Judge: Joseph Lipner, Case: 24STCP01308, Date: 2024-05-30 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 24STCP01308    Hearing Date: May 30, 2024    Dept: 72

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

DEPARTMENT 72

TENTATIVE RULING

Petitioner Peachtree Settlement Funding, LLC (“Petitioner”) requests approval of the transfer of certain structured settlement payment rights from payee and transferor Angelann Manuel (“Payee”).

The Court DENIES the petition. Petitioner has not provided a copy of the underlying settlement agreement.

Background

On October 15, 1992, Payee, by and through their Guardian ad Litem, Filadelfo Brillante, became entitled to a series of structured settlement payments for a wrongful death claim. The settlement obligor is Prudential Structured Settlement Company. The annuity issuer is Prudential Insurance Company of America.

Payee seeks to transfer, and Petitioner seeks to obtain, the rights to 252 monthly payments of $2,063.17 each, increasing at 3% annually, beginning on November 22, 2036 and ending on October 22, 2057. Payee will receive a lump sum of $75,000.00 from Petitioner in exchange for the transfer.

Petitioner filed this petition on April 24, 2024. Petitioner filed an amended petition on May 3, 2024. Plaintiff filed additional exhibits to the amended petition on May 14, 2024. No party has filed an opposition.

Legal Standard

Procedural Requirements

The majority of the documents submitted in support of the petition – specifically, Exhibits A, B, and C – were not formally authenticated. Based on the totality of the circumstances and the fact that no party served with the papers has objected, the Court draws the conclusion that all documents are authentic and agreed upon. The Court admonishes Petitioner to make sure in the future that all documents are presented to the Court in unredacted form and that all documents submitted be properly identified.

A.  A copy of the transferee’s current and any prior petitions. 

B.    A copy of the transfer agreement. 

C.    A listing of each of the payee’s dependents, together with each dependent's age. 

D.    A copy of the disclosure required in subdivision (b) of section 10136. 

E.     A copy of the annuity contract. 

F.     A copy of any qualified assignment agreement. 

G.    A copy of the underlying structured settlement agreement. 

H.    Notification that any interested party is entitled to support, oppose, or otherwise respond to the transferee’s application, either in person or by counsel, by submitting written comments to the court or by participating in the hearing. 

I.       Notification of the time and place of the hearing and notification of the manner in which and the time by which written responses to the application must be filed, which may not be less than 15 days after service of the transferee’s notice, in order to be considered by the court. 

J.       If the payee entered into the structured settlement at issue within five years prior to the date of the transfer agreement, then the transferee shall provide notice to the payee’s attorney of record at the time the structured settlement was created, if the attorney is licensed to practice in California, at the attorney’s address on file with the State Bar of California. The notice shall be delivered by regular mail. 

K.    Proof of service showing compliance with the notification requirements of this section.

Further, at the time of filing such a petition, the transferee shall file a copy of the petition with the California Attorney General.  (Ins. Code, § 10139.)  Lastly, the court shall retain continuing jurisdiction to interpret and monitor the implementation of the transfer agreement as justice requires.  (Id., § 10139.5(i).) 

Substantive Requirements

This Petition is governed by Insurance Code sections 10134 through 10139.5. (See 321 Henderson Receivables Origination LLC v. Sioteco (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 1059, 1066.) Under Insurance Code (“Ins. Code”), section 10137, a transfer of structured settlement payment rights is void unless a court reviews and approves the transfer and finds the following conditions are met: 

a.      The transfer of the structured settlement payment rights is fair and reasonable and in the best interest of the payee, taking into account the welfare and support of his or her dependents. 

b.      The transfer complies with the requirements of this article and will not contravene other applicable law, and the court has reviewed and approved the transfer as provided in Section 10139.5. 

Pursuant to Insurance Code, section 10139.5, subdivision (a), the Court must make the following express findings as to a transfer of structured settlement payment rights: 

1.      The transfer is in the best interest of the payee, taking into account the welfare and support of the payee’s dependents. 

