13.07.2015 Views

FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCES Nassau Academy of Law CLE Live ...

FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCES Nassau Academy of Law CLE Live ...

FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCES Nassau Academy of Law CLE Live ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

780 N.Y.S.2d 409 Page 39 A.D.3d 553, 780 N.Y.S.2d 409, 2004 N.Y. Slip Op. 05710(Cite as: 9 A.D.3d 553, 780 N.Y.S.2d 409)A.D.2d 208, 213, 412 N.Y.S.2d 901 [1979], affd. 48N.Y.2d 954, 425 N.Y.S.2d 65, 401 N.E.2d 187[1979] ). Supreme Court resolved this disputed componentby first finding that Gregory was a MegaGroup insider with an ownership interest in MPL atthe time <strong>of</strong> the transfer, and then inferring a lack <strong>of</strong>good faith as a matter <strong>of</strong> law. While we agree withSupreme Court's premise that the transfer <strong>of</strong> corporateassets to an insider establishes a lack <strong>of</strong> goodfaith as a matter <strong>of</strong> law, we note that the principlerequires the transfer <strong>of</strong> assets either directly to theinsider or to an entity controlled by the insider (seeMatter <strong>of</strong> P.A. Bldg. Co. v. Silverman, 298 A.D.2d327, 328, 750 N.Y.S.2d 13 [2002]; Berner Truckingv. Brown, supra; Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co.v. Lauer's Furniture Acquisition, 226 A.D.2d 1056,1057, 641 N.Y.S.2d 947 [1996], lv. dismissed 88N.Y.2d 962, 647 N.Y.S.2d 715, 670 N.E.2d 1347[1996]; Farm Stores v. School Feeding Corp., 102A.D.2d 249, 254, 477 N.Y.S.2d 374 [1984], affd. inpart 64 N.Y.2d 1065, 489 N.Y.S.2d 877, 479 N.E.2d222 [1985] ). Thus, a corporate insider's participationin both the transferor and the transferee is not sufficientto resolve the issue as a matter <strong>of</strong> law unless theinsider controls the transferee. When the insider is thetransferee or controls the transferee, there can be n<strong>of</strong>actual dispute that the purpose <strong>of</strong> the transfer was toconfer on the insider a preference over other creditors(see Matter <strong>of</strong> Superior Leather Co. v. Lipman SplitCo., supra at 797, 496 N.Y.S.2d 845).there<strong>of</strong> as granted the motion <strong>of</strong> respondent DianneHalton and Robert L. Halton for partial summaryjudgment; motion denied; and, as so modified, affirmed.SPAIN, J.P., CARPINELLO, MUGGLIN andLAHTINEN, JJ., concur.9 A.D.3d 553, 780 N.Y.S.2d 409, 2004 N.Y. SlipOp. 05710END OF DOCUMENT[5] While we agree with Supreme Court that Gregory'saffidavit *556 raises only feigned factual issuesdesigned to avoid the consequences <strong>of</strong> his earlierdeposition testimony admitting his interest in MPL atthe time <strong>of</strong> transfer (see Richter v. Collier, 5 A.D.3d1003, 1004, 773 N.Y.S.2d 645 [2004]; Martin v.Savage, 299 A.D.2d 903, 904, 750 N.Y.S.2d 684[2002] ), there is no evidence that his 40% interestwas a controlling one or that MPL was merely analter ego <strong>of</strong> either Gregory or Mega Group. Also,MPL <strong>of</strong>fered evidence that Gregory did not effectivelycontrol MPL. This question <strong>of</strong> control is sufficientto raise a triable issue <strong>of</strong> fact as to whether therewas a shuffling <strong>of</strong> corporate assets that gave a preferenceto Gregory's interests over respondents' claim(see Rebh v. Rotterdam Ventures, 252 A.D.2d 609,611, 675 N.Y.S.2d 234 [1998] ).ORDERED that the order and judgment is modified,on the law, without costs, by reversing so much© 2009 Thomson Reuters. No Claim to Orig. US Gov. Works.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!