Dryden Advisory Group, LLC v. Beneficial Mutual Savings Bank (In re Dryden Advisory Group, LLC)

534 B.R. 612
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 30, 2015
DocketCase No. 1:15-bk-00545MDF
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 534 B.R. 612 (Dryden Advisory Group, LLC v. Beneficial Mutual Savings Bank (In re Dryden Advisory Group, LLC)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dryden Advisory Group, LLC v. Beneficial Mutual Savings Bank (In re Dryden Advisory Group, LLC), 534 B.R. 612 (Pa. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

Mary D. France, Chief Bankruptcy Judge.

Before the Court is the objection of Durham Commercial Capital Corp. (“Durham”) to the motion filed by Dryden Advisory Group, LLC (“Dryden”), the debtor in the within case, for an order approving Dryden’s use of cash collateral. Durham opposes Dryden’s motion as it pertains to certain accounts receivable Durham asserts it purchased under a factoring agreement entered into between the parties before Dryden filed its bankruptcy petition. If Durham is correct, the accounts it purchased are not property of Dryden’s bankruptcy estate.

Dryden counters that the agreement with Durham, while described as a sale, should be recharacterized as a financing agreement with the accounts receivable serving as collateral for certain extensions of credit made by Durham. Under the latter scenario, the accounts would remain property of the estate.

Beneficial Mutual Savings Bank (“Beneficial”), setting aside the issue of whether the agreement reflects a true sale or a secured financing arrangement, argues that any interest Durham purports to hold is subordinate to Beneficial’s security interest in Dryden’s accounts receivable. Beneficial asserts that it only agreed to release its lien on two accounts receivables from Dryden’s account debtor, Fiserv Cir., [615]*615Inc. (“Fiserv”). Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”) also takes no position on whether the disputed accounts are property of the estate. Rather, Citibank asserts that it has a first lien in accounts receivable and that it did not consent to the release of its lien in connection with the purported sale of accounts.

For the reasons set forth below, Durham’s objections to Dryden’s use of cash collateral will be sustained. Because the disputed accounts are not property of the estate, the Court also finds that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b) to determine the respective interests of Beneficial, Citibank, and Durham in the disputed accounts.1

I. BACKGROUND

Dryden is a sales and use tax consulting firm established by John Ridley (“Ridley”) in 1997. Before starting the consulting business, Ridley worked for twenty years as a tax auditor for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. In the process of auditing tax returns, Ridley observed that taxpayers not only underpaid taxes, they often overpaid them. Ridley formed Dryden to assist clients in defending tax audits and in identifying refunds or credits against assessed taxes. Dryden obtains commissions based upon the amount of tax savings it obtains for its clients.

While pursuing claims through the administrative and judicial appeals process, a process that can extend for years, Dryden often experienced cash flow problems. During one of these periods, Dryden contacted a consultant, Innovative Financing Solutions (“IFS”), for assistance in obtaining additional financing. IFS suggested that Dryden apply for financing through the U.S. Small Business Administration (the “SBA”). One of IFS’s partners for SBA financing was Beneficial, which agreed to make several loans to Dryden.

In July 2011, Beneficial and Dryden entered into three loan agreements (collectively, the “Beneficial Loans”). Two of the loans, each in the original principal amount of $1,360,200, were guaranteed by the SBA. The third loan, which was not guaranteed by the SBA, was a revolving credit agreement in the amount of $300,000. The Beneficial Loans were secured by perfected liens on Dryden’s business assets, including its accounts receivable. At about the same time, Citibank, which held existing liens on Dryden’s assets, and Beneficial entered into an “Intercreditor and Subordination Agreement” whereby Citibank agreed to subordinate its existing lien position to Beneficial in exchange for a partial payment of the outstanding indebtedness owed to Citibank and other consideration.

Less than a year after receiving the Beneficial Loans Dryden stopped making the required payments and contacted IFS to recommend possible workout solutions. IFS suggested to Beneficial that Dryden could monetize its accounts receivable through factoring and further advised the bank that under SBA guidelines, Beneficial could consent to the factoring of one Dryden account without obtaining approval from the SBA. Beneficial approved the factoring of the Fiserv accounts, comprising two invoices in a total amount of $310,000. IFS served as the liaison between Beneficial, Durham, and Dryden while the factoring agreement was being negotiated.

[616]*616On July 12, 2012, Dryden and Durham executed a “Nonrecourse Receivables Purchase Contract and Security Agreement” (the “Factoring Agreement”). The first version of the Factoring Agreement (Durham Ex. 1) was signed by the Durham and Dryden without the prior approval of Beneficial. When Beneficial became aware of the agreement, it insisted on certain changes to protect its interests. A final version of the Factoring Agreement, including the changes demanded by Beneficial (the “Amended Factoring Agreement”), was signed by Ridley on July 23, 2013.2 See Durham Ex. 3. After the changes required by Beneficial were made to the agreement, the Fiserv accounts were transferred to Durham.

The stated purpose of the Amended Factoring Agreement was to “obtain a true nonrecourse sale of [Dryden’s] accounts receivable to Durham.” Durham Ex. 3 § 1. Although Dryden entered into the agreement because it was unable to make its payments to Beneficial, Dryden warranted that its business was “solvent,” and that it was “presently paying its debts as they became due.” Durham Ex. 3 § 3.1.

Under the Amended Factoring Agreement, Dryden would offer to Durham an account for purchase using Durham’s “Assignment Schedule of Invoices” together with the original invoice and all supporting documents. Durham Ex. 3 § 4.5. If Durham determined that a particular account receivable was an “acceptable account,” Durham would purchase the account for the face amount less discounts or allowances afforded to the account debtor. Durham. Ex. 3 § 4.6. For each account purchased, Durham would charge a factoring fee of 3.5% of the original face amount of the account.3 An additional 1.75% would be charged as a fee beginning thirty days after the account was purchased for each 15-day period until Durham received the full face amount of the invoice either from Dryden or the account debtor. Durham Ex. 3 § 4.7.1. Dryden was also responsible for any costs incurred by Durham, including bank fees, lien search fees, and hen recording fees. Durham Ex. 3 § 4.7.3.

To insure that its fee was paid pending collection of the invoice, the Amended Factoring Agreement also provided that Durham would reserve 25% of the face amount of each account purchased against which Durham’s fees would be charged. Once Durham received payment on the account, the remaining amount in reserve associated with the account would be paid to Dryden. However, Durham had the option to retain the reserve if there was a default on any account purchased or there was less than 25% of the unpaid balance on the reserve held for any account purchased. Durham Ex. 3 § 4.9. Durham agreed to assume the risk of non-payment on accounts it purchased if the cause of the nonpayment was “solely due to the occurrence of an account debtor’s financial inability to pay, an ‘Insolvency Event.’ ” Durham Ex. 3 § 4.10.

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Bluebook (online)
534 B.R. 612, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dryden-advisory-group-llc-v-beneficial-mutual-savings-bank-in-re-dryden-pamb-2015.