Friday, November 20, 2009

Mississippi Valley Title in scrum against Evans, bankruptcy trustee, & banks

Synopsis of Evans case: Charles Evans, Jr. was an attorney approved by Mississippi Valley Title Insurance Company to provide title certificates to MVT and lenders showing a borrower had clear title to property. MVT filed a lawsuit in September accusing his brother of using over 30 LLC's to obtain fraudulent loans from over 30 banks in Mississippi. Chris Evans would allegedly use one company to purchase a large tract of prime commercial real estate in Madison and Desoto Counties. Another company owned by Evans would obtain a commercial real estate mortgage on a smaller section of the tract yet that borrowing company never obtained a deed showing ownership of the land from the other company. Charles would allegedly provide a title certificate however showing the borrowing company owned the land even though it didn't. Over 80 loans for nearly $50 million were issued by Mississippi banks to companies owned by Chris Evans for lands those companies either did not own. MVT has testified federal authorities are currently investigating the case. Chris Evans filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on October 26, which stopped the Mississippi Valley Title's lawsuit against him as federal bankruptcy law stays most state civil court proceedings once a bankruptcy petition is filed. Mississippi Valley Title testified 65 title insurance claims for approximately $41 million have been filed by banks affected by the Evans case.


Apparently Mississippi Valley Title Insurance Company is now fighting a three-front war in the bankruptcy case of Chris Evans. Mississippi Valley Title filed an Emergency Motion for a Rule 2004 Examination of Debtor on November 16 seeking an examination on November 20, 2009. Under Rule 2004, the Court may order an examination of "the acts, conduct, or property or to the liabilities and financial condition of the debtor, or to any matter which may affect the administration of the debtor's estate, or to the debtor's right to a discharge." Federal rules of bankruptcy

Mississippi Valley Title claims in its motion that Chris Evans filed bankruptcy as a delaying tactic against the lawsuit alleging fraud Mississippi Valley Title filed against him in Madison County Chancery Court. MVT argues "Debtor is also the subject of a criminal investigation by the FBI and other investigative government bodies for Debtor's fraudulent conduct. Based upon this criminal investigation, Movant expects that Debtor will likely exercise his Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to answer any questions in the Rule 2004 Examination. It is imperative that Movant determine if that is the Debtor’s position because it will be necessary for the Debtor to be granted immunity under Section 344 of the Bankruptcy Code prior to the first meeting of creditors now scheduled for December 9, 2009. Otherwise, the Debtor will have succeeded in further delay of investigation into his fraudulent content."
Copy of motion

Derek Henderson, the trustee appointed for the case, stated he had no objection to an examination and that "such an examination will ultimately be required". Unfortunately for MVT, Henderson states he "fails to see the emergency nature of the motion" and provides several reasons to support his position. Copy of Trustee's response

The trustee also attempts to stop Mississippi Valley Title apparent attempt to use the 2004 motion to settle the title issue for the properties allegedly used by the Evans brothers to perpetuate their fraud. This is crucial because many loans were issued by 32 banks in Mississippi on properties in Madison and Desoto Counties owned by the Evans brothers. In most cases the certificate of titles issued to Mississippi Valley Title and the lenders by Charles Evans, Jr., were said to be fraudulent, thus leaving the banks with no collateral and MVT at risk of paying millions in dollars in claims to the lenders. In many cases, the same tract of land had multiple loans issued on it by several banks that had no knowledge of the other loans. Thus, the title issue is very important to everyone involved in this case. The banks thus have a strong interest in an examination or court determining who has title to these properties and aren't going to be too crazy about an sudden examination held in their absence.

Mississippi Valley also asked the Court to to meet with MVT in the Examination and fix the title problems on the properties at issue in this case. MVT stated it "has also requested Debtor, both individually and in his capacity as an officer, manager, or member of various entities, to execute curative real property deeds in an effort to merge equitable and legal title."

The Trustee said he would oppose any such action by Evans and that it would "only cause possible adversary proceedings in the bankruptcy case as to preferences and/or fraudulent transfers.' (Translation: Some banks are going to see this as a power play to screw them and we aren't going to go there.) The Trustee asserts that it is better to leave the property issues at status quo until a complete investigation can be done..." Mr. Henderson warned MVT he would take this position in a letter dated November 9, 2009. Copy of letter It should be noted Cadence Bank filed a joinder petition with the Court supporting the Trustee's action.

