In re Biolitec, Inc.

528 B.R. 261, 2014 WL 7205395
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedDecember 17, 2014
DocketCase No.: 13-11157 (DHS)
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 528 B.R. 261 (In re Biolitec, Inc.) 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
In re Biolitec, Inc., 528 B.R. 261, 2014 WL 7205395 (N.J. 2014).

Opinion

[263]*263 OPINION

THE HONORABLE DONALD H. STECKROTH, BANKRUPTCY JUDGE

The Chapter 11 Trustee (the “Trustee”) in the chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding of Biolitec, Inc. (the “Debtor”) has filed a motion (the “Motion”) for entry of an order (“Order”) dismissing the Debtor’s chapter 11 ease pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 105(a), 305(a), 349, and 1112(b) and approving a settlement agreement pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9019. The United States Trustee (the “U.S. Trustee”) objects to the Motion on the ground that there is no authority for the relief sought by the Trustee under the Bankruptcy Code. Biolitec AG, Biomed Technology Holdings, Ltd. (“Biomed”), CeramOptee Industries, Inc. (“CeramOp-tec”), Biolitec Holdings US, Inc., and Wolfgang Neuberger (“Neuberger”) (collectively, the “Non-Debtor Affiliates”) objected to the Motion and filed a cross-motion for entry of an order converting the case to a chapter 7 proceeding pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b) (the “Cross-Motion”).

The Court has jurisdiction over this motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(b), 157(a), and the Standing Order of Reference from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey dated July 23, 1984, as amended September 18, 2012. This matter is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(b)(2)(B) and (F). Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1408 and 1409(a). The following shall constitute the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The following is an abbreviated factual and procedural history of the case, as the parties are intimately familiar with the proceedings at this point in the litigation. The Court provides only the facts relevant to this Opinion and directs the parties to earlier decisions of this Court and the district courts for further background.1

1. Parties and District Court Litiga-tions

Biolitec, Inc., the Debtor, is the United States Affiliate of a multi-national group of companies in the business of manufacturing and distributing fiber optics, medical lasers, and photo-pharmaceuticals. It is a closely held corporation, 90% of which is owned by Biolitec AG, a German corporation. Neuberger owns approximately 75% of Biolitec AG, and as CEO, President, and Chairman of the Board of both the Debtor and Biolitec AG, controls the companies and their related affiliates. The Debtor’s schedules list Biolitec Holding US, Inc. as an equity holder and secured creditor of the Debtor, and CeramOptee, and Biolitec Technology Holdings, Ltd., as unsecured creditors of the Debtor.2

[264]*264AngioDynamics is an international manufacturer and distributor of medical products and the largest unsecured creditor of the Debtor. AngioDynamics’s claims against the Debtor have their origins in an April 2002 Supply and Distribution Agreement (“SDA”) pursuant to which it received the exclusive right to distribute certain of the Debtor’s products in North America. Under the SDA, the Debtor was obligated to defend and indemnify AngioD-ynamics against third-party patent infringement claims arising from the distribution and marketing of the Debtor’s products. After the Debtor failed to defend or indemnify AngioDynamics in two separate patent infringement suits, An-gioDynamics sued for breach of contract in January 2008 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (the “New York Action”). In November 2012, the district court found in favor of AngioDynamics and entered partial, final judgment against the Debtor in the amount of $23,156,287.00 (the “Judgment Claim”).3

In October 2009, AngioDynamics filed suit against the Debtor, Biolitec AG, Biomed, and Neuberger in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging fraudulent transfer and tortious interference with a contract (the “Massachusetts Action”). An-gioDynamics alleged that the Debtor, knowing that it was likely to incur substantial liability as a result of its obligation to defend and indemnify AngioDynamics in the patent litigations, fraudulently transferred over $18 million of assets to Biolitec AG and other affiliates between 2004 and 2009. On August 29, 2013, the district court issued a preliminary injunction that prohibited the Debtor from further transferring any assets and specifically prohibited Biolitec AG from completing a planned merger with a newly formed Austrian subsidiary.

II. Bankruptcy Proceeding and Subsequent Developments

On January 22, 2013, the Debtor filed a chapter 11 petition in this Court and immediately filed for relief from the automatic stay to allow pending litigations to continue. Due to Neuberger’s repeated defiance of court orders, the most flagrant of which was causing Biolitec AG to merge with the Austrian subsidiary in direct violation of the district court’s injunction, An-gioDynamics moved for the appointment of a chapter 11 trustee.4 Having legitimate concerns about the Debtor’s ability to administer the estate, the Court appointed the Trustee on April 12, 2013.

On August 9, 2013, the Court approved a settlement between the Trustee and’ An-gioDynamics in which substantially all of the Debtor’s assets were sold to AngioDy-namics. The settlement fixed AngioDy-namics’s allowed unsecured claim at $29 million, but provided that AngioDynamics would forego any distribution from the estate on its. $23 million Judgment Claim and would receive a distribution on the remaining $6 million Additional Damage [265]*265Claim only if all general unsecured claims (excluding those of the Debtor’s affiliates) were paid in full. AngioDynamics agreed that instead of recovering from the Debt- or, any potential recovery would come from Biolitec AG or the other defendants in the Massachusetts Action.

On August 29, 2018, the Trustee filed an adversary proceeding against Biolitec AG, Biolitec U.S., Inc., CeramOptec, Biomed, Biolitec Medical Devices, Inc., Biolitec FZ LLC, Neuberger, and several other individually named defendants, seeking, inter alia, the turnover of estate property, avoidance of unauthorized post-petition transfers of proprietary information and intellectual property, and other injunctive relief.5

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
528 B.R. 261, 2014 WL 7205395, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-biolitec-inc-njb-2014.