In re Great Lakes Comnet, Inc.

569 B.R. 693, 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 1556, 64 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 57
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedJune 2, 2017
DocketCase No. GL 16-00290-jtg (Jointly Administered)
StatusPublished

This text of 569 B.R. 693 (In re Great Lakes Comnet, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Great Lakes Comnet, Inc., 569 B.R. 693, 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 1556, 64 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 57 (Mich. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION REGARDING MOTION FOR DETERMINATION OF CLAIM

John T. Gregg, United States Bankruptcy Judge

This matter comes before the court on a motion filed by CoBank, ACB (“CoBank”) seeking a determination that it holds a secured claim or, to the extent insufficient collateral exists to satisfy its secured claim in full, a superpriority administrative expense (the “Motion”). Peter Kravitz, the liquidation trustee of the GLC Liquidation Trust (the “Liquidation Trustee”), and Daniel M. McDermott, the United States Trustee for Region 9 (the “UST”), object to the relief requested because the settlement agreement incorporated into a sale order entered by the court (the “Sale Order”) limits CoBank’s remaining claim to “an allowed unsecured deficiency claim.” The parties have requested that the court decide a threshold issue — whether the Sale Order unambiguously determined Co-Bank’s remaining claim to be an allowed general unsecured claim.

JURISDICTION

The court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1384(a) and 157. The court has expressly retained jurisdiction to determine this post-confirmation dispute, which has a close nexus to previous orders entered by this court, including the Sale Order. Thickstun Bros. Equip. Co., Inc. v. Encompass Servs. Corp. (In re Thickstun Bros. Equip. Co., Inc.), 344 B.R. 515, 521 (6th Cir. BAP 2006) (citation omitted); see also Harper v. The Oversight Comm. (In re Conco, Inc.), 855 F.3d 703, 711 (6th Cir. 2017). This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B), (K), (N) and (0).

BACKGROUND

Great Lakes Comnet, Inc. and Comlink L.L.C., the debtors in these jointly administered cases (collectively, the “Debtors”), were in the business of providing telecommunication and data services to various third-party carriers. Prior to the petition date, CoBank made certain loans to and/or for the benefit of the Debtors. In exchange, CoBank was granted first priority security interests and mortgage liens in substantially all of the Debtors’ personal and real property.

On January 25, 2016, the Debtors filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.2 As of the [695]*695petition date, the Debtors were indebted to CoBank in the amount of approximately $25 million. As part of their first day motions, the Debtors filed a motion seeking authority to obtain post-petition financing from CoBank and use its cash collateral [Dkt. No. 17]3 (the “DIP Motion”). In an objection to the DIP Motion [Dkt. No. 39], the UST raised several concerns, including the potential for administrative insolvency, an issue that would persist throughout the sale process. At the hearing, the court granted the DIP Motion on an interim basis [Dkt. No. 61] after the UST’s objections were resolved and the Debtors represented that they would apprise parties in interest if administrative insolvency became an issue. (See Status Rep., Dkt. No. 380, at ¶ 6.)

Several parties, including the UST, filed objections to the entry of an order approving the DIP Motion on a final basis. In his objection [Dkt. No. 151] and at the final hearing, the UST reiterated his concerns with respect to the potential for administratively insolvent estates. The court overruled the objection and entered a final order granting the DIP Motion [Dkt. No. 218] (the “Final DIP Order”), but cautioned that administrative insolvency might need to be addressed at some point in the future.

Pursuant to the terms of the Final DIP Order, the Debtors were authorized to borrow up to the principal amount of $5.5 million from CoBank and use its cash collateral. CoBank, as post-petition lender, was granted, among other things, a priming lien and a superpriority administrative expense under section 364(c)(1) to ensure repayment of the post-petition loans. As prepetition lender, CoBank was granted adequate protection in the form of replacement liens and an administrative expense with priority under section 507(b) in order to protect against the diminution in the value of the collateral subject to CoBank’s prepetition liens.4

Less than one week after the petition date, the Debtors filed a motion to establish bidding procedures and sell substantially all of their assets to a stalking horse bidder, subject to higher and better bids [Dkt. No. 72] (the “Sale Motion”). In an objection to the proposed bidding procedures [Dkt. No. 167], the UST again expressed concerns regarding administrative insolvency because of the amount of the proposed break up fee, among other things. After the court granted the bidding procedures portion of the Sale Motion [Dkt. No. 235], the Debtors continued to market their assets to potential purchasers. Despite the Debtors’ efforts, no other bids materialized and the Debtors informed parties in interest and the court that they intended to seek approval of a sale to the stalking horse bidder at the hearing scheduled for May 10, 2017 [Dkt. No. 363].

The weeks leading up to the sale hearing were challenging for the Debtors and their estates to say the least. On May 5, 2016, the Debtors filed a status report disclosing that the Debtors “do not believe they have sufficient cash or credit to get to a closing of the Sale without creating, or substantially increasing the likelihood of, administratively insolvent estates.” (Status Rep. at ¶ 3.) The Debtors further explained that the sale was unlikely to be [696]*696consummated for approximately three weeks (and possibly longer) after the sale hearing due to various governmental approvals and consents that were prerequisites to the closing. As such, the Debtors stated that they were attempting to negotiate additional financing from CoBank, who might ultimately be the only beneficiary of the sale. Finally, the Debtors requested that the court schedule a status conference to discuss the issue of administrative insolvency.

Concerned with some of the statements made in the status report, CoBank filed a response [Dkt. No. 387] wherein it emphasized that the Debtors’ post-petition financial condition was strong, but for the professional fees which far exceeded those permitted under the budget in the Final DIP Order. CoBank also stated that although it would continue to honor its obligations to extend post-petition financing, it should not be required to fund professional fees beyond those set forth in the budget and the agreed upon carve out in the Final DIP Order.

Also in response to the status report, the UST filed a motion to convert the Debtors’ cases to Chapter 7 or dismiss them altogether because of the substantial and continuing losses to the Debtors’ estates [Dkt. No. 382]. The UST, like Co-Bank, noted the significant amount of professional fees that the Debtors’ estates had incurred in the three months since the petition date. According to the UST’s projections, the Debtors’ estates would be administratively insolvent by mid-June 2016, if not before. The UST also filed an objection to the proposed sale [Dkt. No.

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Bluebook (online)
569 B.R. 693, 2017 Bankr. LEXIS 1556, 64 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 57, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-great-lakes-comnet-inc-miwb-2017.