People's Capital & Leasing Corp. v. Big3D, Inc. (In Re Big3D, Inc.)

438 B.R. 214, 2010 Bankr. LEXIS 3654, 53 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 232, 2010 WL 4174264
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedOctober 6, 2010
DocketBAP No. EC-09-1292-En Banc. Bankruptcy No. 08-16768
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 438 B.R. 214 (People's Capital & Leasing Corp. v. Big3D, Inc. (In Re Big3D, Inc.)) 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
People's Capital & Leasing Corp. v. Big3D, Inc. (In Re Big3D, Inc.), 438 B.R. 214, 2010 Bankr. LEXIS 3654, 53 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 232, 2010 WL 4174264 (bap9 2010).

Opinions

OPINION

DUNN, Bankruptcy Judge:

INTRODUCTION

The chapter 111 debtor in possession in this case is Big3D, Inc. (“Big3D”). Se[217]*217cured creditor People’s Capital and Leasing Corporation (“PCLC”) appeals the bankruptcy court’s decision that it was not entitled to adequate protection payments from Big3D to compensate it for the alleged decline in the value of its collateral occurring between the bankruptcy petition date and the date PCLC filed its request for adequate protection. We AFFIRM.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Most of the material facts in this appeal are undisputed.

Big3D operates a commercial printing business, specializing in printing on plastic lenses to produce a three dimensional effect. PCLC is in the business of providing financing for the acquisition of business equipment.

On October 21, 2005, Big3D and PCLC entered into “Master Lease Agreement No. 1300” and related attachments (together, the “Lease Agreement”). Under the Lease Agreement, PCLC leased to Big3D a 2005 KBA Genius 52UV-5 Sheetfold offset press (the “Equipment”). The lease term was 60 months, and Big3D was required to pay PCLC monthly payments of $8,516.13. The Lease Agreement granted Big3D an option to purchase the Equipment at its expiration or termination for $101.00. PCLC filed a UCC-1 Financing Statement concerning the transaction and the Equipment.2 The Lease Agreement was twice amended by the parties, on February 8 and November 27, 2007, to allow Big3D to make up payment shortfalls.

In March 2008, Big3D defaulted again on its payment obligations under the Lease Agreement. PCLC alleges that it made demand on Big3D to pay the missed payments under the Lease Agreement, but Big3D did not do so. PCLC declared the entire balance on the Lease Agreement, a total of $348,411.71, due and owing, and on July 28, 2008, PCLC sued Big3D in the Fresno County, California Superior Court for breach of contract and to recover possession of the Equipment from Big3D. People’s Capital & Leasing v. Big3D, Inc., No. 08CECG02553. On August 7, 2008, PCLC filed an application for writ of possession in the state court under Cal.Code Civ. Proc. § 512.020, and at a hearing on October 21, 2008, the superior court granted a prejudgment writ of possession in favor of PCLC for the Equipment.

Big3D filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on October 23, 2008; it has operated its business as a debtor in possession continuously since that date. In its schedules, Big3D listed the value of the Equipment at $400,000, and listed an undisputed secured debt of $350,000 for the Equipment in favor of PCLC.

About six months later, on March 20, 2009, PCLC filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay, or in the alternative, for adequate protection, in Big3D’s bankruptcy case. In the motion, PCLC alleged that Big3D was in default under the Lease Agreement, and that during the bankruptcy case, Big3D had made no payments to PCLC, although Big3D had maintained possession and use of the Equipment. PCLC calculated that the amount owed on the Lease Agreement on the petition date was $364,751.76, including default interest but not including attorney’s fees. PCLC [218]*218alleged it lacked adequate protection of its interest in the Equipment, and sought stay relief to repossess the Equipment, or in the alternative, adequate protection payments.

In support of its motion, PCLC submitted the declaration of its expert witness, James R. White, who opined that the value of the Equipment had remained constant at $380,000 from July 2008 to the petition date of October 23, 2008, but, because of “deteriorating economic conditions,” the Equipment’s value had declined $45,000 between the petition date and the date of his report, March 11, 2009. According to White, although the rate of depreciation in value had slowed, the Equipment was still losing value at the rate of 12 percent a year, or $3,350 per month.

Big3D filed an opposition to PCLC’s motion on April 9, 2009. Big3D did not contest the factual assertions of PCLC’s motion and declaration. Rather, Big3D asserted that the Equipment was necessary for its reorganization, and it offered to pay PCLC $3,500 per month thereafter for adequate protection.

At the April 23, 2009 hearing on PCLC’s motion, counsel for the parties and the bankruptcy court agreed that prospective adequate protection payments should be made by Big3D to PCLC in the amount of $3,500 per month beginning May 15, 2009. However, the bankruptcy court was skeptical about PCLC’s request that it order Big3D to make adequate protection payments to PCLC as compensation for the Equipment’s alleged loss in value from the petition date to the date that PCLC filed its motion. The court took that aspect of PCLC’s request under submission and invited the parties to file supplemental briefs.

In its brief, PCLC cited the BAP’s decision in Paccom Leasing Corp. v. Deico Elects., Inc. (In re Deico Elects., Inc.), 139 B.R. 945 (9th Cir. BAP 1992) (“Deico ”), for the proposition that adequate protection should be provided to a creditor based on when it could have obtained its state court remedies if bankruptcy had not intervened. According to PCLC, since it had obtained the state court writ of possession two days before the filing of Big3D’s bankruptcy petition, it was entitled to adequate protection payments from the petition date.

Big3D’s brief argued that PCLC was not entitled to “retroactive” adequate protection payments (i.e., for the period prior to filing its motion) because it was protected by a substantial equity cushion in the Equipment on the petition date. Moreover, it reminded the bankruptcy court that while PCLC had the writ of possession when Big3D filed for bankruptcy, PCLC had not completed its state law remedies by repossessing and selling the Equipment. As a result, Big3D argued that it need only make prospective adequate protection payments to PCLC.

The bankruptcy court entered its Memorandum of Decision Regarding Motion for Retroactive Adequate Protection (“Memorandum Decision”) on August 28, 2009. In its Memorandum Decision, the bankruptcy court determined that, as the creditor, PCLC had the burden of proving entitlement to retroactive adequate protection. It also rejected PCLC’s contention that Deico required that adequate protection be provided from the petition date. Instead, according to the bankruptcy court, Deico granted the bankruptcy court “discretion to fix any initial lump sum amount, the amount payable periodically, the frequency of payments, and the beginning date, all as dictated by the circumstances of the case and the sound exercise of that discretion.” Memorandum Decision at 7, citing Deico, 139 B.R. at 947 (emphasis in original). Because in this case PCLC acknowledged [219]*219that the Equipment had depreciated only because of adverse economic conditions, and not because of wear and tear or by Big3D’s continued possession and use, the bankruptcy court was not persuaded that PCLC had been harmed as a result of the automatic stay prior to the hearing. The bankruptcy court also expressed concern that PCLC had not filed its request for adequate protection within a reasonable time. For these reasons, the bankruptcy court declined to order that PCLC be paid any adequate protection for the period pri- or to commencement of the prospective payments.

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Bluebook (online)
438 B.R. 214, 2010 Bankr. LEXIS 3654, 53 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 232, 2010 WL 4174264, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peoples-capital-leasing-corp-v-big3d-inc-in-re-big3d-inc-bap9-2010.