Kuske v. McSheridan (In Re McSheridan)

184 B.R. 91, 95 Daily Journal DAR 9901, 33 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1300, 95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5880, 1995 Bankr. LEXIS 948, 27 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 585, 1995 WL 416478
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJune 21, 1995
DocketBAP No. WW-94-1676-OHMe. Bankruptcy No. 94-00331
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 184 B.R. 91 (Kuske v. McSheridan (In Re McSheridan)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kuske v. McSheridan (In Re McSheridan), 184 B.R. 91, 95 Daily Journal DAR 9901, 33 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1300, 95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5880, 1995 Bankr. LEXIS 948, 27 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 585, 1995 WL 416478 (bap9 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

OLLASON, Bankruptcy Judge:

OVERVIEW

Lessor’s guarantors under a commercial real property lease appeal an order of the bankruptcy court allowing them an unsecured claim for damages due to termination of the lease. The court limited all damages by the provisions of § 502(b)(6) 1 and did not include amounts under various nonrental covenants within the definition of “rent reserved” under the lease. § 502(b)(6)(A). We Remand.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

In July of 1985, Nolan and Jennifer McSheridan (“Debtors”) formed a Washington corporation to operate a restaurant in Bellingham, Washington. The restaurant was subject to a commercial lease. The Debtors’ corporation (“Lessee”) assumed the lessee’s interest in the lease subject to personal guarantees by Debtors. At the time of these events, the lease had been assigned, and as a condition of the assignment, Robert Kuske and Jackie Kuske (“Appellants”) executed a guarantee of the lease in favor of the former lessee. At some point in time, the F.S.B. Company, Inc. (“Lessor”), another Washington corporation, obtained all or some of the original lessor’s interest in the lease.

The lease was originally entered into on October 16, 1972, for a period of 20 years, commencing one month after completion of construction of the commercial building, which occurred on August 1,1973. The lease was modified on August 24, 1976, and the termination date was changed to September of 1996.

The lease was what is commonly called a triple-net lease. It obligated Lessee to pay taxes and assessments, maintenance and repairs, insurance premiums and utilities; each in accordance with specific lease provisions. 2

Under a separate provision for “Repair and Care of Premises and Payment of Taxes,” the lease provided:

It is understood between the parties that this is a net net lease and Lessee shall be responsible to maintain the building in a good state of repair, reasonable wear and tear excepted, and at its own cost promptly make all necessary repairs, both interior and exterior, of said building.
*95 Lessee shall further be responsible for all taxes and assessments against said building and the land upon which the building is located during the term of this lease, and it shall be responsible for keeping said premises insured against fire and other hazard....

The lease also had a separate section entitled “Utilities,” whereby Lessee agreed to “pay all charges for heat, light, water and garbage” during the lease term.

Under the provision for “Rent,” the lease provided for a monthly base rent of $1,400 together with a percentage of gross sales. The amount of base monthly rent was later modified to $2,229.

The “Default and Re-Entry” section provided that, upon default of rent payment or performance of any covenant, Lessor could sue for any deficiency upon reletting, or for the anticipated loss of reduced rentals, plus the cost of remodeling or renovation to relet the premises.

The restaurant business did not prosper and Lessee filed for reorganization under Chapter 11. The case was converted to Chapter 7; the Chapter 7 trustee rejected the unexpired lease effective September 1, 1992. Lessee abandoned the premises in August of 1992. At that time rents were current.

In October of 1993, Lessor presented a claim for expenses totaling $179,709.81. This included $70,488.81 in expenses incurred under the lease from August of 1992 through September of 1993. Some of these expenses were listed as follows:

a) building improvements, 3 $37,566.16
b) utilities, $3,529.76
c) repair and maintenance, $6,981.27
d) meals and entertainment, $18.80
e) remodeling, $45.71
f) insurance, $9,225.60
g) real estate taxes, $3,101.13

In addition, Lessor calculated total rent owed of $109,221. This was broken down as follows: 1) the rent owed from September of 1992 through October of 1993 (14 months), in the sum of $31,206; and 2) additional rent through the termination date of the lease (35 months) in the amount of $78,015.

The parties entered into settlement negotiations. During this time, Debtors filed for relief under Chapter 13. Thereafter, the parties agreed to settle the claim for $74,000, and payment was made by Appellants to the Lessor.

Appellants then filed an amended claim in the Debtors’ bankruptcy case in the amount of $74,000. In support of their claim, Appellants submitted the declaration of Robert Kuske, in which he referred to the payments of insurance, taxes, utilities, and repairs and maintenance as “additional rent” to “bring the rent up to a reasonable price.” All of those items of “additional rent” were to “maintain the value of the premises,” he stated.

Debtors objected to allowance of the claim as exceeding the amount allowed by the Bankruptcy Code. Nevertheless, the declaration of Debtor Nolan MeSheridan stated that the lease “was in ‘triple net’ form, requiring the Lessee to pay taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance.”

The bankruptcy court held a hearing on the matter; the parties stipulated that the issues at hearing would be limited to a determination of law as to what was or was not included in the term “rent reserved by such lease” as used in 11 U.S.C. § 502(b)(6)(A). The bankruptcy court issued its Order on Debtors’ Amended Objection to Claim on May 23, 1994. The order provided that “the maximum amount of any claim based upon the lessor’s damages resulting from termination of the lease” was $26,748, calculated as one year’s rent at $2,229 per month pursuant to § 502(b)(6)(A). The order allowed Appellants an unsecured claim for $26,748. Thus, the bankruptcy court’s order excluded *96 any expenses not designated as “rent” in the lease in the calculation of “rent reserved.” 4 Appellants timely appealed the court’s order.

ISSUES

1) Whether, in a triple-net lease, the phrase “rent reserved by such lease” of § 502(b)(6)(A) includes other expenses not designated as “rent” or “additional rent.”

2) Whether damages resulting from breach of covenants in a real property lease following rejection of the lease in bankruptcy are lease termination damages subject to the limiting provisions of § 502(b)(6)(A). 5

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Proper interpretation of statutory language is a question of law, subject to de novo review. In re First Alliance Corp., 140 B.R. 531, 532 (9th Cir. BAP 1992).

DISCUSSION

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184 B.R. 91, 95 Daily Journal DAR 9901, 33 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 1300, 95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5880, 1995 Bankr. LEXIS 948, 27 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 585, 1995 WL 416478, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kuske-v-mcsheridan-in-re-mcsheridan-bap9-1995.