Troy Savings Bank v. Travelers Motor Inn, Inc.

215 B.R. 485, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19890, 1997 WL 769277
District Court, N.D. New York·Decided December 1, 1997·No. 5:95-cr-00084·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER

SCULLIN, District Judge.

Introduction

Appellant, Troy Savings Bank, appeals the Order of Confirmation issued by Bankruptcy Judge Utschig confirming the Chapter 11 reorganization plan of the Debtor-Appellees, *488 three motels joined in bankruptcy. 1 The Appellant raises eight grounds for appeal and requests the Court to vacate the Order of Confirmation due to multiple errors of law by the bankruptcy court.

Background

The Debtor Corporations filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13,1993. The principal creditor for all three motels is the Appellant, Troy Savings Bank, which holds mortgages on the three motel properties.

On October 5, 1994, the bankruptcy court held a hearing to determine the appropriate valuation of the three properties. The court heard expert testimony presented by both the Debtors and the Appellant as to the valuation of the properties utilizing the “capitalization of income” approach to valuation. Additionally, the Appellant presented a witness from Motel 6, Inc., who purported to offer $1,850,000 on the spot for the Platts-burgh property. At the close of the hearing, Bankruptcy Judge Schmerber issued an order valuing the properties at $1,308,331 for the Plattsburgh motel, $2,222,063 for the Albany motel, and $2,051,800 for the Syracuse motel.

During the reorganization proceedings, the Debtors and the Appellant proposed competing reorganization plans. The Debtors’ plan grouped the unsecured creditors into three classes: (1) the unsecured deficiency claim on each of the three mortgages; (2) unsecured claims over $250; and (3) unsecured claims under $250. The Appellant’s competing plan contained only two classes of unsecured claims, those over $250 and those under $250. The creditors rejected the Appellant’s plan.

Prior to voting on confirmation of the Debtors’ proposed plan, an entity named LS Acquisition Co. purchased many of the unsecured creditor claims. LS Acquisition is owned by a personal friend of Mr. Camevale, who is the principal owner of the Debtor Corporations. The Debtors’ plan was initially rejected due to the Appellant’s opposition. The plan, however, was confirmed utilizing the “cram down” provision of the Bankruptcy Code. At the confirmation hearing, Bankruptcy Judge Thomas S. Utschig ruled on the various objections to confirmation by the Appellant, and confirmed the plan as modified. In the Appellant’s closing remarks at the end of the confirmation hearing, the Appellant requested a stay of the confirmation order for two weeks in order to prepare a § 1111(b) election. The Bankruptcy Judge denied this request as untimely.

Thereafter, on May 16, 1995, the Bankruptcy Court issued an Order of Confirmation approving the Debtors’ reorganization plan. This appeal followed.

Discussion

The Appellant raises eight grounds for appeal. Specifically, the Appellant argues that the bankruptcy court erred by: (1) allowing the Debtors’ plan to contain three classes of unsecured claims which was devised for the sole purpose of defeating the Appellant’s opposition to the plan; (2) ordering confirmation even though the Debtors violated Bankruptcy Rule 3001(e); (3) ordering confirmation when there was no valid impaired class accepting the “cram down;” (4) not requiring the Debtor to pay accumulated motel revenues to the Appellant upon confirmation as a value equivalent to the Appellant’s perfected security interest in “rents and profits;” (5) not permitting the Appellant to make a § 1111(b) election; (6) ordering confirmation even though the Debtors violated Local Bankruptcy Rule 320(e); (7) valuing the Plattsburgh motel property too low; and (8) confirming a plan that violated the absolute priority rule.

The standard of review for bankruptcy appeals is set forth in Bankruptcy Rule 8013, which provides, inter alia, that findings of fact “shall not be set aside unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the bankruptcy court to judge the credibility of witnesses.” Fed. R.BankrJP. 8013. A finding is only clearly erroneous when “although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the *489 entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” United States v. Mitchell, 966 F.2d 92, 98 (2d Cir.1992). Additionally, a bankruptcy court’s legal conclusions are subject to a de novo review by the reviewing court. See In re Maxwell Newspapers, Inc., 981 F.2d 85, 89 (2d Cir.1992). Pursuant to this standard of review, the Court will review each of the Appellant’s specific grounds for appeal seriatim.

I. IMPROPER CLASSIFICATION OF CLAIMS

Appellant argues that the bankruptcy court erred by approving the Debtors’ classification scheme for unsecured creditors in their reorganization plan. The plan, as confirmed, had three classes of unsecured creditors: (1) Appellant’s unsecured deficiency claims as to each of the motels;. (2) general unsecured creditors with claims over $250; and (8) general unsecured creditors with claims under $250. The Appellant argues that all unsecured creditors should have been classified as one class. If they had, the Appellant argues that the Debtors would not have been able to effect the “cram down” of their reorganization plan on the Appellant pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1129(b) (providing that a plan may be confirmed over the objection of a class of creditors as long as one impaired class votes to accept the plan). Appellant argues that the unsecured classes in the Debtors’ reorganization plan were “gerrymandered” to defeat its opposition to the plan. Appellant further argues that Second Circuit precedent provides that a mortgagee’s unsecured deficiency claim cannot be put into a separate class so that other unsecured creditors can approve a “cram down.” See In re Boston Post Road Ltd. Partnership, 21 F.3d 477 (2d Cir.1994). Additionally, the Appellant argues that the Debtor provided no credible reason for the separate classification scheme as it existed in their reorganization scheme. As such, the Appellant concludes that the bankruptcy court’s confirmation of such a reorganization plan was in error.

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Troy Savings Bank v. Travelers Motor Inn, Inc., 215 B.R. 485, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19890, 1997 WL 769277 (N.D.N.Y. 1997).

215 B.R. 485 (Troy Savings Bank v. Travelers Motor Inn, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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