Acp Master, Ltd. v. Com. of Puerto Rico (In re Fin. Oversight & Mgmt. Bd. for Puerto Rico)

300 F. Supp. 3d 328
CourtUnited States District Court
DecidedJanuary 30, 2018
DocketNo. 17 BK 3283–LTS (Jointly Administered); Adv. Proc. No. 17–189–LTS in 17 BK 3283–LTS
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 300 F. Supp. 3d 328 (Acp Master, Ltd. v. Com. of Puerto Rico (In re Fin. Oversight & Mgmt. Bd. for Puerto Rico)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States District Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Acp Master, Ltd. v. Com. of Puerto Rico (In re Fin. Oversight & Mgmt. Bd. for Puerto Rico), 300 F. Supp. 3d 328 (usdistct 2018).

Opinion

LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, United States District Judge *333Before the Court is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) (docket entry2 no. 35 (the "Motion") ). Except as explained below, the Court has jurisdiction of this action pursuant to 48 U.S.C. § 2166. The Court heard oral argument on the Motion on December 5, 2017 (the "Hearing"), and has considered carefully all of the arguments and submissions made in connection with the Motion. For the reasons that follow, Defendants' Motion is granted and Plaintiffs' Complaint is dismissed in its entirety.3

I.

BACKGROUND

The following recitation of facts is drawn from Plaintiffs' Complaint (docket entry no. 1 (the "Complaint") ).

Plaintiffs are beneficial owners of general obligation bonds issued by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the "Commonwealth" or "Puerto Rico") and bonds issued by certain Commonwealth public corporations that are guaranteed by the Commonwealth (together, "public debt"). (Compl. ¶ 2.) Plaintiffs also characterize their holdings as "Constitutional Debt" "entitled to unique protections under the Puerto Rico Constitution and backed by a pledge of the Commonwealth's good faith, credit and taxing power," and characterize themselves and other holders of such bonds as "Constitutional Debtholders." (Compl. ¶ 27.) Citing Article VI, section 8 and other provisions of the Constitution of Puerto Rico, Plaintiffs assert that their bonds are secured by an "absolute and enforceable" first claim and lien on all of the Commonwealth's "available resources," and that the Constitutional Debt is senior to all other debt issued by Puerto Rico.4 (Compl. ¶¶ 2, 27.)

*334Plaintiffs allege that "Constitutional Debt" is "public debt" within the meaning of the Puerto Rico Constitution, and that it is therefore entitled to full and timely payment "even (and especially) in times of economic scarcity." (Compl. ¶ 27.) Plaintiffs further contend that statutory provisions obligating the Commonwealth to use certain special property tax revenues for payment of the Constitutional Debt, and "clawback" provisions of the enabling statutes authorizing certain of the Commonwealth's instrumentalities to issue bonds and providing for use of the revenues ordinarily dedicated to payment of the instrumentality bonds to fund payments of debt service on the Constitutional Debt under certain circumstances, grant Plaintiffs and their fellow bondholders rights in those revenues. Plaintiffs' Complaint focuses specifically on: (1) certain proceeds of property taxes levied pursuant to Act 83 of 1991 (the "Special Property Tax Revenues"); and (2) the proceeds of certain taxes and fees generally used to repay certain Commonwealth instrumentality obligations, which can be "clawed back" under some circumstances to repay public debt (the "Clawback Revenues"). (Compl. ¶¶ 2, n.2, 3.)

On November 30, 2015, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro García Padilla issued an executive order instructing the Commonwealth to retain the Clawback Revenues, which were used to make a $164 million Constitutional Debt service payment on January 1, 2016. (Compl. ¶ 89.) Plaintiffs contend that the Commonwealth clawed back an additional $289 million in Clawback Revenues in fiscal year 2016 which were not applied towards the repayment of Constitutional Debt. (Id. ) On July 1, 2016, the Commonwealth defaulted on approximately $817 million due on its Constitutional Debt. (Compl. ¶ 97.)

On June 30, 2016, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act ("PROMESA") was enacted by Congress and signed into law to provide, among other things, federal statutory authority pursuant to which the Commonwealth and its instrumentalities may restructure their debts.5 See PROMESA § 405(m). Pursuant to PROMESA, a Financial Oversight and Management Board (the "Oversight Board") was established with the purpose of developing "a method [for the Commonwealth] to achieve fiscal responsibility and access to capital markets." Id. § 101(a). Plaintiffs allege that, since at least 2016, the Commonwealth has collected significant Clawback and Special Property Tax Revenues and "ignored Plaintiffs' property interests" in those revenues, choosing instead to apply those revenues to general Commonwealth expenses rather than the repayment of Constitutional Debt. (Compl. ¶¶ 85, 97, 119.) Plaintiffs further allege that the Oversight Board's certification of a revised fiscal plan in March 2017 was premised on the pooling of Commonwealth resources to service all expenses, while providing for very limited debt service. (Compl. ¶¶ 117-119.) In May 2017, the Oversight Board filed a petition commencing this debt adjustment case under Title III of PROMESA.6 (Compl. ¶ 141.) Plaintiffs accuse the Commonwealth and the Oversight Board *335of violating PROMESA and abusing Title III, asserting that the failure to segregate revenues and dedicate them principally to the payment of service on Constitutional Debt violates Plaintiffs' rights under the Puerto Rico Constitution and statutes. (Compl. ¶¶ 119-140.)

Plaintiffs' requests for relief are more narrowly drafted than the body of their Complaint, and principally seek declaratory relief of a directive nature concerning the handling of the subject revenues, or declarations of legal status that do not address the practical consequences of the requested declarations. Plaintiffs also request a declaration in connection with a constitutional claim, and assert one claim for injunctive relief.

In Counts One and Two of the eleven-count Complaint, Plaintiffs seek declarations that, under Puerto Rico law, the Special Property Tax and Clawback Revenues are "restricted" and that Defendants are prohibited from collecting or using those revenues for any purpose other than paying Constitutional Debt. (Compl. ¶¶ 179-186.) In Counts Three and Four, Plaintiffs seek declarations that Plaintiffs have, and the Commonwealth lacks, "equitable or beneficial" property interests in the Special Property Tax and Clawback Revenues. (Compl. ¶¶ 187-196.) In Counts Five and Six, Plaintiffs seek declarations that Plaintiffs have statutory liens on the Special Property Tax and Clawback Revenues. (Compl. ¶¶ 197-206.) In Count Seven, Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that their liens on the Clawback Revenues also constitute liens on "special revenues" within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. §§ 902(2)(B) such that the Clawback Revenues must be applied in accordance with 11 U.S.C. §§ 922

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Bluebook (online)
300 F. Supp. 3d 328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/acp-master-ltd-v-com-of-puerto-rico-in-re-fin-oversight-mgmt-bd-usdistct-2018.