In Re Shoen

193 B.R. 302, 1996 Bankr. LEXIS 237, 1996 WL 112558
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Arizona
DecidedMarch 4, 1996
DocketBankruptcy 95-1430-PHX-JMM, 95-1431-PHX-JMM, 95-1432-PHX-CGC, 95-1433-PHX-RGM and 95-1434-PHX-GBN
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 193 B.R. 302 (In Re Shoen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Shoen, 193 B.R. 302, 1996 Bankr. LEXIS 237, 1996 WL 112558 (Ark. 1996).

Opinion

AMENDED MEMORANDUM DECISION RE: PLAN CONFIRMATION

JAMES M. MARLAR, Bankruptcy Judge.-

I. INTRODUCTION.

The currently proposed chapter II plans of reorganization represent the latest sad chapter in a lengthy struggle relating to the troubles, and desire for ultimate control, of publicly-held corporate giant AMERCO, Inc., and its principal subsidiary, U-Haul International, Inc. In order to understand the current controversy, the court must set the stage by restating certain historical information which was gleaned from the court’s files and comments of the parties. However, such information was not considered in rendering this decision. 1 This story begins in the years following World War II, when Leonard Samuel Shoen (“L.S.”) founded the U-Haul company by constructing and renting trailers. L.S. worked hard, and had a vision which ultimately blossomed into a multi-million dollar company. The parent company of the organization is now known as AMERCO, a Nevada corporation (“AMERCO”), and U-Haul International, Inc. (“U-Haul”) is its subsidiary.

While L.S. was building his business, he was also building a family. He and his first wife had six children: Samuel, Edward (“Joe”), Mark, Michael, Mary Anna, and Paul. 2 After his wife died, L.S. remarried, more than once, and had additional children. With his second wife, he had five children: James, Sophie, Theresa, Katrina, and Cecilia. Ultimately L.S. produced a total of 12 children and adopted another. It is apparent that L.S. and his children are all intelligent people. Many of them, including L.S., have multiple advanced degrees and are competent in various professional fields. L.S. and his children are also strong-willed individuals, which has led to unhappy conflicts lasting many years.

A major source of the conflict is between L.S. and his son Joe, who apparently have fundamentally different opinions about the proper way to manage AMERCO, a large service-oriented company. L.S. contends that he is committed to fundamental business principles, which some have called old-fashioned. His concept is that the U-Haul business should be centralized, that close control should be kept over the maintenance of the rental fleet, and that the attitude toward the employees should be paternalistic, even if *305 such an approach cut into company profits. L.S. is also committed to broadly diversifying the company’s service and product lines. By contrast, Joe Shoen seems to take what others might describe as a more modern view of management. He believes in decentralized control over the trailer and truck rental business, through franchising. Although he also favors diversification of the company’s service and product lines, his vision is more narrow than that of L.S. In addition to their differences on business matters, it also appears that Joe and L.S. have a significant personality conflict. The conflict is aggravated by L.S.’s contention that Joe suffers from an “Oedipal complex” and by Joe’s insistence that L.S. suffer “manic-depressive personality disorder.” Regardless of whether such contentions are justified, 3 such epithets have not helped the parties to discover a way to settle their various problems.

All of these factors, working together, fanned the flames of controversy in 1986, although the embers of contention had been glowing for some time. At that time, L.S. was at the helm of AMERCO. His sons, Sam and Michael, were his confederates, as were daughters Mary Anna, Cecilia, Theresa, and Katrina. 4 Together the “L.S. faction” held approximately 49.66% of the common stock of AMERCO. Joe, Jim, Paul and certain other members of the family on Joe’s side of the dispute also held a block of common stock, but slightly less than that of the L.S. faction. In 1986 L.S. left the management of AMERCO. The parties dispute the impetus for his departure. Thereafter, the rift between L.S. and Joe became heated. L.S. and/or his group began secretly orchestrating a hostile takeover. Joe and his cadre learned of the takeover plot and responded by issuing additional stock to five key employees. They also passed a corporate resolution, commonly known in securities circles as a “poison pill,” which significantly impeded the ability of any stockholder to transfer a controlling block of stock. Together, these actions effectively blocked the takeover attempt. When the dust settled, the L.S. faction emerged owning approximately 47% of AMERCO’s common stock, while Joe’s group owned approximately 44% of the stock.

In a responsive maneuver, L.S. and his group (collectively, the “Share Case Plaintiffs”) filed suit in the Arizona Superior Court (the “Share Case”), claiming that Joe and his confederates, whieh included Debtors Aubrey Johnson, John Dodds, and William Carty who at various times were members of the AMERCO board of directors, had breached their fiduciary duties, thereby reducing the value of the L.S. faction’s AMER-CO stock, by the issuance of the new stock and by 45 other acts. 5 Ultimately, the Share Case culminated in a jury trial, which was conducted in August of 1994. Before the matter was submitted to the jury, Superior Court Judge Thomas Dunevant III concluded that, if the Share Case Plaintiffs prevailed and were awarded damages, the judgment would violate the “double recovery” rule by enabling the Share Case Plaintiffs to receive both money damages and retain their stock. He also seemed motivated to put an end to the long-simmering family fight. Therefore, he gave the Share Case Plaintiffs a choice between either selling and surrendering their stock in the company for the amount determined by the jury, or dismissing the case and allowing them to continue as AMERCO stockholders. Apparently desiring to divorce themselves from the bitterness pervading AMERCO and U-Haul, the Share Case Plaintiffs elected the former option, and ultimately the jury returned a verdict in their favor, finding that Joe and his group had reduced the value of the Plaintiffs’ AMERCO stock by $1.4 billion. They also awarded punitive damages against Joe in the amount of $70,000,000. After a remittitur proceeding, the judgment was reduced to $461,838,-000 and the punitive damage award to $7,000,000. A judgment then was entered *306 (the “Share Case Judgment” or the “Judgment”), which required the Share Case Plaintiffs to surrender their common stock in AMERCO upon receipt of payment of the judgment. Immediately thereafter, Joe and Jim Shoen, Aubrey Johnson, John Dodds and William Carty filed bankruptcy. Paul Shoen, another defendant in the judgment, elected not to file. This is where the present bankruptcy case controversy begins.

II. FINDINGS OF FACT.

A. Procedural History in Bankruptcy Court.

On February 21, 1995, these cases were filed pursuant to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. 6 The following day, a motion seeking joint administration of all five cases was filed, which motion was granted on March 30, 1995.

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Bluebook (online)
193 B.R. 302, 1996 Bankr. LEXIS 237, 1996 WL 112558, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-shoen-arb-1996.