In Re WINDOR INDUSTRIES INC.

459 F. Supp. 270, 18 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 688, 4 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 961, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14830
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedOctober 20, 1978
DocketCiv. A. CA3-77-271-F
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 459 F. Supp. 270 (In Re WINDOR INDUSTRIES INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re WINDOR INDUSTRIES INC., 459 F. Supp. 270, 18 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 688, 4 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 961, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14830 (N.D. Tex. 1978).

Opinion

*272 OPINION ON APPEAL

ROBERT W. PORTER, District Judge.

This action originated when the Plaintiffs, Virginia Capital Corporation, Sack-man-Gilliland Corporation, Jack Levine, Benjamin Malman, and Arthur Malman (hereinafter called the “Malman Group”) filed a motion requesting that the automatic stay be lifted to permit the Malman Group to foreclose certain claimed lien rights upon a 10.47 acre tract of land (hereinafter called the Pinnell Tract). The trustee, Carl S. Fitzgerald, objected to the lifting of the stay and counterclaimed to recover a second lien deed of trust interest on a Vs interest in the Pinnell Tract, and the sum of $25,000 cash which had been transferred to the Plaintiffs.

In 1972, the Malman Group acquired certain notes and debentures of Windor Industries, Inc. totalling $300,000 and obtained as security a deed of trust lien on certain property of Windor and others located in Dallas County, Texas. The Bankruptcy Court found that the relationship between Windor and the Malman Group was very close, and that in mid-1973 Windor sought an additional loan of $1,000,000 through the Malman Group. At that time information came to light which indicated that Windor was in a precarious financial situation and the Malman Group, instead of advancing additional capital to Windor, moved to acquire added security on February 6, 1974.

The Bankruptcy Court held that the transfer of February 6, 1974 of a second lien deed of trust interest on a Vs interest in the Pinnell Tract and $25,000 cash to the Malman Group was within four months of the filing of an involuntary petition in bankruptcy against Windor on June 3,1974, and that the Malman Group by virtue of the November 22, 1972 loan to Windor in the amount of $300,000.00, was a creditor with an antecedent debt. The Court also found that there were 155 creditors of the bankrupt’s estate who had filed claims totalling $3,922,975.58 and that they could share in an estate which consisted of $174,-292.81. The Court found that the Malman Group had obtained $25,000.00 cash plus various lien rights to property of Windor and others. The market value of the Pinnell property at the time of the transaction on the date of trial was $501,680.30, and the Court determined that if the Malman Group were permitted to foreclose their lien rights on the Pinnell tract, they would secure 100% of their debt, even taking into consideration that there was a $50,000.00 first lien on the Pinnell tract.

The Bankruptcy Court also found that the Plaintiffs had reasonable cause to believe Windor was insolvent on February 6, 1974 and that on February 6, 1974 the aggregate of the property of Windor was not at a fair valuation sufficient to pay its debts within the meaning of § 1(19) of the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C. § 1.

Based upon these findings, the Bankruptcy Court held that the lien priority on the Pinnell tract and the $25,000.00 was a voidable preference. The Bankruptcy Court also found that the security transferred was disproportionately large as compared with the amount of secured debt, and not fair consideration within the terms of the Bankruptcy Act. The Court found that there was no element of good faith in the exchange and that it was fraudulent within the meaning of § 67 of the Bankruptcy Act.

Preference Under § 60a

Section 60a defines what constitutes a preference for purposes of the Bankruptcy Act. There are eight elements of a preference:

(a) A transfer;

(b) of the bankrupt’s non-exempt property;

(c) made or suffered by the bankrupt;

(d) within four months of the filing of the bankruptcy petition;

(e) to or for the benefit of the creditor;

(f) for or on account of an antecedent debt;

(g) while the debtor was insolvent;

(h) the effect of which must be to enable the transferee to obtain a greater percent *273 age of his debt than some other creditors of the same class.

The Malman Group challenges the finding of a preference by the Bankruptcy Court on three grounds:

(1) The Bankruptcy Court was required to find a diminution in the bankrupt’s estate and there was no diminution of the bankrupt’s estate as a result of the February 6, 1974 transaction;

(2) The trustee failed to prove that the bankrupt was insolvent at the time of the transfer; and

(3) The Bankruptcy Court erred in determining that a creditor, in this case the Malman Group, secured by real property in the estate of the bankrupt is, for the purpose of determining whether such creditor received a greater percentage of its claim than other creditors of the same class, compared with unsecured or general creditors.

The Bankruptcy Court focused on the February 6, 1974 transaction involving the transfer by Windor to the Malman Group of an additional Vs lien in the Pinnell Tract and the transfer of $25,000 cash. The Malman Group argues that the Bankruptcy Court should have taken into consideration a series of other transactions involving two additional parcels of land, 11 acres (hereinafter called the Building Tract) owned by S. A. Watson (an undivided V2 interest) and George Watson (an undivided V2 interest) and 38.20 acres (hereinafter called the McDavitt Tract) owned by S. A. Watson, trustee for the following beneficial owners: George Watson (an undivided V2 interest) and S. A. Watson (an undivided Vs interest). These two tracts and the Pinnell Tract (which was owned by S. A. Watson, trustee for the following beneficial owners: Windor Industries, Inc. (an undivided Vs interest), George Watson (an undivided Vs interest) and Windor Industries, Inc. Profit Sharing Trust (an undivided Vs interest)) had certain validly recorded liens thereon just prior to February 6, 1974:

(a) The building tract was burdened with a valid first lien in the original principal amount of $1,100,000 to Gibralter Savings & Loan, said lien placed for permanent financing of improvements;

(b) The McDavitt tract was burdened with a valid “purchase money” first lien established by the deed of trust dated December 3, 1970, executed by S. A. Watson, trustee, to Joe McNicholas, trustee, securing a note of even date therewith, in the original principal amount of $115,000.00, payable to the order of John F. Carssow, additionally secured by a vendor’s lien retained in deed; and said tract was burdened with a valid “purchase money” second lien established by a deed of trust dated December 2, 1970, executed by S. A. Watson, trustee, to Carl Forsyth, trustee, securing a note of even date, in the original principal sum of $95,000.00, the note payable to the order of Jerome A. McDavitt, additionally secured by vendor’s lien retained in deed;

(c) The Pinnell tract was burdened with a valid “purchase money” first lien established by a deed of trust dated October 2, 1969, executed by S. A. Watson, trustee, to Lynn E. Nicholson, trustee, securing the payment of one note of even date in the original principal sum of $81,000.00, executed by S. A. Watson, trustee, payable as therein provided to the order of A.

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Bluebook (online)
459 F. Supp. 270, 18 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 688, 4 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 961, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14830, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-windor-industries-inc-txnd-1978.