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

475 B.R. 563, 2012 WL 2884694, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97328
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJuly 13, 2012
DocketNo. 12-cv-12340; Bankruptcy No. 08-53104; Adversary No. 10-05712
StatusPublished

This text of 475 B.R. 563 (Buchwald Capital Advisors, LLC v. Papas (In re Greektown Holdings, LLC)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District 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), 475 B.R. 563, 2012 WL 2884694, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97328 (E.D. Mich. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING CORRECTED MOTION FOR ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN BUCHWALD CAPITAL ADVISORS LLC; IN ITS CAPACITY AS THE LITIGATION TRUSTEE AND DISTRIBUTION TRUSTEE, AND SAULT STE. MARIE TRIBE OF THE CHIPPEWA INDIANS AND KEWADIN GAMING AUTHORITY (BANKR.DKT. NO. 3359)

PAUL D. BORMAN, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the parties’ stipulation to withdraw the reference in the above-captioned Adversary Proceeding with respect to the Plaintiffs Corrected Motion for Order Approving Settlement Agreement Between Buchwald Capital Advisors, LLC, in its Capacity as the Litigation Trustee and Distribution Trustee, and Defendants Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of the Chippewa Indians and Kewad-in Gaming Authority. (Bankr.Dkt. No. 3359.) The parties filed briefs in this Court in opposition to and in support of the Corrected Motion. (Dist. Ct. Dkt. Nos. 6, 7, 8.) The Court heard oral argument on June 27, 2012. For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS the Corrected Motion and APPROVES the Settlement Agreement.

INTRODUCTION

On April 13, 2012, Buchwald Capital Ad-visors LLC, in its capacity as the Litigation Trustee of the Greektown Litigation Trust (the “Litigation Trustee”) and in its capacity as the Trustee of the Greektown General Unsecured Creditors Distribution Fund Trust (the “Distribution Trustee”), collectively the “Trustees,” filed a Corrected Motion for Order Approving Settlement Agreement Between Buchwald Capital Ad-visors, LLC, In Its Capacity as the Litigation Trustee and Distribution Trustee, and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of the Chippewa Indians (the “Tribe”) and Kewadin Casinos Gaming Authority (“Kewadin”) in this Adversary Proceeding in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. (In re Greektown Holdings, LLC, et al., Bankr.Case No. 08-53104, Adv. Pro. No. 10-05712, Bankr.Dkt. No. 3359, the “Settlement Motion”.) On May 23, 2012, Defendants Dimitrios Papas and Viola Papas (the “Papas”) and Ted Gatza-ros and Maria Gatzaros (the “Gatzaros”) (collectively the “Papas and Gatzaros Defendants”) filed an Objection to the Settlement Motion. (Bankr.Dkt. No. 3417.)

On May 30, 2012, the Papas and Gatza-ros Defendants filed a motion in this Court for Withdrawal of the Reference with respect to the Settlement Motion.1 (Dist. Ct. Dkt. No. 1.) On June 5, 2012, the Trustees and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of the Chippewa Indians (the “Tribe”) and Ke-wadin Casinos Gaming Authority (“Kewad-in”) (hereinafter collectively “the Tribe Defendants” or the “Settling Defendants”) and the Papas and Gatzaros Defendants stipulated to withdrawing the reference with respect to the Settlement Motion. [569]*569(Dist. Ct. Dkt. No. 4, Stipulation to Entry of Order Withdrawing Reference.) On June 6, 2012, this Court entered an Order withdrawing the reference with respect to the Settlement Motion, setting forth a briefing schedule regarding the Papas and Gatzaros Defendants’ opposition to the Settlement Motion and setting a June 27, 2012 hearing date to consider the merits of the Settlement Motion. (Dist. Ct. Dkt. No. 5.)