2.      The payee has been advised in writing by the transferee to seek independent professional advice regarding the transfer and has either received that advice or knowingly waived receipt of that advice in writing. 

3.      The transferee has provided the payee with a disclosure form that complies with Section 10136 and the transfer agreement complies with Sections 10136 and 10138. 

4.      The transfer does not contravene any applicable statute or the order of any court or other government authority. 

5.      The payee reasonably understands the terms of the transfer agreement, including the terms set forth in the disclosure statement required by Section 10136. 

6.      The payee understands and does not wish to exercise the payee's right to cancel the transfer agreement. 

The transfer agreement is effective only upon approval in a final court order. (Ins. Code, § 10139.5(a).)   

Discussion

Procedural Requirements

The majority of the documents submitted in support of the petition – specifically, Exhibits A, B, and C – were not formally authenticated. Based on the totality of the circumstances and the fact that no party served with the papers has objected, the Court draws the conclusion that all documents are authentic and agreed upon. The Court admonishes Petitioner to make sure in the future that all documents are presented to the Court in unredacted form and that all documents submitted be properly identified.

A.  A copy of the transferee’s current and any prior petitions. 

Petitioner submits a copy of the instant petition. Petitioner provides the information and case numbers for prior petitions for transfers of payment right by Payee. (Manuel Decl. ¶ 9.) Payee has entered into seven prior transfer agreements, all of which were with Petitioner. No previous attempted transactions by Patee involving the settlement payments were denied.

C.    A copy of the transfer agreement. 

Petitioner submits a copy of the transfer agreement as Amended Exhibit A to the Amended Petition. Petitioner does not provide verification for the amended versions of Exhibit A or Exhibit B.

D.    A listing of each of the payee’s dependents, together with each dependent's age. 

Petitioner is married and has one minor child, L.P., who is 13 years old and resides with petitioner. (Manuel Decl. ¶ 8.)

E.     A copy of the disclosure required in subdivision (b) of section 10136. 

Petitioner submits a copy of the disclosure as Exhibit B. Exhibit B is not authenticated.

F.     A copy of the annuity contract. 

Petitioner submits a copy of the annuity contract as Exhibit C. Exhibit C is not authenticated.

G.    A copy of any qualified assignment agreement. 

Petitioner refers to Exhibit C for this requirement, which does not include any qualified assignments. Exhibit C is not authenticated.

H.    A copy of the underlying structured settlement agreement. 

Petitioner attaches as Exhibit D a copy of the order approving then-minor Payee’s compromise in the underlying action. The order lays out some of the key terms of the underlying settlement agreement. However, Exhibit D does not include a copy of the underlying structured settlement agreement. Exhibit D does not even include a verbatim recitation of the agreement’s terms, although that on its own would be insufficient.

Because this procedural requirement is not met, the Court must deny the motion.

I.       Notification that any interested party is entitled to support, oppose, or otherwise respond to the transferee’s application, either in person or by counsel, by submitting written comments to the court or by participating in the hearing. 

Petitioner has provided a proof of service for both the initial and amended petition, as well as the related exhibits and declaration.

J.       Notification of the time and place of the hearing and notification of the manner in which and the time by which written responses to the application must be filed, which may not be less than 15 days after service of the transferee’s notice, in order to be considered by the court. 

Petitioner has provided a proof of service for the notice of the original petition. Because Petitioner also served the amended petition and related documents, the Court concludes that notice has been satisfied.

K.    If the payee entered into the structured settlement at issue within five years prior to the date of the transfer agreement, then the transferee shall provide notice to the payee’s attorney of record at the time the structured settlement was created, if the attorney is licensed to practice in California, at the attorney’s address on file with the State Bar of California. The notice shall be delivered by regular mail. 

The settlement is more than five years old.

L.     Proof of service showing compliance with the notification requirements of this section.

Petitioner has provided a proof of service for both the initial and amended petition, as well as the related documents.

Conclusion

Because the procedural have not been met, the Court denies the petition.