Woods v. Pine Mountain, Ltd. (In Re Pine Mountain, Ltd.)

80 B.R. 171, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 2046, 1987 WL 20957
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedOctober 14, 1987
DocketBAP No. CC 87-1278 JMoV, Bankruptcy No. LA 85-08786 GM
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 80 B.R. 171 (Woods v. Pine Mountain, Ltd. (In Re Pine Mountain, Ltd.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Woods v. Pine Mountain, Ltd. (In Re Pine Mountain, Ltd.), 80 B.R. 171, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 2046, 1987 WL 20957 (bap9 1987).

Opinion

OPINION

JONES, Bankruptcy Judge:

FACTS

The debtor, Pine Mountain, Ltd. (“PML”), filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on June 26, 1985. The debtor’s principal asset is real property in Tuolomne County, California (“subject property”).

The appellants, Bill and Patsy Woods (“Woods”), are prior owners of the subject property. They sold the property to Eugene and Jo Wagner (“Wagners”) taking back a first deed of trust on the property securing a promissory note with a principal balance of approximately $244,000 (“Woods Note”). The Woods Note became due and payable by its terms on May 22, 1986. The Wagners subsequently, sold the property to the debtor, subject to the Woods Note and deed of trust, taking back a note (“Wagner Note”) secured by a second deed of trust on the subject property.

Both the Woods Note and the Wagner Note state “ALL INCLUSIVE DEED OF TRUST securing this note contains a SUBORDINATION CLAUSE and a RELEASE CLAUSE”. Both deeds of trust provide:

“BENEFICIARY agrees that if Trustor be not in default under the terms of this deed of trust or note secured hereby, Beneficiary shall subordinate this deed of trust to the lien of a deed of trust securing a construction loan from any institutional lender.”

On or about November 12, 1986, PML filed a disclosure statement and a plan of reorganization. The disclosure statement was approved on February 2, 1987. The Woods and the Wagners objected to the plan and, after a hearing on February 24, 1987, PML amended the plan. After a hearing on March 9, 1987, the court confirmed PML’s amended plan. The Woods, but not the Wagners, appealed.

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

1. Whether the trial court erred by striking Mr. Wagner’s testimony about his intent regarding the subordination clause.

2. Whether the trial court erred in confirming the amended PML plan.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Questions of fact will not be reversed on appeal unless found to be clearly erroneous. Bankr.Rule 8013. Questions of law, however, are reviewable de novo. See In re American Mariner Ind., Inc., 734 F.2d 426, 429 (9th Cir.1984). Whether a reorganization plan is feasible is a question of fact, which is subject to the clearly erroneous standard. See In re Pizza of Hawaii, Inc., 761 F.2d 1374, 1377 (9th Cir.1985). Whether a plan provides a secured creditor with the indubitable equivalent of its claim is, in our view, a mixed question of law and fact. Although the facts underlying such a determination are reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard, the question of whether the legal standard has been satisfied is reviewed de novo. See United States v. McConney, 728 F.2d 1195, 1201-03 (9th Cir.1984) (en banc). An order approving a reorganization plan is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. See Citibank, N.A. v. Baer, 651 F.2d 1341 (10th Cir.1980); In re Penn Central Transp. Co., 596 F.2d 1127 (3rd Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 834, 100 S.Ct. 67, 62 L.Ed.2d 44 (1980).

*173 DISCUSSION

1. Exclusion of Parol Evidence

The Woods first argue that the trial court erred by striking testimony by Mr. Wagner about his intent regarding the subordination clause. The Woods’ attorney had elicited the testimony arguing that the subordination clause was ambiguous because it did not contain a limitation on the amount of the construction loan. The court struck the testimony on the ground that the subordination clause was not ambiguous and the testimony was therefore irrelevant.

We reject this argument for three reasons. First, the issue is not properly before the Panel. Bankruptcy Rule 8006 requires that the appellant, within ten days after filing the notice of appeal, serve on the appellee a statement of issues to be presented. The issue of the exclusion of the parol evidence was not included in the Woods’ statement of issues and no amended statement was ever filed or served. Accordingly, the Woods have waived the issue of the exclusion of the Wagner testimony.

Second, assuming this issue is before us, the exclusion of the testimony was proper. Parol evidence is admissible only to explain a contractual term where the term is ambiguous. See In re California Pump & Mfg. Co., 588 F.2d 717, 720 (9th Cir.1978). The Woods argue that the subordination clause is ambiguous because it does not contain a limit on the amount of the construction loan. We disagree. The subordination clause states that the Woods' lien will be subordinated to a subsequently obtained construction loan from an institutional lender. The absence of a specific limit for the construction loan does not make the subordination clause ambiguous.

Third, even if the trial court erred by striking Mr. Wagner’s testimony, the error was harmless and reversal is unnecessary. See Burgess v. Premier Corp., 727 F.2d 826, 836 (9th Cir.1984) (harmless error does not justify reversal). Mr. Wagner testified that he had neither a general nor a specific lien amount in mind for the subordination clause. “It was supposedly [sic] to be a lien for whatever the construction costs of the development would be. I had no idea what they would be.” This testimony indicates that there was no agreement on a maximum amount for the construction loan. Therefore, Mr. Wagner’s testimony could not clear up the alleged ambiguity about the amount.

2. Plan Confirmation

Because the Woods and the Wagners objected to the plan, PML sought confirmation under the cram down provisions of Bankruptcy Code section 1129(b). Section 1129(b) requires the plan to satisfy all the requirements of section 1129(a) except that an impaired class of creditors need not have accepted the plan. In addition, the plan must not discriminate unfairly and it must be fair and equitable with respect to the impaired creditor who objects to the plan. 11 U.S.C. section 1129(b)(1). In order to be fair and equitable with respect to a class of secured claims, the plan must satisfy one of three requirements:

(i)(I) that the holders of such claims retain the liens securing such claims, whether the property subject to such liens is retained by the debtor or transferred to another entity, to the extent of the allowed amount of such claims; and

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
80 B.R. 171, 1987 Bankr. LEXIS 2046, 1987 WL 20957, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/woods-v-pine-mountain-ltd-in-re-pine-mountain-ltd-bap9-1987.