Castillo v. General Motors, LLC (In re Motors Liquidation Co.)

500 B.R. 333
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 30, 2013
DocketNo. 12 Civ. 4948 (JMF)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 500 B.R. 333 (Castillo v. General Motors, LLC (In re Motors Liquidation Co.)) 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
Castillo v. General Motors, LLC (In re Motors Liquidation Co.), 500 B.R. 333 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JESSE M. FURMAN, District Judge.

This appeal arises out of an adversary proceeding related to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Motors Liquidation Company, formerly known as General Motors (“Old GM”). After Old GM filed for bankruptcy, General Motors LLC (“New GM”) [335]*335purchased the majority of Old GM’s assets pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. Appellants, Kelly Castillo et al. (the “Castillo Plaintiffs”), seek a declaratory judgment that, in doing so, New GM assumed liability for a settlement agreement between them and Old GM relating to a class action lawsuit in the Eastern District of California (the “Castillo Settlement”). After a bench trial on a stipulated record, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Robert E. Gerber, Bankruptcy Judge) held that New GM did not assume liability for the settlement agreement. For the reasons that follow, the Bankruptcy Court’s judgment is affirmed.1

BACKGROUND

A. The Settlement Agreement

In October 2007, Appellants brought a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California against Old GM on behalf of themselves and other current and former Saturn vehicle owners, whose vehicles contained an allegedly defective Saturn VTi transmission. (Compl. (Docket No. 1), Castillo v. General Motors Corp., 07cv2142 (WBS) (E.D.Cal. Oct. 10, 2007)). The Saturn vehicles had been sold with a warranty (the “glove-box warranty”) that covered “repairs to correct any vehicle defect related to materials or workmanship” that occurred within three years or 36,000 miles, whichever came first. (Docket No. 69, Ex. G (“Warranty”), at 7).2 Old GM voluntarily extended this coverage to defects that occurred within five years or 75,000 miles, whichever came first. (Docket No. 71, Ex. V; Docket No. 75, Ex. PP). Although the Castillo Plaintiffs’ transmissions failed after the warranty had expired, they contended that Old GM was nevertheless liable for the resulting damages. (See Second Am. Class Action Compl. (“SAC”) ¶¶ 38-61, 69-108 (Docket No. 55), Castillo v. General Motors Corp., 07cv2142 (WBS) (E.D.Cal. Sept. 12, 2008)). They alleged four claims: (1) statutory consumer fraud; (2) breach of express warranties; (3) breach of implied warranty of merchantability; and (4) unjust enrichment. (Id. ¶¶ 69-108).

In July 2008, following mediation, Appellants and Old GM settled the lawsuit. (Stipulation of Settlement, Docket No. 68, Ex. B). Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Old GM agreed to reimburse class members for certain costs incurred if their VTi transmission malfunctioned within 125,000 miles of purchase or lease; to pay the costs of class notice and claims administration; to pay incentive fees to the named class plaintiffs; and to pay class plaintiffs’ attorneys fees and expenses. (Id. ¶¶ III.l, III.5, III.7). In exchange, class members released all claims. (Id. [336]*336¶ III.12). Old GM did not admit liability as part of the settlement, and in fact, “expressly denie[d] any ... wrongdoing or liability in connection with any facts or claims that [were] or could have been alleged against it in the” lawsuit. {Id. ¶ 1.5).

On February 3, 2009, even before the District Court had granted final approval to the settlement agreement, Old GM, in an effort to “enhance customer satisfaction,” instructed its dealers to repair malfunctioning VTi transmissions and reimburse their owners in accordance with the terms of the agreement. (Admin. Bulletin, Docket No. 73, Ex. MM). On April 14, 2009, the District Court granted final approval of the settlement and entered judgment that was to become effective June 2, 2009. (Final Judgment (Docket No. 74), Castillo v. General Motors Corp., 07cv2142 (WBS) (E.D. Cal. April 16, 2009)).

B. The 363 Sale

On June 1, 2009 — the day before the Castillo Settlement would have become effective — Old GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Voluntary Pet. (Docket No. 1), In re Motors Liquidation Co., 09-bk-50026 (REG) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y June 1, 2009)). At the beginning of the bankruptcy proceedings, Old GM moved to sell the majority of its assets pursuant to Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code to a newly created entity that became New GM — a sale that was negotiated largely between Old GM and the Auto Task Force of the United States Treasury Department (“Auto Task Force”). See In re General Motors Corp., 407 B.R. 463 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.2009). During their negotiations, Old GM and the Auto Task Force discussed which of Old GM’s liabilities New GM ought to assume. {See, e.g., Buonomo Dep., Docket No. 67, Ex. 3, at 27). They agreed that New GM ought to assume only those liabilities that were necessary to its ability to operate. {See id. at 27-28).

In fact, a lawyer for Old GM testified that before Old GM filed for bankruptcy, class action settlements, and particularly the Castillo Settlement, were expressly identified as liabilities Old GM would retain. {See id. at 44-45). The understanding that Old GM would retain all liabilities except those necessary to the operations of New GM was made clear to the Bankruptcy Court (and the public) during the hearing on the proposed sale of Old GM. (June 1, 2009 Hearing Tr. (Docket No. 374) at 36, In re Motors Liquidation Co., 09-bk-50026 (REG) (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. June 3, 2009); July 1, 2009 Hearing Tr. (Docket No. 3205) at 104-06, 111, In re Motors Liquidation Co., 09-bk-50026 (REG) (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. July 15, 2009)). Consistent with this understanding, Old GM never listed the Castillo Settlement on the schedule of executory contracts to be assigned to New GM, and identified it as a contract it should later move to reject during the bankruptcy proceeding. (See New GM Trial Ex. 4, Docket No. 77).

The sale agreement, formally titled the Amended and Restated Master Purchase and Sale Agreement (“Sale Agreement”), does not refer specifically to the Castillo class action or any similar liability. Instead, it identifies the general categories of liabilities to be assumed by New GM. As relevant here, the agreement provides that New GM would assume “all Liabilities arising under express written warranties of Sellers that are specifically identified as warranties and delivered in connection with the sale of new, certified used or pre-owned vehicles or new or remanufactured motor vehicle parts and equipment ... manufactured or sold by Sellers or Purchaser prior to or after the Closing.” (Sale Agreement § 2.3(a)(vii)(A), Docket No. 68, Ex. C; see also id. § 6.15(b)). [337]*337Conversely, the agreement specified that Old GM retained “all Liabilities arising out of, related to or in connection with any (A) implied warranty or other implied obligation arising under statutory or common law without the necessity of an express warranty or (B) allegation, statement or writing by or attributable to Sellers.” (Id. § 2.3(b)(xvi)). The agreement further clarified, “for avoidance of doubt,” that New GM “shall not assume Liabilities arising under the law of implied warranty or other analogous provisions of state Law, other than Lemon Laws, that provide consumer remedies in addition to or different from those specified in Sellers’ express warranties.” (Id. § 6.15(b)).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
500 B.R. 333, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/castillo-v-general-motors-llc-in-re-motors-liquidation-co-nysd-2013.