Matter of Martin's Point Ltd. Partnership

12 B.R. 721, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 3512, 8 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 40
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedJune 19, 1981
Docket17-21779
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 12 B.R. 721 (Matter of Martin's Point Ltd. Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matter of Martin's Point Ltd. Partnership, 12 B.R. 721, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 3512, 8 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 40 (Ga. 1981).

Opinion

*723 OPINION

WILLIAM L. NORTON, Jr., Bankruptcy Judge.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The Plan of Reorganization (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”) under discussion in this opinion was filed by Martin’s Point Limited Partnership (hereinafter referred to as “Debtor”) on July 29, 1980. Hearings were held and briefs requested. But when filed, they were not brought to the attention of this Court by the Clerk’s office as provided under the rules of this Court. On April 23, 1981, by letter from the attorney of the Debtor, the Court was reminded of the Plan and briefs. Thereupon, briefs and file were obtained and reviewed in preparation of this ruling. The Plan provides for the reorganization of the affairs of the Debtor and, toward that end, provides for reconveyance to the holders of purchase money secured indebtedness of certain real property on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina (sometimes hereinafter referred to as Martin’s Point Plantation) which, for all practical purposes, constitutes the sole asset of the debtor. 1 The Plan also provides for the payment of all other undisputed obligations of the Debtor.

The Partners of the Partnership, i. e., its equity security holders, who, since 1973, have contributed over $391,900.00 towards the purchase of Martin’s Point Plantation, have, without dissent, voted to approve the Plan. With only one exception, every creditor of the Partnership who voted on the Plan, voted to accept the Plan. The only objection filed to the Plan was by C. Stuart Dawson, Jr.

THE PLAN

The Plan of Reorganization filed by the Debtor divides the Debtor’s creditors into five classes as set forth below:

(A) The Class of First Priority Secured Creditors, which consists of one creditor— The Federal Land Bank — which has a first priority security interest in Martin’s Point Plantation.

(B) The Class of Second Priority Secured Creditors, which consists of three creditors—C. Stuart Dawson, Jr., Harold E. Igoe, Jr., and Wadmalaw Island Land Company, Inc.—who have security interests in Martin’s Point Plantation equal in priority with each other, but which are subordinate to The Federal Land Bank’s security interest in the property.

There are four other classes of creditors which are unimpaired and not in dispute as to this Confirmation of Plan. The Plan provides that the Partnership shall convey all of its right, title and interest in Martin’s Point Plantation and all of its interest in 13,000 shares of the stock of The Federal Land Bank Association of Walterboro to Wadmalaw Island Land Company, Inc. and Messrs. Igoe and Dawson, in full and complete satisfaction of the indebtedness owing by the Partnership and any of its partners to each of the transferees. Conveyance to these parties is to be made in the following percentages of undivided interest:

C. Stuart Dawson, Jr. 31.68%
Harold E. Igoe, Jr. 34.16%
Wadmalaw Island Land Company, Inc. 34.16%

The conveyance of Martin’s Point Plantation will be made subject to the first mortgage of The Federal Land Bank.

The Plan further provides that M. E. Ellinger, Jr., as general partner of Martin’s Point Limited Partnership, shall contribute to the Partnership in an amount of money which, when added to the funds presently held by the Partnership, will be sufficient to enable the Partnership to pay the claims of all the creditors in the Class of Tax Creditors, the Class of Unsecured Creditors Whose Claims Are Not In Dispute, and the Class of Post-Filing Creditors.

Alternatively, Mr. Dawson may elect, within the first 10 days following confirmation of the Plan and in lieu of receiving a *724 conveyance of the aforesaid property, to receive either cash in the amount of $160,-000.00 or a note in the amount of $190,-000.00, in full and complete satisfaction of his claims against the Partnership and any of its partners. The cash and note will be received from the Wadmalaw Island Land Company, Inc. and Harold E. Igoe.

ACCEPTANCE OF THE PLAN

Every creditor and every equity security holder who voted on the Plan voted to accept the Plan, with the sole exception of Mr. Dawson. The voting was as follows:

No. No. Class Accepting Rejecting
A. The Class of First Priority Secured Creditors 1 0 (unanimous)
B. The Class of Second Priority Secured Creditors 2 1

The only class in which any dissenting vote was cast concerning the Plan was the Class of Second Priority Secured Creditors, which consisted of C. Stuart Dawson, Harold E. Igoe, Jr., and Wadmalaw Island Land Company, Inc. Mr. Igoe and Wadma-law Island Land Company, Inc., as of the date of the Debtor’s Petition, each had claims against the debtor in the amount of $258,290. Mr. Igoe and Wadmalaw Island Land Company, Inc. both voted to accept the Plan. Mr. Dawson, as of the date of the filing of the Debtor’s Petition, had claims against the Debtor in the amount of $239,480.00. Mr. Dawson voted to reject the Plan. Because Mr. Igoe and the Wad-malaw Island Land Company, Inc. amount to more than one-half of the creditors of the class, and since their claims collectively amount to more than two thirds in amount of all claims of the creditors of their class, the class in which they are members are deemed, pursuant to Section 1126 of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 [11 U.S.C. § 1126(c)] (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the Bankruptcy “Code”), to have accepted the Plan — along with the other classes of creditors and equity security holders who voted unanimously to accept the Plan.

Mr. Dawson has appeared at the hearing on Confirmation of the Plan and stated an objection to the Plan. He has also filed a written objection to his classification under the Plan, contending that the classifications set forth in the Plan are improper in that he should be placed in a class by himself rather than in a class with Mr. Igoe and the Wadmalaw Island Land Company, Inc. Should the claim of Mr. Dawson be required to be placed in a separate class, that class would constitute an objecting class and the claim would have to be dealt with separately. The court will first discuss the classification issue.

CLASSIFICATION

Three creditors, i. e., Mr. Igoe, Mr. Dawson, and the Wadmalaw Island Land Company, Inc., each hold purchase money promissory notes executed by the Debtor in connection with its purchase of Martin’s Point Plantation. While there are three separate promissory notes, all three of those notes are secured by a single, second-priority, purchase money mortgage security interest in Martin’s Point Plantation.

The purchase money notes held by Messrs. Igoe and Dawson represent the unpaid portion of their shares of the purchase price for Martin’s Point Plantation by the Partnership in December of 1973. The note held by Wadmalaw Island Land Company, Inc. was originally issued to Mr. Albert Fuchs to evidence the unpaid portion of the purchase price due him, and was subsequently assigned by Mr. Fuchs to Wadma-law Island Land Company, Inc.

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12 B.R. 721, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 3512, 8 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 40, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matter-of-martins-point-ltd-partnership-ganb-1981.