Royal T Energy, LLC v. ENGS Commercial Fin. Co. (In re Royal T Energy, LLC)

596 B.R. 525
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedJanuary 18, 2019
DocketCASE NO: 17-42386; ADVERSARY NO. 18-04004
StatusPublished

This text of 596 B.R. 525 (Royal T Energy, LLC v. ENGS Commercial Fin. Co. (In re Royal T Energy, LLC)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Royal T Energy, LLC v. ENGS Commercial Fin. Co. (In re Royal T Energy, LLC), 596 B.R. 525 (Tex. 2019).

Opinion

HONORABLE BRENDA T. RHOADES, UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE

This adversary proceeding is before the Court on a motion for summary judgment filed by the defendant, ENGS Commercial Finance Co. ("ENGS"), as well as its brief in support of its motion. The debtor, Royal T. Entergy, LLC, opposes the motion. The Court exercises its core jurisdiction over this matter, see 28 U.S.C. §§ 157(b)(2)(A), (O) and 1334, and makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c) ; FED. R. BANKR. P. 7056. The party seeking summary judgment always bears the initial responsibility of informing the court of the basis for its motion. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). As a movant, a party asserting that a fact cannot be genuinely disputed must support that assertion by:

(A) citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials; or
(B) showing that the materials cited do not establish the ... presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.

FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c).

The way the necessary summary judgment showing can be made depends upon which party will bear the burden of persuasion at trial. If, as in this instance, the burden of persuasion rests on the non-moving party, "the party moving for summary judgment may satisfy Rule 56's burden of production in either of two ways. First, the moving party may submit affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of the nonmoving party's claim. Second, the moving party may demonstrate to the Court that the nonmoving party's evidence is insufficient to establish an essential element of the nonmoving party's claim." Celotex , 477 U.S. at 322-323, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ) (internal citations omitted).

In this case, the parties have essentially stipulated that there is no factual dispute in need of resolution and have presented opposing arguments based upon application of appropriate law. For cases in which the unresolved issues are primarily legal rather than factual, summary judgment is particularly appropriate. Mansker v. TMG Life Ins. Co., 54 F.3d 1322, 1326 (8th Cir. 1995) ; Thompson Everett, Inc. v. National Cable Advertising, L.P., 57 F.3d 1317, 1323 (4th Cir. 1995) ("A federal court may resolve the legal questions between the parties as a matter of law and enter judgment accordingly."). ENG's motion *528and the debtor's response set forth the following body of uncontested facts.

UNCONTESTED FACTS

On November 14, 2013, the debtor entered into a Commercial Lease Agreement (the "Lease") with ENGS for the lease of a 2011 Kenworth T800 with Cobra Truck-Mounted Hot Oil United (the "Equipment"). ENGS is the owner of the Equipment and filed a UCC-1 covering the Equipment. Additionally, the Texas Certificate of Title shows that ENGS is the owner of the Equipment.

The Lease required the debtor to make a one-time advance payment to ENGS in the amount of $ 100,000.00. In addition, the Lease required the debtor to make monthly rental payments of $ 9,520.74 to ENGS for a period of forty months. The Equipment has a useful life of approximately 20 years.

Paragraph 2 of the Lease provides that the debtor may not cancel the Lease during its term for any reason, including equipment failure, loss or damage. Any request for cancellation or early termination is at ENGS's sole discretion. Paragraph 9 of the Lease, titled "END of Lease Events," provides that upon expiration of the Lease, the debtor can terminate the Lease with no additional obligations or, alternatively, the debtor can purchase the Equipment by choosing one of four opinions: (1) the "Fair Market Value" option; (2) the "Stated Purchase" option; (3) the "Payment Upon Termination" option; or (4) the "TRAC Lease" option.

As one of the attachments of the Lease, the debtor and ENGS entered into a terminal rental adjustment clause ("TRAC") rider arrangement. Pursuant to the TRAC, the "Estimated Fair Market Value" at the time the Lease expires is $ 74,300.00. The TRAC provides that it is anticipated that the Equipment will be sold on the open market to a third party upon the expiration of the initial term of the Lease. If the Equipment is sold for less than the Estimated Fair Market Value, the deficiency shall be paid by the debtor to ENGS. If the Equipment is sold for more than the Estimated Fair Market Value, ENGS shall pay the surplus to the debtor.

Paragraph 2 of the TRAC, titled "CONDITIONS FOR RETURNED VEHICLES," provides that if, at the expiration of the Lease or an earlier termination, the debtor returns the Equipment to ENGS, the debtor shall ensure that all operating components will be able to perform their originally intended operating function. Any vehicle returned with "Normal Wear and Tear" will be accepted with no additional charges owing. However, for vehicles returned in a condition beyond "Normal Wear and Tear," additional charges will be calculated based on paragraph 2 of the TRAC.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
596 B.R. 525, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/royal-t-energy-llc-v-engs-commercial-fin-co-in-re-royal-t-energy-llc-txeb-2019.