Gaggero

FACTS

We have described the genesis and development of this litigation in Gaggero II, filed simultaneously with this opinion, and will not repeat it here except as needed to understand the current appeal. In a nutshell: Plaintiff is a real estate developer who, years ago, under the tutelage of estate lawyer Joseph Praske, devised an “estate plan” under which he transferred his personal assets, then amounting to some $35 or $40 million, to limited partnerships and limited liability companies, and then transferred those entities to three trusts, with Mr. Praske as trustee. This had the effect, he believed, of denuding him of all his personal assets and insulating him from the necessity of paying his judgment creditors. We concluded otherwise in Gaggero II, affirming the trial court’s finding that the trustee of the three trusts and the seven entities that comprised the trust assets were plaintiff’s alter egos and were liable for the judgment. A few weeks after the trial court amended the judgment to include the additional judgment debtors, defendants took plaintiff’s debtor exam. Plaintiff testified that, since the judgment was entered against him, he has never had the resources to…