Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company v. Savin Hill et al

Filing 32

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ORDER entered. Plaintiff's 18 Motion for Real Estate and Trustee Process Attachments is ALLOWED IN PART and otherwise remains under advisement. See attached Order. (Matteson, Nicholas)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
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METROPOLITAN PROPERTY AND
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CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, )
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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Civil Action No. 15-12939-LTS
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SAVIN HILL FAMILY
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CHIROPRACTIC, INC., et al.,
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Defendants.
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ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR REAL ESTATE
AND TRUSTEE PROCESS ATTACHMENTS
July 21, 2015
SOROKIN, J.
Metropolitan seeks real estate and trustee process attachments to secure funds it asserts it
will obtain from the final judgment on its claims of fraud and violation of Chapter 93A. In order
to prevail, Metropolitan must establish: 1) a reasonable likelihood that it will recover a judgment
2) in an amount equal to or greater than the amount of the attachment, and 3) in excess of any
liability insurance available to satisfy the judgment. Metro. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Boston
Reg’l Physical Therapy, Inc., 550 F. Supp. 2d 199, 201 (D. Mass. 2008); Latorraca v. Centennial
Technologies Inc., 583 F. Supp. 2d 208, 211 (D. Mass. 2008) aff’d sub nom. Latorraca v. Taniki
Fin. Corp., 393 F. App’x 730 (1st Cir. 2010). In general, Metropolitan alleges a scheme to
defraud it by fraudulent billing practices of two chiropractic entities, their owners, certain
employees, and various related individuals. Insofar as Metropolitan contends, as it appeared to
do during the motion hearing, that it may prevail against all defendants with a general allegation

of conspiracy without making a showing that each defendant knowingly participated in the
alleged fraud, the Court disagrees. See, e.g., Boston Reg’l Physical Therapy, Inc., 550 F. Supp.
2d at 201 (holding that conspiracy under Massachusetts law requires, inter alia, showing either a
“joint agreement to deceive” or “an agreement . . . to do a wrongful act” either of which requires
knowing participation in the conspiracy by each defendant alleged to be a member of the
conspiracy).
Metropolitan has met its burden of proof, and the Motion, Doc. No. 18, ALLOWED as to
Savin Hill Family Chiropractic, Logan Chiropractic, Metro Coach, and the owners of the
chiropractic entities, Tony Ramos and Kenneth Ramos. The allowance of this Motion is subject
to the following two conditions. First, after the above-named Defendants appear in this action,
they may seek to dissolve the attachments or otherwise seek reconsideration of the Court’s Order
(which has been rendered without the benefit of a response from those defendants though they
were served and had an opportunity, albeit brief, to respond) subject to opposition from the
Plaintiff. Second, though this Order does not specifically so provide, the parties are encouraged
to negotiate reasonable exceptions for ordinary and reasonable expenditures of the entities and
individuals.
Insofar as Plaintiff seeks real estate and trustee process attachments against the remaining
defendants, the Motion remains under advisement.
SO ORDERED.

/s/ Leo T. Sorokin
Leo T. Sorokin
United States District Judge

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