In re Mid-South Business Associates, LLC

555 B.R. 565, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 3383, 2016 WL 4717939
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedMarch 30, 2016
DocketCase No.: 14-11546-JDW
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 555 B.R. 565 (In re Mid-South Business Associates, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Mid-South Business Associates, LLC, 555 B.R. 565, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 3383, 2016 WL 4717939 (Miss. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS (DKT. # 220)

Jason D. Woodard, United States Bankruptcy Judge

This case came before the Court for consideration on the Motion to Dismiss or, Alternatively, for Conversion to Chapter 7 (the “Motion”)(Dkt. # 220) filed by Claude Steven Thompson (“Thompson”); the brief in support of the Motion (Dkt. # 221); the Joinder in the Motion (Dkt. # 251) filed by Thomas Windham, Jr. (“Tom”); the Response to the Motion (the “Response”)(Dkt. # 253) filed by Mid-South Business Associates, LLC (the “Debtor”) and the accompanying brief in support of the Response (Dkt. # 254).

An evidentiary hearing on the Motion was held on February 10, 2016. At the hearing, attorney William B. Palmertree appeared on behalf of Thompson (who also appeared and testified); J. Hale Freeland appeared on behalf of the Debtor (for which Thomas L. Windham, Sr., M.D., (“Dr. Windham”) and R. Taylor Windham (“Taylor”) also appeared and testified); and R. Stewart Guernsey appeared on behalf of Tom. Upon the request of the parties, and at the direction of the Court, on February 19, 2016, both Thompson and the Debtor submitted highlighted excerpts of the deposition testimony of Denise Woods, an accountant for the Debtor (the entirety of which had already been admitted into evidence). The Court then took the Motion under advisement.

I. INTRODUCTION

On April 21, 2014, the Debtor filed a voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy petition (Dkt. # l).1 The Debtor has continued to manage its affairs and operate its business as a debtor-in-possession since that time pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 1107 and 1108.2 The Debtor’s petition was signed by Dr. Windham, in his purported capacity as “managing member” of the Debtor. Along with the petition, the Debtor filed its Corporate Ownership Statement pursuant to Rule 7007.1 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, which was also signed by Dr. Windham. The Corporate Ownership Statement reflected that Dr. Wind-ham, Taylor, and Tom each owned more than a 10% equity share in the Debtor (Dkt. # 4). No other owners were identified in the Corporate Ownership Statement.

The issue before the Court in its consideration of the Motion is, at its core, a dispute over the ownership of the Debtor, and, consequently, a- question of the corporate authority pursuant to which Dr. Windham, with Taylor’s agreement, filed the Debtor’s bankruptcy petition. Thompson claims that he also owns a membership/equity interest in the Debtor pursuant to the Debtor’s Limited Liability Company [569]*569Agreement dated June 1, 1996, and the Assignment of Transfer of Membership Interest (the “Assignment”) transferring the membership interest of Dr. Michael Havens (“Havens”) to the Debtor dated June 28, 1996 (collectively, the “Operating Agreement”). Thompson argues that Dr. Windham has usurped his alleged authority over the Debtor wrongfully and filed the petition without authority to do so, and, accordingly, that this case should either be dismissed or converted to chapter 7.3 Tom joins in this argument, asserting that this case should be dismissed. Conversely, the Debtor contends that Thompson and Tom violated their fiduciary duties by committing various bad acts and fraud (including a purported “check kiting” scheme) against the Debtor. As a result of these alleged violations, the Debtor asserts that Thompson and Tom have effectively abandoned their ownership and equity interests in the Debtor, leaving only Dr. Windham and Taylor as members thereof.

It is neither necessary nor appropriate for the Court to determine today whether or not Thompson and Tom engaged in a check kiting scheme or other fraud, or otherwise violated their fiduciary duties as members and managers of the Debtor. Those issues, and the consequences that flow from them, will be determined at a later date.4 Distilled, the only issue before the Court at this time is who held ownership interests in the Debtor as of the date of the filing of the bankruptcy petition, and consequently, whether this case was filed with the requisite corporate authority.

The Court has considered the pleadings, briefs, testimony, documentary evidence, and the law, and finds and concludes that the Motion is due to be granted, and this case dismissed, for the reasons set forth below.

H. JURISDICTION & STANDING

This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 151, 157(a) and 1334(b) and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi’s Order of Reference of Bankruptcy Cases and Proceedings Nunc Pro Tunc Dated August 6, 1984. This is a core proceeding arising under Title 11 of the United States Code as defined in 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A) and (0). Thompson has standing to bring the Motion, because he has, at a minimum, a colorable claim of being an equity security holder and manager of the Debtor. Therefore, he is á “party in interest” under § 1109(b) and is entitled to appear before the Court in this case. In re Orchard at Hansen Park, LLC, 347 B.R. 822, 825 (Bankr.N.D.Tex.2006)(“[A]ll persons whose pecuniary interests are directly affected by the bankruptcy proceedings” are parties in interest.). Tom has standing to join in the Motion for the same reasons.

III. STANDARD FOR MOTION TO DISMISS

Pursuant to § 1112(b), “on request of a party in interest ... the court shall convert a case under this chapter to a case under Chapter 7 or dismiss a case under this chapter, whichever is in the best interests of creditors and the estate, for cause ...” 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b). Dismissal or conversion of a chapter 11 case [570]*570under this section is mandated if the mov-ant establishes cause and none of the statutory exceptions of §§ 1112(b)(2) or 1112(c) apply. In re New Towne Dev., LLC, 404 B.R. 140, 146 (Bankr.M.D.La.2009). However, a bankruptcy petition filed without proper corporate authority must be dismissed independent of any finding of “cause” under § 1112(b), because if the Debtor did not have sufficient corporate authority for the filing of its petition, then this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the case. Price v. Gurney, 324 U.S. 100, 106, 65 S.Ct. 513, 89 L.Ed. 776 (1945).

IV. FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW5

It is well-settled that objections to subject matter jurisdiction may be made at any time, and may even be raised and decided by the Court on its own motion if the parties overlook or elect not to press such an objection. Henderson v. Shinseki, 562 U.S. 428, 434-35, 131 S.Ct. 1197, 179 L.Ed.2d 159 (2011). If the Court finds that Dr.

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555 B.R. 565, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 3383, 2016 WL 4717939, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-mid-south-business-associates-llc-msnb-2016.