Equipment Finders Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance (In re Equipment Finders Inc.)

473 B.R. 720
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Tennessee
DecidedJune 12, 2012
DocketBankruptcy No. 3:09-bk-10426; Adversary No. 3:11-ap-00252
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 473 B.R. 720 (Equipment Finders Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance (In re Equipment Finders Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Equipment Finders Inc. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance (In re Equipment Finders Inc.), 473 B.R. 720 (Tenn. 2012).

Opinion

Order

KEITH M. LUNDIN, Chief Judge.

For the reasons stated in the memorandum filed contemporaneously herewith, IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that the adversary proceeding is DISMISSED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Memorandum

The issue is whether the bankruptcy court has post confirmation subject matter jurisdiction over this reorganized debtor’s state law and contract actions against the defendants. Contract and state law actions against a noncreditor that were not material to plan confirmation and upon which the plan is not dependent for payments, are outside bankruptcy court jurisdiction. The following are findings of fact and conclusions of law. Fed. R. BaNkr.P. 7052.

I. Facts

Equipment Finders Inc. of Tennessee (“EFI”) rents construction equipment. The downturn in construction business that accompanied the economic recession produced a decline in EFI’s business in 2008 and 2009. EFI was unable to carry its debt and on September 11, 2009, filed Chapter ll.1 At the petition, EFI had an inventory of approximately 700 pieces of equipment financed through eighteen banks and finance companies. Aggregate secured debt exceeded $8 million.

If shrinking construction business was not enough to distress EFI’s business, on May 1-2, 2010, Nashville experienced historic flooding. EFI’s main office and equipment storage locations (500 and 501 Davidson Street) on the banks of the Cumberland River ended up under water, resulting in significant damage to property and equipment. Approximately 200 pieces of equipment were damaged or destroyed by the flood. (Compl. ¶ 33.)

EFI was insured by Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. EFI promptly informed Fireman’s of the flood losses. (Compl. ¶ 34.) Fireman’s quickly informed EFI that its policy did not cover flood loss. (Compl. ¶ 35.) After discussion, on May 28, 2010, Fireman’s agreed to cover losses at 500 Davidson Street, EFI’s secondary storage location — losses that totaled approximately $635,000. (Compl. ¶¶ 36 & 37.) Fireman’s denies flood coverage for any equipment losses at EFI’s 501 David[722]*722son Street location. (Compl. ¶ 42.) Thus began this dispute between EFI, Fireman’s and Commercial Insurance Associates, LLC (“CIA”), the insurance agent that sourced the Fireman’s coverage for EFI.

Notwithstanding additional challenges caused by the flood, EFI moved forward with a plan of reorganization. EFI’s Amended Plan of Reorganization Dated August 3, 2010, with further amendments offered at the contested confirmation hearing, was confirmed on October 13, 2010.

Of some moment here, at the confirmation hearing, two objections to the Amended Plan remained unresolved. Citing the “fair and equitable” test in 11 U.S.C. § 1129(b)(2), Alter Moneta and Community First Bank & Trust, equipment financiers, challenged a provision in the Amended Plan that allowed EFI to use “proceeds from any insurance claim for damage to Property in which a creditor has a security interest to acquire replacement equipment to be used by the Reorganized Debtor in the ordinary course of its business, or ... apply the proceeds to repayment of the Allowed Secured Claim held by that creditor.” (Amended Plan, at ¶ 5.2.). EFI’s president, Scott Hatcher, testified that EFI would pay all creditors in full under its Amended Plan, by extending contractual terms for payment. Mr. Hatcher explained that a considerable portion of EFI’s equipment fleet — “somewhere in the neighborhood of two to $2,500,000.00 dollars worth” — was damaged by the flood, and that EFI was “beginning to, and [had] received some insurance proceeds and an-tieipate[d] receiving proceeds in the future.” Until EFI could replace or repair the flood damaged equipment, EFI was renting equipment from other rental companies to fill its customers’ needs. The result was increased operating costs to EFI.

Addressing the objections to confirmation, EFI agreed to a hearing protocol in the event of a dispute with a secured party with respect to substitution of collateral. Section 5.02 of the Amended Plan was revised to retain bankruptcy court jurisdiction to resolve substitution of collateral disputes. This protection — combined with the existing equipment replacement program of EFI — satisfied the fair and equitable component of § 1129(b)(2)(A).2

On April 14, 2011 — six months after confirmation- — reorganized EFI filed this action against Fireman’s and CIA. Based on Fireman’s denial of flood coverage for 501 Davidson Street, EFI asserted claims for breach of contract, reformation, negligent failure to procure insurance, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty and violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protect Act. EFI demanded $1.9 million in damages and trial by jury. EFI offered [723]*723this jurisdictional statement: “28 U.S.C. § 1334 and 28 U.S.C. § 157 ... [t]his action is related to this Chapter 11 case because it concerns recovery of approximately $1,100,000 in proceeds from an insurance policy, which constitutes a significant asset of the bankruptcy estate over which this Court has exclusive jurisdiction and which is important to the implementation of the Debtor’s Plan of Reorganization.” (Compl. ¶ 5.)

Fireman’s moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fireman’s explains that all rights under the policy vested in reorganized EFI when it exited bankruptcy under its Amended Plan. EFI’s bankruptcy estate ceased to exist upon confirmation and the Amended Plan declared the estate fully administered upon the effective date. Fireman’s asserts that performance of EFI’s Amended Plan does not depend upon any recovery in this action. Neither the Amended Plan nor the Disclosure Statement that accompanied the Amended Plan references this complaint. The Amended Plan provides for fixed payouts without regard to insurance proceeds or damage awards.

EFI responds that recovery of insurance proceeds was implicit to success of its plan. EFI cites testimony of Mr. Hatcher that he believed the flood losses were covered by insurance and that EFI depended upon insurance proceeds to replace damaged equipment. EFI points to provisions in the Amended Plan by which it retained “each and every claim, demand or cause of action”3 and which retained bankruptcy court jurisdiction for “[d]etermination of any claims asserted by the Debtor against any other person or entity, including but not limited to any right of the Debtor to recover asserts [sic] pursuant to the provisions of Title 11.” (Amended Plan, § 9.02). Relying on what it characterizes as the Sixth Circuit’s approval of expansive “related to” jurisdiction in the bankruptcy courts, EFI urges that this lawsuit has more than an “ ‘extremely tenuous connection’ to the debtors rights and liabilities.” EFI asserts a “close nexus” between this action and its Amended Plan.

II. Amended Plan, Disclosure Statement and Confirmation Order

The Amended Plan, Disclosure Statement, and Confirmation Order included the following provisions.

A. Amended Plan

2.15 “Effective Date of the Plan

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Bluebook (online)
473 B.R. 720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equipment-finders-inc-v-firemans-fund-insurance-in-re-equipment-finders-tnmb-2012.