In re Beach Resort Hotel Corp.

141 F. Supp. 537, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3324
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMay 15, 1956
DocketNo. 3152-M
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 141 F. Supp. 537 (In re Beach Resort Hotel Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Beach Resort Hotel Corp., 141 F. Supp. 537, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3324 (S.D. Fla. 1956).

Opinion

LIEB, District Judge.

This matter came on for hearing before the Court upon exceptions filed by the parties hereto to the report of the Honorable L. Earl Curry, referee in bankruptcy, serving as Special Master, which report is dated January 30, 1956. Petitions for review of an order of the Honorable L. Earl Curry, referee in bankruptcy, dated February 8, 1956, have also been filed by two of the parties. The referee has certified the file and all questions to the Court.

In the said report of the Special Master certain findings and recommendations were made with reference to an accounting had between the debtor, Beach Resort Hotel Corporation, and its lessee, Palwi, Inc., a corporation. On the matter for review, the said order of the referee purported to vacate an injunction entered by this Court on June 24, 1955, which had enjoined Bernard R. Wieder and Joseph Amigo, as plaintiffs, and Palwi, Inc., Yetta Rosen and Milton Weiss, as defendants, in that certain cause No. 175946-C then pending in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, in and for Dade County, Florida, from prosecuting or continuing the said action until the further order of this Court.

These proceedings arise under Chapter X of the National Bankruptcy Act.1 On January 7, 1955, Beach Resort Hotel Corporation, a Florida corporation (referred to herein as the debtor) filed in this Court its petition for corporate reorganization. On the same date this Court, by order of Judge Holland, approved the said petition as complying with the statutory requirements including a finding of good faith, appointed a trustee for the debtor, and enjoined all persons, firms and corporations from commencing or continuing any civil actions against the debtor or any of its property. On June 24, 1955, this Court, [540]*540by Judge Holland, entered an order referring to L. Earl Curry, referee in bankruptcy, as Special Master, the matter of accounting between the debtor and Palwi, Inc. On the same date, Judge Holland entered the injunction enjoining Bernard R. Wieder, et ah, referred to above. This latter injunction enjoined the parties mentioned from continuing in the Circuit Court of Dade County, Florida, a suit which had been brought to dissolve the said Palwi, Inc., which was the lessee of property involved in these proceedings.

On October 4, 1955, additional directions were given to the said referee as Special Master by Judge Whitehurst, of this Court, authorizing the Special Master to consider whether or not the proceedings for reorganization in this case were instituted and being maintained in good faith. The said order of Judge Whitehurst authorized the parties to assert before the Special Master any claims they might have that any previous decisions of the State Courts of Florida were res adjudicaba of any of the issues which had been referred by this Court to the referee, as Special Master, for determination.

As background in these proceedings, it is noted that the debtor corporation has as its only asset the Surfside Plaza Hotel, in Miami Beach, Florida. In the petition for reorganization it is alleged that the value of the hotel was in excess of $1,-000,000, and that it was subject to several mortgages and certain receiver’s certificates then outstanding, the total amount of such encumbrances being approximately $565,000.

On August 28, 1951, the debtor corporation entered into a written lease of the said hotel to Palwi, Inc., a Flordia corporation (hereafter referred to as lessee). This lease was for a term of 5 years, commencing with the date of the lease at a total rental of $500,000, payable in specified installments. The lease included an option of renewal upon the same terms for an additional 5 years, providing the option was exercised during a period when the lease was not in default.

The principal difficulty in this matter arises out of a conflict between the parties as to the legal effect of certain provisions of the lease and the legal effect of the conduct of the parties in attempting to carry out those provisions.

At the time the lease was made it was contemplated by the parties thereto that certain improvements should be undertaken with respect to the hotel property. To provide for such improvements, the lease included a section entitled “Lessee’s Obligation to Make Improvements”, which reads as follows:

“The Lessee agrees that it will, as soon as it is permitted to do so by the competent governmental authorities, install and build a new swimming pool in accordance with a sketch of the same which is hereto attached and made a part hereof and will erect ten (10) cabanas and cabana deck in accordance with a sketch of the same which is hereto attached and made a part hereof, and will install a central air conditioning system of the kind and type as may be agreed upon by the parties hereto and will tile all guest bathrooms in accordance with a sketch which is attached hereto, will redecorate the lobby by refurnishing the same either with new furniture or reupholstering the existing furniture, by repainting, and by installing new drapes and rugs and by doing such other things as may be necessary to give the said lobby a pleasing and inviting appearance. The Lessee will modernize the front and ocean side entrances of the building in accordance with a sketch of the same attached hereto.
“Notwithstanding the fact that the Lessee undertakes to accomplish the above improvements as soon as it is possible to do so, the pai'ties agree that at such time as the Lessee has spent for such improvements the sum of Ninety thousand ($90,-[541]*541000.00) Dollars, it shall not he required to continue with such improvements, excepting only as the money for such improvements becomes available from the net proceeds of the hotel, and the Lessee shall not be required to furnish additional money in excess of the sum of Ninety thousand ($90,000.00) Dollars just above referred to, other than that money which may be obtained from the net proceeds of the hotel operation or which may be obtained by financing which can be repaid out of the net proceeds of the hotel operation, and providing further that the total amount of money to be expended by the Lessee as hereinabove provided, shall not be more than Two hundred thousand ($200,-000.00) Dollars.
“At such time as the improvements are made and completed, they shall immediately become the sole and exclusive property of the Lessor and shall be returned unto the Lessor upon the expiration date of this lease agreement, free from any lien of any kind or nature whatsoever so far as any of the actions of the Lessee are concerned.”

Subsequent to the execution of the lease the lessee, Palwi, Inc., went into possession of the hotel and improvements were made to the hotel property which cost much in excess of the contemplated $200,000. While the improvements were being made, difficulties arose between the lessor and the lessee resulting in the institution of a suit in the Circuit Court of Dade County, Florida, being cause No. 145889-C. In this suit Wieder and Amigo, who owned half of the stock of the lessee Palwi, Inc., were plaintiffs against the lessor corporation, Beach Resort Hotel Corporation, Abraham Rosen, sole stockholder of the lessor corporation, Palwi, Inc., the lessee, and Yet-ta Rosen and Milton Weiss, directors of Palwi, Inc., as defendants. This suit prayed for the appointment of a receiver of the hotel property and for an accounting between the parties.

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141 F. Supp. 537, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3324, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-beach-resort-hotel-corp-flsd-1956.