Unpublished Opinions for the Week of July 25, 2016

01-2-9790 N.K. v. Div. of Med. Assistance & Health Servs., N.J. Super. App. Div. (per curiam) (14 pp.) Appellant N.K. appealed from the final agency decision of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, reversing the initial decision of an administrative law judge. The ALJ had reversed the decision of the Bergen County Board of Social Services that N.K. was eligible for Medicaid benefits subject to a seven-month and 10-day period of ineligibility for transferring assets for less than fair market value in violation of N.J.A.C. 10:71-4.10(a). The appellate panel affirmed. The evidence confirmed that N.K. withdrew $69,200 in cash from her checking account during the look-back period without any documentation or verification showing that the money was used for her living expenses or for in-home caregiver services. There was no legally competent evidence to support the ALJ’s findings that a full-time live-in aide was paid $1,000 per week for her services and that N.K. used $19,200 for her daily living expenses. The director properly determined that N.K. failed to rebut the presumption that the transfers for less than fair market value were made to qualify for Medicaid eligibility. The record was devoid of credible documentary evidence of the fair market value of the transferred assets, and devoid of convincing evidence that the assets were transferred exclusively for a purpose other than to establish Medicaid eligibility. The director’s decision was reasonable, comported with governing statutes and regulations, was supported by substantial, credible evidence in the record, and was not arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable.

36-2- 9807 Carucci v. Regency Fin. Grp. LLC, N.J. Super. App. Div. (per curiam) (17 pp.) Plaintiff, a client of defendant Regency, an accounting firm owned solely by defendant Justin Pisano, loaned defendant $52,000 that was never repaid. In October 2009, plaintiff filed suit. That action resulted in a default judgment against Justin for $52,782.35 that was vacated when Justin filed for bankruptcy in April 2011. Plaintiff did not pursue his claims in the bankruptcy court, so Justin’s debt to plaintiff was discharged. While plaintiff’s 2009 action was pending, and before Justin’s bankruptcy petition was filed, Justin’s wife, Rebecca, formed Marion Funding Group, Corp., and opened for business in the same location from which Regency operated, assuming Regency’s obligations under its lease and using the same telephone number. Marion hired Justin to perform accounting services and used Regency’s computers to provide those services to Regency’s former clients, whose identities were on a client list on those computers. The income generated by these clients were for services performed by Marion and not from any monies owed by them to Regency for services performed at an earlier time. Plaintiff, who never served a writ of execution or attempted to levy on Regency’s empty bank accounts or other assets in an effort to collect on the judgment entered in the 2009 action, filed this action against Justin, Rebecca, Regency and Marion, alleging that they violated the New Jersey Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act by fraudulently transferring Regency’s assets to Marion. The Law Division dismissed the complaint, finding that plaintiff’s evidence was insufficient to sustain his claim. The panel affirmed. It found that while the Law Division erred in holding that the client list was not an asset, plaintiff offered no expert testimony as to the values, if any, of the customer list or Regency’s ongoing business and thus failed to prove his entitlement to any relief under the UFTA.