Summary
setting aside as fraudulent a conveyance that "was between related companies, and partners in business"
Summary of this case from Alishaev Bros. v. JewelryOpinion
March 1, 1993
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Orange County (Fitzer, J.H.O.).
Ordered that the judgments are affirmed, with one bill of costs.
The Judicial Hearing Officer's determination to set aside a transfer of real property from Ken and Nicolette Kraemer to Ken-Sals Realty Holding Corp. (hereinafter Ken-Sals) was proper. Under New York's Debtor and Creditor Law § 276 a conveyance, including a transfer of real property, is fraudulent if it is made with the actual intent to defraud one's present or future creditors. Clear and convincing evidence that the debtor Ken Kraemer harbored such an intent in effecting the transfer of real property from himself and his wife, Nicolette Kramer, to Ken-Sals can be inferred from the present circumstances (see, AMEV Capital Corp. v. Kirk, 180 A.D.2d 775; Marine Midland Bank v Murkoff, 120 A.D.2d 122, 128).
The testimony and documentary evidence submitted at the trial demonstrates that the full sales price paid by Ken-Sals was zero dollars, and that the transaction was not at arm's length. The evidence additionally establishes that the conveyance was between related companies, and partners in business. Moreover, the conveyance was made on April 10, 1986, 14 days before Ken-Sals, the alleged buyer of the property, was even incorporated.
In view of the evidence, we conclude that the awards of attorneys' fees to the plaintiffs were proper (see, Debtor and Creditor Law § 276-a). The appellant's remaining contentions are either unpreserved for appellate review or without merit. Thompson, J.P., Sullivan, Miller and Santucci, JJ., concur.