Preview:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

IN RE: EQUIMED, INC. Debtor * * * *

* * * *

MERRILL COHEN, TRUSTEE Plaintiff vs. DOUGLAS COLKITT, M.D., et al. Defendants

* * * * CIVIL NO. H-00-1216 Bankruptcy No. 00-1-1147-PM Adversary No. 00-1180

*

*

*

*

o0o

*

*

*

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland is the case docketed as Inc., Bankruptcy No. 00-1-1147-PM. In re EquiMed,

EquiMed, Inc. ("EquiMed")

has been adjudicated by the Bankruptcy Court to be a debtor under Chapter Cohen 7 of the been United States Bankruptcy for the Code, and

Merrill

has

appointed

Trustee

debtor's

bankruptcy estate.

On April 27, 2000, the Trustee filed in the

Bankruptcy Court an adversary proceeding naming as defendants more than eighty persons and entities. Adversary No. 00-1180

(the "Adversary Proceeding").

Many of the defendants named in

the Adversary Proceeding are also defendants in United States ex rel. Rahman v. Oncology Associates, P.C., et al., Civil No. H95-2241, a civil action pending in this Court (the " Rahman case"). On May 2, 2000, this Court entered an Order withdrawing reference of the EquiMed bankruptcy case with respect, alia, to the Adversary Proceeding. Once inter the

withdrawn,

Adversary Proceeding has now been docketed herein as EquiMed, Inc., Civil No. H-00-1216.

In re

In its Memorandum and Order

of July 24, 2000, this Court denied motions seeking to vacate its Order withdrawing reference of the Adversary Proceeding. Those motions had been filed by the Trustee, by the petitioning creditors,1 and by Provident Bank. Thereafter, various defendants moved to dismiss the

complaint filed by the Trustee in the Adversary Proceeding. Before these motions had been fully briefed by all the parties, the Trustee filed on August 15, 2000 a First Amended Complaint (the "amended complaint"). There are now pending before this Court five separate motions to dismiss the amended complaint, as follows: (1) Motion to dismiss of defendant Marcy L. Colkitt ("Marcy Colkitt");2

The petitioning creditors who filed the involuntary petition against EquiMed are A. Jerome DiGiacobbe, Jr., Calvin F. Zontine and Mobile Diagnostic, Inc.
2

1

Marcy Colkitt is the sister of Dr. Douglas Colkitt. 2

(2) Renewed motion to dismiss of defendants George Keister, Paul Castro,3 Edward Russell, Jr.,4 Donald Gallo, Jude Spak, Jefferson Radiation Oncology Center LP, Oaktree Cancer Care, Inc., Keystone Oncology, LLC and Rosewood Cancer Care, Inc. (the "Keister Defendants"); (3) Motion to dismiss of defendant Joanne Russell ("Russell");5 (4) Motion to dismiss of defendant Dr. Douglas Colkitt and some thirty other professional entities ("the Colkitt defendants"); and (5) Motion to dismiss of defendant Comprehensive Physics & Regulatory Services, Ltd. ("CPRS"). Extensive memoranda and several affidavits have been filed by the parties in support of and in opposition to these five pending motions to dismiss. briefed. The issues have now been fully

Following its review of the amended complaint, the

parties' memoranda and other matters of record in this case, this Court has determined that no hearing is necessary for a decision on these five pending motions. See Local Rule 105.6.

For the reasons stated herein, the pending motions to dismiss will be granted in part and denied in part.

3

Castro is the husband of Ms. Colkitt. Edward Russell, Jr. is the brother-in-law of Dr. Colkitt. Joanne Russell is the spouse of Dr. Colkitt. 3

4

5

I The Trustee's Claims Styled as "FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT TO AVOID AND RECOVER FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS AND FOR INJUNCTIVE AND OTHER RELIEF," the amended complaint contains eleven counts and 167 paragraphs. 6 The claims asserted in the amended complaint and the parties involved in each claim are as follows: Count One - Constructive Trust - Business and Individual Defendants Count Two - Avoidance and Recovery of Fraudulent Transfers - 11 U.S.C.

Download In RE: Equimed Inc -- Merrill Cohen v Douglas Colkitt M.D. et al.pdf

Maryland Law