Marine Electric Railway Products Division, Inc. v. New York City Transit Authority (In re Marine Electric Railway Products Division, Inc.)

29 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,296, 17 B.R. 845, 6 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 29, 1982 Bankr. LEXIS 4715, 8 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 977
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 26, 1982
DocketBankruptcy No. 180-05261; Adv. No. 181-0626
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 29 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,296 (Marine Electric Railway Products Division, Inc. v. New York City Transit Authority (In re Marine Electric Railway Products Division, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marine Electric Railway Products Division, Inc. v. New York City Transit Authority (In re Marine Electric Railway Products Division, Inc.), 29 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,296, 17 B.R. 845, 6 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 29, 1982 Bankr. LEXIS 4715, 8 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 977 (E.D.N.Y. 1982).

Opinion

MANUEL J. PRICE, Bankruptcy Judge.

This is a motion made pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, by the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA or THE AUTHORITY) and the Union Switch and Signal Division of American Standard, Inc. (UNION SWITCH) jointly, for an order dismissing the complaint, filed against them by Marine Electric Railway Products Division, Inc. (MARINE ELECTRIC or THE DEBTOR) for declaratory and injunctive relief and for damages arising from NYCTA’s allegedly discriminatory treatment of the debtor in violation of Section 525 of the Bankruptcy Reform Act (THE CODE), 11 U.S.C. § 525.

To set this matter in proper perspective, a short summary of the facts follows:

On September 4, 1980, Marine Electric filed its petition for relief with this court under Chapter 11 of the Code, 11 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq. Its parent, Marine Electric Corporation, is also a Chapter 11 debtor in a case pending in this court. Since this date, Marine Electric has been operating its business as a debtor-in-possession in accordance with Section 1108 of the Code, 11 U.S.C. § 1108. This section provides that “[ujnless the court orders otherwise, the trustee may operate the debtor’s business.” In the absence of the appointment of a trustee, the debtor continues to operate its business [847]*847without the necessity of a court order. See 1979 Collier Pamphlet Edition of the Bankruptcy Code, Legislative History following Section 1108, p. 462.

The debtor is engaged primarily in the manufacture of electrical equipment for railway cars and ships. A significant portion of its business is derived from government contract work. According to the debtor, it has “entered into and satisfactorily performed numerous contracts with both federal and state governmental entities . ... ” (Plaintiff’s Application for a Temporary Restraining Order, dated November 30, 1981, pp. 1-2)

On August 20, 1981, the NYCTA publicly solicited bids for the design and manufacture of “no motion detectors” to be installed in New York City’s subway cars. (NYCTA Bid No. 12792) These devices will apparently lock the end subway car door while the train is in motion to prevent potential accidents. (S.M. December 29, 1981, p. 41)

In response to this solicitation, three prospective contractors, including Marine Electric and Union Switch, submitted bids. On September 9,1981, the president of NYCTA advised Marine Electric by letter that its bid was the “apparent low bid” on the “no motion detector” contract. (Letter to Marine Electric from John D. Simpson, President, NYCTA, September 9, 1981, Exhibit A attached to the complaint)

Marine Electric offered to provide the required 1070 units at the cost of $563,-890.00, or $527.00 per unit. Union Switch’s bid was the second lowest at $1,014,360.00, or $948.00 per unit.

In his letter, however, Mr. Simpson informed the debtor that it was the intention of the Authority to award the contract to the second lowest bidder, namely Union Switch. The reason given for this decision was explained as follows:

“Please be advised that based on your financial statements, in particular, the pendency of a proceeding relating to your company under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Act, this Authority finds that your company is not financially responsible to proceed with the above-mentioned contract. This determination is separate and apart from any question relating to your professional qualifications which, due to your financial status, have not been determined.
“In the opinion of the Authority the uncertainties of performance of this contract during a Chapter 11 proceeding are unacceptable. The Authority cannot accept the risks of the contract being voided either selectively or as part of a general liquidation.” Id.

For purposes of this present motion, however, the Authority admits that its determination to reject Marine Electric’s bid was in fact based “ ‘solely on [Marine Electric’s] status as a debtor-in-possession’ ” under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. (Affidavit of Kenneth J. Chertoff, Esq., verified December 11, 1981 attached to NYCTA’s motion to dismiss the complaint, p. 2, quoting from paragraph 10 of plaintiff’s complaint)

In an attempt to reverse this determination, A. Peter Lubitz, Esq., an attorney associated with Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg & Casey, Esqs., the attorneys for the debtor, wrote Mr. Simpson of the NYCTA on September 16, 1981. As part of this effort, Mr. Lubitz asked that a meeting be held between NYCTA, Marine Electric and their respective counsel “for the purpose of discussing the issues and concerns raised” as the result of NYCTA’s decision to withhold the contract from the debtor. (Letter to John D. Simpson from A. Peter Lubitz, dated September 16, 1981, Exhibit B attached to the complaint) In addition, it was requested that the contract not be awarded in the interim during which the NYCTA would reconsider its decision. In support of his requests, Mr. Lubitz made reference to the provisions of Section 525 of the Code, 11 U.S.C. § 525, and enclosed a copy of a recent bankruptcy court decision construing this statute, In re Coleman American Moving Services, Inc., 8 B.R. 379, 7 B.C.D. 142, 3 C.B.C.2d 609 (Bkrtcy.C.D.Kan.1980). Section 525 states:

“Except as provided in Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. [848]*848§§ 499a-499s), the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. §§ 181-229), and section 1 of the Act entitled ‘An Act making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1944, and for other purposes,’ approved July 12, 1943 (57 Stat. 422; 7 U.S.C. § 204), a governmental unit may not deny, revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew a license, permit, charter, franchise, or other similar grant to, condition such a grant to, discriminate with respect to such a grant against, deny employment to, terminate the employment of, or discriminate with respect to employment against, a person that is or has been a debtor under this title or a bankrupt or a debtor under the Bankruptcy Act, or another person with whom such bankrupt or debtor has been associated, solely because such bankrupt or debtor is or has been a debtor under this title or a bankrupt or debtor under the Bankruptcy Act, has been insolvent before the commencement of the case under this title, or during the case but before the debtor is granted or denied a discharge, or has not paid a debt that is dischargeable in the case under this title or that was discharged under the Bankruptcy Act.”

On October 5, 1981, Richard K. Bernard, Esq., General Counsel to the NYCTA, responding to Mr. Lubitz’s letter, essentially reiterated the Authority’s refusal to accept Marine Electric’s bid. Specifically, he reminded Mr.

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29 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,296, 17 B.R. 845, 6 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 29, 1982 Bankr. LEXIS 4715, 8 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 977, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marine-electric-railway-products-division-inc-v-new-york-city-transit-nyed-1982.