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12 Pursuant to Rule 22, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and 28 U.S.C. § 1335,
13 Plaintiff Westchester Fire Insurance Company (“Westchester”) hereby files its Complaint
14 in Interpleader against ML Liquidating Trust (“ML Trust”), ML Manager, LLC, ML
15 Servicing Company, the Estate of Scott Coles, SMC Revocable Trust Dated December
16 22, 1994, Ashley Coles, Christopher Olson, Michael Denning, Todd Brown, Jeffrey
17 Newman, Laura Martini, Nechelle Wimmer, Yi Yang, George Everette, Phillip Sollomi,
18 Jr., Manuel Alemany, Joseph Lee, Robert Furst, Richard Alan Zeigler, Ryan Walter
19 (collectively “ML Defendants”), Robert Facciola, The Robert Maurice Facciola Trust
20 dated December 2, 1994, Honeylou C. Reznik, The Morris Reznik and Honeylou C.
21 Reznik Trust, Jewel Box Loan Company, Inc., Jewel Box, Inc., H-M Investments, LLC,
22 Fred C. Hagel and Jacqueline M. Hagel Revocable Trust dated March 15, 1995 and
23 Judith A. Baker, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated (“Facciola
24 Defendants”), and Victims Recovery, LLC (“Victims Recovery Defendants”).
25 Westchester alleges the following:
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1 PARTIES
4 Indemnity Policy No. BMI20047145 (“the Policy”) to Mortgages Ltd. A copy of the
7 2009” and the “Order Confirming Investors Committee’s First Amended Plan
8 Reorganization Dated March 12, 2009” entered May 20, 2009 in the Mortgages Ltd.
9 bankruptcy proceeding, ML Trust is the sole successor to any and all rights of Mortgages
10 Ltd. (the original owner of the Policy) to the Policy and any predecessor policies.
11 Mortgages Ltd. was an Arizona corporation whose principal place of business was
14 liability company that has succeeded to certain rights of Mortgages Ltd., an Arizona
20 Mortgages Ltd.’s deceased CEO Scott Coles who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa
21 County, Arizona.
22 6. Upon information and belief, Defendant Gerald Smith has been named the
23 personal representative of Scott Coles’ estate by the Superior Court of Maricopa County,
24 Arizona. These claims are asserted against Mr. Smith in his capacity as the personal
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1 December 22, 1994 is a trust that may hold certain rights on behalf of Scott Coles.
3 employee of Mortgages Ltd. who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona.
5 employee of Mortgages Ltd. who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona.
6 10. Upon information and belief, Defendant Todd Brown is a former employee
9 employee of Mortgages Ltd. who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona.
11 employee of Mortgages Ltd. who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona.
13 employee of Mortgages Ltd. who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona.
17 employee of Mortgages Ltd. who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona.
18 16. Upon information and belief, Defendant Phillip Sollomi, Jr. is a former
19 employee of Mortgages Ltd. who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona.
21 employee of Mortgages Ltd. who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona.
22 18. Upon information and belief, Defendant Joseph Lee is a former employee
24 19. Upon information and belief, Defendant Robert Furst is a former employee
26 20. Upon information and belief, Defendant Richard Alan Zeigler is a former
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1 employee of Mortgages Ltd. who is domiciled and residing in Maricopa County, Arizona.
2 21. Upon information and belief, Defendant Ryan Walter is a former employee
4 22. Upon information and belief, Robert Facciola, The Robert Maurice
5 Facciola Trust dated December 2, 1994, Honeylou C. Reznik, The Morris Reznik and
6 Honeylou C. Reznik Trust, Jewel Box Loan Company, Inc., Jewel Box, Inc., H-M
7 Investments, LLC, Fred C. Hagel and Jacqueline M. Hagel Revocable Trust dated March
8 15, 1995, and Judith A. Baker are residents or citizens of Maricopa County, Arizona
9 and/or they have consented to jurisdiction in the United States District Court for the
10 District of Arizona for their claims related to Mortgages Ltd. by filing Facciola, et al. v.
11 Greenburg Traurig, et al., United States District Court, District of Arizona No. 2:10-CV-
12 01025-MHM (“the Facciola case”). Facciola Defendants are asserting rights under the
13 Policy.
14 23. Upon information and belief, Victims Recovery, LLC is an Arizona limited
17 24. This Court has personal jurisdiction over each of the Defendants in this
18 Complaint in Interpleader under the United States Constitution and Arizona’s long-arm
19 statute, Ariz. R. Civ. P. 4.2(a), because the Defendants are domiciled and residing in
20 Arizona and/or they allegedly caused an event to occur in Arizona out of which this claim
21 arises and/or because the Defendants purposefully directed their activities into this forum.
