Zazzali ex rel. DBSI Estate Litigation Trust v. AFA Financial Group, LLC (In re DBSI, Inc.)

477 B.R. 504, 2012 WL 3668136, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 3935
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware
DecidedAugust 27, 2012
DocketBankruptcy No. 08-12687 (PJW); Adversary No. 10-54524 (PJW)
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 477 B.R. 504 (Zazzali ex rel. DBSI Estate Litigation Trust v. AFA Financial Group, LLC (In re DBSI, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zazzali ex rel. DBSI Estate Litigation Trust v. AFA Financial Group, LLC (In re DBSI, Inc.), 477 B.R. 504, 2012 WL 3668136, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 3935 (Del. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

PETER J. WALSH, Bankruptcy Judge.

This opinion concerns the motion to dismiss this adversary proceeding (“the Motion”) filed by certain defendants (the “Movants”).1 (Doc. # 123.) For the reasons described below, I will deny the Motion in part and grant it in part.

Background

This adversary proceeding arose in the chapter 11 bankruptcy cases of DBSI, Inc. (“DBSI”) and numerous of its affiliates (collectively, “Debtors”), filed in November 2008. DBSI Securities Corporation (“DBSI Securities”), a DBSI affiliate, filed on November 10, 2008. The history of the DBSI bankruptcy cases has been extensively chronicled in prior decisions from this Court2, so only a brief summary of [508]*508the facts relating to this adversary will be provided here.

This action was commenced by James R. Zazzali, Litigation Trustee for the DBSI Estate Litigation Trust (“Trustee”) on November 4, 2010. (Doc. #1.) The complaint (the “Complaint”) asserts causes of action for the avoidance and recovery of actually fraudulent, preferential, and post-petition transfers pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 544, 547, 548, 549, 550, 551, and applicable state3 fraudulent transfer law; unjust enrichment; and disallowance of claims pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 502(d). Over 100 broker-dealer defendants are named in the action. The identities and residences of the defendants are listed on Exhibit A to the Complaint. Exhibit B lists numerous transfers (the “Transfers”) made by DBSI Securities to the defendants, and includes the amount, date, and check number for each Transfer.

Movants filed this Motion to dismiss the Complaint in its entirety for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). After briefing from the parties, this matter is ripe for decision.

Jurisdiction

This Court has jurisdiction over this adversary proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334. This proceeding involves core matters under § 157(b)(2)(B), (F), (H), and (0).

Standard of Review

In order to survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). Under the pleading requirements imposed by Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)4, the plaintiff must provide more than “labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Rather, “factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Id. See also Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 210 (3d Cir.2009) (“To prevent dismissal, all civil complaints must now set out ‘sufficient factual matter’ to show that the claim is facially plausible. This then ‘allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.’ ”) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937). The court will “accept all factual allegations as true, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether, under any reasonable reading of the complaint, the plaintiff may be entitled to relief.” Phillips v. Cnty. of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 233 (3d Cir.2008).

Discussion

Count One: Avoidance of Actually Fraudulent Transfers under 11 U.S.C. § 518(a)(1)(A), 550, and 551

A trustee may avoid a transfer “made with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud” creditors, provided that the transfer was made within two years before the petition date. 11 U.S.C. [509]*509§ 548(a)(1)(A). Actions to avoid actually fraudulent transfers under § 548(a)(1)(A) are subject to the Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b) heightened standard of pleading. Official Comm, of Unsecured Creditors of Fedders N. Am. v. Goldman Sachs Credit Partners (In re Fedders N. Am., Inc.), 405 B.R. 527, 544 (Bankr.D.Del.2009). Rule 9(b) requires a plaintiff bringing a cause of action for fraud to “state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake.” This standard is relaxed where the plaintiff is a trustee in bankruptcy, because “of the trustee’s ‘inevitable lack of knowledge concerning acts of fraud previously committed against the debtor, a third party.’ ” Id. (citing Schwartz v. Kursman (In re Harry Levin, Inc. t/a Levin’s Furniture), 175 B.R. 560, 567 (Bankr. E.D.Pa.1994)). Nonetheless, even under the more relaxed Rule 8(a) standard, the plaintiff must provide more than mere legal conclusions and cannot simply repeat the elements of the cause of action. Mervyn’s LLC v. Lubert-Adler Grp. TV (In re Mervyn’s Holdings, Inc.), 426 B.R. 488, 494 (Bankr.D.Del.2010) (citing Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1964-65).

Because of the difficulty in proving actual fraudulent intent, the court can infer the necessary intent from the circumstances of the case, particularly the presence or absence of “badges of fraud.” Fedders, 405 B.R. at 545. The traditional badges of fraud include (but are not limited to):

(1) the relationship between the debtor and the transferee;
(2) consideration for the conveyance;
(3) insolvency or indebtedness of the debtors;
(4) how much of the debtor’s estate was transferred;
(5) reservation of benefits, control or dominion by the debtor over the property transferred; and
(6) secrecy or concealment of the transaction.

Id. No single badge of fraud is dispositive, and the court may consider other factors. Id.

Trustee pleads that the collective DBSI enterprise was insolvent at the time of the Transfers. Specifically, Trustee makes the following allegations:

• “Marketing, transactional and organizational costs in the TIC5 syndication business prevented [DBSI] from generating sufficient profit to support the DBSI enterprise.

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477 B.R. 504, 2012 WL 3668136, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 3935, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zazzali-ex-rel-dbsi-estate-litigation-trust-v-afa-financial-group-llc-deb-2012.