Pirinate Consulting Grp., LLC v. ERCO Worldwide (In re Newpage Corp.)

586 B.R. 551
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware
DecidedApril 3, 2018
DocketCase No. 11–12804 (KG) (Jointly Administered); Adv. Proc. No. 13–52435 (KG)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 586 B.R. 551 (Pirinate Consulting Grp., LLC v. ERCO Worldwide (In re Newpage Corp.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pirinate Consulting Grp., LLC v. ERCO Worldwide (In re Newpage Corp.), 586 B.R. 551 (Del. 2018).

Opinion

KEVIN GROSS, U.S.B.J.

*554INTRODUCTION

The Court is issuing its opinion in this preference adversary proceeding. On September 7, 2011 (the "Petition Date"), NewPage Corporation1 ("NewPage") and its affiliates (together with NewPage, the "Debtors") filed petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. D.I. 1.2 On December 14, 2012, the Court entered an order (the "Confirmation Order") confirming the Debtors' plan of reorganization (the "Plan"). D.I. 2945. On December 21, 2012, the Effective Date, as defined in the Plan, occurred. Id. ¶ 1.2.55. On October 29, 2013, PIRINATE Consulting Group, LLC, the Litigation Trustee of the NP Creditor Litigation Trust (the "Trustee"), as created by the Plan (id. ¶¶ 1.2.94-102), filed a three-count complaint (the "Complaint") against ERCO Worldwide ("ERCO"), a Division of Superior Plus LP, alleging that payments (the "Transfers") totaling not less than $9,907,449.33 are recoverable pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §§ 547 and 550 (¶¶ 1, 29-42 & n.2; Adv. D.I. 1) and requesting that all of ERCO's claims against the Debtors be disallowed pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 502. See id. ¶¶ 43-48.

Pending before the Court is ERCO's motion for partial summary judgment (the "Motion") pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, made applicable to this adversary proceeding by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7056. Adv. D.I. 36. ERCO principally argues that the bulk of the alleged Transfers were on account of pre-existing, ongoing contracts between the parties, rendering them unavoidable as a matter of law. Id. ¶ 7 (referencing In re Kiwi International Air Lines, Inc. , 344 F.3d 311 (3d Cir. 2003) and Pirinate Consulting Grp., LLC v. Avoca Bement Corp. (In re NewPage Corp. ), 517 B.R. 508 (Bankr. D. Del. 2014) ).3 In response, the Litigation Trustee filed a cross motion for summary judgment (the "Cross-Motion"), challenging the validity of the alleged contracts. Adv. D.I. 44. The issue presented by the Motion and the Cross-Motion is whether two contracts-the Sodium Chlorate Contract (the "Chlorate Contract") and the Caustic Soda Contract (the "Soda Contract") (collectively, the "Contracts")-expired or terminated prior to the Effective Date. For the reasons stated herein, the Court finds that the Chlorate Contract did expire or terminate prior to the Effective Date and grants partial summary judgment in the Trustee's favor. The Court also finds that the Soda Contract did not expire or terminate prior to the *555Effective Date and grants partial summary judgment in ERCO's favor.

FACTS

A. The Parties

Pre-bankruptcy, the Debtors and their non-debtor subsidiaries and affiliates comprised the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America. Declaration of George F. Martin, dated September 7, 2011 ("Martin Decl.") ¶ 4; D.I. 3.4 The Debtors operated sixteen paper mills located in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Id. ¶¶ 6-7. Producing paper at such a level required the Debtors to maintain supplies of "three crucial inputs: (a) pulp (wood reduced to its paper-making form), (b) water, and (c) chemicals." Id. ¶ 8. Common chemicals included "latex and starch, which are used to affix coatings to paper; calcium carbonate, which brightens paper; titanium dioxide, which makes paper opaque; and other chemicals to bleach or color paper or purify the [Debtor]'s water supply." Id. ¶ 10. The Debtors purchased chemicals from a "variety of suppliers." Id. NewPage, as a Debtor affiliate, purchased-and continues to purchase-chemical supplies from ERCO. See generally Declaration of John F. Christie, dated May 24, 2016 ("Christie Decl."); Adv. D.I. 39. ERCO produces and supplies inorganic products and technology for the production of chlorine dioxide. Id. ¶ 3. Additionally, "ERCO is the second largest producer of sodium chlorate in the world and supplies to, among other customers, the pulp and paper industry." Id. Like other manufacturers in the chlorate and chlor-alkali industries, ERCO operates their plants "at or near 100% practical capacity" with a "finite amount of supply" that is committed to customers through contract. Id.

B. The Contracts

The Court merely introduces the Contracts below and reserves analysis for the discussion.

1. The Chlorate Contract

In January 2006, ERCO and NewPage executed the Chlorate Contract. See App. Ex. at A0009-16. The Chlorate Contract, governed by Ohio law, was a standard requirements contract, wherein ERCO agreed to sell NewPage its entire need for Sodium Chlorate Crystal for two mills. Id. at A0015-16. The Chlorate Contract also provided that "[t]his Agreement can be modified or amended only by a writing duly executed by the seller and the buyer" (the "No Oral-Modification Clause"). Id. at A0014. The initial "Term and Termination" section lasted until the earlier of December 31, 2006, or a written termination to the other party for breaches, defaults or other related issues. However, beginning in 2009, the parties amended the Chlorate Contract five times. Id. at A0012; Christie Decl. ¶ 4. Importantly, only two of the five amendments addressed the Chlorate Contract's Term and Termination section. See App. Ex. at A0017, A0021.

2. The Soda Contract

In April 2008, NewPage and ERCO negotiated the alleged Soda Contract. See Motion ¶¶ 25-29; Cross-Motion ¶¶ 11-15. The Soda Contract was amended several times before the parties executed a "new" Chloralkali Supply Proposal in 2013 (the "2013 Soda Contract"). See Corrected Declaration of John F. Christie, dated July 22, 2016 ("Amend. Christie Decl.") ¶ 5; Adv.

*556D.I.

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Bluebook (online)
586 B.R. 551, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pirinate-consulting-grp-llc-v-erco-worldwide-in-re-newpage-corp-deb-2018.