Gerber Industries, Inc. v. Bildisco (In Re Bildisco)

7 B.R. 225, 30 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1270, 1980 Bankr. LEXIS 4050
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedNovember 24, 1980
Docket19-12100
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 7 B.R. 225 (Gerber Industries, Inc. v. Bildisco (In Re Bildisco)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gerber Industries, Inc. v. Bildisco (In Re Bildisco), 7 B.R. 225, 30 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1270, 1980 Bankr. LEXIS 4050 (N.J. 1980).

Opinion

OPINION

AMEL STARK, Bankruptcy Judge.

On April 14, 1980, Bildisco, a general partnership of the State of New Jersey (“Bildisco”) filed a Petition in Bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. An Order for Relief was entered on the same day.

Pursuant to a consent judgment, an order was entered by this court on April 17, 1980 granting Congress Financial Corporation (“Congress”) a judgment validating their security interest in various assets of the debtor estate. On April 25, 1980 the aforesaid order was modified to reflect a corrected interest figure.

Thereafter, within the allotted time, Gerber Industries, Inc. (“Gerber”) commenced an adversary proceeding against Congress and the debtor-in-possession, Bildisco, pursuant to Rule 701(1), of the Bankruptcy Code, for the purpose of extricating goods, in possession of Bildisco, from Congress’ lien.

Plaintiff Gerber’s complaint alleges superior rights to the goods in question by virtue of its characterization of said goods as “consigned inventory.” While denying plaintiff’s claim of right, neither defendant’s answer objects to this characterization of the goods.

Plaintiff Gerber seeks (1) relief from the automatic stay; (2) appropriate modification of the Orders of April 18, 1980 and April 25, 1980; and (3) surrender of the subject matter goods.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Since December 14, 1976, defendant Congress has continuously held a perfected security interest in debtor-defendant Bil-disco’s after acquired inventory.

2. Prior to filing its petition in bankruptcy, debtor-defendant Bildisco received goods from plaintiff Gerber pursuant to a written agreement styled “Consignment Sale Agreement” executed by the parties on October 31, 1979.

3. Plaintiff Gerber neither posted a sign declaring its ownership of the goods, nor was debtor-in-possession-defendant Bildis-co generally known by its creditors to be a seller of the goods of others.

4. Plaintiff Gerber filed Financing Statement with New Jersey’s Secretary of State, but did not give defendant Congress actual notice of the consignment.

5. The Amended Order of April 25,1980, was a determination that defendant Congress was the holder of a valid secured lien against all inventory in the possession of the defendant-debtor, Bildisco, as of April 4, 1980. This is disputed by plaintiff Gerber.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

I.

The Court commences by assuming that the agreement between plaintiff Gerber *227 and debtor-defendant Bildiseo was a valid consignment or “sale or return” contract. This posture is all but mandated by the scant proofs offered by the litigants at trial. While the underlying purpose of this, or any “consignment” agreement, is a proper subject of judicial examination, it is difficult to deny that even a valid consignment agreement gives the seller/eonsignor “a kind of security interest .... ” White and Summers, Handbook of the Law Under the Uniform Commercial Code 886 (1980).

II.

New Jersey’s adoption of Section 2-326 of the Uniform Commercial Code (“Code”) reads, in pertinent part:

12A:2-326. Sale on Approval and Sale or Return; Consignment Sales and Rights of Creditors
(1) Unless otherwise agreed, if delivered goods may be returned by the buyer even though they conform to the contract, the transaction is
(a) a “sale on approval” if the goods are delivered primarily for use, and
(b) a “sale or return” if the goods are delivered primarily for resale.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), goods held on approval are not subject to the claims of the buyer’s creditors until acceptance; goods held on sale or return are subject to such claims while in the buyer’s possession.
(3) Where goods are delivered to a person for sale and such person maintains a place of business at which he deals in goods of the kind involved, under a name other than the name of the person making delivery, then with respect to claims of creditors of the person conducting the business the goods are deemed to be on sale or return. The provisions of this subsection are applicable even though an agreement purports to reserve title to the person making delivery until payment or resale or uses such words as “on consignment” or “on memorandum.” However, this subsection is not applicable if the person making delivery
(a) complies with an applicable law providing for a consignor’s interest or the like to be evidenced by a sign, or
(b) establishes that the person conducting the business is generally known by his creditors to be substantially engaged in selling the goods of others, or
(c) complies with the filing provisions of the Chapter on Secured Transactions (Chapter 9).

III.

N.J.S.A. 12A:9-312, entitled “Priorities Among Conflicting Security Interests in the Same Collateral,” provides in subsection (3):

(3) A purchase money security interest in inventory collateral has priority over a conflicting security interest in the same collateral if
(a) the purchase money security interest is perfected at the time the debtor receives possession of the collateral; and
(b) any secured party whose security interest is known to the holder of the purchase money security interest or who, prior to the date of the filing made by the holder of the purchase money security interest, had filed a financing statement covering the same items or type of inventory, has received notification of the purchase money security interest before the debtor receives possession of the collateral covered by the purchase money security interest; and
(c) such notification states that the person giving the notice has or expects to acquire a purchase money security interest in inventory of the debtor, describing such inventory by item and type.

IV.

An exhaustive search of decisional law reveals no case on point permitting direct resolution of the sole question before the Court; does New Jersey’s adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code (largely the 1962 text) require filing and actual notice to *228 prior secured parties? An affirmative answer will, by operation of law, subject the consigned goods to claims of the debtor’s creditors, defendants Bildisco and Gerber, respectively.

V.

In its brief, defendant Congress commends to the Court the case of Manufacturer Acceptance Corp. v. Penning’s Sales, Inc., 5 Wash.App. 501, 487 P.2d 1053

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7 B.R. 225, 30 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1270, 1980 Bankr. LEXIS 4050, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gerber-industries-inc-v-bildisco-in-re-bildisco-njb-1980.