Primestone Investment Partners L.P. v. Vornado PS, L.L.C. (In Re Primestone Investment Partners L.P.)

272 B.R. 554, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1511, 2002 WL 126397
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedJanuary 28, 2002
Docket01-11355-MFW. Civ.A. No. 02-001-SLR
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 272 B.R. 554 (Primestone Investment Partners L.P. v. Vornado PS, L.L.C. (In Re Primestone Investment Partners L.P.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Primestone Investment Partners L.P. v. Vornado PS, L.L.C. (In Re Primestone Investment Partners L.P.), 272 B.R. 554, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1511, 2002 WL 126397 (D. Del. 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

ROBINSON, District Judge.

At Wilmington this 28th day of January, 2002, having reviewed the papers submitted and heard oral argument in connection with the above captioned appeal;

IT IS ORDERED that the December 18, 2001 order entered by the Honorable Mary F. Walrath dismissing the case filed under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code by appellant Primestone Investment Partners L.P. (“Primestone”) is affirmed and the appeal denied, for the reasons that follow:

1. Jurisdiction. This court has jurisdiction to decide the instant appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(a).

2. Standard of review. Section 1112(b) of Title 11 of the United States Code provides that a court may dismiss a Chapter 11 case “for cause” if it is in the best interest of the creditors and the estate. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held that a Chapter 11 petition may be dismissed for cause if it was not filed in “good faith.” In re SGL Carbon Corp., 200 F.3d 154, 160 (3d Cir.1999). Once at issue, it is the petitioner’s burden to establish “whether the totality of facts and circumstances support a finding of good faith.” Id. at 162 n. 10, 165. The “good faith” determination “is committed to the sound discretion of the bankruptcy or district court and will be reviewed for abuse of discretion.” Id. at 159.

3. Facts. Appellant Primestone is a Delaware limited partnership that was established for the purpose of acquiring, holding, exchanging, or otherwise disposing of limited partnership units (the “Prime Units”). Primestone currently owns 7,944,893 Prime Units, with such Prime Units being exchangeable on a one-for-one basis into common shares of beneficial interest in Prime Group Realty Trust (“PGE”), a Maryland real estate trust, the shares of which are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. PGE is the managing general partner of Prime Group Realty, L.P. (“PGRLP”), a Delaware limited liability partnership through which PGE conducts its business and holds substantially all of its assets. PGE and its affiliates own, manage, lease, develop, and redevelop, directly or indirectly, office and industrial real estate, primarily in the Chicago metropolitan area. The Chicago metropolitan portfolio currently consists of 27 office properties, containing an aggregate of approximately 10.6 million net rentable square feet and 30 industrial properties containing an aggregate of approximately 3.9 million net rentable square feet.

4. Appellee Vornado PS, L.L.C. (“Vor-nado”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vornado Realty, L.P., the operating partnership of Vornado Realty Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Pursuant to a Loan Agreement dated Sep *556 tember 26, 2000 (the “Vornado Loan Agreement”), Vornado loaned $62 million to Primestone (the “Vornado Loan”). The Vornado Loan was evidenced by a promissory note and was guaranteed by five affiliates of Pximestone (the “Guarantors”). To secure the Vornado Loan, Primestone pledged the Prime Units. The Vornado Loan Agreement provided for a payment of $2.1 million upon repayment of the principal and a maturity date of October 25, 2001.

5. At the time Vornado extended its loan to Primestone, Primestone was indebted to P-B Finance Ltd. (“P-B Finance”), an affiliate of Prudential Securities Group, Inc., for the principal amount of $40 milhon (the “Prudential Loan”; together with the Vornado Loan, the “Loans”). The Prudential Loan also was secured by the Prime Units and was senior to the Vornado Loan. When the Vornado ■Loan was made, P-B Finance and Vornado entered into, inter alia, an Intercreditor Agreement dated as of September 26, 2000 (the “Intercreditor Agreement”), in order to establish the relative rights of P-B Finance and Vornado as between one another. The maturity of the Prudential Loan originally was September 25, 2001, but was extended by P-B Finance until the earliest of (1) November 30, 2001, (2) repayment of the Vornado Loan, or (3) a change in control of, inter alia, Primestone. Under the Intercreditor Agreement, Vornado’s consent was required for this extension, and Vornado provided its consent in a Consent and Agreement, dated October 26, 2001.

6. On October 25 2001, payment of the Vornado Loan was demanded. Prime-stone failed to pay. Vornado contends that this constituted an event of default under the Vornado Loan Agreement and a default under cross-default provisions of the Prudential Loan Agreement. In addition, the Prudential Loan Agreement provided that P-B Finance could require Primestone to furnish additional collateral if the trading price of the shares into which the Prime Units are exchangeable fell below $14.50. On October 26, 2001, after the New York Stock Exchange trading price of the shares closed at $9.85, P-B Finance delivered a notice requiring Primestone to provide additional collateral. Primestone failed to meet the margin call, and this event matured on October 30, 2001 into a second alleged default under the Prudential Loan Agreement, which in turn constituted a second alleged event of default, under the cross-default provisions of the Vornado Loan Agreement.

7. Because the Prudential Loan was senior to Vomado’s, Vornado was required to obtain the consent of P-B Finance or purchase the Prudential Loan before enforcing its rights as a secured creditor. P-B Finance did not give its consent, and on October 31, 2001, Vornado purchased the Prudential Loan for $37,978,479.97. On November 29, 2001, an affiliate of Cad-im Inc. (“Cadim”) purchased a 50 percent participation interest in the principal due under the Loan Agreements, plus interest accrued subsequent to the date of the purchase, for $49,989,240.

8. By a letter dated October 31, 2001, Vornado gave notice to Primestone and the Guarantors that it intended to dispose of the Prime Units at a public auction scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on November 20, 2001. Vornado retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“Goldman Sachs”) and a licensed auditor to assist it in the auction. Goldman Sachs contacted and distributed information to potentially qualified purchasers of the Prime Units. Notices publicizing the auction appeared in The New York Times and in The Chicago Tribune.

9. In response to Vornado’s actions, Primestone denied that there were any defaults, both in letters to Vornado and in *557 public filings. Primestone’s principal, Michael Reschke, objected to Vornado’s auction process as “commercially unreasonable” and proposed an additional nine-week process (including “management roadshows” and property tours) culminating in a multi-round “private” auction. In documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2001, Mr. Reschke indicated that Prime-stone would contest the defaults and the foreclosure sale and would “pursue such legal procedures or proceedings as [Prime-stone] may deem appropriate.”

10. Vornado commenced litigation against Primestone in the Delaware Court of Chancery on the morning of November 19, 2001.

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Bluebook (online)
272 B.R. 554, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1511, 2002 WL 126397, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/primestone-investment-partners-lp-v-vornado-ps-llc-in-re-primestone-ded-2002.