ABCD Holdings, LLC v. Hannon, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-068-17)
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUFFOLK, ss. SUPERIOR COURT. 1684CV01840-BLS2 ____________________ ABCD HOLDINGS, LLC v. PATRICK J. HANNON, SOFIA GAGUA, and PATRICK J. (“P.J.”) HANNON and Others1 ________________________________________ PATRICK J. HANNON v. ABCD HOLDINGS, LLC; ABC&D RECYCLING, INC.; WARE REAL ESTATE, LLC; TRI COUNTY RECYCLING, INC.; and GEORGE McLAUGHLIN, III ____________________ MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS COUNTERCLAIMS AND THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS Plaintiff ABCD Holdings, LLC, (“Holdings”) has sued Patrick J. Hannon in part to enforce Hannon’s personal guaranty of one-half of the amount that Holdings loaned to Ware Real Estate, LLC (“Ware”) and ABC&D Recycling, Inc (“Recycling”). Holdings claims that Hannon is liable under his limited guaranty to repay $ 109,879.50 (half the original loan amount) plus reasonable collection costs. In response, Hannon has asserted various counterclaims and third-party claims alleging, in essence, that George McLaughlin deliberately prevented Ware and Recycling from repaying what they owed under their note by using Holdings to take control of Ware and Recycling and then transferring their assets and business operatings to a new entity called Tri County Recycling, Inc. (“Tri County”). The parties sued by Hannon—i.e., McLaughlin, Holdings, Ware, Recycling, and Tri County—have moved to dismiss Hannon’s claims. They claim that Hannon’s claims are all barred by a release executed by the Chapter 7 trustee of Hannon’s bankruptcy estate. In addition, Tri County asserts that the allegations against it do not state viable claims even if the claims were not barred by the release. The Court concludes that these arguments are without merit. It will therefore DENY the motion to dismiss Hannon’s counterclaims and third-party claims. 1 Reach and Apply Defendants J. Derenzo Co.; J. Derenzo Construction Company, Inc.; Sofia Gagua; RHR, LLC; Patrick J. (“P.J.”) Hannon; Similar Soils, Inc.; Immanuel Corp.; Agritech, Inc.; and L-5, Inc. – 2 – 1. Settlement Agreement and Release. Hannon filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code on May 3, 2012. That bankruptcy case was converted to a Chapter 7 or liquidation proceeding on January 2, 2013. The bankruptcy trustee sued Bright Horizon, LLC (“Bright Horizon”) and The McLaughlin Brothers, P.C. (“McLaughlin Bros.”) to recover various payments Hannon had made to them. In May 2015 the bankruptcy trustee entered into a settlement agreement in which George McLaughlin, Bright Horizon, and McLaughlin Bros. agreed to pay the bankruptcy estate $ 45,000. In exchange, the trustee released all claims “whether known or unknown” that the estate or Hannon may have against George McLaughlin, Bright Horizon, McLaughlin Bros., or “any entity owned by any of” them. The settlement agreement states that it is releasing such claims “to the Trustee’s full authority to waive such claims.” McLaughlin asserts that he owns Holdings, Recycling, Ware, and Tri County, […]