Coastal Bank v. Douglas Asphalt Co. (In re Galbreath Clearing & Grading, Inc.)

258 B.R. 859, 45 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1011, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1722
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Georgia
DecidedDecember 1, 2000
DocketBankruptcy No. 99-41784; Adversary No. 99-4161
StatusPublished

This text of 258 B.R. 859 (Coastal Bank v. Douglas Asphalt Co. (In re Galbreath Clearing & Grading, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coastal Bank v. Douglas Asphalt Co. (In re Galbreath Clearing & Grading, Inc.), 258 B.R. 859, 45 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1011, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1722 (Ga. 2000).

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

LAMAR W. DAVIS, Jr., Bankruptcy Judge.

Coastal Bank sued the named Defendants in this case seeking a determination of the extent, validity, and priority of its floating lien in all the equipment of the Debtor corporation. Defendant, Case Credit Corporation (“Case”), filed a Motion for Summary Judgment seeking a determination that its purchase money security interest in certain collateral is superior to the competing general lien on equipment held by The Coastal Bank (“Coastal”) and any interest of the co-defendants. The parties stipulated numerous facts which are attached as Exhibit “A” and incorporated in this Order by reference. To summarize and supplement those findings as they ultimately are relevant to this Court’s determination of the Motion for Summary Judgment, the Court makes the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Coastal Bank holds a security interest in all equipment of Galbreath Clearing and Grading, Inc., (“GC & G”) by virtue of a note, security agreement, and UCC-1 financing statement which date back to August 1994 (See Exhibits P-1, P-2, P-3 and P-4). The parties stipulate that these documents constitute a perfected security interest in favor of Coastal Bank in all the equipment of GC & G. Case’s claim to a first priority, purchase money security interest derives from a transaction which occurred in October of 1998. On October 16, 1998, Track and Tire, Inc., (“T & T”), executed a retail installment contract and security agreement conveying to GC & G, five pieces of equipment. GC & G granted a security interest in that collateral to T & T. This retail installment contract was subsequently assigned to Case (Exhibit D-l). On October 26, 1998, the security agreement between the parties was perfected by the filing for record of a UCC-1 financing statement (Exhibit D-2).

This transaction, standing alone, presents all of the elements required by Georgia law for Case to have acquired a fully perfected purchase money security interest in this collateral. Coastal, however, contends that the October 1998 transaction between GC & G and T & T provides Case with only a non-purchase money security interest which is inferior to the security interest held by Coastal. This results because of an earlier lease agreement between T & T and a differently-named entity, Galbreath Trucking Company/Galbreath, Inc. (“GTC/GI”) which was executed on or about February 25, 1998 (Exhibit P-10).

The February 25, 1998, Equipment Lease Agreement provides, in relevant part as follows:

We, Track & Tire, Inc., agree to lease to You Galbreath Trucking Co., Inc./Gal-breath, Inc.... the Equipment listed below....
[payments] $9,000.00 month for 5 months to Track & Tire, Inc. Rental automatically converts Irrevocably (sic) Guaranteed by John Douglas Galbreath, Galbreath, Inc. Galbreath Trucking Co., Inc. Financing to be provided by Case Credit Company. Total Price on conversion is $435,000.00 at conversion on 6th month. Deal is subject to finance approval by lender. Galbreath to provide proper assistance in Dilligence (sic) paperwork. Financing on conversion to be no more than 1.5% over prime at time of conversion or Better, if possible.
1. TERM AND RENT: The Term of this Lease will consist of the Initial Term with no extensions. The Initial [861]*861Term of this lease will begin upon Financing approval and disbursement of funds, and will end 5 months thereafter. At which time deal will automatically convert to Term Financing, as agreed. You may not extend the Term of this agreement ....
8. END OF LEASE OPTIONS: See terms of contract. CONTRACT IRREVOCABLY CONVERTS TO TERM FINANCE DEAL AT 6TH MONTH, GUARANTEED BY JOHN DOUGLAS GALBREATH, GALBREATH, INC. GALBREATH TRUCKING CO. INC. AND IS RENTED AND SOLD, ON AN “AS IS, WHERE IS” BASIS WITHOUT RECOURSE TO, OR WARRANTY BY, LESSOR OF ANY KIND, NATURE OR DESCRIPTION WHATSOEVER....
10. MISCELLANEOUS: (a) The Equipment is and throughout the Term will be only Our property, and neither You nor anyone else will acquire an interest in the Equipment whatsoever by reason of this Lease, except Your right to possess and use it as a lessee subject to the terms and conditions of this Lease Agreement. YOU AGREE NOT TO ASSIGN OR ATTEMPT TO ASSIGN ANY INTEREST IN THE EQUIPMENT OR THIS LEASE AND ANY SUCH ASSIGNMENT OR ATTEMPT TO ASSIGN WILL BE A DEFAULT ...

The equipment leased in February of 1998 included the same five pieces of equipment financed in October of 1998, plus three other pieces of equipment which T & T repossessed and Debtor no longer owns or uses. (Estes Dep. pp. 27, 63). The February lease called for $9,000.00 monthly payments and an automatic conversion of the lease to permanent long-term financing at the end of the term. The conversion feature was stated to be “irrevocable” but financing was to be provided, not by the lessor T & T, but rather by Case Credit Corporation. The long term financing was expressly stated to be subject to credit approval by Case. The lease provided that the lessee had no property interest in the collateral other than a possessory right, and appears to be a true lease. However, either out of an abundance of caution, or because T & T believed its transaction to be subject to interpretation as a conditional sale, it filed a UCC financing statement. Unfortunately for Case, that financing statement was filed one day later than the deadline which would have afforded T & T a perfected purchase money security interest superior to Coastal’s prior lien. As a result, Coastal’s interest will defeat any Case interest which originated with the February 1998 lease.

In order to defeat Case Credit Corporation’s claim to a first perfected security interest arising out of the October 1998 transaction, Coastal Bank must show that the lease transaction in February of 1998 was a conditional sale rather than a true lease, that it was not timely perfected, and that Galbreath, Inc., one of the co-lessees in that transaction, is simply a fictitious trade name under which the debtor Gal-breath Clearing and Grading, Inc., did business. If all that is established at trial, then the February 1998 lease was not between T & T and separate but related parties, but was actually a conditional sale with GC & G that was not timely perfected, and the perfection by filing of the financing statement in October on which Case now relies did not occur within 15 days of the date that GC & G obtained possession in February.

Case contends that, as a matter of law, this Court can grant summary judgment through two separate and distinct theories: (1) the lease between T & T and GTC/GI was not a lease which was in any way an obligation of Galbreath Clearing and Grading, Inc., and (2) even if there is a question of fact as to the identity of GC & G and GTC/GI, Case’s purchase money security interest was, in fact, perfected within 15 days of the time that GC & G obtained possession and rights in the collateral in [862]*862October under the retail installment contract, and that GC & G’s prior possession as lessee under the February lease does not defeat the timeliness of the October filing date.

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Bluebook (online)
258 B.R. 859, 45 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1011, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1722, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coastal-bank-v-douglas-asphalt-co-in-re-galbreath-clearing-grading-gasb-2000.