Eliades v. Eliades, 2:15-cv-01145

Background

Family dispute over ownership/control of the Olympic Garden (OG) strip club after Peter Eliades transferred interests to entities owned by his children (Dolores, Aristotelis "Telly", and Afroditi); litigation arose from alleged loans, theft, and control disputes and was consolidated in bankruptcy after Afroditi filed Chapter 11.
Eliades Family Group (Peter, Telly, related entities) sued Dolores in state court for alleged loans, breaches, and theft; Dolores counterclaimed that family members conspired to divest her interest for improper reasons.
Key corporate documents and transactions were informal, post‑documented, and inconsistent; the bankruptcy court found the family routinely ignored formalities and that Peter rarely demanded payment while relationships were intact.
Bankruptcy court issued preliminary rulings: denied Peter a pre‑judgment writ of attachment on Dolores’s LLC interests; held the 2007 lease (99 years) governed landlord‑tenant relations and invalidated the 2010 month‑to‑month lease; denied writ of restitution and found waiver/substitute rent issues; appointed a receiver to manage/sell the club; reserved certain issues (e.g., gaming‑space rent assignment) for further proceedings.
The district court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s factual findings (clear‑error standard) and legal conclusions (de novo review), rejecting claims of bias and reversible error.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Pre‑judgment writ of attachment on Dolores’s LLC interests	Peter: Dolores’s LLC interests are her only assets; he showed probable validity of promissory notes and theft so attachment required	Dolores: Some loans secured by lis pendens; notes were gifts/waived; factual disputes about enforceability and intent to steal	Denied: factual disputes, documentary inconsistencies, and findings that Peter never expected payment until litigation meant no probable validity; discretionary writ unnecessary (asset not at risk)
Which lease governs (2007 vs 2010)	Eliades Family Group: 2007 lease invalid and 2010 lease governs; handwriting expert says Peter didn’t sign 2007 lease	Dolores & receiver: 2007 lease valid; Dolores had authority earlier to sign for entities; 2010 lease invalid as signed without Dolores’s consent	2007 lease controls: bankruptcy court credited indicia of validity, rejected handwriting expert’s methodology, found signature acceptable as Peter or authorized agent; 2010 lease invalid
Waiver of past‑due rent / Writ of restitution (eviction)	Aristotle Holding/Peter: nonpayment under leases entitles them to past‑due rent and writ of restitution	Dolores: Peter accepted substitute payments and waived claims; he paid himself $40k monthly; the 2010 lease is invalid	Affirmed: bankruptcy court found waiver or substitute performance and lack of proper eviction foundation under 2010 lease; writ of restitution denied
Appointment of receiver	Eliades Family Group: bankruptcy court lacked authority under Bankruptcy Code and appointment was unnecessary/harmed business	Dolores/receiver: receiver appointed under state law in adversary proceeding; appointment justified by deadlock, possible diversion of cash, and need to sell	Affirmed: court may appoint receiver in an adversary proceeding under state law; appointment was not an abuse of discretion given deadlock and accounting concerns; issue moot as club sold
Gaming‑space revenue (who is entitled)	Peter: he had an agreement and the children agreed he would keep gaming rent	Dolores/receiver: assignments and 2007 lease show rights transferred to OG; issue unresolved in preliminary ruling	Court affirmed finding that Peter had no documented right to post‑assignment gaming rents but noted the question of enforcement of assignment remained for further resolution

Key Cases Cited

In re Rains, 428 F.3d 893 (9th Cir. 2005) (standard of review for bankruptcy court findings)
Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564 (U.S. 1985) (clear‑error review and credibility findings)
In re Warren, 568 F.3d 1113 (9th Cir. 2009) (affirmance on any ground supported by record)
Liteky v. United States, 510 U.S. 540 (U.S. 1994) (judicial opinions vs. extrajudicial bias standard)
In re Cassidy Land & Cattle Co., Inc., 836 F.2d 1130 (8th Cir. 1988) (bankruptcy court receiver authority in adversary proceedings)
Hines v. Plante, 661 P.2d 880 (Nev. 1983) (receiver is extraordinary remedy to be used sparingly)
Northwest Acceptance Corp. v. Lynnwood Equip., Inc., 841 F.2d 918 (9th Cir. 1988) (declining to consider arguments raised first in a reply brief)