Harvis Trien & Beck, P.C. v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (In re Blackwood Associates, L.P.)

153 F.3d 61
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedAugust 21, 1998
DocketNo. 97-5029
StatusPublished
Cited by45 cases

This text of 153 F.3d 61 (Harvis Trien & Beck, P.C. v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (In re Blackwood Associates, L.P.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harvis Trien & Beck, P.C. v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (In re Blackwood Associates, L.P.), 153 F.3d 61 (2d Cir. 1998).

Opinion

PARKER, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-Appellant Harvis Trien & Beck, P.C. (“HT ■ & B”) appeals from a judgment entered April 18, 1997, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Thomas C. Platt, Judge), dismissing its claims against Defendant-Appel-lee Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC” or “Freddie Mac”). This judgment was entered in accordance with a Memorandum and Order of the district court, dated April 15, 1997, which affirmed a Decision and Order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York (Robert John Hall, Judge) granting summary judgment to Freddie Mac in a Chapter 11 adversary proceeding commenced by HT & B. HT & B had commenced this adversary proceeding seeking payment from Freddie Mac of certain counsel fees it had charged to Blackwood Associates, L.P. (“Blackwood” or “Debtor”), of whom Freddie Mae was a secured creditor. These fees related to HT & B’s representation of Black-wood during the pendency of Blackwood’s [63]*63Chapter 11 petition while Blackwood was operating under a cash collateral stipulation prior to confirmation of a plan of reorganization.

I. BACKGROUND

Blackwood is a Delaware limited partnership whose sole asset was a multifamily apartment complex in Irvington, NJ, consisting of eight ten-story buildings containing 1,744 apartments (the “Property”). Freddie Mac held two perfected mortgages on the Property, in an aggregate principal amount of approximately $30 million. Freddie Mac also held a perfected absolute assignment and security interest in all rents and profits derived from the Property.

By 1991, Blackwood was experiencing severe financial problems. Blackwood was $800,000 behind in its mortgage payments, had insufficient funds to pay for necessary capital improvements to the Property (including replacing an inoperative heating system), was so far behind in property taxes that a tax sale of the Property was scheduled, and faced substantial regulatory fines for failure to keep the Property up to code. These problems caused Blackwood to file a petition for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (the “Code”), 11 U.S.C. §§ 1101-74, on August 29, 1991 (the “Petition”). Blackwood retained HT & B to represent it in relation to the Petition, pursuant to a general retainer authorized by the bankruptcy court on October 8,1991.

Pursuant to § 363(c) of the Code, 11 U.S.C. § 363(c), during the pendency of the Petition, Blackwood could not use any “cash collateral,” as that term is defined in § 363(a), without either the consent of Freddie Mac, which held a security interest in both the Property and the rents and profits derived therefrom, or authorization of the bankruptcy court. In this case, the cash collateral consisted of all rents and profits from the Property.

After the filing of the Petition, HT & B and Freddie Mac began negotiations concerning a consensual plan of reorganization for Blackwood. To allow Blackwood to function during the course of these negotiations, HT & B and Freddie Mac, through its counsel, entered into a Cash Collateral Stipulation, dated July 28, 1992 (the “Stipulation”). The Stipulation was drafted primarily by HT & B but incorporated changes proposed by Freddie Mac and its counsel.

As relevant to this appeal, the Stipulation provided as follows. Blackwood was authorized to collect all cash collateral, defined in the Stipulation consistent with the Code as all “proceeds, products, rents, and profits,” from the Property, and was obligated to deposit the cash collateral into a specified account. Stipulation ¶ 1. Blackwood was obligated to use the cash collateral to pay for the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in operating the Property, including interest payments on a second mortgage not held by Freddie Mac, and escrow payments for property taxes. Id. ¶¶2-4. In addition, beginning in July 1992, Blackwood was obligated to make a monthly payment in the amount of $271,663 to Freddie Mac (the “Adequate Protection Payment”). Id. ¶ 5.

Paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Stipulation, delineated Freddie Mac’s rights and remedies if Blackwood failed to comply with its obligations under the Stipulation. Specifically, ¶ 8 provided that if Blackwood failed to comply with its obligations, Freddie Mac was permitted, upon affording Blackwood ten days to cure any default, to move the bankruptcy court to lift the automatic stay imposed by § 362 of the Code, so as to allow Freddie Mac to pursue whatever remedies at law it may have. Paragraph 9, in turn, provided that upon any lifting of the automatic stay, Blackwood’s “authorization to use Cash Collateral shall immediately terminate at FHLMC’s option ... [and] all Cash Collateral shall be immediately paid in full to FHLMC.”

Paragraph 13 of the Stipulation provided for payment of professional fees:

FHLMC agrees that ... Debtor’s counsels fees and disbursements approved by the Court upon requisite notice and application as required by the Bankruptcy Code and Rules shall be paid from the Cash Collateral. Nothing contained herein shall constitute a waiver of FHLMC’s right to object ón a substantive basis to particular [64]*64amounts requested in any such fee application.

The Stipulation also provided that either party could seek modification of the Stipulation via motion to the bankruptcy court. Id. ¶ 14. By its terms, the Stipulation applied to all cash collateral received after, and all expenses incurred after, July 1, 1992. Id. ¶ 15 (A 46). The bankruptcy court, by Order dated August 31, 1992, approved the Stipulation, and authorized the use of the cash collateral consistent with its terms.

On March 5, 1993, HT & B filed an application with the bankruptcy court seeking a second interim allowance of compensation, in the amount of $535,556 for professional services rendered and out-of-pocket disbursements incident thereto for the period from May 16, 1992 through February 28, 1993.1 The relationship between the parties had apparently soured somewhat by this time, and Freddie Mac objected to this application. The bankruptcy court held a hearing on the application on March 30, 1993, at the conclusion of which it reserved decision. The next day, the bankruptcy court held hearings on motions by Blackwood to confirm a plan of reorganization and to eliminate its obligations to make the Adequate Protection Payments, which it had already stopped making, and on a motion by Freddie Mac to lift the automatic stay for failure by Blackwood to make the Adequate Protection Payments pursuant to ¶ 8 of the Stipulation. At the conclusion of this hearing, the bankruptcy court granted Freddie Mac’s motion to lift the automatic stay and denied as moot both of Blackwood’s motions.

Blackwood appealed this decision to the district court. The district court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s decision lifting the automatic stay and imposed sanctions on Blackwood for filing and pursuing a frivolous appeal. Blackwood then appealed to this Court. That appeal was withdrawn by stipulation of the parties, however, on the eondition that Freddie Mac agree not to seek to enforce the award of sanctions.

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Bluebook (online)
153 F.3d 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harvis-trien-beck-pc-v-federal-home-loan-mortgage-corp-in-re-ca2-1998.