Czyzewski v. Jevic Transportation, Inc. (In re Jevic Holding Corp.)

492 B.R. 416, 38 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1155, 2013 WL 1963325, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 1926, 57 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 272
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware
DecidedMay 10, 2013
DocketBankruptcy No. 08-11006 (BLS); Adversary No. 08-50662
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 492 B.R. 416 (Czyzewski v. Jevic Transportation, Inc. (In re Jevic Holding Corp.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Czyzewski v. Jevic Transportation, Inc. (In re Jevic Holding Corp.), 492 B.R. 416, 38 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1155, 2013 WL 1963325, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 1926, 57 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 272 (Del. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION1

BRENDAN LINEHAN SHANNON, Bankruptcy Judge.

Before the Court are cross-motions for summary judgment on claims arising under the WARN Act. Casimir Czyzewski, Melvin L. Myers, Jeffrey Oehlers, Arthur E. Perigard, and Daniel C. Richards, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated (collectively, the “Class Plaintiffs”) initiated this adversary proceeding against Defendants Jevic, Jevic Holding Corp., Creek Road Properties, LLC (collectively, the “Debtors”), and Sun Capital Partners, Inc. (“Sun Cap”), the Debtors’ ultimate parent.2 After the close of discovery, Sun Cap filed a motion for summary judgment (the “MSJ”) [Adv. Docket No. 182] arguing that it cannot be held liable under either the WARN Act or the New Jersey WARN Act because it did not employ the Class Plaintiffs, cannot be characterized as a “single employer” with the Debtors, and cannot be held liable for actions of any other Sun Cap entities. Shortly thereafter, Class Plaintiffs filed a motion for partial summary judgment (the “Partial MSJ”) [Adv. Docket No. 196] arguing that Sun Cap was a “single employer” with the Debtors, and as such, is liable under the WARN Act and the New Jersey WARN Act. For the reasons that follow, the Court will deny Class Plaintiffs’ Partial MSJ and grant Sun Cap’s MSJ.

I. BACKGROUND

The material facts are largely undisputed. Jevic Transportation, Inc. (“Jevic”) began operations in 1981 and described itself as providing a hybrid less-than-truckload and truckload carrier service for regional and inter-regional time definite delivery across the United States and parts of Canada. All of the Debtors’ operations occurred through Jevic. Prior to filing these chapter 11 cases in 2008, Jevic employed approximately 1,785 employees and was headquartered in Delanco, New Jersey with its largest terminal located there. The Debtors operated nine additional terminals and one sales office at various locations throughout the United States. Debtor Creek Road Properties, LLC held no assets and had no operations. Similarly, Debtor Jevic Holding Corp. had no independent operations, but owns 100% of the issued and outstanding stock of Jevic.

In 1997, Jevic had an initial public offering and was later acquired by Yellow Corporation in 1999. In 2002, Yellow Corporation spun off Jevic and its sister company, Saia Motor Freight Line, to form SCS Transportation.

Beginning in 2006, the Debtors’ revenue declined due to a variety of factors including the decline in the housing market, the tightening of the credit markets, and the slowdown in the automotive industry, all of which led to a nationwide decline in freight volumes.3 In early 2006, SCS Transporta[421]*421tion began evaluating alternatives for Jev-ie, including a sale or liquidation, and contemplated filing for bankruptcy.4

On June 30, 2006, Sun Transportation, LLC (“Sun Trans”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Defendant Sun Cap, acquired the Debtors in a leveraged buyout, which included an $85 million revolving credit facility from a bank group led by CIT. Sun Cap, through Sun Trans, paid $1 million to Jevic Holding Corp., which was created to effectuate the acquisition of all of Jevie’s shares. CIT’s financing agreement required that the Debtors maintain assets and collateral of at least $5 million in order to access its line of credit. Upon the merger, Jevic and Sun Cap entered into a Management Services Agreement.5 This agreement governed the relationship between Sun Cap and Jevic, providing for consulting services and compensation for such services.

Throughout 2007, the Debtors’ business struggled due to the general economic downturn and the negative impact of fuel surcharges on its profitability. While the Debtors instituted cost-saving strategies, Sun Cap proposed to CIT numerous capital investments in the Debtors in exchange for increased credit availability. By the end of 2007, the Debtors’ assets fell below $5 million, in default of CIT’s financing covenant. Thereafter, CIT and the Debtors entered into a forbearance agreement that went into effect on January 8, 2008. The forbearance agreement called for Sun Cap to provide a $2 million guarantee, which it did. Sun Cap negotiated further forbearance extensions through April 2008.

In February 2008, Jevic entered into an agreement for consulting services with Morris Anderson & Associates, Ltd. (“Morris Anderson”). By the end of February, Morris Anderson had prepared and circulated a 13-week cash flow projection showing that Jevic would keep assets and collateral above the $5 million limit until at least May 9, 2008.

Also in February, Jevic entered into an agreement with Black Management Advis-ors to retain Brian Cassady as Interim Vice President. Cassady’s engagement was to provide consulting services consisting of operational and financial consulting as well as advice and recommendations to Jevic on strategic, management, operational, financial, and business restructuring matters as requested by Jevic’s board. Additionally, Jevic retained investment bank Stifel Nicolaus to seek potential buyers for the company.

On March 27, 2008, CIT presented Sun Cap with two options: (i) Sun Cap would invest additional funds in Jevic in exchange for a long-term forbearance agreement; or (ii) Sun Cap would receive 45-day forbearance in exchange for beginning an active sale process. Sun Cap chose not to invest more money in Jevic, and Jevic therefore began an active sale process.

In early April 2008, Daniel Dooley, a Morris Anderson employee who was working on the Jevic project, was retained as the Debtors’ Chief Restructuring Officer (“CRO”). Jevic announced a reorganization plan, which included closing unprofitable facilities and liquidating assets. Implementation of this plan was intended to allow Jevic to realize substantial monthly savings, and projections accompanying the plan reflected asset values maintained above $5 million. The reorganization would not be fully implemented until the beginning of June 2008, by which time Jevic was estimated to save approximately $1.0-1.4 million monthly. However, de[422]*422creased sales, increasing costs, and disappointing equipment appraisal values meant that Jevic failed to meet its earlier optimistic projection. By the end of April, Jevic’s assets again fell below $5 million, in default of CIT’s financing covenant. In light of this, the parties agreed, among other things, to move the expiration of the forbearance agreement from May 19 to May 12.6

During these months, Jevic met with two potential buyers, Pitt Ohio and New Century, and Pitt Ohio submitted a bid letter expressing preliminary interest.7 However, neither buyer was willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, effectively killing the sale process. Jevic also met with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (“NJEDA”) to seek capital,8 but to no avail.

By May 13, 2008, Jevic had only two options: sell the company to Pitt Ohio or prepare for bankruptcy. CIT refused to fund further borrowing unless Sun Cap invested more money to fund a bridge to complete the sale to Pitt Ohio. Sun Cap would need to spend more money to close the sale than the sale would generate, which it was not willing to do.

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492 B.R. 416, 38 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1155, 2013 WL 1963325, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 1926, 57 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 272, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/czyzewski-v-jevic-transportation-inc-in-re-jevic-holding-corp-deb-2013.