22 25. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28
23 U.S.C. §§ 1332 and 1335 because this action is between citizens of different states, the
24 amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, and because the District Court has original
25 jurisdiction over this interpleader claim related to a policy of insurance greater than $500.
26 26. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391, the District of Arizona is the proper venue
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1 for this action because all the Defendants are domiciled and reside within Arizona and/or
2 because “a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim” occurred
3 in Arizona.
4 FACTS
8 28. Westchester issued the Policy to Mortgages Ltd. with a policy period from
9 September 22, 2007 through February 19, 2009 and an extended reporting period until
10 February 19, 2012. Among other things, the Policy contained a Directors and Officers
11 (“D&O”) coverage section that requires Westchester to indemnify Mortgages Ltd. and/or
12 its directors, officers, and employees for certain defined losses arising out of claims made
13 against Mortgages Ltd. and/or its directors, officers, and employees during the policy
14 period and/or extended reporting period. The specific circumstances to which the D&O
15 coverage section applies are set forth in the Policy and relevant endorsements.
17 does not have a duty to defend Mortgages Ltd. and/or its directors, officers, and
19 30. The D&O coverage section contains a $3,000,000 aggregate for all “Loss,”
22 31. These limits are, by the Policy’s express terms, inclusive of the insured’s
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1 32. Accordingly the D&O coverage section has been reduced by certain
2 defense and indemnity payments made by Westchester such that only $3,740,870
3 remains.
5 33. Upon information and belief, Mortgages Ltd. (“the Company”) formerly
6 operated as a private-mortgage lender in Arizona that originated, sold, and serviced real-
7 estate loans.
8 34. Upon information and belief, the Company declared bankruptcy in 2008
9 after accumulating nearly $1 billion in debt owed to various borrowers, creditors, and
10 investors.
13 “the ML Litigation”) against, among others, Mortgages Ltd. and some or all of ML
14 Defendants arising out of various allegations, including but not limited to, that Mortgages
15 Ltd. and ML Defendants defrauded investors by, among other things, violating Arizona
17 Ponzi scheme.
18 36. Upon information and belief, the ML Litigation includes, among others, the
19 following cases alleging claims against Mortgages Ltd. and/or some or all of ML
20 Defendants:
22 CV2010-097769;
24 CV2010-052169;
26 CV2010-052152;
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2 052206;
4 052168;
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1 37. These cases allege some or all of the following general categories of claims
5 c. Negligence;
8 f. Illegal enterprise;
11 38. In addition to ML Defendants, most of these claims also target the licensed
13 Ltd., including but not limited to several large law firms and accounting firms.
14 39. Mortgages Ltd. and ML Defendants sought insurance coverage under the
15 D&O coverage section of the Policy for the ML Litigation, including these various causes
16 of action.
18 40. Westchester initially denied coverage for some of the cases within the ML
19 Litigation based upon a variety of Policy provisions and exclusions to the D&O coverage
20 section of the Policy, including but not limited to the exclusions listed below.
21 41. For example, the lender’s liability exclusion states Westchester shall not be
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3 any loss:
alleging, based upon, arising out of, attributable to, directly or
4 indirectly resulting from, in consequence of, or in any way involving
5 . . . (iii) any equity or debt offering, solicitation, sale, distribution or
issuance of securities of the Company in excess of $100 million
6 during the Policy Period . . . or any activities or transactions dealing
in any way with such issuances of securities.
7
43. The professional services exclusion states Westchester shall not be liable
8
for any loss:
9
alleging, based upon, arising out of, attributable to, directly or
10 indirectly resulting from, in consequence of, or in any way involving
the rendering or failing to render professional services. Provided,
11 however, this exclusion shall not apply to any Claim(s) brought by a
12 securities holder of the Company in their capacity as such.