Several banks filed objections to some of the motions filed by Mississippi Valley Title and other banks. Mississippi Valley filed a motion on November 6 asking for permission to pursue its fraud lawsuit against Chris Evans in Madison County Chancery Court. Copy of motion. First State Bank, Bank of Forest, Holmes County Bank, and State Bank & Trust objected to this motion on November 17, Copy of objection, and argued the bankruptcy court should decide this matter, not the state court.

Its not hard to see why the banks are objecting to Mississippi Valley Title's request that it be allowed to pursue the fraud case against Chris Evans. MVT requested the Chancellor appoint a Special Master to preside over the case which would in effect replace the Trustee in all but name only. The banks as creditors have more rights in the bankruptcy court and are able to file their own claims and motions. If the Court grants permission to MVT to proceed with its case against Chris Evans, the banks are reduced to the role of cheerleaders hoping Mississippi Valley Title is looking out for their interests in state court unless they intervene. It should also be pointed out that in bankruptcy court the Trustee has powers not available to the Special Master and can also prosecute bankruptcy fraud if discovered. It is pretty clear to see why some of the banks are not to comfortable with MVT's attempt to have the case removed back to state court.

These banks also objected to Mississippi Valley Title's emergency request for a Rule 2004 examination. They argue an examination should be held but it should be at a time and place where all of the banks have an opportunity to participate if they so desire. Copy of objection to 2004 motion

Cadence Bank also jumped into the fray, filing its own motion opposing Mississippi Valley Title. Cadence claimed it had $4.6 million at stake and that it couldn't understand exactly why Mississippi Valley Title was trying to force an examination so quickly and without the other banks present. Cadence agreed with State, First State, Holmes, and Forest and asked the Court to order an examination "far enough in the future" so all interested parties could participate. Copy of Cadence's objection to 2004 motion

There is one further issue that should be considered. Has Mississippi Valley Title actually paid any claims? The insurance company stated 65 claims worth over $41 million were filed against it by policyholders affected by the Evans case. In his motion to dismiss, the lawyer for Charles Evans, Jr., argues Mississippi Valley Title has suffered no harm and can't sue for suspected "future" injury. A fundamental rule is that before a party can recover for damages, it must first show injury to the court. MVT has not stated how much money it has paid in claims, if any. So the question must be asked if Mississippi Valley Title has actually paid any claims so far in the Evans case.

The Evans-izer Bunny, it just keeps going....and going.... and going....

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing but..."My attorney can beat your attorney's ass!" This is gonna be fun.

Anonymous said...

Why is Chris's house in Dinsmoor not listed as an asset? Could it be because Charles is tucked away in the house with no car, no money, no family?

Why is Chris being allowed to continue Gulf States business by stealing the money the salespeople bring in and placing in an unknown account in Texas?

Why is he paying the one or two employees he has left by credit card? Why are the checks bouncing? Could he be running out of money? He sure is. Why is he living in Residence Inn in Jackson when servers are running around trying to serve him? He was at the Office Park Drive office 2 mornings ago. He drives a blue F-150 truck with a Madison tag.

Why is one of the biggest scam artists EVER still operating Gulf STates Directory? Why have the FBI not shut this office down and pulled ALL the info they need out of that office.

A list of all banks scammed are in the office in binders above the filing cabinets.

Why are the office employees not being questioned as to what they know?

Thank God, I did not drink the kool-aid. Some did and they are suffering as they should. The rest of us are laughing our asses off.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Anonymous said...

To above poster, you seriously need some therapy. To those of us who have known Chris over the years, we know this is out of character for him, and we're praying for everyone involved in the situation.

Anonymous said...

You may have "known" Chris, but you've never known the real Chris. There are several other stunts he's pulled over the years, but everyone kept it quiet.

Anonymous said...

Sidebar- Derek Henderson is also the trustee for SteadiVest. Busy man no doubt.

Anonymous said...

You seriously need therapy if you believed anything he said. It is not out of character at all. He has been doing stuff like this for years as one of his most longtime salespeople aired all of his dirty laundry in the office for some time.
They need praying for.

