Confederation Life Insurance Co. v. Beau Rivage Ltd.

126 B.R. 632, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13013
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMarch 29, 1991
Docket1:90-cv-02369
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 126 B.R. 632 (Confederation Life Insurance Co. v. Beau Rivage Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Confederation Life Insurance Co. v. Beau Rivage Ltd., 126 B.R. 632, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13013 (N.D. Ga. 1991).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

HORACE T. WARD, District Judge.

Creditor, Confederation Life Insurance Co., appeals from the bankruptcy court’s final order of October 11, 1990 confirming the plan in the Beau Rivage Limited Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, and the underlying orders of October 4, June 28 and May 2, 1990.

The appeal is pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 158(a) which grants this court jurisdiction to hear appeals from final judgments, orders, and decrees of bankruptcy judges entered in cases which have been referred to the bankruptcy judges under 28 U.S.C.A. § 157.

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

A. Background Facts

Beau Rivage Limited’s (“Beau Rivage”) sole asset is the Beau Rivage Apartments (“the Apartments”) overlooking the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, Georgia. The Apartments, over twenty years old, consist of 409 units in thirty-seven buildings. Beau Rivage has 329 limited partners holding 566 outstanding partnership units. Beau Rivage’s general partners are Richard R. Felker, John J. Cross, and RFC Realty, Inc., a corporation wholly owned by Mr. Felker.

Beau Rivage purchased the Apartments in 1981. At the time of the purchase, the limited partners of the debtor had invested approximately $5,250,000. On May 6,1986, Beau Rivage sought refinancing of the property and entered a non-recOurse secured lending arrangement with Confederation Life Insurance Co. (“Confederation Life”) to obtain a $9,800,000 loan. The loan was payable over 20 years at Confederation Life’s prime lending rate of 978%, and secured by a first priority security deed on the property and its proceeds.

From 1986 until recently the Apartments were the subject of severe waste and deterioration as a result of a serious water penetration problem. At the time of the refinancing, eighteen of the apartment *634 units were out of service because of the deterioration, and the apartments were at 82% occupancy.

During 1988 and 1989 the Apartments did not generate enough revenue to service Beau Rivage’s debt and to operate the property. As a result, Mr. Felker and Mr. Cross loaned approximately $991,000 as needed to supplement income and meet the mortgage and other expenses. The deterioration problem continued. By Autumn of 1989, 64 units were out of service. In October of 1989, Mr. Felker advised Confederation Life about the deterioration problem and the accompanying drop in occupancy levels and suggested a mortgage moratorium comprised of reduced mortgage payments and reinvestment of excess revenues in repairs. Beau Rivage withheld the October mortgage payment in its entirety, and Confederation Life ordered two renovation and repair analyses.

In November 1989, Confederation Life declared Beau Rivage to be in default, accelerated the unpaid balance of the promissory note, and stated its intention to seek a state court receiver. Beau Rivage filed its voluntary Chapter 11 petition soon thereafter.

B. Proceedings in Bankruptcy Court

The Chapter 11 petition was filed on November 29, 1989, and Confederation Life filed a proof of claim for $11,001,455. On April 11, 1990, the bankruptcy court authorized Beau Rivage to use cash collateral to operate and renovate the apartment complex and ordered Beau Rivage to pay to Confederation Life half of its $85,099 monthly mortgage payment for the months of February and March and full mortgage payments for each month thereafter as adequate protection for use of the cash collateral.

On May 2, 1990, the bankruptcy court entered an order valuing the property at $9,300,000, approving Beau Rivage’s separate classification of three parties to exec-utory contracts and setting a pre-confirmation deposit requirement of $200,000 on or before June 18, 1990. Confederation Life moved to alter and amend the May 2, 1990 order, claiming that the valuation did not take into account its security interest in post-petition rents. The bankruptcy court denied the motion.

The bankruptcy court’s valuation was based on its finding that there had been no accumulation of rents and the $9,300,000 valuation reflected reinvestment of rents and revenues and also the fact that Confederation Life had received adequate protection payments for the use of its rents and revenues which totaled $340,396 as of June 28, 1990. 1

After filing, Beau Rivage had budgeted $366,000 to make the necessary structural and cosmetic repairs. As of June 28, 1990 it had spent $250,000 and the structural problems were corrected by March 6, 1990. It did not budget any additional funds for extra property upgrade for the years 1990 through 1994.

At the time of the October 4, 1990 order, the bankruptcy court found that Beau Ri-vage had reduced the number of out-of-service apartments from sixty-four to nine, had increased physical occupancy from 81% to 88%, and had increased monthly revenues from approximately $135,000 in December 1989, to approximately $160,000 in June 1990. The bankruptcy court found that the new rentals were made at a below-market rate, so that the economic occupancy rate was approximately 80%, and the resident turnover at the apartment complex was approximately 100%.

Confederation Life now appeals the bankruptcy court’s final order of October 11, 1990 confirming the plan and the underlying orders of October 4, June 28 and May 2, 1990.

C. The Reorganization Plan

Beau Rivage filed the reorganization plan at issue and its disclosure statement *635 on April 27, 1990. The plan consists of several classes. Class 1 is comprised of claims for wages, employee benefits, and taxes (other than ad valorem taxes) which are entitled to priority under §§ 507(a)(3), (4), (5) and (7) of the Bankruptcy Code. Class 2 consists of the principal and interest due on ad valorem taxes against the debtor’s property. Beau Rivage proposes to pay any such claims under these classes in full.

Class 3 consists of the claims of Confederation Life and its claim is listed as $9,953,474. In satisfaction of this debt, the plan provides for payments to Confederation Life under the terms of the original refinance note at $85,099 per month over the remaining 16 years of the agreement and under an arrearage note representing previously unpaid mortgage payments, interest, late fees and attorneys’ fees, to be amortized over the same loan term as the original note. The payments are to be made at the contract interest rate of 9 7 /s%. The protection payments made pursuant to the April 11, 1990 order are to be applied in place of the first four installments under the original note.

Class 4 consists of all claims against Beau Rivage which are not in any other class, and generally includes all unsecured trade creditors. The plan proposes to pay off these claims with 6% interest in three installments.

Class 5 consists of the claims of partners and affiliates which are to be paid in full only after the class 1, 2, and 4 claims have been paid and after Confederation Life’s arrearage note has been paid.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
126 B.R. 632, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13013, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/confederation-life-insurance-co-v-beau-rivage-ltd-gand-1991.