United Coal Resources v. Solomon & Teslovich, Inc. (In re United Coal Resources)

12 B.R. 681, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 3828
United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida.·Decided April 30, 1981·No. Bankruptcy No. 80-01439-BKC-JAG; Adv. No. 80-0332-BKC-JAG-A·Published

Opinion

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

JOSEPH A. GASSEN, Bankruptcy Judge.

The plaintiff, United Coal Resources (UCR), initiated this adversary case by filing a complaint in five counts seeking (1) damages for an alleged breach of contract, (2) damages for alleged wrongful withholding of property, (3) an accounting for funds that defendants received which allegedly belong to the plaintiff, (4) adjudication of the rights of the parties under the various agreements between them and the ownership of properties referred to therein, and (5) determination of the interest of the plaintiff in property under 11 U.S.C. § 544(a)(3) (C.P. No. 1). The defendants (herein referred to collectively as S & T) denied that the plaintiff is entitled to any of the relief sought and asserted by way of affirmative defenses and counterclaim that they are entitled to rescission of the agreements for the purchase and sale of assets and damages under several bankruptcy code as well as non-bankruptcy theories (C.P. No. 14).

This case came on for trial before the court on January 22 and 23 and February 11 and 12, 1981. The commencement of the trial was simultaneous with the trial of a companion adversary in which Barclaysam-erican/Business Credit, Inc., a Connecticut corporation, was plaintiff and all parties to this adversary were defendants (Adversary Case No. 80-0377-BKC-JAG-A).

The facts are complex and quite bizarre but essentially not in dispute except as to who knew what and when he knew it. The primary decisions to make in this case are on the legal issues of whether or not the plaintiff is entitled to the declaratory relief and damages prayed for in its complaint and whether or not the defendant-counter-claimants are entitled to rescission of the entire transaction and to have the parties restored to their status as it existed prior to the commencement of the transaction.

UCR was created by its general partner and primary mover Edward Granville-Smith to provide a tax shelter investment for professional and business persons. Among other properties that UCR intended to obtain for the purposes of such tax shelter investment were all of the off-the-road and other equipment of S & T together with certain oil leases, contracts and other tangible and intangible assets which S & T owned prior to December 29, 1978.

Some months prior to December, 1978, Edward Granville-Smith commenced negotiations with the principals of S & T. On December 29, 1978 an agreement was reached (UCR’s Exhibit No. 1) providing for a closing on or before December 31, 1978. It is evident to the court that the parties did not, in fact, contemplate the actual physical closing by December 31, 1978 on a contract that had been reduced to writing only two days in advance of that date but rather that the document was signed to [683]*683create a basis for the tax shelter purposes of the investment contemplated by UCR in 1978.

The evidence shows that the relatively small equity capital investment of the limited partners in UCR was not sufficient to fund any portion of the acquisition of the S & T assets, but rather, the equity investment in UCR would provide little more than organizational expenses and limited working capital. UCR applied to Equibank of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for a loan to finance the acquisition contemplated by the December 29, 1978 agreement. In the spring of 1979, UCR learned that Equibank would not make the loan. The promissory note given by UCR to S & T on December 29, 1978 was to be redeemed in cash as part of the down payment on the closing contemplated by that original agreement. However, that closing was never held and payment was never demanded by S & T because all parties understood that UCR required a commercial loan to fund the down payment which would include the redemption of the promissory note (UCR’s Exhibit No. 3).

Throughout the early part of 1979, UCR attempted to obtain financing from various sources. Ultimately, a loan agreement was reached with Barclaysamerican (formerly Aetna Business Credit, Inc.), as evidenced by a number of documents executed between UCR on the one hand and Barclay-samerican on the other in July, 1979 (Barclay’s Exhibits Nos. 3, 4 and 5). Even with the anticipated $4,575,000 in proceeds from the Barclaysamerican loan, UCR needed an additional $5,000,000 to satisfy the down payment requirements of the transaction with S & T. When it was unable to accomplish such funding through traditional and usual sources, UCR employed the “services” of one James Feeney and one Mark Phillips, neither of whom was shown to have had traditional American banking connections or expertise.

Feeney represented that he could obtain a total line of credit of $35,000,000 for UCR from off-shore sources for the S & T and other contemplated acquisitions. The first $7,000,000 of that line of credit was to be allocated as follows: $5,000,000 for the closing of the transaction with S & T and the balance of $2,000,000 for promotional, organizational and operating capital needs. In furtherance of that representation, Fee-ney arranged for Granville-Smith, Edward Smock, a financial officer of UCR’s general partner UEC of Maryland, Inc., Phillips and himself to fly to the island of St. Vincent in the West Indies to meet with representatives of Aeiola Bank and Trust Company. Instead of meeting in a place of business, these gentlemen were directed to a private residence where they met with Kevin Barry Krown, a representative of the Aeiola Bank. No documents were signed or delivered on that occasion except for Granville-Smith giving to Kevin Barry Krown copies of a brochure which had previously been prepared for a New York stockbroker in connection with a hoped-for private placement of funds which had not materialized. (UCR’s Composite Exhibit No. 16).

Thereafter, through Feeney, the “loan” transaction for the first $7,000,000 was consummated in the following manner. Gran-ville-Smith was required to deposit his personal checks for $2,000,000 and $5,000,000 in the Aeiola Bank in exchange for two official Aeiola Bank checks in like amounts. Granville-Smith did deliver his personal checks to the Aeiola Bank on his understanding that it was for file purposes only and that they were not to be presented to his bank for collection. (He took the precaution, however, of issuing stop-payment orders to his bank and, in fact, the checks were later presented for payment to his bank but were dishonored. Had there been no stop-payment order, it was admitted that there were insufficient funds to cover the checks.)

Feeney’s fee or commission on this phase of the transaction was to be $150,000. He required payment of his fee before he would deliver the official Aeiola bank checks to UCR. For a number of reasons, Granville-Smith found it convenient to borrow the $150,000 from Chase Manhattan in New York. He obtained the loan, giving a [684]*684personal guarantee, and received a check which he tendered to Feeney. Feeney would not accept an endorsement of the Chase Manhattan check but demanded currency. The check was then returned to the bank department issuing it, and the loan officer obtained $150,000 in $100 bills for Granville-Smith.

Feeney also required that the physical transaction take place in an automobile so it would not occur on U. S. soil. Granville-Smith and Smock took the currency in a briefcase and met with Feeney and Linda Starr, another person associated with the Aeiola Bank, in an automobile on the street in front of the Chase Manhattan Bank.

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United Coal Resources v. Solomon & Teslovich, Inc. (In re United Coal Resources), 12 B.R. 681, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 3828 (Fla. 1981).

12 B.R. 681 (United Coal Resources v. Solomon & Teslovich, Inc. (In re United Coal Resources)) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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