In re Jubilee Farms

595 B.R. 546
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Kentucky
DecidedDecember 28, 2018
DocketCASE NO. 18-30080 ADMINISTRATIVELY CONSOLIDATED
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 595 B.R. 546 (In re Jubilee Farms) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Jubilee Farms, 595 B.R. 546 (Ky. 2018).

Opinion

Gregory R. Schaaf, Bankruptcy Judge

Jubilee Farms and Quickert Farms, LLC seek confirmation of their Amended Chapter 12 Plan. [ECF No. 94.] The Chapter 12 Trustee, Farm Credit Mid-America, FLCA ("FCMA"), and Farm Credit Services of America, PCA ("FCS") object.

*548[ECF Nos. 101, 104, and 107.] FCS also asks for relief from the automatic stay. [ECF No. 108.] An evidentiary hearing was held on December 20, 2018, to address whether the plan is feasible. The matter was then taken under submission. The Debtors failed to prove their proposed plan is feasible beyond March 2019, so the proposed plan is not confirmable.

I. FACTS.

A. The Jointly Consolidated Debtors.

The Debtors filed for chapter 12 relief on February 28, 2018. Michael L. Baker was appointed Chapter 12 Trustee. [ECF No. 3; ECF No. 18-30081, ECF No. 3.] The cases were administratively consolidated on April 16, 2018. [ECF No. 34; Case No. 18-30081, ECF No. 28.]

Debtor Jubilee Farms is a family farming partnership operated by two brothers, Bobby Joe Quickert and Jerry Quickert. Debtor Quickert Farms, LLC is a limited liability company that is owned equally by the Quickert brothers. The Debtors grow and harvest soybean and corn primarily in Henry County, Kentucky. They also generate additional income from custom trucking and combining.

The Debtors primarily finance their farming operations through FCMA. FCMA filed Proof of Claim No. 3 for $2,767,171.92 based on nine promissory notes owed by the Debtors, Jerry Quickert, Bobby Joe Quickert, and Diane B. Quickert. [ECF No. 131 ¶¶ 1-21.] The debt is secured and cross-collateralized by the Debtors' crops, agricultural chemicals, agricultural supplies, equipment, fixtures, and real estate located in Henry County. [Id. ¶ 22.] The parties agree that FCMA is fully secured. [Id. ¶¶ 22-44, ECF No. 139.]

FSA filed Proof of Claim No. 2 for $182,419.83 secured by a judgment lien arising from a judgment against Jubilee Farms and Bobby Joe Quickert. The judgment debt arose from two promissory notes secured by certain farm equipment. [Proof of Claim 2-1 at 4-6.]

B. Actions Taken to Support the Debtors During Bankruptcy.

On April 23, 2018, FCMA and the Debtors reached an agreement to allow the Debtors to use $152,705.94 of cash collateral for operations in exchange for a superpriority lien on all proceeds from the 2018 crop. [See ECF No. 46 at 5.] The Agreed Order also directed FCMA to release $47,190.58 held in an escrow account to the Debtors and recognized the validity of FCMA's liens. [Id. at 4-5.]

In May 2018, the Debtors were granted permission to obtain $125,000.00 in post-petition financing from insiders Jerry Quickert and Shane Quickert, the son of Bobby Joe Quickert, to purchase additional seed. [ECF No. 53.] On October 19, 2018, the Debtors were granted permission to incur an additional $40,000.00 in debt to lease a combine harvester to gather their 2018 crop. [ECF Nos. 96, 102.]

In June 2018, the Debtors agreed to pay $2,000.00 per month to FCS in pre-confirmation adequate protection payments to resolve a pending motion for relief from stay. [ECF No. 76.] The Debtors admitted they have not made the adequate protection payments in recent months and will make up the payments on the effective date of a confirmed plan.

C. The Amended Chapter 12 Plan.

On May 29, 2018, the Debtors filed a joint chapter 12 plan. [ECF No. 58.] The plan drew several objections [ECF Nos. 61, 63, and 64], so the parties were granted additional time to negotiate and amend the plan. [See ECF No. 73].

An amended chapter 12 plan was filed on October 11, 2018. [ECF No. 94.] The amended plan provides for periodic payments *549to the secured creditors funded primarily by the Debtors' farming income and supplemented by custom trucking and combining revenue. [ECF No. 94, Exh. A.] Additional funding in the first year will come from crop insurance and anticipated federal aid for farmers affected by recent political activity upsetting foreign crop sales. [ECF No. 131 ¶¶ 30-40.]

The amended plan provides that FCMA shall have a fully secured claim of $2,767,171.92, which the Debtors propose to pay as follows:

• The Debtors will pay Loan Numbers x2400, x7400, x9300, x4800, and x2200 (a total of $776,711.63) by private sale or auction of two pieces of real estate on or before March 31, 2019;
• The Debtors will pay Loan Numbers x0300, x0800, and x5500 according to their current terms, including interest, in the approximate amount of $82,785.00 per year;
• Loan Number x3800 is re-amortized over 15 years with the interest rate increasing to 7.2% per annum on March 1, 2019, and the Debtors propose to make payments of approximately $106,343.72 on March 1 of each year until a balloon payment is due on March 1, 2025; and
• The Debtors will make an additional payment of $125,000.00 to FCMA in two equal installments on December 1, 2018 and 2019. [ECF No. 94 at 6-7]

The Debtors propose to treat FCS's claim as fully secured in the amount of $182,419.82. The Debtors propose to pay the claim over six years at an interest rate of 5.5% in annual installments beginning on December 1, 2018, with the final payment due on December 1, 2023. The estimated annual payment is $36,605.11. [Id. at 8.] Based on delays affecting confirmation, the December payments will occur on or about the effective date of the confirmed plan.

FCMA, FCS, and the Chapter 12 Trustee object to confirmation of the amended plan. FCMA argues that the amended plan is not feasible pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(6) because the Debtors' one-year income and expense projections are limited and unrealistic compared to the Debtors' historical income and expenses. [ECF No. 101.] FCMA further takes issue with the proposed real estate auction and balloon payment. [Id. ]

FCS objects to: (1) the proposed 5.5% interest rate; (2) language in the plan that calls for the release of its lien where its judgment lien extends to a non-filing co-defendant; and (3) the Debtors' failure to make their post-petition adequate protection payments. [ECF No. 107.] FCS seeks relief from the automatic stay on similar grounds. [ECF No. 108.]

The Chapter 12 Trustee objects to the proposal to make payments directly to FCMA. [ECF No. 104.] The Chapter 12 Trustee also objects to the Debtors' failure to address the joint and several liabilities of the Jubilee Farms' partners in the plan. [Id. ]

The parties jointly stipulated to the exhibits and the exhibits are deemed admitted. [ECF Nos. 131, 134.] Bobby Joe Quickert, a member and partner of the Debtors, testified by affidavit on the Debtors' behalf as to the feasibility of the plan. [ECF No. 122.] Michael Buckman, a Special Accounts Loan Officer in charge of the Debtors' loans with FCMA, also testified by affidavit. [ECF No. 123.]

FCMA's objections to Quickert's affidavit [ECF No.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
595 B.R. 546, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-jubilee-farms-kyeb-2018.