Tom Lawlor appeared for Lincoln Savings Bank as executor of the Irene Vorhes estate (“LSB”). Ron Martin, Joe Day, and Aaron Blair appeared for Jean Westendorf as Trustee of S & V Trust (“S & V Trust”). Eric Lam appeared for Chapter 7 Trustee David Sergeant. Pat Vickers appeared for Vorhes Ltd. The Court heard testimony and evidence. The parties filed briefs. Although their counsel appeared at trial, neither the Chapter 7 Trustee nor Vorhes Ltd. offered evidence, made argument, or filed briefs.

After the briefs were filed, S & V Trust filed a motion to strike portions of LSB’s brief. The Court held a hearing on that motion on May 25, 2017 and took it under advisement with the matters from trial. These are core proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2).

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

This case is about the ownership of stock in Vorhes Ltd., a family farm company. In particular, the Court is called on to determine whether Bill Vorhes (Chapter 7 Debtor) owns any of the stock and, if so, how much. The parties disagree about who is a shareholder and, in turn, who owns and/or controls how many shares. In determining who is a shareholder, the parties disagree about whether two transactions, with respect to that stock, were effective. The first involves an alleged transfer of stock by Bill to a trust he purported to establish called S & V Trust. The second involves the alleged cancellation of some shares of stock by Vorhes Ltd.

The Court is also asked to resolve the issue of whether Vorhes stock that was specifically devised in the will of the family matriarch, Irene Vorhes, remains in Irene’s estate, or whether it automatically transferred to her children, including Bill, by operation of a statutory deadline under Iowa law. For the following reasons, the Court concludes the Bill Vorhes bankruptcy estate owns shares he attempted to transfer to S & V Trust, and the Irene Vorhes’ share of stock remained in her estate at the time relevant to the issues before this Court.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Vern and Irene Vorhes were married and had four children: Bill Vorhes; Pete Vorhes; Jean Vorhes Westendorf; and Bernice Vorhes Gill. Vern, Irene, and Bernice have all passed away and the estates of Irene (through LSB) and Bernice (through Lynn Kingery) are involved in this case.

In 1979, Vern and Irene created Vorhes Ltd. (“the company”) as an Iowa corporation for their family farming operation. Vern and Irene owned 20,000 shares in the [771]*771company. During the 1980s, the four Vorhes children each received 2,121 shares of stock in the company through a series of gifts from Vern and Irene. After these transactions, Vern owned 5,758 shares, Irene owned 5,758 shares, and each child owned 2,121 shares.

When Vern died, his will provided that his 5,758 shares be split between his four children, subject to a life estate in favor of Irene. Irene died on December 11, 2010 and her life estate in Vern’s 5,758 shares terminated. As a result, Vern’s 5,758 shares were divided equally between Bill, Jean, Bernice, and Pete, under the terms of Vern’s will. Thus, each of the four Vorhes children then owned 3,560.5 shares consisting of the 2,121 they received previously plus 1,439.5, their quarter share of Vern’s 5,758.

Irene’s will specifically devised the 5,758 shares she owned to be divided between Bill, Jean, and Bernice. Pete was not included because he had previously agreed with the company to surrender all of his shares back to the company — including his shares from Vern — in exchange for some company farmland. Pete now has no stock or interest in the company and is not a part of the company or this dispute.

In January 2011, Bernice and Jean were appointed co-executors of Irene’s estate. In April 2011, Bill became President of Vorhes Ltd. Jean became Vice President and Treasurer.

On September 7, 2011, Bernice brought a shareholder derivative action on behalf of the company in Iowa District Court for Floyd County. Bernice argued that Bill owed the company hundreds of thousands of dollars on a number of personal loans he took and for use of the company’s farmland that he did not pay for.

On March 11, 2013, while the shareholder derivative litigation was still pending, Bill created the S & V Trust. The S & V Trust “Declaration of Trust” itself has some threshold problems. For example, it references an oil and gas lease, as well as a $1 million loan from Jean. The S & V Trust, however, has no interest in oil or gas leases and Jean has not loaned money to S & V Trust. Bill set up the S & V Trust with the assistance of Marvin Pullman, a non-lawyer. Mr. Pullman has since been found to have been engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in Iowa and has been permanently enjoined from doing so anymore.

Bill made himself general manager of S & V Trust. He made Jean a Trustee of S & V Trust. Bill’s grandchildren, Blake Vorhes and Elias Vorhes, are the only specified beneficiaries of S & V Trust. The S & V Trust is not court-supervised.

Bill testified that he transferred 2,121 of his shares of Vorhes Ltd. to S & V Trust when he created it. Bill testified that the 2,121 shares are S & V Trust’s only asset. Bill does not claim he transferred 3560.6 of shares, which is the 2,121 shares plus the 1,439.5 shares from Vern Vorhes. Bill claims all Vern and Irene stock shares were cancelled by the company.

Bill did not give Vorhes Ltd. any written notice of his transfer of Vorhes Ltd. stock to S & V Trust. Bill also did not receive written consent from the other Vorhes Ltd. shareholders to make the transfer. Bill also claims that he also transferred a $700,000 or $800,000 debt that he owed to Jean to the S & V Trust. Bill testified that S & V Trust now owes Jean that money and he does not.

On March 20, 2013, there was a Vorhes Ltd. shareholder meeting. The minutes from that meeting show that Bill did not have actual possession of his shares that he allegedly transferred to S & V Trust. The minutes indicate Bill was going to contact Bernice to get the shares out of a [772]*772lockbox, Bernice eventually got the certificates and gave them to Jean or Bill. Jean assisted Bill .with the attempted transfer to S & V. Jean testified that the certificates issued to S & V Trust were backdated to March 11, 2013 because Bill did not have actual possession of the certificates at the time he transferred them to S & V Trust. The original certificates for Bill’s shares, however, have no notation indicating that they are no longer valid.

After his purported March 2013 transfer to S <& V Trust, Bill continued to attend Vorhes Ltd. meetings as a shareholder and voted his shares. Bill and Jean claim Bill was attending under his authority as General Manager of S & V Trust, and voting the S & V Trust shares he had transferred. -No documentation supports that assertion. The only relevant documents are the minutes from those meetings. The minutes never mention S

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Bluebook (online)
569 B.R. 767, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sergeant-v-s-v-trust-in-re-vorhes-ianb-2017.