Albero v. Johns-Manville Corp. (In Re Johns-Manville Corp.)

68 B.R. 155, 17 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 51
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 20, 1986
Docket86 Civ. 8164 (SWK), 86 Civ. 8199 (SWK), 86 Civ. 8200 (SWK) and 86 Civ. 8201 (SWK)
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 68 B.R. 155 (Albero v. Johns-Manville Corp. (In Re Johns-Manville Corp.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Albero v. Johns-Manville Corp. (In Re Johns-Manville Corp.), 68 B.R. 155, 17 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 51 (S.D.N.Y. 1986).

Opinion

KRAM, District Judge.

The appellants in these consolidated appeals 1 are a group of approximately three hundred holders of common stock (the “common shareholders”) of Johns-Manville Corporation (“Manville”) and Morton J. Macks, a holder of preferred shares of Manville stock. Macks is representing the interests of preferred shareholders (the “preferred shareholders”) of Manville stock in this litigation. 2 They appeal from two *157 separate orders of the bankruptcy court, each dated October 9, 1986, which denied their motions to appoint two official committees, pursuant to Section 151102 of the Bankruptcy Code, 3 to represent the interests of holders of common and preferred Manville stock. 4 Aligned as appellees are the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, the United States Trustee, the Legal Representative for Future Claimants, Johns-Manville Corporation, and the Official Committee of Asbestos Related Litigants and/or Creditors. 5

I. The Scope of Review of the Bankruptcy Court’s Orders

A. Findings of Fact

According to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(1) and 28 U.S.C. § 158(c), a bankruptcy court’s decision in a “core proceeding” is subject to review by a district court in the same manner that appeals from district courts are reviewed by courts of appeals. A “core proceeding” includes “matters concerning the administration of the estate”. 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A). The appointment of a committee to represent the equity stockholders of a bankrupt company falls within this category. This Court’s review of the bankruptcy court’s decision is thus governed by Bankruptcy Rule 8013, which accords the findings of a bankruptcy judge the same weight given to the findings of a district judge under Fed.R.Civ.P. 52.

Rule 8013 states:

On an appeal the district court ... may affirm, modify, or reverse a bankruptcy court’s judgment, order, or decree or remand with instructions for further proceedings. Findings of fact shall not be set aside unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the bankruptcy court to judge the credibility of the witnesses.

It is well settled that a bankruptcy judge’s findings of fact are binding on the reviewing court unless clearly erroneous. In re Emergency Beacon Corp., 52 B.R. 979, 987 (S.D.N.Y.1985), aff'd, 790 F.2d 285 (2d Cir. 1986); In re Tesmetges, 47 B.R. 385, 388 (E.D.N.Y.1984); In re Chin, 47 B.R. 894, 897 (S.D.N.Y.1984). See In re Hygrade Envelope Corp., 366 F.2d 584, 588 (2d Cir. 1966). “A finding is ‘clearly erroneous’ when, although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 542, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948). While a reviewing court may search the entire record in assessing whether findings of fact are clearly erroneous, see Anderson v. Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 574, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 1512, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985), a district court cannot set the bankruptcy court’s findings of fact aside if the record reveals a reasonable basis for them. In re Mid-Center Redevelopment Corp., 383 F.Supp. 954, 958 (D.N.J.1974).

In this case, a number of other factors affect the scope of review of the bankruptcy court’s findings of fact. First, only two documents in the record contain sworn statements of fact: an affidavit by the common shareholders’ attorney and a *158 portion of a deposition of a Manville officer. The bankruptcy court did not hold an evidentiary hearing, nor did it cite any documentary evidence in making its ruling. While it may be appropriate for a bankruptcy court to rely on its accumulated knowledge of a case in rendering its decision, the court should indicate the portions of its knowledge upon which it relied. In re Johns-Manville Corp., 801 F.2d 60, 68 (2d Cir.1986) (motion for summary judgment). In the absence of a factually based record and citations to the sources upon which the bankruptcy court relied, it is difficult for this Court to apply the clearly erroneous standard.

The absence of a fully developed factual record in this case is detrimental to the appellants, because the burden of demonstrating the need for adequate representation under Section 151102 is borne, in the first instance, by the party seeking appointment. 6 In re Beker Industries Corp., 55 B.R. 945, 949, (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.1985). See In re Johns-Manville, 38 B.R. 331, 332 (S.D.N.Y.1983) (shareholders made no showing that appointment of single equity committee to represent the interests of common and preferred shareholders would prejudice them). The common shareholders did not seek an evidentiary hearing on the motion to appoint official committees.

Second, the bankruptcy court’s orders denying the motions to appoint separate common and preferred shareholders committees were prepared and submitted to the court by the prevailing parties. The court adopted the proposed findings and made only minor changes. The findings were in the form of conclusory statements and were not supported by citation to the record. The Supreme Court has “criticized courts for their verbatim adoption of findings of fact prepared by prevailing parties, particularly when those findings have taken the form of conclusory statements unsupported by citation to the record”. Anderson, 470 U.S. at 572, 105 S.Ct. at 1511. Nevertheless, “even when the trial judge adopts proposed findings verbatim, the findings are those of the court and may be reversed only if clearly erroneous”. Id. Thus, this Court must still apply the clearly erroneous test to the bankruptcy court’s findings.

Third, it is clear from the record that the bankruptcy judge’s factual findings are incomplete, and exclude relevant facts. A reviewing court may make additional findings when there is no dispute as to the facts, In re Osborne, 42 B.R.

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Bluebook (online)
68 B.R. 155, 17 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/albero-v-johns-manville-corp-in-re-johns-manville-corp-nysd-1986.