FEBRUARY 17, 2010
I will conclude with two matters that are major: the interesting questions of (i) the relationship between net equity and customer property, and (ii) insurance. Sheehan's argument at the hearing on net equity and customer property, strike me as confusing, even deeply confusing. But I think I've got it right. The Trustee and SIPC are saying that all distributions to victims come out of so-called customer property, which the Trustee is looking for all over the world and is suing Madoff confederates to recover. (The question of estate property is irrelevant here). Therefore the $500,000 that a victim may get comes out of customer property; it is an advance on a victim's (ratable) share of customer property. It is therefore not insurance. Rather, it is, as said, an advance on one's share of customer property.
To determine one's share of customer property - - to determine what one should get from customer property - - you must determine one's net equity. So, if a person's net equity were one one thousandth of total net equity, one would get one one thousandth of the customer property.
Because your share of customer property is based on your net equity, it is unfair to use the amount shown in your final statement as your net equity, because this would result in a portion of the customer property being allocated to people who previously took out from Madoff more than they put in, while lessening the amount of customer property going to people who have never taken out a dime. (The amount going to the latter will necessarily be lessened because there will not be sufficient recovered customer property to pay off everyone in full on the basis of their final statements.)
Since it would be unfair for people who have taken out more than they put in to get a share of customer property, and to thereby lessen the share going to people who have never taken anything out, which would be the result if the final statements were used to calculate net equity, we must instead use cash-in, cash-out to calculate net equity, because that insures that the amount you receive in customer property will only be proportional to the amount of real money you had in Madoff - - and remember, the advance of money up to $500,000 that you get from SIPC comes from, and is a part of, customer property. And coming from customer property it is not insurance. Rather, it is an advance on, and from, customer property. True, Senators sometimes said in the legislative history (e.g., in the Senate Report) that it is insurance, but they are wrong.
The foregoing is how I, at least, understand the argument made by SIPC and the Trustee at the oral argument, and made by them before that for about a year. My understanding is given credence by such statements as Sheehan's at the oral argument that:
Your Honor, " let's not get confused over what we are dealing with here because we are in this case, because we are in Madoff, the world just doesn't go upside down. It stays right and steady. We stay with the fact that we are dealing with a fund, a fund of customer property, and it is out of that which distributions take place."
I submit to your Honor if you look at the legislative history one could be beguiled by some of the statements made erroneously by the senators there to the effect, yes there is insurance. They are wrong".Because the $500,000 is an advance. That word is key. (Pp. 16-17.)
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