In Re Pinnacle Brands, Inc.

259 B.R. 46, 45 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1037, 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 146, 37 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 127, 2001 WL 168050
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware
DecidedFebruary 6, 2001
Docket14-11358
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 259 B.R. 46 (In Re Pinnacle Brands, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Pinnacle Brands, Inc., 259 B.R. 46, 45 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1037, 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 146, 37 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 127, 2001 WL 168050 (Del. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION 1

MARY F. WALRATH, Bankruptcy Judge.

Before the Court is the Debtors’ Objection to the Administrative Claim of Huhta-maki Oy (“Huhtamaki”). 2 Also pending is Huhtamaki’s Motion to Strike the Debtors’ Objection to its direct claim. For the reasons set forth herein, we deny Huhta-maki’s Motion and sustain the Debtors’ Objection.

1. JURISDICTION

This Court has jurisdiction over this matter, which is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and § 157(b)(1) and (b)(2)(B).

II. FACTS

Huhtamaki is the former parent of Leaf, Inc. (“Leaf’) which, in turn, is the former parent of Donruss Trading Cards, Inc. (“Donruss”). Prior to 1996, Donruss entered into a licensing agreement with Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. (“MLBP”) which allowed Donruss to manufacture and sell baseball cards with the MLBP logo (“the License Agreement”). The License Agreement required Leaf to guarantee all payments due by Donruss.

On April 16, 1996, Pinnacle, Leaf, and Donruss entered into an agreement (“the Asset Purchase Agreement”) pursuant to which Pinnacle purchased the name “Don-russ,” the baseball card assets, and Don- *49 russ’ rights under the License Agreement. Under the Asset Purchase Agreement, Pinnacle also agreed to indemnify, inter alios, Huhtamaki for any obligations it might incur under the License Agreement. Huhtamaki subsequently sold Leaf to Hershey Foods Corporation (“Hershey”). As part of its sale of Leaf, Huhtamaki agreed to indemnify Hershey for claims which may arise in connection with the Donruss sale.

After the execution of the Asset Purchase Agreement, Pinnacle became delinquent in its payment obligations to MLBP. By letter dated April 20, 1998, MLBP offered to amend the payment schedule to accommodate Pinnacle’s cash flow problems. When Pinnacle was unable to pay under the amended schedule, MLBP purported to terminate the License Agreement on July 21,1998.

On July 23, 1998, Pinnacle and its affiliates (collectively “the Debtors”) filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Subsequent to the filing, the Debtors attempted to sell their inventory, including the baseball card inventory, 3 in the ordinary course of business. MLBP asserted, however, that the License Agreement had been terminated and the Debtors were not entitled to sell the baseball card inventory but were instead obligated to destroy that inventory.

Consequently, on July 30, 1998, the Debtors filed a complaint to enjoin MLBP from interfering with the Debtors’ manufacture, distribution or sale of inventory in the ordinary course. The Debtors also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. For purposes of that motion, the Debtors asserted that, even if the License Agreement had been terminated, they were entitled to sell the existing baseball card inventory. By Order dated August 7, 1998, the Court denied the Debtors’ motion for a preliminary injunction. The Court ordered that the status quo be maintained; namely, the Debtors could not sell the baseball card inventory and MLBP could not take possession of that inventory or require its destruction.

Ultimately, the Debtors and MLBP reached an agreement in which the Debtors were permitted to auction their baseball card inventory, together with their other assets, with the requirement that the successful bidder could not resell any of the baseball card inventory until it obtained a separate license agreement from MLBP. The Debtors agreed to pay MLBP $275,000 for this agreement. Playoff Corporation (“Playoff’) was the successful bidder at the auction, agreeing to pay the Debtors approximately $9.6 million for all their assets. Playoff subsequently entered into a separate license agreement with MLBP to permit Playoff to sell a portion of the baseball card inventory and work in process. Huhtamaki did not receive any notice of the auction or the agreements reached among the Debtors, Playoff and MLBP.

Subsequent to the sale, MLBP sued Hershey for the balance due under the License Agreement pursuant to the guarantee given by Leaf. An answer has been filed disputing liability. Huhtamaki is concerned that, if MLBP’s suit is successful, it will have an obligation to reimburse Hershey under its indemnification agreement. 4 Huhtamaki asserts an administrative claim in excess of $2.6 million. The Debtors have objected to allowance of the claim and, alternatively, to the priority of the Huhtamaki claim.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Burden of Proof

Initially, a claimant must allege facts sufficient to support a legal basis for *50 the claim. If the assertions in the filed claim meet this standard of sufficiency, the claim is prima facie valid pursuant to Rule 3001(f) of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. In re Allegheny International, Inc., 954 F.2d 167, 173 (3d Cir.1992). If no party in interest objects to the claim, it is deemed allowed under section 502(a). If an objection is filed, the objecting party bears the initial burden of presenting sufficient evidence to overcome the presumed validity and amount of the claim. See Smith v. Sprayberry Square Holdings, Inc. (In re Smith), 249 B.R. 328, 332-33 (Bankr.S.D.Ga.2000) (citations omitted). “If the objecting party overcomes the pri-ma facie validity of the claim, then the burden shifts to the claimant to prove its claim by a preponderance of the evidence.” Id.

B. Indemnification Claim

Huhtamaki asserts that it is entitled to an administrative claim based on MLBP’s post-petition demand for payment from Hershey (for which Huhtamaki is liable). It asserts that it has a common law right of indemnification from the Debtors which is a post-petition claim, citing Avellino & Bienes v. M. Frenville Co., Inc. (In re M. Frenville Co., Inc.), 744 F.2d 332 (3d Cir. 1984). Huhtamaki asserts that Frenville holds that, under New York law, 5 a common law claim for indemnification does not arise until after the indemnitee (Hershey) has been sued and has answered the complaint. Id. at 335. In this case, those events occurred post-petition. Therefore, Huhtamaki asserts that its claim is a post-petition claim. Id. at 337.

There are several weaknesses to Huhta-máki’s argument. First, Huhtamaki has a contractual indemnification claim. Second, even if Huhtamaki had a post-petition claim, it would not be entitled to administrative status because it did not provide any benefit to the estate.

1. Contractual v. Common Law Indemnification

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Bluebook (online)
259 B.R. 46, 45 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1037, 2001 Bankr. LEXIS 146, 37 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 127, 2001 WL 168050, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-pinnacle-brands-inc-deb-2001.