In re City of Detroit

538 B.R. 314, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 2094, 2015 WL 3941240
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in In re City of Detroit. Read the opinion of the Court — 524 B.R. 147
United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Michigan·Decided June 26, 2015·No. Case No. 13-53846·Published

Opinion

OPINION REGARDING THE RETIRED DETROIT POLICE AND FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION’S “MOTION FOR ENFORCEMENT OF SETTLEMENT AND EIGHTH AMENDED PLAN OF ADJUSTMENT”

Thomas J. Tucker, United States Bankruptcy Judge

I. Introduction

This case is before the Court on a motion filed by the Retired Detroit Police and [316]*316Fire Fighters Association (the “RDPFFA”), entitled “Motion for Enforcement of Settlement and Eighth Amended Plan of Adjustment,” (Docket # 9414, the “Motion”). The City of Detroit filed an objection to the Motion (Docket # 9571), and the RDPFFA filed a reply (Docket # 9765). The Court held a hearing on May 6, 2015, and took the Motion under advisement.

The dispute concerns the meaning and interplay of certain provisions in the Eighth Amended Plan for the Adjustment of Debts of the City of Detroit (Docket # 8045, the “Plan”), the Court’s November 11, 2014 Order confirming that Plan (Docket # 8272, the “Confirmation Order”), and a “Term Sheet for Settlement” signed on April 25, 2014 by the City and the RDPFFA (Docket # 9414, Ex. 6A, the “Term Sheet”). Based on its interpretation of these documents, the RDPFFA seeks an order requiring the City to contribute an additional $140,000 per year to fund health care benefits for retired police officers who have become permanently disabled in the line of duty.

The City objects to the Motion, arguing that it has no obligation to make such a contribution under the relevant documents.

For the reasons stated in this opinion, the Court agrees with the City, and will enter an order denying the Motion.

II. Jurisdiction

This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this chapter 9 bankruptcy case and this contested matter under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(b), 157(a) and 157(b)(1), and Local Rule 83.50(a) (E.D.Mich.). This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(0), because it is a proceeding “affecting ... the adjustment of thé debt- or-creditor ... relationship.” This is also a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(1), because it falls within the definition of a proceeding “arising in” a case under title 11, within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1334(b). Matters falling within this category are deemed to be core proceedings. See Allard v. Coenen (In re Trans-Indus., Inc.), 419 B.R. 21, 27 (Bankr.E.D.Mich.2009)(citing Mich. Emp. Sec. Comm’n v. Wolverine Radio Co., Inc., 930 F.2d 1132, 1144 (6th Cir.1991)). As a proceeding that purportedly seeks to enforce a confirmed Chapter 9 plan of adjustment, this is a proceeding “arising in” a case under title 11, because it is a proceeding that “by [its] very nature, could arise only in bankruptcy cases.” See Allard v. Coenen, 419 B.R. at 27.

This dispute is a type over which this Court retained jurisdiction under the confirmed Plan. Article VII, sections G, J, and O of the confirmed Plan state:

Pursuant to sections 105(c), 945 and 1142(b) of the Bankruptcy Code and notwithstanding entry of the Confirmation Order and the occurrence of the Effective Date, the Bankruptcy Court will retain exclusive jurisdiction over all matters arising out of, and related to, the Chapter 9 Case and the Plan to the fullest extent permitted by law, including, among other things, jurisdiction to:
G. Resolve any cases, controversies, suits or disputes that may arise in connection with the consummation, interpretation or enforcement of the Plan or any contract, instrument, release or other agreement or document that is entered into or delivered pursuant to the Plan or any Entity’s rights arising from or obligations incurred in connection with the Plan or such documents;
J. Adjudicate, decide or resolve any matters relating to the City’s com[317]*317pliance with the Plan and the Confirmation Order consistent with section 945 of the Bankruptcy Code;
O. Enforce or clarify any orders previously entered by the Bankruptcy Court in the Chapter 9 Case....

(Docket # 8045 at 69-70).

III. Background and undisputed facts

A. The pre-confirmation settlement between the City and the RDPFFA

The RDPFFA is not a labor union. It does, however, act “as an advocate for its approximately 6,500 retired Detroit police and firefighter members,” and has done so for over fifty years. (Docket # 9414 at 1). Thus, when the City began mediation with its various creditors and creditor representatives to build a plan to resolve its chapter 9 case, the RDPFFA was included in negotiations. Those negotiations concerned prepetition claims for pensions and other post-employment benefits (“OPEB”), such as health insurance. On April 25, 2014, the RDPFFA and the City reached an- agreement regarding the treatment of the pension and OPEB claims of the RDPFFA’s members. This was the City’s first settlement in this bankruptcy case with a group representing retired City workers.

To memorialize the settlement, the parties signed the Term Sheet on April 25, 2014. Among other things, the Term Sheet provided for relatively modest pension reductions for members of the RDPFFA — no cuts to current pension amounts — but a 45% reduction in annual cost-of-living increases, with the possibility of having those “COLA” increases restored in the future under certain circumstances. But the Term Sheet provided for significant OPEB reductions, in which City-sponsored health care coverage is replaced with a monthly stipend for retirees to purchase their own policies on healthcare exchanges or elsewhere, through a structure known as a Voluntary Employee Benefits Association, or VEBA. The City’s role in the VEBA structure is to issue certain bonds, called “New B Notes” and “Excess New B Notes” in the Plan, to the VEBA. The governing body of the VEBA is to manage and use the proceeds from these Notes to pay retirees the monthly stipend.1

In exchange for this treatment of its members’ claims, the RDPFFA agreed to prepare a letter to its members advising them to vote in favor of the City’s plan, so long as the plan’s terms were consistent with the Term Sheet.2

The treatment of RDPFFA members’ claims reflected in the Term Sheet was incorporated into the City’s Second Amended Plan and all subsequent iterations of the plan,3 as part of the treatment of claims in Class 10 (police and firefighter pension claims) and Class 12 (all retiree OPEB claims).4 Ultimately, the treatment [318]

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In re City of Detroit, 538 B.R. 314, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 2094, 2015 WL 3941240 (Mich. 2015).

538 B.R. 314 (In re City of Detroit) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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In Re Wolverine Radio Company
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Allard v. Coenen (In Re Trans-Industries, Inc.)
419 B.R. 21 (E.D. Michigan, 2009)
Miller v. United States
363 F.3d 999 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)