44. The absolute contract exclusion states Westchester shall not be liable for
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any loss “alleging, based upon, arising out of, attributable to, directly or indirectly
14
resulting from, in consequence of, or in any way involving the actual or alleged breach of
15
any oral, written, express or implied contract or agreement.”
16
45. After Westchester denied coverage to ML Defendant Christopher Olson in
17
the Facciola case, Facciola Defendants entered into a Damron agreement with Olson
18
relating to the claims they asserted as Plaintiffs against him in the Facciola case. In
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conjunction with this agreement, Olson stipulated to allow Facciola Defendants to enter
20
judgment against him for $5,000,000 in exchange for a covenant not to execute the
21
judgment against him.
22
46. On August 6, 2010, the Court entered judgment in the Facciola case in
23
favor of Facciola Defendants and against ML Defendant Christopher Olson for
24
$5,000,000.
25
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1 47. Upon information and belief, Facciola Defendants and Victims Recovery
2 Defendants also entered into an agreement with ML Defendant Jeffrey Newman whereby
3 they agreed to dismiss their respective claims against Mr. Newman in exchange for an
5 48. Since its initial denial, Westchester has continued to evaluate this matter
6 and Westchester still believes the claims fall squarely within the ambit of the lender’s
8 provisions.
10 the potential need to litigate the coverage issues in multiple forums, Westchester
11 withdrew, based solely on such other factors, its denial of coverage and accepted
12 coverage under the D&O coverage section without reservation for ML Defendants for the
13 ML Litigation.
15 50. The various claims in the ML litigation allege upwards of $900 million in
16 damages.
17 51. These amounts far exceed the limits of the D&O coverage section.
19 Recovery Defendants all claim an interest in the Policy proceeds that will subject
20 Westchester to multiple and excessive claims beyond the Policy limits, although
21 Westchester has, at all times, acted fairly, reasonably and in good faith toward the
22 Defendants.
23 53. For example, Facciola Defendants seek to assert the $5,000,000 stipulated
24 judgment against Olson against Westchester via a writ of garnishment issued by the
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2 of defense and indemnity costs under the D&O coverage section of the Policy for use in
4 55. As a result of these competing claims to the Policy funds under the D&O
5 coverage section, Westchester filed this Complaint in Interpleader so that the Court can
8 56. Westchester realleges the foregoing paragraphs and incorporates all such
11 the remaining limits of the D&O coverage section and/or in what amounts.
12 58. Westchester cannot safely pay the remaining funds until it is determined to
14 59. The competing claims and demands of the Defendants are such that
15 Westchester is, or may be, exposed to the risk of multiple liabilities and/or multiple
16 pieces of litigation, although Westchester has, at all times, acted fairly, reasonably and in
19 D&O coverage section of the Policy so that the Court can determine to whom and in what
21 61. Because the D&O coverage section limit has been reduced by
22 reimbursements for defense and indemnity costs, the total amount of the funds available
23 at the time of this filing is $3,740,870 – which represents the only remaining funds under
26 Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Westchester
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1 anticipates filing a motion seeking permission of the Court to deposit the funds with the
3 63. Westchester has no interest in the remaining the D&O coverage section
5 64. There is not now, nor has there ever been, any collusion between
6 Westchester and any of the Defendants. Westchester has brought this action solely to
7 secure the proper and appropriate distribution of the remaining coverage available under
8 the Policy.
9 65. Without this action, Westchester has no way of protecting itself against
10 multiple and excessive claims to the remaining coverage available under the Policy.
14 b. That the Court enter an order restraining Defendants, and each of them,
16 rights and obligations between and among the parties to the interpleader
18 c. That the Court enter an order directing the proper distribution of the
19 remaining funds within the remaining Policy limits to any or all of the
20 Defendants herein;
21 d. That, upon future request and upon deposit of the remaining Policy limits
23 in this proceeding, and that the Court order and adjudge that Westchester
24 have no further liability of any kind to any of the Defendants herein for
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1 e. For such other and further relief as this Court deems reasonable and just
3
4
5 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 8th day of March, 2011.
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