Shubert v. Foulkrod (In re Bentivegna)

597 B.R. 261
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 13, 2019
DocketCase No.: 16-12925 (JKF); Adversary No.: 17-0353
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 597 B.R. 261 (Shubert v. Foulkrod (In re Bentivegna)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shubert v. Foulkrod (In re Bentivegna), 597 B.R. 261 (Pa. 2019).

Opinion

Jean K. FitzSimon, United States Bankruptcy Judge

I. Background

The Plaintiff filed this adversary proceeding against the Defendant seeking to avoid and recover a transfer of property of the Debtor as either a preferential or fraudulent transfer pursuant to §§ 544, 547, and 548 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Defendant filed an Answer to the Complaint. The Plaintiff now moves for summary judgment as to Count II of the Complaint, the claim for avoidance of a transfer as constructive fraud ( 11 U.S.C. §§ 544(b)(1) and 548(a)(1)(B) ). The Defendant has filed a response opposing the motion. For the reasons which follow an Order denying the Motion will be entered.1

II. Summary Judgment Standard

Motions for summary judgment are governed by Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("Fed.R.Civ.P.").2 Pursuant to Rule 56, summary judgment should be granted when the "pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). For purposes of Rule 56, a fact is material if it might affect the outcome of the case. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

The moving party has the burden of demonstrating that no genuine issue of fact exists. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The court's role in deciding a motion for summary judgment is not to weigh evidence, but rather to determine whether the evidence presented points to a disagreement that must be *264decided at trial, or whether the undisputed facts are so one sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 249-252, 106 S.Ct. at 2510-12. In making this determination, the court must consider all of the evidence presented, drawing all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and against the movant. See Halsey v. Pfeiffer, 750 F.3d 273, 287 (3rd Cir. 2014).

To successfully oppose entry of summary judgment, the nonmoving party may not simply rest on its pleadings, but must designate specific factual averments through the use of affidavits or other permissible evidentiary material that demonstrate a triable factual dispute. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. Such evidence must be sufficient to support a jury's factual determination in favor of the nonmoving party. Anderson, supra, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2511. Evidence that merely raises some metaphysical doubt regarding the validity of a material fact is insufficient to satisfy the nonmoving party's burden. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). If the nonmoving party fails to adduce sufficient evidence in connection with an essential element of the case for which it bears the burden of proof at trial, the moving party is entitled to entry of summary judgment in its favor as a matter of law. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53.

III. Applicable Law

The constructive fraud provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and applicable non-bankruptcy law3 provide, respectively and in pertinent part:

(a)(1) The trustee may avoid any transfer (including any transfer to or for the benefit of an insider under an employment contract) of an interest of the debtor in property, or any obligation (including any obligation to or for the benefit of an insider under an employment contract) incurred by the debtor, that was made or incurred on or within 2 years before the date of the filing of the petition, if the debtor voluntarily or involuntarily--
...
(B)(i) received less than a reasonably equivalent value in exchange for such transfer or obligation; and
(ii)(I) was insolvent on the date that such transfer was made or such obligation was incurred, or became insolvent as a result of such transfer or obligation;
(II) was engaged in business or a transaction, or was about to engage in business or a transaction, for which any property remaining with the debtor was an unreasonably small capital;
(III) intended to incur, or believed that the debtor would incur, debts that would be beyond the debtor's ability to pay as such debts matured; or
(IV) made such transfer to or for the benefit of an insider, or incurred such obligation to or for the benefit of an insider, under an employment contract and not in the ordinary course of business.

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Bluebook (online)
597 B.R. 261, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shubert-v-foulkrod-in-re-bentivegna-paeb-2019.