Buchwald Capital Advisors, LLC v. Papas (In re Greektown Holdings, LLC)

559 B.R. 842, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 3605, 63 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 50
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedSeptember 29, 2016
DocketCase No. 08-53104 Jointly Administered; Adv. Pro. No. 10-05712
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 559 B.R. 842 (Buchwald Capital Advisors, LLC v. Papas (In re Greektown Holdings, LLC)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buchwald Capital Advisors, LLC v. Papas (In re Greektown Holdings, LLC), 559 B.R. 842, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 3605, 63 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 50 (Mich. 2016).

Opinion

[845]*845OPINION ON REMANDED SOV-EREIGN IMMUNITY WAIVER ISSUE (DKT. 649)

Walter Shapero, United States Bankruptcy Judge

INTEODUOTION AND BACKGROUND

The Litigation Trustee (“Plaintiff’) by this adversary proceeding essentially seeks to avoid aspects of a restructuring and financing transaction whereby Greektown Holdings, LLC, a Debtor, directly or indi-rectly transferred money to multiple parties, including the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and its political subdi-vision Kewadin Casinos Gaming Authority (together, “the Tribe Defendants”).2 Plain-tiff brought this fraudulent transfer action under 11 U.S.C. §§ 544 and 550, incorpo-rating Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 566.34 and 566.35. This Opinion follows the District Court’s Opinion, In re Greektown Hold-ings, LLC, 532 B.R. 680 (E.D. Mich. 2015) reversing this Court’s Opinion at 516 B.R. 462 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2014). This Court had concluded that 11 U.S.C. § 106(a) ab-rogated the Tribe Defendants’ sovereign immunity, but the District Court (a) re-versed on appeal finding that the statute does not thereby waive tribal sovereign immunity; and (b) remanded the case for further proceedings relative to whether or not the Tribe Defendants had waived sov-ereign immunity.

JURISDICTION

This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(H). The Court has juris-diction under 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b) and E.D. Mich. L.B.R. 83.50(a).

Motion to Dismiss StandaRD

Fed.R.Bankr.P. 7012 incorporates Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and provides that a party may by motion assert the defense of lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The Court must assume that the allegations in Plain-tiffs complaint are true and Plaintiff bears the burden of proving jurisdiction in order to survive a motion to dismiss. 3D Sys., Inc. v. Envisiontec, Inc., 575 F.Supp.2d 799, 802-03 (E.D. Mich. 2008).

DISCUSSION

I. The Parties’ Arguments

The Tribe Defendants base their argument on precedent stating that “[sjuits against Indian tribes are thus barred by sovereign immunity absent a clear waiver by the tribe or congressional abrogation.” Oklahoma Tax Comm’n v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, 498 U.S. 505, 509, 111 S.Ct. 905, 112 L.Ed.2d 1112 (1991). This Opinion deals with what constitutes a “clear waiver by the tribe”. The Tribe Defendants’ initial argument is that the indicated clear waiver may only be accomplished by the required passage of duly adopted resolutions by the boards governing each of the Tribe Defendants.3 It is undisputed that no such reso[846]*846lutions were ever adopted. Further, it is also an undisputed fact that the Tribe Defendants never entered into any contract containing provisions purporting to waive sovereign immunity.

Plaintiff responds arguing that, notwith-standing the lack of enacted resolutions, the Tribe Defendants can and should be seen as having waived their sovereign im-munity by virtue of their conduct in, or incident to, these bankruptcy and related proceedings, as well as the involved under-lying business transactions. Specifically that alleged conduct involves the Tribe Defendants having pervasive involvement in the events leading up to and after the Debtors’ bankruptcy filings, including the Tribe Defendants doing the following: (a) intermingling the functions of the various tribal and non-tribal parties in carrying out the Debtors’ business; (b) utilizing the Debtors as their agents and causing the Debtors to make the alleged fraudulent transfers; (c) directing the Debtors to initiate their bankruptcy petitions; (d) domi-nating and controlling the Debtors, direct-ing their postpetition litigation strategy, and sharing the same professionals; and (e) filing in the bankruptcy cases multiple proofs of claim, objections to plan confir-mation, and an application for allowance of administrative expense claim. Based on these facts and events, Plaintiff argues that (1) the Tribe Defendants should be considered as legally standing in the shoes of the Debtors as their equivalents via theories of alter ego, piercing the corpo-rate veil, and/or agency; and (2) by reason of such, the Tribe Defendants thusly should be seen as having voluntarily waived their sovereign immunity. The questions presented thus are: (a) is appro-priate and specific governing board action the only way the Tribe Defendants can waive' their sovereign immunity; and (b) if not, and if waiver can be accomplished by conduct, was there such a waiver in the circumstances of this case?

II. Can the Tribe Defendants’ Sovereign Immunity Be Waived Only by the Re-quired Tribal Resolutions?

The Tribe Defendants rely principally on Memphis Biofuels, LLC v. Chickasaw Nation Indus., Inc., 585 F.3d 917 (6th Cir. 2009), in which MBF, a non-tribal entity, entered into a transaction and contractual relationship with CNI, a tribally incorporated entity. That Court summarized the salient facts as follows:

MBF recognized that, should a dispute arise, CNI might try to claim sovereign immunity. Thus, MBF insisted on a con-tractual provision expressly waiving any sovereign immunity and a “representation and warranty” that CNI’s waiver was valid, enforceable, and effective. [847]*847Throughout the negotiations, the parties exchanged draft versions of the agreement. On October 5, 2006, CNI forward-ed MBF a draft of the agreement that CNI’s in-house lawyers had reviewed and electronically edited. The edits in-cluded five separate comments; two of the comments addressed the sovereign-immunity waiver provision and said that CNI board approval was necessary to waive tribal-sovereign immunity. Ulti-mately, however, both parties signed the agreement, and the board did not waive immunity.

Id. at 918-19. After CNI repudiated the agreement and litigation arose, the Sixth Circuit opined that “a tribe may choose to expressly waive its tribal-sovereign immu-nity either in its charter or by agreement. Here, however, CNI did not make that choice. CNI’s charter requires board ap-proval to waive sovereign immunity.” Id. at 921 (citation omitted). It further opined:

In addition to the tribal charter, an agreement can validly waive tribal-sov-ereign immunity. Here, the parties agree that the board of directors did not pass a resolution waiving sovereign im-munity. The parties did, however, sign a waiver provision whereby both parties waived all immunities.

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559 B.R. 842, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 3605, 63 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 50, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buchwald-capital-advisors-llc-v-papas-in-re-greektown-holdings-llc-mieb-2016.