Keep looking for a job honey and hope no one remembers your name and that you were selling fraudulent ads.

You just needed the money more than you needed your morals. Some of us consider morals MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONEY. But hey, when you have bills like yours, guess you want to drink the crazy kool aid.

Anonymous said...

I am specifically thinking about the time , around '93 or '94 when they were witholding taxes from paychecks but never turning the money in. One employee went to check on his SS and was told you haven't paid anything in in some time. He went home, pulled his stubs and took them back to the SS office. They were closed down the next day by the state. What did they do with the money? How do you take taxes out of employees pay and not send it in accordingly?

Answer: When your a scam artist. When your dad leaves you millions in a trust fund and you and your brother squander it all and then you scam millions of dollars from banks and other businesses, it is as low as you can get.

Go ahead, check it out. Read it and weep for your stupidity and your greed.

Anonymous said...

Well, a lot of people admired Chris as a Christian - plenty of saintly people in the Bible made terrible mistakes. Besides, you don't know the whole story. I fear for you, for your pridefulness.

Anonymous said...

Now, now children..I am going to have to separate you and put you in TIME OUT.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Fish, a question please.....in your original report on the hearing in yazoo, if i recall correctly, you reported that the MVT lawyer said that MVT had 43 policies where the borrower had NO TITLE and 40 policies where the lien insured was junior instead of being first in priority.....in the title insurance world, that equates to 83 claims!

yet, MVT now files something saying they only have received 65 claims.....so that tells me that some banks need to get their heads out of their rear-ends and file another 18 claims in they want to have any chance of getting paid.

but all these banks don't need to get their hopes up - a bank president told me that their reputation among banks is that they "will pay a claim just as soon as the supreme court says they have to!"

i have believed all along that banks will make a big mistake by trusting them....your report about this most recent "scrum" seems to bear that belief out

Mr. Fish, you have done well!

now the question, what is the explanation of the discrepancy of 83 vs. 65 in number of claims?

Anonymous said...

MVT is simply trying to minimize some its claims issues. After all, the policy states they will either pay you the amount of the policy or provide you with clear title. To that end, they want it back in state court, where there is a better chance of getting a judge to apportion the property.....thereby limiting the ultimate losses to be paid in claims by MVT. As for the current number of claims, I concur there are claims yet to be filed.

Anonymous said...

Has the national news picked up on this yet? It's definitely true. The more money you have the more you want.

Kingfish said...

I took the numbers given in the courtroom verbatim as stated by MVT. The numbers that day were for loans affected, which is not claims filed with MVT. The numbers in court are pretty close to my independent tabulation.

As for the state court, I kind of like a trustee handling it. He has more powers than a Special Master, the banks have their interests protected to a larger degree without intervening, and the trustee can initiate a criminal prosecution by the feds for BK fraud much more quickly than a state judge can.

Anonymous said...

KF, if MVT did the examination of evans title policy files that it claimed in that hearing you reported on and if they really did find those 83 defective policies, whether a claim had been filed yet or not, they should have set up reserve accounts for them.

It is going to be VERY interesting to see what kind of reserve accounts MVT set up on the 3rd quarter statement which should have been filed on Monday, November 15. Otherwise, why would MVT's lawyer have given a $$$ amount of the fraud to the court?

If they're suing over it and claiming fraud, it's probably a safe bet that it'll become a claim very shortly even if it wasn't at the time and since they knew about it, they should have reserved for it.

But that's probably where we'll get to see if the new insurance commissioner is gonna be a real commissioner or just a bad joke like the last one was - Mississippi can not afford another one like the last one and we need to pray that Mike Chaney is the real deal! There are too many ridiculous politicians in this state as it is now.

Anonymous said...

I figured it out Kingfish. The C-L only writes a story about this scandal only a weekly basis after reading all your updates. This morning's article had to have been 100% lifted from your work all the way down to the examples.

Kingfish said...

No, what Brown is doing is going into PACER and copying directly from the documents filed. All this story was was a reprinting of Jones's affidavit and another document filed.

Keep in mind its hard as hell to get quotes on this story except from Allison and Cheney. NO ONE wants to go on the record.



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