Nationsbank, N.A. v. Jansen (In re Feinstein Family Partnership)

243 B.R. 519, 13 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 112, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 1720
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 26, 1999
DocketBankruptcy No. 96-14294-9P1; Adversary No. 97-1033
StatusPublished

This text of 243 B.R. 519 (Nationsbank, N.A. v. Jansen (In re Feinstein Family Partnership)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nationsbank, N.A. v. Jansen (In re Feinstein Family Partnership), 243 B.R. 519, 13 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 112, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 1720 (Fla. 1999).

Opinion

[521]*521ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ALEXANDER L. PASKAY, Chief Judge.

THIS IS an aborted Chapter 11 case and the matter under consideration is a dispute between NationsBank, N.A. (Bank) and Kennedy Funding Group (Kennedy Funding). Although the Bank also named Feinstein Family Partnership (Debtor) as a defendant in this adversary proceeding, the only parties who have an interest in the resolution of the Bank’s claims in its Complaint are the Bank and Kennedy Funding. .

The immediate matter under consideration is a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Kennedy Funding. Kennedy Funding contends that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that, based on the same, Kennedy Funding is entitled to the entry of a judgment in its favor as a matter of law.

The claims under consideration are set forth in a two-count Amended Complaint filed by the Bank. In Count I, the Bank contends that the Bank has a perfected security interest in road impact fee credits due to the Debtor from the City of Ft. Myers; and that its lien is superior to the lien, granted to Kennedy Funding pursuant to an Order entered by this Court approving post-petition DIP financing (Lending Order).

In Count II the Bank sets forth a claim for marshalling. The Bank contends that Kennedy Funding has a senior lien position in the Debtor’s real property valued at $25 million; that Kennedy Funding also has a lien on the impact fee credits valued at $5.4 million due to the Debtor from the City of Ft. Myers; and that Kennedy Funding’s secured claim can be fully satisfied by liquidating the real property collateral. The Bank requests that this Court apply the doctrine of marshalling by requiring Kennedy Funding to first look to the real property to satisfy its claim and also requests that this Court direct that the Bank’s claim be paid immediately from the impact fee credits.

The facts relevant to the issues raised by the Bank are basically without dispute, with one exception to be discussed below, and can be summarized as follows:

Prior to the commencement of the Chapter 11 case, the Bank loaned approximately $2.5 million to the Debtor. The loan was secured by, a perfected security interest in road impact fee credits valued at $5.4 million which the City of Ft. Myers owes to the Debtor.

The extensive real property holdings of the Debtor were encumbered by a first mortgage held by the City of Ft. Myers, as Trustee, on behalf of the bondholders under a bond issue which financed the infrastructure needed for the full development of the properties. The Debtor defaulted on the bond issue and was in danger of losing its real estate holdings. On August 3, 1998, after the foreclosure action- was commenced by the City, the Debtor sought protection in this Court by filing a Petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Debtor continued its efforts to save the properties, by trying to obtain sufficient funds to pay off the bonded indebtedness through postpetition DIP financing. The Debtor ultimately succeeded and negotiated a loan for $16.2 million with Kennedy Funding. The Debtor filed its Application for approval of the DIP financing which this Court approved by Order entered on May 8, 1997 (Lending Order).

The Lending Order granted the Debt- or’s Application to borrow $16.4 million on a superpriority basis. The Lending Order also granted a superpriority lien to Kennedy Funding co-equal with the tax lien held by Lee County or any other tax certificate holders. Subparagraph (c) of the Lending Order provides that although the Bank shall retain its first lien on the impact fee credits to secure the repayment of approximately $2.5-million owed by the Debtor to the Bank, Kennedy Funding will occupy a position pari passu with the Bank on the [522]*522impact fee credit. The Lending Order further recites that the Bank agreed and the Court ordered that the proceeds from the sale of the impact fee credits shall be divided by payment of 60 percent to the Bank and 40 percent to Kennedy Funding until the debt owed to the Bank is satisfied. There is nothing in the Lending Order which required payment of $250,000 from the proceeds of the loan obtained from Kennedy Funding to the Bank. These facts are without dispute.

However, this is where the agreement ends. It is the Bank’s contention that it only agreed to Kennedy Funding having a superpriority lien equal in rank with the first lien of the Bank with respect to the impact fee credits because it was agreed that upon closing, the Bank would receive $250,000 from the loan proceeds. The Bank contends that Debtor’s counsel unconditionally promised that the Bank would receive this amount upon closing and that Kennedy Funding was aware of this promise before it advanced the loan proceeds to the Debtor. Of course, this proposition is categorically denied by Kennedy Funding which contends that any promise made to the Bank by Debtor’s counsel is not binding on Kennedy Funding and that the Lending Order which governs the parties’ rights, has no provision for any payment to the Bank from the loan proceeds.

In order to bolster its contention that there are genuine issues of material fact, the Bank further contends the following: (1) Kennedy Funding had a representative at the hearing on April 29, 1999, when Debtor’s counsel announced that the Bank will be paid $250,000 out of the loan proceeds, a fact denied by Kennedy Funding; (2) the Bank had an agreement with the Debtor concerning the payment of $250,-000 out of the loan proceeds, a fact admitted by Debtor’s counsel but denied by the Debtor; (3) Kennedy Funding consented to and ratified or failed to object to the deal with the Bank, a fact vigorously denied by Kennedy Funding; (4) even if Kennedy Funding did not know of an agreement to pay $250,000 to the Bank, Kennedy Funding violated its standard operating procedures by not inquiring about the use of the loan proceeds.

It appears from a close analysis of the foregoing that the main thrust of the contentions advanced by the Bank in opposing the Motion for Summary Judgment is that Kennedy Funding, by its alleged silence or inaction, either waived any objection to the so-called deal between the Bank and the Debtor or consented to or ratified the deal.

Assuming without conceding that this contention is true, based on this record, this Court is satisfied that none of the Bank’s contentions raise genuine issues of material fact. This is so because Kennedy Funding was not a party to the agreement between the Debtor and the Bank, if there was one, and had the right to rely on the Lending Order which is totally silent regarding any payments to the Bank at closing. Moreover, more than inaction or silence is required to constitute consent or ratification.

In sum, while there may be disputed facts, none of them are material to the outcome of this proceeding. Based on the material undisputed facts, Kennedy Funding is entitled to judgment on Count I of the Complaint.

As noted earlier, the claim asserted by the Bank in Count I merely seeks a determination of the priority and extent of the liens encumbering the impact fee credits. The Bank does not seek the “equitable subordination” of the lien granted to Kennedy Funding by the Lending Order in this Count. However, in its post-trial submission the Bank relies on the doctrine of equitable subordination to ensure that the superpriority lien of Kennedy Funding is subordinated to the lien of the Bank and satisfied out of the sale proceeds of the impact fee credits after its claim has been satisfied in full.

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Bluebook (online)
243 B.R. 519, 13 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 112, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 1720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nationsbank-na-v-jansen-in-re-feinstein-family-partnership-flmb-1999.