Sulphur Partnership v. Piscioneri (In Re Piscioneri)

108 B.R. 595, 1989 Bankr. LEXIS 2213, 1989 WL 154944
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedDecember 11, 1989
Docket19-50136
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 108 B.R. 595 (Sulphur Partnership v. Piscioneri (In Re Piscioneri)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sulphur Partnership v. Piscioneri (In Re Piscioneri), 108 B.R. 595, 1989 Bankr. LEXIS 2213, 1989 WL 154944 (Ohio 1989).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION AND ORDER

RANDOLPH BAXTER, Bankruptcy Judge.

The Plaintiff, Sulphur Partnership (Sul-phur) seeks a determination of the dis-chargeability of certain debts allegedly owed by Rocco Y. Piscioneri (Debtor) and also objects to the Debtor receiving a discharge in bankruptcy. Following a trial of this adversary proceeding, the following findings and conclusions are hereby reached:

I.

Sulphur is an Ohio general partnership whose principal business is that of owning a shopping plaza in Sulphur, Louisiana. Co-plaintiffs, Yazoo Partnership (Yazoo), Pearisburg Partnership (Pearisburg), Franklin Partnership (Franklin), and Fair-field Partnership (Fairfield) are all Ohio limited partnerships which are located in Yazoo, Mississippi, Pearisburg, Virginia, Franklin, Virginia, and Pensacola, Florida, respectively. Co-plaintiff BWI Corporation (BWI) is an Ohio partnership with its business operation located in Sulphur, Louisiana (Hereinafter collectively referred to as “the Plaintiffs”). Each Co-plaiñtiff is in the principal business of owning a shopping plaza in the above-mentioned locations. The Debtor, with his principal place of business located in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, was retained by each of the Plaintiffs herein to manage and operate their respective shopping plazas. The Debtor’s managerial *598 duties were inclusive of rental collections from commercial tenants, the payment of mortgage installments to lenders, and the payment of taxes and other obligations of the several shopping plazas. Following an alleged breach of these duties, and the Debtor’s filing of his petition for relief under Chapter 7, this adversary proceeding ensued.

II.

The Plaintiffs contend that the Debtor, while acting in a fiduciary capacity on their behalf, collected on accounts payable and failed to pay their respective mortgage payments, taxes and other expenses for which they were obligated. They further contend that the Debtor received monies paid on their accounts payable and wrongfully converted those funds for other unauthorized purposes and to his own use. They assert the Debtor’s conduct in this regard was willful, fraudulent, and malicious causing them to sustain unnecessary interest charges and late penalty assessments to their mortgage holders and various taxing authorities. Damage claims to each of the Plaintiffs were estimated and alleged as follows:

Sulphur. $ 95,000.00
Yazoo. 30,000.00
Pearisburg. 95,000.00
Franklin. 120,000.00
BWI. 12,500.00
Fairfield. 45,000.00
Total $397,500.00

In objecting to a discharge for the Debt- or, the Plaintiffs state that the Debtor, with an intent to hinder, delay, or defraud his creditors, has transferred or otherwise disposed of or concealed his assets within one year prior to seeking relief in bankruptcy. They further assert that he has failed to explain satisfactorily his loss of assets. Lastly, the Plaintiffs state that the Debtor has failed to completely account for the receipts and disbursements made on their behalf upon their demand.

In response to those several allegations, the Debtor plead general denials to most allegations and specifically denied others. Particularly, he denies being indebted to any of the Plaintiffs, denies that an accounting is due them, and contends that they lack authority and standing under any partnership agreement to bring the within action.

III.

The dispositive issues are as follows: (1) whether the Debtor acted in a fiduciary capacity in his relationship with the Plaintiffs; (2) if determined to have been a fiduciary, whether the Debtor perpetuated an act of fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity, or embezzlement or larceny; (3) whether the Debtor committed a willful or malicious injury to the Plaintiffs or to their properties; (4) whether the Debtor transferred, removed, destroyed, concealed, etc., property of the Debtor within one year prepetition with an intent to hinder, delay or defraud a creditor or an officer of the estate; and (5) whether the Debtor has failed to explain satisfactorily any loss of assets. In considering the resolution of these issues the requisite burden of proof must be assessed and allocated. In dischargeability issues under § 523(a)(2), the burden of proof is upon the objecting party and must be met by clear and convincing evidence. The same is true of § 523(a)(4) issues. In re Bosselait, 63 B.R. 452, 457 (Bankr.E.D. Va.1986); In re Black, 787 F.2d 503, 506 (10th Cir.1986).

The Limited Partnerships’ Shopping Centers

A review of the evidence reveals that the Debtor, a real estate broker and salesman, possessed extensive experience in the real estate industry. In 1976, the Debtor and another partner formed Sulphur. His wholly-owned company, Neri Company (NC), managed the shopping center owned by Sulphur. The managerial duties of NC involved the collection of rents and paying the related expenses. Sulphur earned sufficient profits to pay its expenses. In 1985 and 1986, per the Debtor’s direction, NC discontinued paying Sulphur’s expenses. Instead, NC used the revenues from Sulphur’s shopping center for other unrelated purposes. (See, Cross-exam, Debtor). *599 During this time period the Debtor was aware that bank account late fees and tax penalties were being assessed against Sul-phur. (See, Ex. B). The Debtor’s testimony relative to the sale of Sulphur was equivocal. In one instance, he testified that he was not aware that Sulphur was sold in order to defray tax obligations. Yet, in another moment, he testified that Sulphur was not sold for taxes but, rather, its certificates were sold. Impeached testimony revealed that he was uncertain whether he had informed the Sulphur limited partners about the late fee assessments. Similarly, his impeached testimony indicated he was not certain whether he had informed Sulphur’s limited partners regarding the defaulted mortgage payments. He unequivocally testified that he did not inform Sulphur’s limited partners of NC’s unauthorized use of Sulphur's shopping center revenues as he knew that any prior request for the intended use of those funds would have been denied by Sulphur’s limited partners.

The testimony of the Debtor also revealed that he was the sole shareholder, board chairman and sole officer of another entity known as Neri Development Company (NDC). NDC was the sole owner of a development known as the Chicago Heights Project (CHP) and continued that ownership until December, 1985 or January, 1986. The Debtor testified that he diverted funds from Sulphur and other projects managed by NC in order to subsidize CHP. He was not certain how many funds were diverted for this purpose. He stated that NC used funds belonging to Sulphur and other projects managed by NC in order to subsidize CHP. He was not certain how many funds were diverted for this purpose. He further testified that NC used funds belonging to Sulphur and others for its own use.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
108 B.R. 595, 1989 Bankr. LEXIS 2213, 1989 WL 154944, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sulphur-partnership-v-piscioneri-in-re-piscioneri-ohnb-1989.