Wilson v. Smith (In re Smith)

321 B.R. 75, 18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 131, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 347
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 3, 2005
DocketBankruptcy No. 9:03-bk-13500-ALP; Adversary No. 04-00003
StatusPublished

This text of 321 B.R. 75 (Wilson v. Smith (In re Smith)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilson v. Smith (In re Smith), 321 B.R. 75, 18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 131, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 347 (Fla. 2005).

Opinion

FINDING OF FACTS, CONCLUSION OF LAW AND MEMORANDUM OPINION

ALEXANDER L. PASKAY, Bankruptcy Judge.

THE MATTER under consideration in this Chapter 13 case of Gregory J. Smith and his wife, Deborah K. Smith (the “Debtors”), is a Complaint to Estimate the Claims of Theresa F. Wilson (“Ms. Wilson”), individually and as Trustee of the Wilson 1992 Trust and her daughter, Karen M. Judson (“Ms. Judson”), individually and as Trustee of the Wilson 1992 Trust and as Trustee of The Karen Mary Judson Separate Property Trust dated June 7, 2001. Ms. Wilson and Ms. Judson filed a Proof of Claim in the Debtors’ Chapter 13 case in the amount of $700,000, which according to Schedule 1 of the Proof of Claim is composed of the following:

[76]*76Compensatory damages, actual loss $400,000
Interest for 4 years to Nov. 2003 (10%/yr., California Statute) $160,000
Recoverable cost, anticipated $ 40,000
Attorney Fees (4th Cause of Action Elder Abuse). $100,000

Although the Proof of Claim filed by the Plaintiffs fails to state that the claim is an unliquidated claim, there is no question that the claim is, in fact, unsecured and unliquidated. The matter under consideration has its genesis in claims asserted by the Claimants, residents of California, in a lawsuit filed by them against the Debtors, among others, originally in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, East County Division on August 15, 2002.

In the original Complaint in California, the Plaintiffs set forth seven causes of action which are as follows:

First Cause of Action: Professional Negligence
Second Cause of Action: Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Constructive Fraud
Third Cause of Action: Violation of the California Corporate Securities Law of 1968
Fourth Cause of Action: Violation of the California Elder Abuse Act
Fifth Cause of Action: Violation of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940
Sixth Cause of Action: Fraud
Seventh Cause of Action: Negligent Misrepresentations

The litigation in California never reached the trial stage and, of course, came to a halt when the Debtors file their Petition for Relief under Chapter 13 in this Court on June 30, 2003.

Although, the matter under consideration is ordinarily treated under Section 9014 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure as a contested matter, this Rule also authorizes the Court to make use of some or all provisions of Part VII. Based on this provision, this Court ordered that the Claimants should commence an adversary proceeding in order to resolve the Motion to Estimate Claim.

On December 6, 2003, the Claimants filed their Complaint setting forth seven separate Causes of Action, which this Court is treating as seven separate Counts that are virtually identical to the claims asserted by the Claimants in the California law suit.

At the final evidentiary hearing the following relevant facts were established as to whether the claim of the Plaintiffs is allowable and, if allowable, the amount. The facts are as follows.

On January 30, 1992, Ms. Wilson’s husband died unexpectedly. Several months after his death, Ms. Wilson retained a local attorney to create a trust naming her daughter as the beneficiary of the trust (The Wilson 1992 Trust). At that time, Ms. Wilson owned Certificate of Deposit’s (“CD’s”), Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRA”), and Checking accounts with a total value of $301,978.64. Of that money, $166,010.46 was in an IRA retirement account handled by Dean Witter. All the investments of Ms. Wilson were very conservative and very low risk and, consequently, produced very modest returns.

Ms. Judson lived with her mother, Ms. Wilson, and shared all living expenses with her mother. Ms. Judson owned an Individual Retirement Account with $99,174.93.

In March 1998, Ms. Wilson’s account executive at Dean Witter notified her that he would not be handling her account any more because Dean Witter gave him a promotion. After this conversation, Ms. Wilson decided she needed to get someone to give her financial advice. One of Ms. Wilson’s neighbors recommended Gregory Smith (“Mr. Smith”) as someone who had given them financial advice in the past. At the request of Ms. Wilson, the neighbors [77]*77called Mr. Smith, and told him to contact Ms. Wilson. Mr. Smith called Ms. Wilson and set up an assessment with her.

They met at the appointment time. Ms. Judson also participated in the discussion. The record shows that Ms. Wilson and Ms. Judson’s assets were in accounts with very low risk and with modest returns. At this meeting, Mr. Smith recommended that they take all of their investments and purchase annuities from the IL Annuity and Life Insurance Company, which Smith represented. The IL Annuity made monthly payments of $500. Although Ms. Wilson would be incurring some penalties for early withdrawal from her current CD’s investments, Mr. Smith convinced Ms. Wilson that they would make up that loss through the new investment.

Approximately in August, 1998, Ms. Wilson contacted Mr. Smith because she was interested in purchasing long-term care insurance. Mr. Smith recommended Ms. Wilson purchase a policy from American Travelers. In April 1999, Mr. Smith recommended Ms. Wilson to switch her insurance policy to Bankers United because Mr. Smith believed it was a better fit for her. Ms. Wilson agreed to switch her long term insurance. At a later point in time, Ms. Judson also purchased the same policy.

On November 1999, Mr. Smith met with Ms. Wilson and Ms.» Judson again and suggested the possibility of investing in Alpha Telecom/ATC (“ATC”). The parties are in disagreement as to how the idea to switch investments began, but this Court is satisfied that prior to this, neither Ms. Wilson nor Ms. Judson had ever heard of ATC. Mr. Smith claims that either Ms. Wilson or Ms. Judson expressed the need for a higher monthly income than what they were receiving from the IL Annuity. Ms. Wilson and Ms. Judson claim that Mr. Smith initiated the discussion and that they were satisfied with their current investments. During this meeting, Mr. Smith presented the ATC investment as a way for Ms. Wilson and Ms. Judson to increase their monthly income. The investment called for the investor to purchase pay phones that would be placed on the East Coast. The phones were supposed to have a minimum monthly return of $58.34. (Tr., Vol. IP. 2-14; Vol. VI. P. 13-20)1

Mr. Smith claims to have gotten the information on the opportunity from his broker dealer Mike Catania (“Mr. Cata-nia”). Mr. Smith claims that Mr. Catania had previously investigated the deal through his Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”) and determined it was not a security. In addition, Mr. Smith claims that he also made some phone calls to other investors and to the company itself.

Ms. Wilson and Ms. Judson claimed that Mr. Smith told them that he had personally visited the company and that the investment was safe, guaranteed, and insured by Lloyd’s of London.

Ms.

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321 B.R. 75, 18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 131, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 347, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-v-smith-in-re-smith-flmb-2005.