TP, Inc. v. Bank of America, N.A. (In re TP, Inc.)

479 B.R. 373, 2012 WL 4471539, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 4467
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedSeptember 26, 2012
DocketBankruptcy No. 10-01594-8-SWH; Adversary No. 11-00112-8-SWH
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 479 B.R. 373 (TP, Inc. v. Bank of America, N.A. (In re TP, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TP, Inc. v. Bank of America, N.A. (In re TP, Inc.), 479 B.R. 373, 2012 WL 4471539, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 4467 (N.C. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTING IN PART MOTION TO STAY

STEPHANIW. HUMRICKHOUSE, Bankruptcy Judge.

The matter before the court is the Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, to Stay Based on Arbitration Agreement filed by defendants Bank of America, N.A. (“BOA”) and Jonathan P. Joyner (“Joyner”). A hearing was held in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 5, 2012.

BACKGROUND

On or about January 10, 2003, TP entered into a Master Loan Agreement and a Promissory Note with BOA, secured by a deed of trust and security agreement. The Master Loan Agreement and Promissory Note contain arbitration clauses. The [377]*377loan was extended and increased through TP’s execution of loan extension agreements, loan modification agreements, and amendments to the deed of trust and security agreement. No modifications have been made to the arbitration clauses. Joyner was a senior vice president of BOA who, beginning in 2002, worked with TP regarding its loans with the bank.

On July 7, 2009, BOA filed a complaint against TP, the Bryants (owners of TP and guarantors of its debt to BOA) and HP, Inc. (a company owned by Ronald Bryant) in Pender County Superior Court for breach of the Promissory Note. It obtained ex parte orders of attachment against TP and the Bryants and issued various notices of garnishment to TP’s creditors and business associates ancillary to the action on the note. On August 10, 2009, the defendants filed a pro se answer and counterclaims against BOA for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. On September 28, 2009, BOA filed a motion to dismiss the counterclaims, which was heard before the Superi- or Court on October 5, 2009. The parties presented the court with a consent order that was entered by the court on October 8, 2009, dismissing TP, HP, and the Bryants’ counterclaims without prejudice. The consent order recognized that the counterclaims were submitted pro se, that the defendants had since retained counsel, and that the defendants intended to later seek leave of court to amend their pleadings. The counterclaims were never resubmitted or amended.

On March 1, 2010, TP filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, which stayed the Pen-der County action as against it, leaving only a proceeding against the Bryants and HP. On September 23, 2010, BOA filed a motion for summary judgment against the non-debtor defendants. On October 7, 2010, the court entered summary judgment against the Bryants as guarantors of the TP debt and against HP in the amount of $24,739,548.88.

On March 31, 2011, TP initiated the present adversary proceeding against BOA and Joyner. On May 4, 2011, BOA filed a motion to dismiss, or in the alternative, to stay the adversary proceeding based upon the arbitration provisions in the loan documents. BOA asserts its right to arbitration, arguing that TP’s claims are covered by the arbitration agreement, are mostly non-core claims, and therefore the bankruptcy court should stay the action in favor of arbitration pursuant to Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act. On May 25, 2011, TP responded to BOA’s motion contending that BOA has waived its right to arbitrate and that compelling arbitration would substantially prejudice it.

Upon the joint request of the parties, on June 21, 2011, the court entered a Consent Order Regarding Mediation and Continuance of Hearing in which mediation was ordered and the hearing on BOA’s motion to dismiss was continued. Ultimately, the mediation failed. In the meantime, the Supreme Court decided Stern v. Marshall, — U.S. —, 131 S.Ct. 2594, 180 L.Ed.2d 475 (2011). A status conference was held on March 19, 2012, during which the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision was discussed and a briefing schedule was set. Supplemental memoranda of law were filed by BOA on April 13, 2012 and May 31, 2012, and by TP on April 13, 2012, April 20, 2012 and May 30, 2012.

DISCUSSION

Two threshold issues are presented to the court: 1) does the arbitration provision cover the types of causes of action asserted by TP; and 2) has BOA waived the arbitration clause? Only after those issues have been resolved, can the court consider BOA’s request to compel arbitration in lieu [378]*378of bankruptcy court determination of the adversary proceeding.

The Scope of the Arbitration Provisions

The arbitration provision at issue is found in the Master Loan Agreement and provides as follows:

Any controversy or claim between or among the parties hereto including but not limited to those arising out of or relating to this Loan Agreement or any related agreements or instruments, including any claim based on or arising from an alleged tort, shall be determined by binding arbitration in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act

Master Loan Agreement, ¶ 10.12. Federal courts view a motion to compel arbitration in light of the strong federal and state policy favoring arbitration. See e.g., Patten Grading & Paving, Inc. v. Skanska USA Bldg., Inc., 380 F.3d 200, 204 (4th Cir.2004). The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) establishes that “as a matter of federal law, any doubts concerning the scope of arbitrable issues should be resolved in favor of arbitration, whether the problem at hand is the construction of the contract language itself or an allegation of waiver, delay, or a like defense to arbitra-bility.” Moses H. Cone Mem’l Hosp. v. Mercury Constr. Corp., 460 U.S. 1, 24-25, 103 S.Ct. 927, 74 L.Ed.2d 765 (1983) (emphasis added).

The adversary proceeding sets forth twelve causes of action:1 1) constructive fraud; 2) fraud; 3) fraud in the inducement; 4) rescission; 5) breach of fiduciary duty; 6) negligence; 7) negligent misrepresentation; 8) tortious interference with contractual relationships and business opportunities; 9) breach of contract/implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; 10) unfair and deceptive trade practices; 11) alter ego/insider liability; and 12) equitable subordination/recharacterization.

The arbitration clause purports to cover any dispute between the parties, even those unrelated to the loan relationship. The language is broad and all encompassing, and in accordance with the majority of courts who have evaluated the scope of such provisions, the court finds that all of the causes of action asserted by the debtor are covered by the arbitration provisions. See, e.g., Cara’s Notions v. Hallmark Cards, Inc., 140 F.3d 566, 569 (4th Cir.1998) (finding that an “extremely broad arbitration clause,” which called for arbitration of “[a]ny controversy or claim arising out of or relating to ... any aspects of the relationship,” covered all conflicts between the parties); Levin v. Alms and Assocs., Inc., 634 F.3d 260, 267 (4th Cir.2011) (holding, in light of the presumption in favor of arbitrability, that broad language referring to “[a]ny dispute” encompassed any disputes between the parties, past or present); Wachovia Bank v. Schmidt, 445 F.3d 762 (4th Cir.2006) (holding that an arbitration clause encompassing all disputes under a contract covers any dispute between the parties that has a significant relationship to the contract).

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Bluebook (online)
479 B.R. 373, 2012 WL 4471539, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 4467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tp-inc-v-bank-of-america-na-in-re-tp-inc-nceb-2012.