Opinion ID: 764897
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Content of the Interpool Opinion

Text: 93 Because a reasonable creditor in the plaintiffs' position would have read the opinion, the statute of limitations would start to run if the opinion was sufficient as a matter of law to give a creditor notice of the facts underlying the fraud claim. We find that the published opinion in Interpool was sufficient to put the plaintiffs on notice that there was evidence that Wah Kwong was KKL's partner and thus to distrust Wah Kwong's representations that it was a mere creditor. Cf. Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1548 (9th Cir. 1989) (holding that controlling statutory language can be sufficiently clear to start a limitations period running as a matter of law). It is not relevant whether Judge Politan's interpretation of the facts was correct; what is critical is that his interpretation was published and available to KKL's creditors, and that the discrepancy between Wah Kwong's claims to be a creditor and Judge Politan's Conclusions was evident on the face of the opinion. 94 Judge Politan described the Wah Kwong-KKL link as follows: The relationship between Wah Kwong and KKL was described as a joint venture agreement. Wah Kwong corporate individuals were considered to be partners for the purpose of `earnings or distribution of earnings' of KKL. Interpool, 102 B.R. at 375-76. This adequately disclosed the alleged partnership agreement behind the plaintiffs' claims. 95 Moreover, the opinion repeatedly indicated that Wah Kwong might have acted illegitimately. Interpool discussed the troubling features of the arrangement between the Australian liquidator and Wah Kwong, which the plaintiffs now attack as fraudulent. Indeed, Judge Politan was so concerned about the fairness of the Australian settlement that he appointed a U.S. bankruptcy trustee to administer KKL's U.S. assets. Furthermore, the plaintiffs' complaint in this case itself demonstrates that the plaintiffs were (or should have been) aware of Wah Kwong's position that it was a creditor, as both the plaintiffs and the defendant were competing creditors in the U.S. bankruptcy proceeding. 96 In sum, the plaintiffs should have been aware of evidence of the alleged true facts after the 1988 Interpool opinion; they were also aware of the allegedly false representation during the bankruptcy proceedings. It follows that they should have known all the information sufficient to begin the running of the statute of limitations, which thus ran on the plaintiffs' fraud claims before the December 6, 1996, complaint was filed. The judgment of the District Court will be affirmed. 9