Libertas Funding, LLC v Associates of Boca Raton, Inc. 2024 NY Slip Op 31354(U) April 16, 2024 Supreme Court, Kings County Docket Number: Index No. 521042/2022 Judge: Francois A. Rivera Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip

Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New

York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication.

### FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/17/2024 09:49 AM INDEX NO. 521042/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 59 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/17/2024

1 of 6 HONORABLE FRANCOIS A. RIVERA

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### IAS Tetn1, Part 52 ofthe Supreme Coutt ofthe 

### State of Ne\\' York; heId i11 and i'cir the County ofKings; at the Courthouse, at Civic Center, I3rooklvn, New Y01'k, onthe

. . .**~** . . ' 16th day ofAp1'il 2024

LfBEK[AS FUNDJNG, LLC, 

### DECISION 

### & ORDER Plainti

### ff, IndexNo. : 521042/2

### 022 -against- Ms. 3 ASSOCIATES OF BOCARATON, INC., PALMMORTGAGKLLC,

. . ADVANTAGE REFERRALS, INC., INNELLA GROUP, INC,, CHAD INGRAM EDGE REALTY 

### LLC, 52 JULIET

### LLC, ASSOCIATES PLUS, 

### LLC_; JONATHAN CHADWICK INGRAM, Defendants.



### - ---- ------------- - ---------------------------- ----------- ------------X Recitation 

### in accordance with CPLR 2219 

### (a)ofthe papers considered on notice ofmotion filed on October 27, 2023, under motion sequence number three, by Libertas Funding, LLC (hereinafter plaintiff) for an order pursuant to 

### CPLR3212 granting summaryjudgment in its favor on its causes ofaction for breach 

### ofcontract and personal guarantee against the defendants Associates ofBoca Raton, Inc., Advantage Refen:als,- Inc., Inella Group, fnc., Chad Ingram Edge Realty LLC, 52 Juliet LLC, Associates Plus, LLC 1 (hereiiw1ler the compm1y defendants) 

### and 

### J(matlrnn Chadwick lμgram (hGreinaft~r 

### the guar~lhtoi'); The 

### motion is·urtopposed. -Notice ofinotion 

### -Affitmat1on in. support 

### Exhibits 

## A-N· '"Statement ofmaterial 

### facts Page 1 of6



# ____________________ ,,____ ,,__ , __ ,,_,___ "' 

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### FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/17/2024 09:49 AM INDEX NO. 521042/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 59 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/17/2024

2 of 6 

### BACKGROUND On July 22, 2022, plaintiffcommenced the instant action 

### by filing a summo11s and verified complaintwith the Kings County Clerk's office {KCCO). OnAugust8, 2022, plaintifffiled a 1iotice ofdiscontinuance against defendant Palm Mortgage LLC. On August 

### 21, 2()22, defendants Associates ofBoca Raton, Inc., Palm Mortgage, LLC, AdvantageRcfc1Tals, Inc., I11ella Group, Inc,, Chad Ingeam Edge RcaltyLLC, 52Juliet LLC; Associates Plus, LLC, and Jonathan Chadwick Ingramjoincd issue by interposing and filing aJoint answer withthe KCCO. The verif1ed complaint alleges thirty-two allegations offact ln support oftwo
causes ofaction for breach ofa contract and breach ofa personal g.uaranty. The verified complaint alleges the following salient facts, among others, On or about October 

### 6, 2021, p!aintiffc1rtd the company defendants entered into an agTe'ement, whereby plaintiff agreed to purcl1ase all rights to $325,500 ofcompany defendants' fi.1ture receivables (hereinafter "agreenient 

### #l"}. Plaintiffsatisfied its obligation under agreement 

### #1 by delivering to company defendants $250,000, the purchase price for said receivables. Iii addit_ion, on December 9, 2021, plaintiffand company defendants entered into
an agreement, whereby plaintiffagreed topurchase all rights to $685,000 ofcompany d~fendants' future receivables (hereinafter ''agreement#2"}. Plaintiffsatisfied its 

