Western Assurance Co. v. Connors

830 F. Supp. 1191, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12705, 1993 WL 349696
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedJuly 2, 1993
DocketNo. IP 88-1245-C
StatusPublished

This text of 830 F. Supp. 1191 (Western Assurance Co. v. Connors) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Western Assurance Co. v. Connors, 830 F. Supp. 1191, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12705, 1993 WL 349696 (S.D. Ind. 1993).

Opinion

ENTRY

BARKER, District Judge.

From 1981 to 1988, J.D. Connors (“Connors”) and the Connors Consulting Group, Inc. (“CCG”), and Martin Nemeth (“Nemeth”) and the Western Assurance Company, Inc. (“Western Assurance”) reaped a small fortune working together. Unfortunately for these parties, however, they were in such a hurry to make' money that they failed to specify exactly what their responsibilities were one to the other, or to exercise financial control over their newly acquired wealth. Because of their inattention to legal form and aversion to reducing their thoughts to writing, they now dispute matters which are elementary to their business’s organization; specifically, the parties want the Court to decide whether Connors was an employee of Western Assurance who was entitled to twenty percent (20%) of the profits from FICA recovery and other projects, or whether he was a partner or joint adventurer, along with CCG, in a separate business with Nemeth and Western Assurance who was entitled to fifty percent (50%) of the profits and to deposit Western Assurance checks into the accounts of CCG.

The Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint alleges breach of contract as to Connors, and conversion, theft, deception, and forgery as to Connors, Linda H. Connors (“Linda Connors”), and CCG. CCG’s Counterclaim against Western Assurance and Third-Party Complaint against Nemeth allege breach of contract. CCG’s request for an accounting of Western Assurance’s income and the appointment of a receiver to oversee Western Assurance’s property is moot. An accounting has already been completed by a special master, and Western Assurance is presently in bankruptcy. The Court also created an escrow account to safeguard the assets of Western Assurance until the completion of this litigation.

A bench trial was conducted on June, 10th, 11th and 12th, 1992, and February 17th, 18th, and 19th, 1993. Having heard and considered the evidence, the Court hereby denies all claims in the Second Amended Complaint, Counterclaim, and Third-Party Complaint. The Court, accordingly, enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Findings Of Fact

1. Plaintiff Western Assurance Company, Inc. was a corporation organized under the laws of the State of California, having its principal place of business in the State of California.

2. Defendants J.D. Connors and Linda H. Connors are citizens of the State of Indiana. Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff Connors Consulting Group, Inc. is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Indiana, having its principal place of business in Elwood, Indiana, and having registered and assumed business names of Midwestern Assurance Company, Inc. (“Midwestern”) and [1193]*1193Western Assurance Company of Indiana (“WAI”).

3. Third-Party Defendant Martin Nemeth is a citizen of the State of California.

4. The amount in controversy in this action is in excess of $50,000 exclusive of interest and costs.

5. Western Assurance was formed in 1979 in the State of California. At all times relevant to this litigation, Nemeth was the sole shareholder of Western.

6. CCG was formed in the State of Indiana in 1981. Since 1982, Connors has been the sole shareholder of CCG.

7. Prior to starting his FICA recovery business in 1979, Nemeth was employed as a relief pharmacist.

8. Prior to forming his consulting business, Connors was employed in a hardware store, which was owned by a relative.

9. Prior to assisting with the FICA recovery program, Linda Connors was receiving unemployment compensation. She had worked as a secretary before being laid off in 1983.

10. The Court affords little credibility to the testimony of Nemeth, Connors, and Linda Connors.

11; The financial dealings of Connors, CCG, Nemeth, and Western Assurance were chaotic. The Court has a hard time even applying the term “business” to the transactions which took place between these parties, as it implies a degree of organization, planning, and decorum which was lacking in almost every instance. The large cash flows which their work generated overwhelmed their limited managerial expertise. The result was inevitable: a feud between unsophisticated parties who were foolish enough to embark on a complex business endeavor without the benefit of professional guidance; once lost, they turned on each other. .

12. In December, 1981, and January, 1982, Nemeth and Connors discussed the prospect of organizing a project for the State of Indiana which involved the recovery of overpayments of FICA taxes made to the Social Security Administration. At that time, the laws of the United States did not require employers to pay Social Security taxes on an employee’s sick pay. Many private and state employers were unaware of this fact and had mistakenly paid the tax. Both Nemeth and Connors had been involved in other FICA recovery projects involving private entities through their various business affiliations.

13. Nemeth travelled to Indiana in April, 1982 to discuss the possibility pf working with Connors and CCG on the recovery of overpayments of FICA tax obligations for the State of Indiana.

■ 14. In December, 1982, Connors signed a FICA recovery contract with the State of Indiana using the title “Vice-President of Western Assurance." See Plaintiffs Exhibit 73. ■ ■ ■

15. Connors frequently used the title Vice-President of Western Assurance or Senior Vice-President of Western Assurance. See, e.g., Plaintiffs Exhibit 76.

16. The contract for the of Indiana was held in the name of Western Assurance, and most of the expenses of the Indiana FICA recovery project were paid by Western Assurance. CCG, however, assisted in the project by contributing office equipment, material and the services of Connors and Linda Connors.

17. Western Assurance opened bank accounts at Security Bank in Elwood, Indiana. The signature card and corporate resolutions of Western Assurance, executed by Nemeth, as CEO of Western Assurance, and delivered in conjunction with the opening of these accounts, authorized Connors and Linda Connors to cash checks made payable to Western Assurance or to deposit checks made payable to Western Assurance in any account of Western Assurance. See Defendant’s Exhibit 26.

18. Connors, CCG, Nemeth, and Western Assurance collaborated on numerous FICA recovery projects. They agreed to contribute services, funds, and goods to these projects, and Connors and Linda Connors allowed individuals who were working on FICA projects to stay at their home for free.

[1194]*119419. In addition to the FICA recovery program, Connors, CCG, Nemeth, and Western Assurance collaborated on a project to recover uncollected charges for hospital clients. This project came to be known as the “hospital recovery program.”

20. The parties’ frequently paid each other’s expenses. For example, in 1984,' Midwestern, a d/b/a of CCG, began paying auditors working on contracts held by Western Assurance from Midwestern’s payroll. Earlier, Nemeth had advised Connors to deposit the FICA recovery commissions in whatever account the money was needed. The parties also were extremely lax about what expenses were incurred.- Nemeth, for example, paid his wife a lump-sum cash payment of $40,000 as a'“salary” in 1983.

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Bluebook (online)
830 F. Supp. 1191, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12705, 1993 WL 349696, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/western-assurance-co-v-connors-insd-1993.