In re Costa Bonita Beach Resort Inc.

479 B.R. 14, 2012 WL 3716842, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 3967
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedAugust 27, 2012
DocketNo. 12-00778
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 479 B.R. 14 (In re Costa Bonita Beach Resort Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Costa Bonita Beach Resort Inc., 479 B.R. 14, 2012 WL 3716842, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 3967 (prb 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

ENRIQUE S. LAMOUTTE, Bankruptcy Judge.

Before the court are three (3) motions filed by DF Servicing, LLC (hereinafter [20]*20referred to as “DF Servicing”). The first motion was filed on April 19, 2012 to disqualify Debtor’s counsel, Charles A. Cuprill, P.S.C., Law Offices (hereinafter referred to as “Debtor’s counsel” or “Attorney Cuprill”) pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 327 and 101(14)(C) and Fed. R. Bankr.P. 2014(a) (Docket No. 38). Attorney Cuprill filed his Answer to Motion to Disqualify Debtor’s Counsel pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 327 on May 12, 2012 (Docket No. 68). The second motion is DF Servicing’s motion to dismiss the case for “cause” pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b) alleging; (i) that Costa Bonita Beach Resort, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the “Debtor”) filed this case in bad faith; (ii) there is “substantial or continuing loss or diminution and absence of a reasonable likelihood of rehabilitation pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b)(4) since “... Debtor has no cash flow, is likely balance sheet insolvent, and has no ‘going concern’ to preserve in bankruptcy, the Debtor’s estate faces a serious threat of loss or diminution resulting from the accrual of Chapter 11 administrative expenses;” and (iii) there is no reasonable likelihood of confirmation because a Chapter 11 plan cannot be confirmed within a reasonable time. DF Servicing also argues in the alternative that this Court should abstain from hearing this case and dismiss it pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 305(a)(1) (Docket No. 48). Debtor filed its objection to the motion to dismiss on May 7, 2012 (Docket No. 65). The third motion filed by DF on April 19, 2012 is a motion for the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee or examiner under 11 U.S.C. § 1104(a), or to convert case to Chapter 7 under 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b) (Docket No. 37). Debt- or filed its Reply to Motion to Appoint Trustee or Examiner, or to Convert to Chapter 7 on May 7, 2012 (Docket No. 64). The court held a hearing on May 16, 2012 in which it denied DF Servicing’s Motion to Disqualify Debtor’s Counsel pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 327(a) but informed the parties at the hearing that an Opinion and Order would follow substantiating the same. The court took under advisement the motion to dismiss under 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b) and the motion for abstention under 11 U.S.C. § 305(a). For the reasons stated herein, DF Servicing’s motion to dismiss pursuant § 1112(b) is hereby denied. Also, DF Servicing’s motion to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee or examiner under § 1104(a) is hereby denied.

Procedural Background

Costa Bonita Beach Resort, Inc. filed a bankruptcy petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code for the first time on February 3, 2009 (Case Number 09-00699). During this case, the court entered an Opinion and Order finding that the Debtor satisfied all three (3) prongs of the Single Asset Real Estate (“SARE”), and, as such is a SARE case subject to 11 U.S.C. § 362(d)(3) (Docket No. 55, Case No. 09-699). The court also entered an Order modifying the automatic stay to allow creditor DEV, S.E., to continue in state court proceedings for the removal of the illegal easement and the restoration of DEV, S.E.’s land to its original condition by Debtor (Docket No. 225, Case No. 09-00699). The first bankruptcy petition was dismissed on May 10, 2011 (Docket No. 413, Case No. 09-00699) on the grounds that the Debtor failed to comply with this court’s Order of April 21, 2011 (Docket No. 409, Case No. 09-00699) and Debtor’s failure to maintain adequate insurance. The case was subsequently closed on October 11, 2011.

On February 2, 2012, Costa Bonita Beach Resort, Inc. filed a second bankruptcy petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The second petition is the one presently before the court. The [21]*21341 meeting of creditors was scheduled and held on March 12, 2012 and was continued to April 23, 2012, and thereafter continued sine die due to the motion for disqualification of Debtor’s counsel filed by DF Servicing on April 19, 2012 (Docket Nos. 4, 30, & 44). On April 23, 2012 the Debtor filed the Monthly Operating Report corresponding to March 2012 (Docket No. 41). On April 30, 2012 the Debtor filed the Disclosure Statement (Docket No. 53) and the Chapter 11 Plan (Docket No. 54).

On February 8, 2012, Charles A. Cuprill, P.S.C. Law Offices filed its Application for Employment of Counsel for Debtor (Docket No. 6). On February 9, 2012, the court authorized the application of employment of Debtor’s counsel (Docket No. 7). On February 29, 2012, Debtor filed a motion submitting amended Summary of Schedules and amended Schedules A, B, D, E, F, G, and an amended Statement of Financial Affairs (Docket No. 14). On March 26, 2012, the Debtor filed the Monthly Operating Report for the month of February 2012 (Docket No. 27). On April 12, 2012, the Debtor filed an amended Monthly Operating Report for the month of February 2012 (Docket No. 34).

Subsequently, on April 19, 2012, DF Servicing filed a Motion for the Appointment of Chapter 11 Trustee or Examiner under 11 U.S.C. § 1104(a), or to convert case to Chapter 7 under 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b) based on the following arguments: (i) “... Mr. Escribano has grossly mismanaged the prepetition estate by breaching his pre-petition duties of care and loyalty and by failing to secure an adequate easement for the property owned by the estate, and the gross mismanagement and incompetence continued post-petition by failing to provide accurate financial information on the Debtor’s Schedules and SOFA;” (ii) “Based on the testimony at the 341 meeting, the Debtor failed to disclose numerous details of the debts to insiders and other non-secured creditors, and the new lease arrangement;” (iii) “[u]nder the facts, the Debtor may have a significant cause of action against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to recover the use of the most valuable asset of the estate the existing access easement, but Mr. Escribano has failed to do so insisting in a Quixotic quest to win at all cost against DEV, S.E.;” (iv) “Mr. Escribano has violated his fiduciary responsibilities to the estate by breaching his duty of care and loyalty.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
479 B.R. 14, 2012 WL 3716842, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 3967, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-costa-bonita-beach-resort-inc-prb-2012.