Morris v. U.S. Bancorp Leasing & Financial (In Re Charles)

278 B.R. 216, 47 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1270, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 512, 2002 WL 1009164
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Kansas
DecidedMarch 29, 2002
Docket19-40131
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 278 B.R. 216 (Morris v. U.S. Bancorp Leasing & Financial (In Re Charles)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morris v. U.S. Bancorp Leasing & Financial (In Re Charles), 278 B.R. 216, 47 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1270, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 512, 2002 WL 1009164 (Kan. 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND OPINION GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ROBERT E. NUGENT, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the motion of U.S. Bancorp Leasing and Financial (“Bancorp”) for summary judgment (the “Motion”) on the Trustee’s Complaint. In his Complaint, Trustee J. Michael Morris asserts that the arrangement under which Bancorp leased to debtors Robert and Jan Charles five Kenworth truck tractors is a disguised sale rather than a finance lease. The Trustee further argues that, since the transaction is a disguised sale and not a lease, Bancorp was obligated to perfect its security interest in the vehicles in strict compliance with Kan. Stat. Ann. § 84-9-302 1 and Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-135. After careful consideration of the parties’ submissions, the Court concludes that the Trustee’s argument fails on both counts and grants summary judgment to Bancorp.

UNCONTROVERTED FACTS

There is little dispute as to the facts of this case. Debtors Robert Fritz Charles and Jan Aloise Charles filed their chapter 7 case in this Court on August 30, 2000. The Trustee filed this adversary proceeding on November 28, 2000. After written discovery was completed, Bancorp’s Motion was filed on October 3, 2001.

On March 1, 2000, debtors signed a Master Lease Agreement with Bancorp pursuant to which they leased five Ken-worth truck tractors for a five year period. Debtors also signed a Schedule to Lease Agreement (“Schedule”), a Delivery and Acceptance Certificate (“Certificate”), and a TRAC 2 Lease Addendum (“TRAC Addendum”). Taken together with the Master Lease Agreement, these documents form a memorandum which is the whole agreement of the parties concerning possession, use and return of the vehicles. For convenience, the Court refers to this memorandum the “Lease.” Debtors breached the Lease by failing to make required monthly payments and, after the case was filed, Bancorp obtained stay relief, reclaimed the vehicles, and sold them for $285,000.00.

The Lease provided that the debtors were obligated to make all of the payments and that their obligation was not subject to termination. Paragraph 5 of the Master Lease Agreement states “[t]his is a fully net, noncancellable contract of lease which may not be terminated for any reason except as otherwise provided herein.” Paragraph 3 of the same document provides that “rental payments are specified in each Schedule.” The Schedule references sixty (60) monthly payments of $8,128.64 being due, commencing on April 15, 2000. The TRAC Addendum states “[i]n addition to the rental payments specified, lessor is also entitled to recover a Residual Value equal to $93,198.70 .... ” *219 The parties agree that the debtors duty to pay rent under the Lease is noncancella-ble.

The parties’ rights upon termination are defined in the TRAC Addendum which provides that, at the close of the Lease term, the debtor may opt to (1) acquire the tractors for the amount of the Residual Value, plus a $500 termination fee or (2) not acquire the tractors, in which case the lessee is required to either re-lease the tractors or sell them to the highest bidder. The present value of the payments yielded by the re-letting of the vehicles or the proceeds of their sale is defined as the “Market Value” of the vehicles. If, after deductions for recovery expenses, property taxes, and refurbishing, the Market Value is less than the Residual Value, the lessee would be obligated tó make up the difference. On the other hand, if the adjusted Market Value exceeds the Residual Value, the lessee is entitled to the surplus.

A third possible outcome, a holdover, is also possible. If the lessee fails to either return the vehicles or purchase them, Ban-corp may at its sole option extend the base lease term for six additional months with the debtors remaining obligated to follow all of the other terms and conditions of the Lease. Debtors would be required to pay six additional months’ rent at the stated rate (a total of $48,771.84) and, at the end of the holdover term, would have the same two options outlined above: purchase the vehicles at the Residual Value plus a fee or return the vehicles for disposition and rent adjustment. According to the TRAC Addendum, however, none of the holdover rent is credited against the Residual Value or any other lessee obligation.

STANDARDS ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs summary judgment and is made applicable to contested matters by Rule 9014 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. Rule 56, in articulating the standard of review for summary judgment motions, provides that judgment shall be rendered if all pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions and affidavits on file show that there are no genuine issues of any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7056, 9014. “The mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment, the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.” 3 In determining whether any genuine issues of material fact exist, the Court must construe the record liberally in favor of the party opposing the summary judgment. 4 However, the opposing party’s conclusive allegations are not sufficient to establish an issue of fact and defeat the motion. 5

DISCUSSION

The Court must determine whether the Lease as a matter of law creates a lease transaction or a security interest. If the Court determines that a security interest is created, it then must consider-whether Bancorp has perfected same by showing itself as “owner” rather than as “lienholder” on the certificates of title issued by the Kansas Division of Vehicles for these tractors. In determining whether the Lease is *220 truly a lease as distinguished from a disguised sale or security agreement, the Court looks to state law and particularly to § 1-201(37) of the Uniform Commercial Code which contains the definition of “security interest.” See Butner v. United States, 440 U.S. 48, 54-55, 99 S.Ct.

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278 B.R. 216, 47 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1270, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 512, 2002 WL 1009164, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morris-v-us-bancorp-leasing-financial-in-re-charles-ksb-2002.