John P. Maguire & Co. v. David Rosenthal Associates, Inc. (In re Lewis Carpet Mills, Inc.)

24 B.R. 62, 36 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 328, 1982 Bankr. LEXIS 3242
CourtDistrict Court, D. Georgia
DecidedSeptember 27, 1982
DocketBankruptcy No. 81-00040R; Adv. No. 81-0086R
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 24 B.R. 62 (John P. Maguire & Co. v. David Rosenthal Associates, Inc. (In re Lewis Carpet Mills, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John P. Maguire & Co. v. David Rosenthal Associates, Inc. (In re Lewis Carpet Mills, Inc.), 24 B.R. 62, 36 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 328, 1982 Bankr. LEXIS 3242 (gad 1982).

Opinion

ORDER

HUGH ROBINSON, Bankruptcy Judge.

This civil proceeding to collect accounts receivable was tried. The plaintiff, John P. Maguire & Co., Inc. (“Maguire”) factored the accounts receivable of Lewis Carpet Mills, Inc. (“Lewis”), the debtor, before this Chapter 11 case commenced. The defendant, David Rosenthal Associates, Inc. (“Ro-senthal”) is a carpet distributor which, before Lewis’ bankruptcy, purchased carpet from Lewis on open account. By virtue of its factoring agreement with Lewis, Ma-guire was assigned these accounts receivable and has the right to collect them.

[64]*64Maguire asserts that Rosenthal is liable to it for $13,534.06, plus interest. Rosen-thal virtually admits this indebtedness but raises certain defenses and claims offsets in an amount greater than the indebtedness asserted by Maguire.

Certain of Rosenthal’s defenses were earlier overruled. These defenses are that Ma-guire is not the proper party in interest to maintain this action and that even if Ma-guire is, this action is not within the jurisdiction of this Court because it is not related to Lewis’ bankruptcy case. These defenses were overruled in an order entered November 5, 1981 which denied Rosenthal’s motion to dismiss and which is reported as John P. Maguire & Co., Inc. v. David Rosenthal Associates, Inc., 15 B.R. 172 (Bkrtcy.N.D.Ga.1982). Nothing has been submitted that persuades this Court to reconsider its ruling on these points.

After trial, the question of lack of subject matter jurisdiction arose again, when the United States Supreme Court published its decision in Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipeline Co., - U.S. -, 102 S.Ct. 2858, 73 L.Ed.2d 598 (1982) (“Marathon Pipeline”). In Marathon Pipeline, the Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional for Congress to vest this Court with jurisdiction to determine cases like the one at bar.

But the Supreme Court declared that its decision would be applied prospectively and that its judgment would be stayed until October 4, 1982 to afford Congress an opportunity to reconstitute the Bankruptcy Courts or to adopt other valid means of adjudication, without impairing the interim administration of the bankruptcy laws. Thus, until October 4, 1982 this Court may adjudicate the case before it. E.g. Othero Mills, Inc. v. Security Bank Trust, 21 B.R. 645, 9 BCD 238 (Bkrtcy.D.N.Mex.1982); In re O.P.M. Leasing Services, Inc., 21 B.R. 986, 9 BCD 335 (Bkrtcy.S.D.N.Y.1982). Since this case was fully tried before the Supreme Court’s decision in Marathon Pipeline and is now ready for decision, the Court should exercise its adjudicatory powers.

At trial Rosenthal sought to establish claims for sales commission, loss of value of inventory, and samples purchased within the year preceding Lewis’ bankruptcy. Based on the following findings of fact and conclusions of law, this Court determines that these claims are not established and that judgment in favor of Maguire should be entered.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Rosenthal purchased carpet from Lewis’ manufacturing plant in Georgia for resale to retailers near Rosenthal’s place of business in Connecticut. Rosenthal purchased carpet at a cost of about $155,000 during the nine months preceding the commencement of this bankruptcy case.

Lewis commenced this case by its voluntary Chapter 11 petition, filed January 28, 1981. Shortly thereafter, Lewis determined to cease its manufacturing and to liquidate its assets. This liquidation has taken place in this Chapter 11 case, the debtor remaining in possession.

Pursuant to the pre-bankruptcy factoring agreement between Maguire and Lewis, all of Lewis’ accounts receivable were assigned to Maguire. Each of the accounts receivable was evidenced by an invoice issued by Lewis containing the terms of the sale and a legend giving notice that the invoice was assigned and payable to Maguire. Rosen-thal has paid Maguire for all of the carpet purchased from Lewis except that represented by the invoices sued on by Maguire in this civil proceeding.

This civil proceeding is to collect $13,-534.06 as the amount due on seven partially paid invoices each of which is dated December 14, 1980 and on seven wholly unpaid invoices, each of which is dated January 7, 1982. These invoices apparently represent the last purchases made by Rosenthal from Lewis.

Rosenthal virtually admits that $13,534.06 is the amount due after deducting pay[65]*65ments and uncontested credits1 from the face amount of the invoices. Rosenthal’s dispute is not that the face amount of the invoices does not reflect the agreed price or that the amount of payments was greater. Rather, Rosenthal asserts certain claims as offsets.

A.

One claim is for certain commissions, totaling $3,031. Rosenthal asserts that it had a commission agreement with Lewis whereby Lewis would pay Rosenthal a commission on sales that Lewis made directly to retailers in Rosenthal’s territory.

From the evidence, this Court cannot find that there was such a commission agreement. Lewis’ commission agreements with distributors were generally in writing. There was no written commission agreement between Lewis and Rosenthal relating to sales of retailers. Nor does the evidence submitted by Rosenthal persuade this Court that there was such an agreement.

Moreover, there is no competent or persuasive evidence of sales by Lewis directly to retailers in Rosenthal’s area. Thus, even if there were the commission agreement between Rosenthal and Lewis, there would be no basis to the claims for commissions.

B.

A second claim by Rosenthal is for loss of value of inventory. Rosenthal asserts that when Lewis commenced this bankruptcy case, it had on hand inventory which Rosenthal had purchased from Lewis at a cost of $10,000. Rosenthal asserts that this inventory declined in value to $8,000 because of Lewis’ discontinuance of its business.

This Court simply cannot find that Lewis ever expressly or impliedly agreed or warranted that it would stay in business. Moreover, there is no evidence as to whether the inventory on hand when the bankruptcy case commenced was inventory sold pursuant to those invoices on which Ma-guire is now suing.

C.

A third claim is that Rosenthal is entitled to credit for certain samples purchased from Lewis. The carpet that Rosen-thal purchased before this bankruptcy case commenced included samples of lines of carpet that Lewis was manufacturing. Rosen-thal needed these samples to show to retailers to whom Rosenthal wished to sell carpet manufactured by Lewis. Rosenthal bought samples at a cost of $10,000 and paid for them before the issuance of the invoices sued upon in this civil proceeding.

There is no evidence of a written agreement between Lewis and Rosenthal with respect to credit for samples. Nor was there any practice or pattern between them with respect to credit for samples. Nor is there any evidence that, before its bankruptcy, Lewis ever discontinued a line within a year of its introduction. Rosenthal seeks to prove it is the custom and usage of the carpet industry for a manufacturer to allow credit for samples of a carpet line discontinued within a year of the purchase of the samples.

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24 B.R. 62, 36 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 328, 1982 Bankr. LEXIS 3242, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-p-maguire-co-v-david-rosenthal-associates-inc-in-re-lewis-gad-1982.