Thomas G. Gialamas

United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Wisconsin·Decided September 21, 2020·No. 3-18-13341·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

In re: Thomas G. Gialamas, ) Bankruptcy No. 18-13341 tml ) Debtor. ) Chapter 11 ) ) Judge Lynch ) )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Several months before this bankruptcy case commenced, a Wisconsin circuit court appointed F. John Stark, III the supplemental receiver in a post-judgment enforcement action against the Debtor. On March 30, 2020, this court confirmed the chapter 11 plan of reorganization proposed by a creditor of the Debtor. The confirmed plan provides in section 6.13(a) that several lawsuits pending against the Debtor, including the state court “Receivership Action,” are “resolved” and the judgments docketed against the Debtor and orders “affecting the Debtor’s assets in favor of Hallick” in those cases, “shall be satisfied.” Now before this court is the Rule 60(b) motion of receiver Stark requesting the vacatur of the court’s March 30, 2020 order confirming the chapter 11 plan at least as to its section 6.13(a) and treatment of the Receivership Action.1 In it, Mr. Stark argues that this court “lacks subject matter jurisdiction” over that provision of the plan and its order, at least with respect to that provision, is therefore “void.” For the reasons discussed below, the Motion is denied.

1 Motion to Dismiss the Confirmation Order for the Competing Plan of Reorganization Proposed by Old Sauk Trails Park Limited Partnership Solely as It Pertains to the Receivership Action in Dane County, Wisconsin. (ECF no. 543; hereinafter, the “Motion.”) On April 15, 2020, Mr. Stark had initially filed a document entitled Motion to cure an Omission in the Competing Plan of Reorganization Proposed by Old Sauk Trails Park Limited Partnership and Confirmed by this Court and electronically docketed as a “limited objection to confirmed plan and motion to cure an omission in plan.” (ECF no. 503.) He withdrew the initial motion/objection on May 29, 2020. (ECF no. 544.) 1. Procedural and Factual Background. For this decision the court considered facts presented in the written submissions of the movant, the United States Trustee, the Unsecured Creditors Committee and other parties in interest and, where noted, the argument of counsel presented during the hearing on the motion and the court’s docket. A bankruptcy court can take judicial notice of its docket. See Levine v. Egdi, No.

93C188, 1993 WL 69146, at *2 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 8, 1993). Except where noted otherwise, the facts are not in dispute. Those facts in dispute are immaterial. Mr. Gialamas’ bankruptcy case began when three unsecured creditors filed an involuntary chapter 7 petition against him on October 2, 2018. The court entered the order for relief on January 24, 2019. One month later, it granted the Debtor’s motion to convert the case to chapter 11. While proceeding under chapter 11, the Debtor and creditor Old Sauk Trails Park Limited Partnership (“OSTP”) filed competing plans. After several modifications to each, the Debtor eventually withdrew his plan. A confirmation hearing was held on the modified OSTP plan (ECF no. 464; hereafter, the “Plan”), which was confirmed as amended by order entered on March 30, 2020.

(ECF no. 489.) It appears that before this bankruptcy case commenced, the Debtor had become enmeshed in several lawsuits in the state courts with several of his creditors.2 In one of these cases, Hallick v. Thomas Gialamas and Madison Office Fund, LLC (Dane County, Wisconsin, Case No. 2017- CV-0332 (the “Receivership Action”), Erick Hallick was awarded judgment in the amount of $16,695,688.11 against Thomas Gialamas. In an order entered on August 31, 2018, on the application of the plaintiff, the Dane County court appointed Mr. Stark supplemental receiver with respect to the Thomas Gialamas Individual Property Trust’s partnership interest in the Old Sauk

2 Crawford County, Wisconsin, Case No. 2017TJ21; Vilas County, Wisconsin, Case No. 2017TJ33; Dane County, Wisconsin, Case No. 2017-CV-0332; and Cook County, Illinois, Case No. 2017 M1 104473. Trails Park Limited Partnership (the “OSTP Interest”). (ECF no. 543, Ex. A; hereinafter, the “Receiver Order.”) The Receiver Order authorized Mr. Stark to “take possession of” the Debtors’ interest in Old Sauk Trails Park Limited Partnership, and to “protect and preserve the OSTP Interest, collect all distributions, payments, profits, rents, income and revenues from the OSTP Interest (the

‘Receivables’) due or to become due from August 21, 2018 until further order of this Court, to effect the sale or redemption of the OSTP Interest, and to otherwise monitor and/or oversee the liquidation of the OSTP Interest.” (Id. ¶ 3.) It orders the Receiver is to “open a bank account in the name of F. John Stark, III, Receiver For the Benefit of Erick Hallick” and to use such account “to deposit any and all payments, profits, proceeds, rents, income, distributions and revenues (‘Receivables’) from the OSTP Interest to be held for the benefit of Erick Hallick.” (Id. ¶ 6.) Gialamas is ordered to cooperate with the Receiver and he and anyone affiliated with the OSTP Interest are directed to surrender their possession of any OSTP Interest to the Receiver. (Id. ¶¶ 15, 16, 18.) The Receiver is entitled to “take possession, custody or control of the OSTP Interest.”

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