### obligation 11nder agree1nent #2 by de!

### ivering to compc,111y 

### detenddnts $500,000 the purchase price fat said 

### i'eceiyables. 

### In addition; gitarantor 

### agreed.~o guatarttee all amounts owed 

### toplaintifffrom company defendant

## upon a 

## bteach _in performance 

### by company defendants. 

### Page 

### 2 of

### 6 [* 2]

### FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/17/2024 09:49 AM INDEX NO. 521042/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 59 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/17/2024

3 of 6 Initially, company defendant met its obligation under the agreements. However, company defendmits breached the agreements and stopped delivering the purchased receivables 

### to plaintiff. Defendants are now 

### in defaulthaving only delivered $563,292.18 to plaintiff. Per the agree1t1ents, defendants now still have an obligation to deliver to plaintiffan additional $461,707.82, plus costs, disbursements, statutory interest from July 16, 2022, and attorney's fee. The company defendants and the guarantor have failed to pay the aniounts due and owing under the agreement. 

### LAWANDAPPLICATION Thereis no opposition to the instant motion. However, '"[a] summaryjudgment motion should not be granted merely because the party against whotnjudgme:nt is sought failed to submitpapets in opposition to themotion, (Le., 'defaulted')'' 

### (Liberty Taxi Mgt., Irle. 

### v Gincherman,·32AD3d 276,.278n [1st Dept20061, citing 

### Vermont TeddyBear Co.,
v 1-800 Beatgram Co. Inc., 

### 373 F3d 241, 244 

### [2d Cir 2004] ["the failure to oppose a motion for summaryj11dgment alone does notjustify the granting ofsummaryjudgment. Instead, the
... court must sti!L assess whether the movingparty has fulfilled its burden of dernonstra.ting that there is no genuine issue ofmaterial fact and its entitler'nerit to judgment

### as a matter of law;']; 

### see Cugil1iv

### SystemLumber Co., 

### Inc., 111 AD2d 114, 115 [1st Dept 1985])
.



### .It is Well established 

### tllatsUinmary Judgment may be granted 

### only when notriable issue offact exists 

### (Alvarez v 

### Prospect Hospital, 

### 68 NY2cl320 [19861). The burden 

## is upon 

### the moving party 

### toinake a ptima fade 

### showing that.he or she is entitled 

### to 

### .summaryjudgment 

### as a matter of

### law 

### by presenting evidence in admissible form Page 3 

### of6 [* 3]

### FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/17/2024 09:49 AM INDEX NO. 521042/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 59 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/17/2024

4 of 6 demonstrating the absence ofany material issues offact 

### (GitdJi·ida v Citibank, 100 NY2d 72, 81 

### [2003]}.' A failure to make that showing requires the denial oftbe surnrnaryjudgment motion, regardless ofthe adequacy ofthe opposing papcrs· 

### (.i(1·otte 

### v Gervasio, 

### 81 NY2d

. . ' . 

### l 062, 1063 [I 993]). lfa prima fade showing has been made, the burden shifts to the opposing party to produce evidentiary proofsufficienl to establish the existence of material issues of fact 

### (Alvarez, 68 NY2d at324). Pursuant to CPLR 3212 (b), a coul't 

### wi 

### U grai1t Ii rn otion for surrtmaryjudgment upon a deterniinationthat the movai1t1s papers justify holding, as a matter oflaw, that there is no defense to the cause ofaction or th at the cause ofaclion or defense has no 111erit. Futthenno.re,all the evidence must be viewedin the light 1110s,t favorable to the opponent 

### ofthe motion (Marine 

### MidlandBank"Dino 

### & Artie 1 

### sA.utomatic Transmission 

### Co,, 168 AD2d 6J() [2d Dept 1990]). The essential elements ofa cause ofaction to re.cover damages for breach of contract are "the existence ofa contract, the plaintiffs performance pursuant to the contract,the defendant's breach ofits contractrn:ll obligations, and damages resulting from 

