Joseph B. Dahlkemper Co. v. Liberatore (In re Joseph B. Dahlkemper Co.)

170 B.R. 853, 1994 Bankr. LEXIS 1205
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 15, 1994
DocketBankruptcy No. 93-10014-BM; Motion No. 94-8M
StatusPublished

This text of 170 B.R. 853 (Joseph B. Dahlkemper Co. v. Liberatore (In re Joseph B. Dahlkemper Co.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Joseph B. Dahlkemper Co. v. Liberatore (In re Joseph B. Dahlkemper Co.), 170 B.R. 853, 1994 Bankr. LEXIS 1205 (W.D. Pa. 1994).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BERNARD MARKOVITZ, Bankruptcy Judge.

Debtor has objected to an amended proof of claim submitted after the bar date by Victor Liberatore, d/b/a Terra Erie Associates (hereinafter “Terra”). According to debtor, Terra’s claim should be disallowed because it is time-barred and because the amounts sought by Terra are not provided for by the terms of a lease agreement between the parties.

Terra denies that its claim is time-barred and asserts that the amounts sought either are mandated by the provisions of the lease agreement or by the terms it imposed upon debtor during its holdover tenancy.

The claim will be allowed in its entirety for reasons set forth below.

I

FACTS

Debtor is in the business of selling jewelry and so-called “hard goods” to the general public through retail outlets located in Erie, Pennsylvania, and vicinity.

Terra is a partnership. Its place of business is in Blasdell, New York.

On March 17, 1977, debtor and Eastway Plaza, Inc. executed an agreement whereby debtor leased retail space in Eastway Plaza from Eastway.

Paragraph 3 of the agreement provided that the lease was for a term of ten (10) years.

Paragraph 45 granted debtor an option to renew the lease for one additional 10-year term by notifying Eastway in writing of its intention to do so within a specified period of time prior to the expiration of the initial lease term.

If debtor elected to exercise its option, paragraph 33 of the lease provided for an upward adjustment in the annual rental and common area maintenance charges based upon the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”).

Paragraph 17 of the lease agreement provided as follows:

If the Tenant shall remain in possession of all or any part of the demised premises after the expiration of the terms of this lease or any renewal thereof, then the Tenant shall be deemed a tenant of the demised premises from month to month at [856]*856the same rental and subject to all of the terms and provisions hereof, except only as to the term of this lease.

Debtor and Eastway subsequently executed an extension and amendment of the above lease on January 10, 1983.

Paragraph 1 modified paragraph 45 of the original lease by replacing the single 10-year renewal option with two 5-year renewal options.

In paragraph 2, debtor exercised its first 5-year renewal option, thereby extending the lease until September 30, 1992.

Paragraph 3 deleted paragraph 33 of the original lease and replaced it with a new provision, which provided in relevant parts as follows:

(a) There shall be an adjustment in the annual Minimum Rent and annual Common Area Maintenance Charge payable, effective October 1, 1987, based upon the percentage increase (if any) between the Base Index and the Price Index for the month of September, 1987....
(d) There shall be an adjustment in the annual Minimum Rent and the annual Common Area Maintenance Charge payable commencing the first day of Tenant’s option period, if exercised (October 1, 1992), based upon the percentage increase (if any) between the Base Index and the Price Index for the month of September, 1992....

The monthly rental due during this term of the lease was $10,286.12.

Eastway subsequently assigned its interest in the lease to Champ Development Corporation on December 30, 1983, which in turn assigned its interest therein to Terra on June 16, 1984.

On October 15, 1987, debtor and Terra executed a lease agreement wherein paragraph 21 of the original lease (pertaining to insurance) was modified. Paragraph 2 of this amendment provided that, except for the modification of paragraph 21, all of the terms and provisions of the lease dated March 17, 1977 and the amendment dated January 10, 1983, “shall remain in full force and effect and are hereby adopted and reaffirmed by the parties hereto”.

Prior to the expiration of the first 5-year renewal, debtor and Terra had negotiations concerning whether debtor would exercise its second 5-year option. Debtor was experiencing severe financial problems and sought a reduction in the rental rate of some twenty-five percent (25%). Negotiations broke down when Terra refused to agree to a reduced rental rate.

Debtor did not notify Terra of its intention to exercise its option to renew the lease for another 5-year term. It continued, however, to occupy the leasehold premises until May 3, 1994. According to debtor’s president, debt- or was deliberately “passive” in this regard because it sought to become a holdover tenant and to avoid paying increased rents and common area maintenance charges.

On October 21, 1992, approximately three weeks after the initial renewal term had expired, Terra sent a letter to debtor asserting that, as of October 1, 1992, the annual rental and common area maintenance charge would increase in accordance with paragraph 33, as amended, of the lease agreement.

Debtor refused to pay the increased rates demanded by Terra and instead continued, with one minor exception, paying on a monthly basis at rates in effect during the initial 5-year renewal period. All monthly payments were sent to Terra, which promptly cashed the checks, at its place of business in Blasdell, New York.

On January 7, 1993, debtor filed a voluntary chapter 11 petition. Schedule F, Creditors Holding Unsecured Nonpriority Claims, listed Terra as having a contingent claim in the amount of $1.00. Terra’s address on the schedule was listed as: Three Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222, the address of Terra’s predecessor-in-interest.

Shortly after debtor filed for bankruptcy, a bar date of July 1, 1993 was established for the filing of proofs of claim.

Notice of the bankruptcy filing and of the bar date was mailed by the clerk of court to all creditors of record.

[857]*857Terra did not receive formal notice of debtor’s bankruptcy filing or of the bar date for filing proofs of claim. Both notices were sent to the address of Terra’s predecessor-in-interest and were not forwarded to it in Blasdell, New York. Terra was, however, informally notified in early-January of 1993 that debtor had filed a chapter 11 petition during on-going discussions concerning debt- or’s possible renewal of the lease for a second 6-year term.

Terra did not file a proof of claim on or prior to the bar date of July 1, 1993.

Debtor’s chapter 11 plan of reorganization was confirmed on November 22, 1993.

On February 17, 1994, several months after its plan had been confirmed, debtor filed a motion for leave to file a proof of claim in the amount of $41,413.89 on Terra’s behalf. Attached to the motion was debtor’s objection to the proof of claim.

An order of court was entered on April 5, 1994 granting Terra leave to file its own proof of claim within fourteen (14) days and determining that debtor would be considered a month-to-month tenant as of October 1, 1992.

On April 16, 1994, Terra filed a proof of claim on its own behalf in the amount of $82,356.07 for pre-petition and post-petition unpaid rentals and common area maintenance charges.

On May 21,1994, debtor objected on several grounds to the proof of claim filed by Terra.

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Bluebook (online)
170 B.R. 853, 1994 Bankr. LEXIS 1205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/joseph-b-dahlkemper-co-v-liberatore-in-re-joseph-b-dahlkemper-co-pawd-1994.