On June 14, 2012, the Papas and Gatza-ros Defendants filed a Response Brief in Opposition to the Tribe Settlement Motion. (Dist. Ct. Dkt. No. 6.) On June 21, 2012, the Tribe Defendants and the Trustees filed separate briefs in support of the Settlement Motion. (Dist. Ct. Dkt. Nos. 7 and 8.) For the reasons that follow, the Court DENIES the Papas and Gatzaros Defendants’ Objections to the Settlement Motion, GRANTS the Settlement Motion, and APPROVES the Settlement Agreement, which is fair, reasonable and adequate under Fed. Bankr.R. 9019.

1. BACKGROUND

On May 29, 2008, Greektown Holdings, LLC and certain affiliates (collectively the “Debtors”), commenced proceedings under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, In re: Greektown Holdings, LLC, et al., Debtors (E.D.Mich.Bankr.No. 08-53104). On or about May 28, 2010, this Adversary Proceeding was commenced, The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors on Behalf of the Estate of Greek-town Holdings, LLC2 v. Dimitrios (“Jim”) Papas, Viola Papas, Ted Gatza-ros, Maria Gatzaros, Barden Development, Inc., Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Kewadin Casinos Gaming Authority, and Barden Nevada Gaming, LLC, (E.D.Mich. Bankr.Adv.Pro. No. 10-05712). The Complaint in this Adversary Proceeding alleges that the Defendants received fraudulent transfers from the Debtors which may be avoided under section 544 of the Bankruptcy Code and under the Michigan Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act (“MUFTA”) (Mich. Comp. Laws § 566.32, et seq.). The Complaint alleges that $177 million was fraudulently transferred by the debtor, Greektown Holdings, LLC (“Holdings”), to the Defendants, payments for which the Defendants provided no or inadequate consideration. (Adv. Pro. No. 10-05712, Dkt. No. 1, Complaint; Dist. Ct. Dkt. No. 8, Trustees’ Br. 4-5.) Of the $177 million in transfers, the Settling Defendants received approximately $6 million. The Papas Defendants received approximately $90 million and the Gatzaros Defendants received approximately $55 million. The Barden Defendants received approximately $21 million and the Lac Vieux Defendants received approximately $5 million.3

Originally, the Committee sought to recover from the Settling Defendants the entirety of the amount allegedly fraudulently transferred by the Debtors to the Papas and Gatzaros Defendants, based on the Trustees belief that the Settling Defendants had guaranteed certain obligations to the Papas and Gatzaros Defendants and that, therefore, the transfers to [570]*570the Papas and Gatzaros Defendants were for the benefit of the Settling Defendants by reducing their exposure on the guarantees. However, after discussions with the Settling Defendants and review of “hundreds of pages of documents,” the Trustees have abandoned this theory of recovery, having concluded that they would be unlikely to prove an indirect benefit to the Settling Defendants. (Dist. Ct. Dkt. No. 8, Trustees Br. 5-6.) Accordingly, the Trustees concluded that their claims against the Settling Defendants would be limited to a maximum of $6 million, the amount directly transferred to them. Based upon this analysis and conclusion, the Trustees entered into a proposed settlement with the Tribe Defendants in the amount of $2.75 million, approximately 50% of the direct transfer claim, and in addition secured the withdrawal of the Settling Defendants’ $2.6 million claim against the Distribution Trust and the Settling Defendants’ agreement to cooperate with discovery against the non-settling Defendants. (Dist. Ct. Dkt. No. 1, Ex. A, Ex. 2, Settlement Agreement) (the “Settlement Agreement”).

The Papas and Gatzaros Defendants now object to the proposed Settlement Agreement, principally because the Agreement contains a Claims Bar Order that the Papas and Gatzaros Defendants assert would compromise future claims that they may have against the Settling Defendants. The Papas and Gatzaros Defendants also object to the provision of the Settlement Agreement requiring the Settling Defendants to cooperate only with the Trustees and assert that the Settling Defendants have waived sovereign immunity as to any further claims against them related to or arising out of the MUFTA Adversary Proceeding.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

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Bluebook (online)
475 B.R. 563, 2012 WL 2884694, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buchwald-capital-advisors-llc-v-papas-in-re-greektown-holdings-llc-mied-2012.