### the breach" 

### (C,'uz v Cruz, 213 AD3d 805, 807 

### [2dDcpt 20231). In the case at bar, the only sworn testimony submitted 

### by plaintiffin support ofthe

.motion was 

### a11 affirmation ofAvi Faskowitz, 

## Esq., plaintiff's. t:ounsel (heteinaJter 

### Pasl~owitz) 

### and an affidavit 

### ofRkky Palacio (hereinaHer [)alacio}. 

### Faskowitz's affimtation · did 

### not aver personal knowledge ofthe.plabi

### ti 

## rt s btisiness practices and 

### ,proc:edures. His affirmation also demonstratqc\ no 

### pc.r~orn1! knowledge.ofany ofthe Page4 of

### c,· [* 4]

### FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/17/2024 09:49 AM INDEX NO. 521042/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 59 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/17/2024

5 of 6 transactional facts alleged 

### in the complaint. Faskowitz's aJlirmation made many allegations offact regarding the defendants alleged breach without personalknowledge 

### ofthe facts 

### alleged. "An attorney's 

### affirn:rnth.111 thatis 

### nm based 

### upon personal knowledge is ofno probative<or evidentiary significance'" 

### tNerci;voffv Khorshad, 168 AD3d 866,867 

## l:Zd Dept 

### 2019], citing 

### Warrington 

### vRyder Truck RentaJ, Inc.; 35 

### AD3d 455,456 [2d Dept 

### 2006]). Palacio did 

### not averthat he was 

### a signatory to the agreement 

### or that 

### he participated 

### in lhe execution ofsame, 

### He averred 

### thathe was the authorized 

### representative oftheplaintiffand 

### that, as 

### such, thathe had 

### personal knowledge of plaintiffs business practices and procedures. He forther ,.1 verredthat 

### the factual allegations·pi"offered i11 support ofthe motion for srnnmatyj11dgment were·derived from his review ofthe plaintift1s busfr1essrecords. Palacio,ho,.vever, did notidentify any of the. exhibits annexedto the motion. Furthermore, the documents plaintiff submitted in support ofmotion did 

### not include anything proving the amount plainLiffallegedly paid for the defo1tdmlts' future 

### receivables. 

### By 11ot proving that

### it paid the 

### pilrchase price to the defendants that it had agreed to, plaintiffdid 1iot estabI ish its own 

### performance under ti 1e agreements. This raises material issues qffact regarding 

### the plaintiffs performance 

### under the agreements. Consequently, 

### the 

### plaintiff¢annot inake 

### n 

## pdin~1 fade sh9wing of

### eiititlemenno judgrrtenton 

## its daims Tot 

## breach ofthe 

### agreements or bf 

### the guaranties. 

### Irt 

## sum; plaintiff



### . has failed to inake apri

### ma f'acie 

### showing ofcnlitlcment lo summaryjudgment 

### on 

### any 

### of the 

### claims·it has asseitcd against

### the 

### defe1id,111ts. Page 

### 5. of 6 

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### FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/17/2024 09:49 AM INDEX NO. 521042/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 59 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/17/2024

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### CONCLUSION Libertas Funding, LLC's motion for 

### a1i order 

### purstrnnt to 

### CPLR 3212 granting 

### summary judgment 

### in its favor on its 

### causes of

### ,icUon for breach of contract and personal guarantee as asserted 

### against defondants1\ssociatcs of

### Bc,ca Raton, Jnc., Palm Mortgaget 

### LLC, 

### Advantage Referrals, 

### Inc,, 

### Irn:::lla Group, 

### Inc., 

### Chad Ingram 

### Edge Realty 

### LLC, 52 Juliet LLC, 

### Associates Plus, LLC, and 

### Jonathan Chadv;tick 

### Ingram 

### is denied. The forcgoingconstitutes the 

### decision ctnd order 

### ofthis Court.



### ENTER: J.S.C. 

### HON. FRANCOISA. RIVERA

Page 6 of<i 

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