In re Jeans.com, Inc.

502 B.R. 250, 70 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1439, 2013 WL 6133527, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 4985, 58 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 212
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedNovember 20, 2013
DocketNo. 13-07491 (ESL)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 502 B.R. 250 (In re Jeans.com, 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 Jeans.com, Inc., 502 B.R. 250, 70 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1439, 2013 WL 6133527, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 4985, 58 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 212 (prb 2013).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

ENRIQUE S. LAMOUTTE, Bankruptcy Judge.

This case is before the court upon the Debtor’s Motion Requesting Authorization to Denominate Critical Vendors (the “Motion to Denominate Critical Vendors ”, Docket No. 16) and the Opposition to Debtor’s Motion for Authorization to Pay Critical Trade Vendors (Docket No. 34) filed by creditors DDR Norte LLC, S.E., DDR Palma Real LLC, S.E., DDR Atlántico LLC, S.E., and DDR Rio Hondo LLC, S.E. (jointly and collectively referred to as “DDR”). For the reasons stated below, the Debtor’s Motion to Denominate Critical Vendors is hereby granted.

Factual and Procedural Background

The Debtor filed the instant Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on September 11, 2013. See Docket No. 1.

On September 20, 2013, the Debtor filed the Motion to Denominate Critical Vendors (Docket No. 16) alleging that several of the services and products offered by “critical vendors” are indispensable for its operations and reorganization and that granting the payment of their pre-petition amounts would benefit all parties in interest. On September 30, 2013, the court entered an Order and Notice (Docket No. 32) scheduling a hearing to consider, inter alia, the Debtor’s motions to use credit cards, utilities and critical vendors for October 18, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. On October 3, 2013, DDR filed an Opposition to Debtor’s Motion for Authorization to Pay Critical Trade Vendors (Docket No. 34) arguing that the Debtor had not advanced any evidence whatsoever to support its motion and that it was actually a request to authorize post-petition financing outside the ordinary course of business, despite Debt- or’s failure to comply -with the requirements of section 364 of the Bankruptcy Code, as well as Fed. R. Bankr.P. 4001 and Local Bankr.R. 4001-2. DDR also contends that Section 105 of the Bankruptcy Code does not authorize payments of pre-petition debts to critical vendors. On October 17, 2013, the Debtor filed a Reply to Opposition to Motion Requesting Authori[252]*252zation to Denominate Critical Vendors (Docket No. 46) sustaining that the products and services provided by the critical vendors are necessary for it to continue operating and turn a profit.

On October 18, 2013, the court held the scheduled hearing. See Docket Nos. 55 (Audio File) and 64 (Minute Entry). The court ruled, inter alia, that the Motion Requesting Authorization to Denominate Critical Vendors (Docket No. 16) would be granted through a separate order. The court partially disagreed with the legal assumptions made by the Debtor in regards to In re Kmart Corp., 359 F.3d 866 (7th Cir.2004), but determined that the evidence during the hearing supported the request for critical vendors as to the way they were designated and in the amounts they were designated as they have been budgeted to be paid in the projections prepared (capped at $5,000 per month). See the Minute Entry (Docket No. 64, pp. 7-8).

Jurisdiction

The court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334. This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2).

Applicable Law and Analysis

(A) Origins of Payments to Critical Vendors

Chapter 11 debtors usually seek to have the issuance of critical vendor orders to convince creditors to continue to do business with them throughout the Chapter 11 reorganization. These orders, commonly known as “critical vendor orders”, authorize the payment of certain pre-petition liabilities because of the alleged “critical nature” of certain suppliers, goods and services in order to preserve the ongoing concern value of the debtor’s business. See Robert A. Morris, The Case Against Critical Vendor Motions, 22-Sep Am. Bankr.Inst. J. 30, 30 (2003). These orders have been widely criticized because they seem to contravene the central policy of the Bankruptcy Code as established in Begier v. IRS, 496 U.S. 53, 56, 110 S.Ct. 2258, 110 L.Ed.2d 46 (1990): “[e]quality of distribution among creditors”. See Alan N. Resnick, The Future of the Doctrine of Necessity and Critical-Vendor Payments in Chapter 11 Cases, 47 B.C.L.Rev. 183, 183 (2005).

There is currently no statutory provision in the Bankruptcy Code that expressly authorizes the payment of pre-petition debts before the confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization. Moreover, there is no statutory definition of a “critical vendor”. See Christopher D. Hunt, Not-So-Critical Vendors: Redefining Critical Vendor Orders, 93 KY. L.J. 915, 924 (2004/2005); Robert A. Morris, The Case Against “Critical Vendor” Motions, 22-Sep Am. Bankr.Inst. J. at 30. Critical vendor orders have become a generally accepted practice rationalized under the “doctrine of necessity”. Robert A. Morris, The Case Against “Critical Vendor” Motions, 22-Sep Am. Bankr.Inst. J. at 30. “The recognition and application of the ‘doctrine of necessity’, especially with respect to the treatment of so-called ‘critical vendors’, have been the subject of controversy in Chapter 11 reorganization cases in recent years. The ‘doctrine of necessity’ is a judge-made rule that courts rely upon to justify permitting a debtor in possession in a Chapter 11 case, prior to the confirmation of a plan of reorganization, to pay certain creditors the full amount of their pre-bankruptcy [petition] unsecured claims. This special treatment is, in theory, reserved for those vendors and other creditors who are critical to the survival of the debtor because of the goods or services they provide.” Alan N. Resnick, The Future of the Doctrine of Necessity and Crit[253]*253ical-Vendor Payments in Chapter 11 Cases, 47 B.C.L.Rev. at 183-184. The main principle behind critical vendor orders is that “in certain situations, [they are] necessary for the survival of the debt- or’s business and for the successful reorganization of the debtor. This, in turn, inures to the benefit of all parties in interest, including employees who keep their jobs, vendors and others who may be dependent on the continuing existence of the debtor for future business, equity holders who may reap economic benefits when the business is rehabilitated, and general unsecured creditors whose recovery will be based on the going concern value of the reorganized business, rather than on the scrap value of assets resulting from forced liquidation at auction sales.” Id. at 185-186. This doctrine is usually sought under the bankruptcy court’s equitable powers established in 11 U.S.C. § 105. See Hon. Nancy C. Dreher, Hon. Joan N. Feeney and Michael S. Stepan, Esq., Bankruptcy Law Manual, Volume 1 § 2:22 (2012-1), p. 197. Section 105 establishes that “the court may issue any order, process, or judgment that is necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of [the Bankruptcy Code].” 11 U.S.C.

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502 B.R. 250, 70 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1439, 2013 WL 6133527, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 4985, 58 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 212, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-jeanscom-inc-prb-2013.