In re Cranberry Growers Coop.

592 B.R. 325
United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Wisconsin·Decided September 21, 2018·No. Case No.: 17-13318-11·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Hon. Catherine J. Furay, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge

Debtor Cranberry Growers Cooperative ("Debtor" or "CranGrow") filed for relief under Chapter 11. The United States Trustee ("UST") claims additional quarterly fees are due. CranGrow objects to the Administrative Claim of the Office of the United States Trustee. The UST opposes Debtor's Objection. The parties submitted an extensive stipulation of facts and agreed no evidentiary hearing was required.

FACTS

CranGrow filed its Chapter 11 petition on September 25, 2017. Shortly thereafter, this Court approved CranGrow's proposed DIP financing with CoBank ("DIP Revolver Loan"). The DIP Revolver Loan consists of a roll-up and a revolver. The Revolver requires proceeds derived through the sale of CranGrow's cranberries be paid directly to CoBank to reduce the prepetition revolving credit line ("Direct Revolver Payments"). Prepetition debt is then rolled up into postpetition debt to the extent of each Direct Revolver Payment. CoBank then re-advances Direct Revolver Payments (less interest and fees) to CranGrow for normal operating expenses. At no point during this transaction does the total amount of revolving indebtedness decrease during the period at issue.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1930, the UST collects quarterly fees in Chapter 11 cases. Congress amended the fee schedule on October 26, 2017. The amount of the quarterly fee is based on the amount of a debtor's "disbursements" in a given quarter. Since CranGrow's "disbursements" exceed $1 million, the UST fee will be the lesser of 1% of disbursements or $250,000. The parties stipulate increased UST fees *328apply only to disbursements made on or after January 1, 2018. The term "disbursement" is not defined in the Code. At issue is whether the Direct Revolver Payments are "disbursements."

DISCUSSION

Quarterly fees in Chapter 11 cases are calculated under a fee schedule. 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(6). The quarterly fee is based on the totaling of the debtor's "disbursements" in a given quarter. Id. The issue is the scope of the term "disbursements." It arises because the Code does not define the term "disbursement."

Nor does legislative history help. It merely suggests section 1930"was to create a self-funding United States Trustee's Office." H.R. Rep. No. 764, 99th Cong., 2d Sess. 22, reprinted in 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5227, 5234-35. An expansive definition of disbursement is, therefore, suggested to be appropriate. In re Fabricators Supply Co. , 292 B.R. 531, 535 (Bankr. D.N.J. 2003) ("Congress has amended § 1930(a)(6) six times to either increase the quarterly fees or to include other bankruptcy fees ...."). "The United States Trustee System Fund was created by Congress to insure that the United States Trustee Program would be 'self-funded by the users of the bankruptcy system-at no cost to the taxpayer.' " In re Cash Cow Servs. of Florida L.L.C. , 249 B.R. 33, 36 (Bankr. N.D. Fla. 2000) (citation omitted). As a revenue generating mechanism, the UST fees are like a user tax. In re N. Hess' Sons, Inc. , 218 B.R. 354, 360 (Bankr. D. Md. 1998).

Most courts turn to the "plain meaning" of "disbursement" and define it expansively to include any transfer of funds of the estate-regardless of the method of transfer. This interpretation usually favors the UST's position. See, e.g. , In re Huff , 270 B.R. 649, 653 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 2001) ("disbursements" includes when a debtor pays out or expends money "even if the result seems harsh"); Office of United States Tr. v. Hays Builders, Inc. , 144 B.R. 778, 779-80 (W.D. Tenn. 1992) ("disbursements" covers all disbursements, whether made directly by debtor or a third party on behalf of debtor). See also In re HSSI, Inc. , 176 B.R. 809 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 1995), rev'd , 193 B.R. 851 (N.D. Ill. 1996) ; In re Meyer , 187 B.R. 650, 653 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 1995) ; In re Ozark Beverage Co., Inc. , 105 B.R. 510, 512 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. 1989). Courts also point to the Black's Law Dictionary definition of "disbursement"-the "act of paying out money, commonly from a fund or in settlement of a debt or account payable." Disbursement, Black's Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014).

The UST points to cases with variations of the following definition used by courts: "all money ... transferred by a debtor for any expense until a plan is confirmed or the case is converted or dismissed, whichever occurs first." In re Wernerstruck, Inc. , 130 B.R. 86, 89 (D.S.D. 1991). Other courts have applied a simpler definition of "all payments from the bankruptcy estate." St. Angelo v. Victoria Farms, Inc. , 38 F.3d 1525, 1534 (9th Cir. 1994).

Most often, payments on revolving lines of credit are considered disbursements. The UST cites In re Fabricators to support this interpretation. There, the court interpreted "disbursements" broadly enough to include payments made to a postpetition lender on a revolving line of credit. In re Fabricators , 292 B.R. at 532. In Fabricators , the debtor entered into a postpetition loan. That loan was a revolving line of credit agreement involving only postpetition borrowing. Id. The debtor deposited all accounts receivable and other proceeds from collateral into an account maintained by the creditor.

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In re Cranberry Growers Coop., 592 B.R. 325 (Wis. 2018).

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