Taylor v. Crawford (In re Crawford)

553 B.R. 43, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 2248
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. North Carolina
DecidedJune 9, 2016
DocketCase No. 13-30843; Adversary Proceeding No. 14-03219
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 553 B.R. 43 (Taylor v. Crawford (In re Crawford)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Taylor v. Crawford (In re Crawford), 553 B.R. 43, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 2248 (N.C. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING DEBTOR A DISCHARGE

J. Craig Whitley, United States Bankruptcy Judge

In this adversary proceeding, the Chapter 7 trustee, John W. Taylor, seeks an order denying the debtor, Lametsha Crawford, her discharge. The matter came on for trial on March 24, 2016.1 Crawford appeared and was represented by attorney Barbara L. White. Taylor appeared on his own behalf. For the reasons set forth below, Crawford’s discharge is denied.

Taylor accuses Crawford of numerous wrongs that he believes constitute making false oaths, concealing or withholding property of the estate, and falsifying or failing to preserve financial records. The thrust of Taylor’s theory is that Crawford’s petition, signed under penalty of perjury, contained significant intentional or reckless misstatements regarding her assets. Taylor asserts that Crawford furthered these false oaths with misleading and inaccurate testimony at her first meeting of creditors and a 2004 examination. In the over two years since this case was filed, Crawford failed to correct these omissions. Accordingly, Taylor would have this Court deny Crawford’s discharge [46]*46under Code Subsection 727(a), which precludes debtors from knowingly and fraudulently making a false oath in connection with their bankruptcy case.

I.Facts

a. False Oaths/Concealment Related to Real Property

Taylor asserts that Crawford intentionally, or at least recklessly, misrepresented her real estate holdings on Schedule A of her bankruptcy petition.

Crawford’s scheduled her real property holdings as follows:

1. Crawford “held” 215 McFadden Street in Rock Hill, South Carolina for her great-uncle, David Jennings.
2. Crawford “held” 2609 Hart Road in Charlotte, North Carolina for Tracy Murphy.
3. Crawford owned a time-share at 7751 Black Lake Road in Kissimee, Florida jointly with David Jennings,
4. Crawford owned two lots in Rock Hill, South Carolina jointly with David Jennings.
5. Crawford scheduled a third lot in Rock Hill, South Carolina but did not indicate the nature of her interest in the property.

The evidentiary record established that Crawford’s Schedule A was fraught with misstatements and omissions related to her real estate holdings:

1. Regarding 215 McFadden Street in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Crawford owned the property in fee simple as a result of a January 30, 2008 conveyance to Crawford from David Jennings. Her statement that she “held” the property for Jennings was not accurate. See Case 13-30843, Doc. 42 at pg. 5 (sustaining trustee’s objection to claim of exemption in the property).
2. Regarding 2609 Hart Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, Crawford owned the property in fee-simple as a result of a conveyance to Crawford from Tracy Murphy in either 2008 or 2009. Her statement that she “held” the property for Murphy was not accurate.
3. Regarding the time-share 7751 Black Lake Road in Kissimee, Florida, Crawford later amended her schedule to change her ownership interest to “fee-simple/tenancy in severalty.”
4. Regarding the lots in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Crawford actually owned five lots, not three as she initially scheduled. And, Crawford owned those lots in fee simple, not jointly with Jennings as she had scheduled.

When confronted with these discrepancies at trial, Crawford admitted her petition was incorrect. Regarding the Hart Road property, Crawford and her attorney’s positions are somewhat at odds. Crawford testified she “would have given the property back” to Murphy had he asked for it and thus believed she was not the owner at the time she filed bankruptcy. Crawford’s attorney indicated the “held for” language was included to somehow help the trustee understand the situation. Crawford’s 2004 examination provided a third explanation. There, Crawford indicated that she believed the house was hers, the house was in her name in 2008 or 2009, and the wording on the petition was “wrong.” See Pi’s Ex. 17 at pgs. 27-29.

Pertaining to the lots in Rock Hill, Crawford attributes the discrepancies on her petition to her confusion due to property tax bills from several years before the petition date that included Jennings’ name. Crawford testified that she believed that [47]*47she and Jennings owned the properties together. Crawford offered little explanation as to why she relied on property tax bills that were clearly out of date nor why two parcels in Rock Hill were omitted from the schedules altogether. Despite valuing these lots at $33,000 free of any secured claims, Crawford admitted that she took no steps prior to bankruptcy to ascertain her ownership interest in the lots.

b.False Oaths Regarding Payments to Creditors and Failure to Account for Insurance Proceeds

Taylor next claims that Crawford failed to include thousands of dollars in payments to creditors that she made within one year of bankruptcy. On Crawford’s Statement of Financial Affairs, Crawford indicated that she had made no such payments.

Yet, Crawford admitted at the trial that this was incorrect. Crawford testified that her home was robbed prior to bankruptcy. Though nature of the goods stolen was never made clear, Crawford apparently received approximately $80,000 in insurance payments as a result of the robbery. From that, Crawford made payments within a year of bankruptcy to at least three creditors as well as payments to a business entity that she owned and controlled. The payments to creditors included $30,000 to her former boyfriend (Ladd Morrison),2 $7500 to a friend/co-worker (Arlene Foulks), and $10,000 to her son’s father (James Ridenbacker). Crawford stated at the trial that she disclosed all these payments to her attorney but could not explain why the transactions were missed when she signed her petition. It never became clear what happened to the nearly $32,500 of the original $80,000 that remained unaccounted for after these transactions.

c. False Oaths/Concealment regarding Payment to Arlene Foulks

Based on Crawford’s delinquent, disclosure of alleged loan repayments to Foulks, Taylor brought an action against Foulks to recover what he then believed to be either fraudulent or preferential transfers. Adv. No. 15-3068. However, Taylor dismissed the action upon receipt of a sworn declaration from Foulks. According to Foulks, Crawford gave her a cashiers check for $7500. That payment was not in satisfaction of a loan. Rather, Foulks stated that Crawford asked her to deposit the check into Foulks’ account, withdraw cash, and give the cash to Crawford, which she did. Foulks’ testimony at the trial echoed her sworn declaration, and she produced a withdrawal statement indicating that $7500 in cash was indeed withdrawn from her account shortly after she deposited the check. Pi’s Ex. 12. Taylor alleges the payment to Foulks was a sham to further conceal estate assets.

d. False Oaths/Concealment regarding Bank Accounts

Taylor further argues that Crawford failed to disclose at least three bank accounts on her initial petition. Crawford and her son’s father, James Ridenbacker, held two joint accounts at Branch Banking and Trust. Crawford admitted that her petition failed to disclose those accounts.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
553 B.R. 43, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 2248, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/taylor-v-crawford-in-re-crawford-ncwb-2016.