Solomatina v. Mikelic

370 F. Supp. 3d 420
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 28, 2019
Docket1:16-cv-02446 (ALC)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 370 F. Supp. 3d 420 (Solomatina v. Mikelic) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Solomatina v. Mikelic, 370 F. Supp. 3d 420 (S.D. Ill. 2019).

Opinion

ANDREW L. CARTER, JR., United States District Judge:

Plaintiff Valentina Solmatina brings this action alleging breach of contract, constructive trust, conversion, unjust enrichment, and breach of fiduciary duty against former son-in-law Michael Mikelic, King Penguin Properties, LLC, King Penguin Opportunity Fund, LLC, King Penguin Opportunity Fund II, LLC, and KPP Managing Member, LLC (collectively "Defendants") for Defendants' alleged failure to repay Plaintiff for her loans and investments in connection with various real estate ventures. Second Am. Compl. ("SAC"), ECF No. 43. Defendants now move for summary judgment. ECF No. 59. After review of the record, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Id. Defendants are granted summary judgment as to causes of action three through nine, eleven, twelve, fifteen, sixteen, twenty-one, twenty-four, and twenty-six; Defendant Mikelic is also granted summary judgment as to causes of action nineteen and twenty; and Penguin Opportunity Fund II is granted summary judgment as to causes of action twenty-two and twenty-three.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are drawn from (a) Defendants' Rule 56.1 Statement of Material Undisputed Facts, Defs.' Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. ("Defs.' Br.") Ex. 1, ECF No. 62-1; (b) Plaintiff's Response to Defendants' Statement of Material Undisputed Facts, Pl.'s Resp. Defs.' Rule 56.1 Statement ("Pl.'s Resp."), ECF No. 66; and (c) Defendants' Response to Plaintiff's Statement of Material Facts, Defs.' Resp. Pl.'s Rule 51.1 Statement ("Defs.' Resp."), ECF No. 74. Unless otherwise noted, the facts are undisputed.

Plaintiff is the mother-in-law of Defendant Michael Mikelic. Defs.' Br. Ex. 1 ¶ 1, ECF No. 62-1. Defendant Mikelic married Plaintiff's daughter Olga Solmatina ("Olga") in 2005, but Mikelic and Olga separated in 2013 and began divorce proceedings in 2014. Id. ¶¶ 3, 14-15. Plaintiff alleges that between 2005 and 2013, Plaintiff, pursuant to several oral agreements, loaned Defendant Mikelic approximately $ 2 million to purchase real estate and for investments, which was never paid back. Pl.'s Resp. ¶¶ 67-90, ECF No. 66. Plaintiff requested that Defendant repay these loans with interest by 2014 because Plaintiff and her husband planned to move to New York at that time and needed the returns from Plaintiff's investments to fiOcean Resort in Baja, Mexico throughnance *424the purchase of a home. Id. Defendants, however, contend that there were no oral agreements between the parties-any of Plaintiff's funds used in the relevant transactions were at Olga's behest or were gifts. Defs.' Resp. 6-7, ECF No. 74. The relevant transactions are outlined below followed by a discussion of additional material facts.1

I. Real Property Investments

A. Wheelock Property

On April 26, 2005, Defendant Mikelic and Olga purchased property located at 24 Wheelock Walk, East Hampton, New York. Defs.' Br. Ex. 1 ¶ 30, ECF No. 62-1. The purchase price of the Wheelock Property was $ 860,000, which was financed, in part, by a $ 688,000 mortgage loan from CitiMortgage, Inc. Id. at ¶¶ 32-33. Defendants claim that Defendant Mikelic and Olga paid the remaining purchase price from checks remitted on a bank account held in Olga's name; Plaintiff disputes this characterization and instead claims that Plaintiff agreed to loan Defendant Mikelic money at the same interest rate as her Russian savings account to complete the purchase of the Wheelock Property. Id. at ¶ 34; Pl.'s Resp. ¶ 34, ECF No. 66. Repayment of said loan was allegedly due no later than 2014. Id. Plaintiff further claims that the money was transferred to Defendant via Olga's U.S. checking account and that in Defendant Mikelic's sworn Statement of Net Worth, Defendant stated that the source of funds to acquire the Wheelock Property was from "Olga mother and husband." Id. at ¶ 35; Decl. Jonathan M. Sabin Supp. Pl.'s Opp. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J. ("Sabin Decl.") Ex. 6 at 03491, ECF No. 63.

B. Storage Units

In 2006, Defendant Mikelic allegedly informed Plaintiff that the purchase of Storage Units located on 120 Riverside Boulevard, New York, New York would be a profitable investment. Pl.'s Resp. ¶ 48, ECF No. 66. Plaintiff allegedly loaned Defendant $ 505,728 for the purchase of twenty-four storage units and did so via checks in Plaintiff's name payable to Bryan Cave, LLP, who was the escrow agent for the transaction. Id. at ¶¶ 49-50. Defendant allegedly sold the units for profit but did not provide any return to Plaintiff. Id. at ¶ 52. Defendants dispute these allegations and claim that (1) Defendant Mikelic did not have any conversations with Plaintiff regarding the profitability of the storage units; (2) that Plaintiff did not loan any Defendants the funds for purchasing the units; (3) that Olga signed checks for a certain number of storage units; (4) the checks were drawn on a checking account maintained in name of Plaintiff in the care of Olga; and (5) that Defendants were not party to any agreement with Plaintiff to repay any money. Defs.' Resp. ¶¶ 48-51, ECF No. 74.

C. Trump Baja Property

Also in 2006, Defendant Mikelic allegedly told Plaintiff he wanted to purchase residential property located at Trump *425Ocean Resort in Baja, Mexico through King Penguin Properties, LLC. Pl.'s Resp. ¶ 53, ECF No. 66. King Penguin Properties, LLC is a New York limited liability corporation organized in 2006 of which Defendant Mikelic and Olga are each fifty percent members. Defs.' Br. Ex. 1 ¶ 4. Plaintiff allegedly loaned Defendant $ 151,400 for his deposit for the purchase of the Trump Baja Property directly via checks in her name payable to "Land of America." Pl.'s Resp. ¶¶ 54-55, ECF No. 66. Because of a court settlement, King Penguin Properties received a refund for its deposit on the property in the amount of $ 163,464.03 yet Plaintiff alleges none of the funds were returned to Plaintiff. Id. at ¶¶ 56-57. Defendants disagree with Plaintiff's version of events and assert that Defendant Mikelic (1) had no conversations with Plaintiff regarding the Trump Baja Property; (2) was not a party to any loan agreement with Plaintiff which required repayment of the money; and (3) that the money for the deposit came from Olga who signed Plaintiff's name to checks drawn on an account in Plaintiff's name. Defs.' Resp. ¶¶ 53-57.

II. Fifth Avenue Apartment Funds & Windham Property Purchase

In January 2013, Plaintiff and her husband travelled to New York City to view potential apartments to purchase. Pl.'s Resp. ¶ 35, ECF No. 66. Plaintiff allegedly identified an apartment located at 1280 Fifth Avenue that she wanted to buy. Id. Defendant Mikelic allegedly claimed that he did not have the necessary funds to put a down payment on the apartment and so Plaintiff loaned Defendant $ 393,000, which Plaintiff asserts was transferred to Defendant via Olga's checking account in two separate installments of $ 133,000 and $ 260,000 on March 19, 2013 and May 6, 2013 respectively. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
370 F. Supp. 3d 420, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/solomatina-v-mikelic-ilsd-2019.