In re Bowers Investment Co.

553 B.R. 762, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 2598, 2016 WL 3766521
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Alaska
DecidedJuly 7, 2016
DocketNo. F16-00136-GS
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 553 B.R. 762 (In re Bowers Investment Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Bowers Investment Co., 553 B.R. 762, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 2598, 2016 WL 3766521 (Alaska 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ON MOTIONS TO DISMISS OR CONVERT

GARY SPRAKER, United States Bankruptcy Judge

Secured creditor Denali State Bank (“DSB”), has filed a Motion to Dismiss Chapter 11 Case, and the United States Trustee (“UST”) has filed a separate Motion to Convert or Dismiss Chapter 11 Case. The debtor opposes both motions. For the reasons stated below, the court finds cause exists under 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b)(4)(A), (D) and (F) to convert this case to one under chapter 7.

I. CASE BACKGROUND.

The debtor has substantial assets comprised of several commercial buildings in Fairbanks, Alaska. It owns commercial buildings located at 2173 and 2175 University Avenue, 2333 Van Horn Road, and Lot 26, Section 17 (“Lot 26”), as well as a vacant lot known as Lot 56, Section 17, T1S-R1W.1 The scheduled value of all its realty is $4,444,770.00. The debtor has rented the University and Van Horn properties to commercial tenants for a number of years at rates that have allowed it to timely pay the secured debts it owes to DSB and First National Bank Alaska (“FNBA”).2 The debtor currently leases Lot 26 to another entity, Yukon Maxi Storage, which is owned by the debtor’s sole member and manager, Gerald Bowers.

The debtor’s troubles arose last summer when it lost a major tenant, the University of Alaska, from one of its University Avenue locations. The debtor has been unable to replace this tenant, and has had insufficient income to service DSB’s secured debt. It has not made a payment to DSB [765]*765since October 2015. When its loan became delinquent, DSB commenced non-judicial foreclosure proceedings. DSB also opted to exercise its right to the assignment of rents as provided in its Deed of Trust.3 On November 17, 2015, one day before DSB’s scheduled foreclosure sale, the debtor filed a chapter 11 petition (“Bowers # l”).4 This proceeding had a brief, and rocky, life. Many of the issues that arose in that case were exacerbated by the total breakdown of the relationship between the debtor’s counsel and its managing member, Mr. Bowers. The court dismissed Bowers # 1 on April 18, 2016, for the debtor’s failure to: (1) appear for a duly scheduled Rule 2004 examination, (2) timely file a plan and disclosure statement, and (3) comply with the requirements of an interim order for use of DSB’s cash collateral.

Less than a month later, again facing foreclosure by DSB, the debtor filed the instant bankruptcy. Although represented by different counsel, who has more effectively dealt with Mr. Bowers, the debtor is repeating errors made in Bowers # 1 in that it has failed to promptly seek authority to use DSB’s cash collateral. This was a prominent issue in the prior bankruptcy. The debtor’s counsel was advised by DSB, almost immediately after the filing of the instant case, that the bank would not consent to use of its cash collateral absent strict safeguards centered around the deposit of its cash collateral into an account with DSB.5 Further, during earlier hearings before this court, the debtor’s counsel was admonished that he should familiarize himself with the record in Bowers # 1 so that the mistakes made in that proceeding would not be repeated. Yet, the debtor did not file its Motion for Use of Cash Collateral and Release of Funds until June 21, 2016, more than six weeks after the petition was filed, and only in response to the dismissal motions.

In this proceeding, DSB has continued to exercise its rights to the assignment of rents. It is presently receiving rents from three tenants: the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the United States Corps of Engineers, and the Small Business Administration. These monthly rents total $8,455.87. Aaron Pletnikoff, DSB’s chief lending officer, testified at the hearing that the bank was holding roughly $9,000.00 in the debtor’s frozen DSB operating account.

The debtor’s monthly rents from all sources total $20,683.73.6 Consequently, [766]*766net of DSB’s assignment of rents, the debtor should be receiving $12,227.86 in monthly rents. The debtor has budgeted $15,174.50 in monthly operating expenses, excluding debt service to its secured creditors DSB and FNBA. The debtor cannot satisfy its ongoing operating expenses absent the use of DSB’s cash collateral.

The debtor’s failure to deal with the cash collateral issues appears to stem from a deep distrust of DSB. The debtor believes DSB is considerably oversecured, and harbors resentment over DSB’s exercise of its right to assignment of rents. DSB has collected rents directly from several tenants, and frozen the debtor’s DSB operating account. There is also evidence that DSB seized, but then returned, some of Mr. Bowers’ social security checks prior to the filing of the instant petition.7 Much of the animosity comes from these actions, and the debtor’s and Mr. Bowers’ efforts to release such funds.

The debtor’s schedules and statements were also late filed, after the UST and DSB filed their motions to dismiss. The failure to timely file these documents was, in fact, the impetus for the UST’s motion to dismiss. Although the debtor has now “cured” the filing deficiencies noted in the UST’s motion, it never sought an extension of time to file such documents. Nor has the debtor filed its initial monthly operating report, which was due June 15, 2016, The debtor has filed a disclosure statement and plan of reorganization. However, its current counsel has now moved to withdraw from this case. At the evidentia-ry hearing on June 22, the debtor represented that it intended to retain attorney Robert Garrison, and sought permission to have Mr. Garrison speak on its behalf.8 A nonconforming motion for permission to allow Mr. Garrison to appear pro hac vice had been filed prior to the hearing, but no application for substitution of counsel or employment of new DIP counsel was of record. Nor has such an application been filed as of the date of this order.

II. THE PENDING MOTIONS, AND DEBTOR’S RESPONSE.

DSB and the UST have filed separate motions to dismiss the chapter 11 case pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b). DSB asserts three grounds for dismissal: (1) the debtor filed the petition in bad faith; (2) the estate is operating at a substantial continuing loss, and there is no reasonable likelihood of rehabilitation; and (3) the debtor is continuing to use its cash collateral without authority. The UST’s motion also points to the debtor’s unauthorized use of cash collateral. It further argues dismissal is appropriate due to the debtor’s unexcused failure to timely file its schedules and statements, under § 1112(b)(4)(F). Unlike DSB, the UST’s motion seeks the alternative remedy of conversion to chapter 7.

After these motions were filed, the debt- or filed its Motion for Use of Cash Collateral as well as a Disclosure Statement.9 In its cash collateral motion, the debtor seeks permission to use tenant rents to pay the ongoing, necessary monthly oper[767]*767ating expenses of its buildings. It specifically requests that all rents, including those which are DSB’s cash collateral, be deposited into its FNBA bank account.

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Bluebook (online)
553 B.R. 762, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 2598, 2016 WL 3766521, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-bowers-investment-co-akb-2016.