In Re Shaffer-Gordon Associates, Inc.

40 B.R. 956, 1984 Bankr. LEXIS 5232, 12 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 322
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 9, 1984
Docket19-11326
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 40 B.R. 956 (In Re Shaffer-Gordon Associates, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Shaffer-Gordon Associates, Inc., 40 B.R. 956, 1984 Bankr. LEXIS 5232, 12 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 322 (Pa. 1984).

Opinion

OPINION

WILLIAM A. KING, JR., Bankruptcy Judge.

Pending before the Court is a Motion to Appoint an additional Creditors’ Committee pursuant to Bankruptcy Code § 1102(a)(2) which provides:

On request of a party in interest, the court may order the appointment of additional committees of creditors or of equity security holders if necessary to assure adequate protection of creditors or of equity security holders. The court shall appoint any such committee.

11 U.S.C. § 1102.

For the reasons stated herein, we will not appoint an additional Creditors’ Committee. 1

BACKGROUND

Shaffer-Gordon Associates, Inc. (“debt- or”) filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the Code on April 24, 1984. A committee of unsecured creditors was appointed on April 29, 1984. The Committee is composed of the holders of the seven (7) largest unsecured claims against the estate according to the debtor’s schedules.

On May 15, 1984, American Application Associates, Inc. and Ceilings, Inc., two (2) unsecured creditors who were not appointed to the existing Committee, 2 filed the *957 instant motion. Objections to the motion were filed by Counsel to the existing Committee and Aetna Insurance Company (“Aetna”), the debtor’s bonding agent. On May 30, 1984, Ceilings, Inc. withdrew as a party in interest, having received satisfaction of its claim. Also on May 30, 1984, two (2) additional unsecured creditors, Williams & McCrae and DeNofa Construction Company, joined in the motion to appoint an additional creditors’ committee. A hearing was held on June 7, 1984. We held the matter under advisement and asked the parties to submit briefs.

DISCUSSION

The moving parties characterize themselves as a group of unsecured creditors with interests and rights differing from general unsecured creditors in that they have the right to pursue third parties for satisfaction of their claims. They contend that their interests are antithetical to those of general unsecured creditors who cannot proceed directly against third parties and are limited to collection of their claims from the bankruptcy estate.

The third party rights of movants arise in the following manner. The debtor is in the construction business. In a number of the projects in which the debtor is acting as general contractor, the debtor has been required to post a surety bond guaranteeing payment to subcontractors, material-men and suppliers for work performed and goods supplied. The subcontractors and suppliers in these bonded projects have the right to proceed directly against the bonding company for payment of their claims.

There are also projects on which the debtor is acting as a construction manager. In these projects, the debtor does not have a direct contractual relationship with the persons supplying labor and materials. Rather, these entities may pursue payment of their claims from the owners of the projects.

Among the seven (7) members of the existing Committee appointed by the Court on April 29, 1984, are two (2) unsecured creditors with the same third party liability rights as those espoused by movants. 3 The remaining five (5) members of the Committee are in the group of general unsecured creditors. Movants propose to have George Voegle, Inc. and Piasecki Mechanical, the two (2) members with third party rights, become members of the additional Committee. Movants state that: “As a result of the inherently conflicting nature of claims within the general unsecured creditor group, the Existing Committee, as presently constituted, must represent adverse interests. Consequently, the Existing Committee cannot assure adequate representation of the positions of the Third Party Liability Creditors.” (Brief of Mov-ants, p. 28)

Although well-resented, many of mov-ants’ arguments are speculative in nature. For example, movants contend that certain members of the existing Committee will take the position that funds payable under the bonds are property of the estate. Mov-ants also believe that questions will arise regarding the title to funds passing from the owners of the construction projects to the subcontractors through the debtor. Therefore, movants posit that a principal function of the additional Committee will be “to determine the issues of whether disputed funds are property of the estate and whether Third Party Liability Creditors may have the right to proceed, in an unfettered manner, against third parties, including owners and bonding companies, independently of the bankruptcy action.” (Brief of Movants, p. 7)

We have decided not to appoint an additional Creditors’ Committee because we find the arguments presented in opposition to such appointment more compelling.

First, Aetna contends that conflicting interests among unsecured creditors do not preclude them from serving together on the same committee if the parties are within the same class of creditors. In support of its argument, Aetna recites a statement *958 from the legislative history accompanying section 1102(a)(2):

The.provision will be relied upon in cases in which the debtor proposes to affect several classes of debt or equity holders under the plan, and in which they need representation. (emphasis added)

H.Rep.No. 595, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. 401 (1977) U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1978, p. 5787, 6357.

Collier interprets the standard for appointment of additional committees as follows:

On the other hand, in a large case, where there are significant groups of creditors or equity security holders with conflicting claims which are likely to be affected by the plan of reorganization, the court should authorize the appointment of additional committees. Such committees should be composed of creditors or equity security holders representative of classes as a whole as opposed to dissident factions of particular classes. For example, in a case in which there are numerous consumer creditors holding claims for deposits which are entitled to priority under 507(a)(5), the court may be requested to approve the formation of a committee to represent such claimants. If it is likely that the plan will provide for deferred payments of such priority claims, the court should consider the needs of the group seeking separate representation and recognize their position as a separate unit for the purpose of negotiations concerning the plan of reorganization.

5 Collier on Bankruptcy § 1102.02 (15th ed. 1983) (emphasis added).

The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit specifically addressed the issue of conflicting interests among members of an unsecured creditors’ committee in dicta in the case of In re Altair Airlines, Inc., 727 F.2d 88

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Bluebook (online)
40 B.R. 956, 1984 Bankr. LEXIS 5232, 12 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 322, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-shaffer-gordon-associates-inc-paeb-1984.