In Re M. Fine Lumber Co., Inc.

383 B.R. 565, 59 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 636, 2008 Bankr. LEXIS 599, 49 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 182, 2008 WL 683742
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. New York
DecidedMarch 12, 2008
Docket1-19-40769
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 383 B.R. 565 (In Re M. Fine Lumber Co., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re M. Fine Lumber Co., Inc., 383 B.R. 565, 59 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 636, 2008 Bankr. LEXIS 599, 49 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 182, 2008 WL 683742 (N.Y. 2008).

Opinion

DECISION

CARLA E. CRAIG, Chief Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on the motion of M. Fine Lumber Company, Inc. (the “Debtor”) to assume its commercial lease with Peabody Webster Holdings LLC (the “Landlord”) pursuant to § 365 of Title 11, U.S.C. (the “Bankruptcy Code”). The Landlord objected to the Debtor’s assumption of the lease. For the following reasons, the Debtor’s motion is granted, on the condition that, within 10 days after entry of the order granting this motion, the Debtor tenders to the Landlord the full amount due to cure pre-petition defaults under the Lease (including $7,000, on account of attorneys’ fees to which the Landlord may be entitled under the lease), together with $50,000 as an additional security deposit.

Jurisdiction

This Court has jurisdiction over this core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1384(b) and 157 and the Eastern District of New York standing order of reference dated August 28, 1986. This decision constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law to the extent required by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7052.

Facts

On June 29, 2007, the Debtor filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. On Schedule G, the Debtor listed a commercial lease with the Landlord for the premises located at 1301 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (the “Lease”) as an executory contract. The Debtor operates a lumberyard located at the premises subject to the Lease.

On August 2, 2007, the Landlord filed a motion to compel the Debtor to pay post-petition rent and real estate taxes due under the Lease, and to provide proof that it maintains required insurance coverage.

On October 24, 2007, pursuant to § 365(d)(B)(i) of the Bankruptcy Code, the Court extended the Debtor’s time to assume or reject executory contracts and unexpired leases to January 25, 2008, which is the 210th day after the date this case was commenced.

On January 9, 2008, the Debtor filed a motion to assume the Lease pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 365(a) of the Bankruptcy Code. *568 The Debtor asserted that it owed approximately $25,000 in pre-petition rental arrears and $18,500 in post-petition real estate taxes, totaling $43,500. The Landlord argued that the Debtor owes pre-petition rental arrears of $24,961.74, post-petition real estate taxes of $17,929.66, and reimbursement of legal fees incurred by the Landlord of approximately $9,200, totaling $63,891.40. The Landlord estimated that the amount of attorneys fees would increase to $11,000. The Landlord also argued that the Debtor did not provide “adequate assurance of future performance” as required by § 365.

When the Debtor commenced this case, an eviction proceeding was pending due to the Debtor’s failure to pay rent. (Tr. 1 at 42.) At the hearing on the Debtor’s motion to assume the Lease, the Debtor stipulated that it is not relying on its payment history with the Landlord to show adequate assurance of future performance, and that Debtor’s record of payment under the Lease would not support a finding of adequate assurance. (Tr. at 72.) Although the Debtor’s principal testified that the company has “about broken even” in Chapter 11, he conceded that the Debtor has accrued post-petition administrative expenses that it cannot currently pay, including $35,000 post-petition payments owed to its workers’ union. (Tr. at 41, 42, 44.) On January 17, 2008, the United States Trustee filed a motion to dismiss the case, or alternatively, to convert it to Chapter 7.

On January 25, 2008, the Court held an evidentiary hearing on the Debtor’s motion to assume the Lease, during which the Court heard testimony and oral argument. At the hearing, the Debtor tendered checks to the Landlord for $43,000, representing the pre-petition and post petition rental arrears. (Debtor’s Exs. 1A, IB, 1C.) The Landlord accepted the payment for post-petition arrears, but declined to take payment for the pre-petition arrears, reserving the right to receive the cure amounts in the event that the Debtor is permitted to assume the Lease.

Legal Standard

Section 365(a) of the Bankruptcy Code permits a debtor in possession to assume or reject executory contracts and unexpired leases. 11 U.S.C. § 365(a). Section 365(b) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that if there has been a default under the executory contract or unexpired lease, a debtor in possession may not assume an executory contract or unexpired lease unless it:

(A) cures, or provides adequate assurance that the trustee will promptly cure, such default ...;
(B) compensates, or provides adequate assurance that the trustee will promptly compensate, a party other than the debtor to such contract or lease, for any actual pecuniary loss to such party resulting from such default; and
(C) provides adequate assurance of future performance under such contract or lease.

11 U.S.C. § 365(b)(1).

The purpose of § 365 “is to assist in the debtor’s reorganization effort.” In re Westview 74th St. Drug Corp., 59 B.R. 747, 754 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.1986).

A. Cure of Defaults

1. Attorneys’ Fees

The Debtor argues that the Landlord is not entitled to recover attorneys fees pursuant to the Lease, and that such amounts should not be included in the amount required to cure the default. The Landlord *569 argues that it entitled to attorneys’ fees pursuant to the Lease.

Section 365(b) of the Bankruptcy Code does not provide an independent basis for recovery of attorneys’ fees. 11 U.S.C. § 365(b); In re Best Products Co., 148 B.R. 413, 414 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.1992). A landlord is entitled to recover attorneys’ fees in connection with lease assumption pursuant to § 365(b) only to the extent provided for in the lease. In re Ames Dep’t Stores, Inc., 306 B.R. 43, 81 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.2004); Best Products, 148 B.R. at 414; Westview, 59 B.R. at 756. It has been held that attorneys’ fees are not recoverable “[wjhere litigated issues involve not basic contract enforcement questions, but issues peculiar to bankruptcy law.” Best Products, 148 B.R. at 414. Certainly this would be true in the absence of an attorneys’ fees clause in the Lease broad enough to include fees incurred in litigating bankruptcy issues.

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383 B.R. 565, 59 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 636, 2008 Bankr. LEXIS 599, 49 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 182, 2008 WL 683742, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-m-fine-lumber-co-inc-nyeb-2008.