Bankruptcy Court Rules Against Lawyer-Felon Over Title to Real Property
Post 5046
Posted on April 11, 2025 by Barry Zalma
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The litigation in the US Bankruptcy Court involved a dispute over the ownership of a property located at 1999 Deerfield Road, Watermill, New York. The Plaintiffs claim that a 2015 deed transferring the property to the Debtor was fraudulent and seek to have it declared void. The Defendants argued that the Plaintiffs’ claims are barred under various legal theories, including judicial estoppel, res judicata, laches, unclean hands, and adverse possession.
In In re: RJT Food & Restaurant, LLC, Debtor, 2027 Deerfield Ltd And George Guldi Family Trust Of April 19, 2000 v. RJT Food & Restaurant, LLC, Richard Bivona, Danmik Investors LLC, Estate Of Robert Voto And Pensco Trust Company, F/B/O Edith K. Spiegel, IRA, No. 23-70447 (REG), Adv. Pro. No. No. 24-08007 (REG), United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. New York (April 4, 2025) found that the Plaintiffs’ claims are barred by judicial estoppel and res judicata, but denied summary judgment based on tax estoppel, equitable estoppel, laches, unclean hands, adverse possession, and ratification of the 2015 deed.
FACTS
George Guldi’s Criminal History
On March 25, 2009, the Suffolk County District Attorney indicted Guldi, an attorney, for his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme. Later that year, Guldi was indicted in Suffolk County for theft of insurance funds. Guldi pled guilty in the 2009 Mortgage Fraud Case, and after a trial was convicted in the 2009 Insurance Fraud Case. Guldi was sentenced to a prison term of three to six years for grand larceny, and one to three years for insurance fraud. Guldi remained incarcerated from February 2011 until July 2017 when his conviction in the 2009 Insurance Fraud Case was overturned on appeal based on a finding of reversible error resulting from the trial court’s denial of Guldi’s challenge to one of the jurors.
In 2019, Guldi was indicted again, this time by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for offenses committed during his prior incarceration. Guldi was convicted of wire and bank fraud in the 2019 Bank Fraud Case.
In August 2023, he was sentenced to three years in prison and directed to pay $358,556 in restitution. Guldi was re-incarcerated in March 2024 and is currently in prison serving his sentence.
DISCUSSION
The Trustee moved for summary judgment arguing that the Plaintiffs’ claims should be dismissed based on judicial estoppel, tax estoppel, equitable estoppel, res judicata, and laches. The Trustee also sought summary judgment on his second counterclaim, for adverse possession
Judicial Estoppel
The Defendants argued that the Plaintiffs should be judicially estopped from asserting any interest in the Property in this case because Guldi, in connection with his criminal matters, repeatedly failed to disclose any interest in, direct or indirect, or any claim to, the Property and/or any income generated by the Property.
Judicial estoppel generally requires that the party to be estopped and the party who took an inconsistent position in a prior proceeding, be the same.
Having determined that judicial estoppel is applicable to the facts of this case, the Court found that the necessary elements of that doctrine have been satisfied.
CONCLUSION
The Court granted the Defendants’ motions for summary judgment, in part, and dismissed Plaintiffs’ claims for declaratory judgment and quiet title with prejudice. The Plaintiffs’ cross-motion for summary judgment was denied.
Although for purposes of summary judgment this Court resolved ambiguities and drew factual inferences in favor of the Plaintiffs, the Court finds it beyond reason that Guldi, a businessman and former lawyer with experience in real estate matters, and also a person with severe financial troubles, could be unaware of the 2015 Deed, the Quiet Title Action or any of Bivona’s actions with respect to the Property, a house in Watermill, NY worth over $3 million.
The tangled web created by Guldi to, in the Court’s view, hide assets from creditors was in part predicated on the assumption that Bivona and other parties could be trusted to fulfill their role in the plan. In the end this appears to be Guldi’s fatal mistake.
ZALMA OPINION
Mr. Guldi proved that a lawyer, although knowledgeable on the law, makes an incompetent fraudster and explains why he is still imprisoned. His claim to title to the real property was barred by judicial estoppel and res judicata. The property stayed in the bankruptcy estate and Guldi’s latest attempt at fraud lost.
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