The William W. Barney, M.D. P.C. Retirement Fund v. Perkins (In re Perkins), 298 BR 778 (Bankr.D.Utah)
PUBLISHED
Creditor, a retirement fund, filed a nondischargeability action against Debtor under 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(2)(A) alleging the Debtor's omissions and misrepresentations to Creditor were material and thus nondischargeable. The Debtor previously operated an investment firm in which Creditor placed funds for retirement. The Debtor failed to disclose personal ties and interests to a company to which the investment firm extended a loan that was funded by the Creditor. In analyzing whether the Debtor incurred a debt to the Creditor by soliciting, receiving and refusing to account for assets through false representations and material omissions, the Court looked to the Restatement (Second) of Torts §551(2). The Court concluded that the parties' relationship was one of trust and confidence which triggered the Debtor's duty to exercise reasonable care to disclose material information. The Debtor failed to uphold this duty to disclose by omitting and misrepresenting significant information that was material to the Creditor's investment decisions. The Creditor justifiably relied on the Debtor's representations and omissions in making investment decisions and was harmed as a result.