WorldClass Processing, Inc. v. AT & T Capital Corp. (In re WorldClass Processing, Inc.)

346 B.R. 132, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 1338, 46 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 214
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 13, 2006
DocketBankruptcy No. 98-29986-JKF; Adversary No. 00-2672-JKF
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 346 B.R. 132 (WorldClass Processing, Inc. v. AT & T Capital Corp. (In re WorldClass Processing, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
WorldClass Processing, Inc. v. AT & T Capital Corp. (In re WorldClass Processing, Inc.), 346 B.R. 132, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 1338, 46 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 214 (Pa. 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION1

JUDITH K. FITZGERALD, Bankruptcy Judge.

This court issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order dated February 10, 2005, Adv. Dkt. No. 91, denying a motion for summary judgment filed on behalf of Plaintiff-Debtor WorldClass Processing, Inc. (‘WorldClass”), and granting with prejudice Defendant CIT’s2 motion to dis[135]*135miss the amended complaint. See In re Worldclass Processing, Inc., 323 B.R. 164 (Bankr.W.D.Pa.2005). The parties’ dispute arose out of events related to a loan transaction involving WorldClass and CIT. Our February 10, 2005, decision (1) dismissed claims based on events occurring before and after November 7, 1995, based on a prior state court order and (2) dismissed WorldClass’s objection to CIT’s proof of claim. See Adv. No. 00-2672, Dkt. No. 6 at Exhibit E, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Decree Nisi filed on behalf of the Honorable Joseph M. James, Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Civil Division No. G.D. 95-18718, dated April 21, 1998 (hereafter “Judge James’ Opinion, Exh. E”).

The District Court remanded on the basis that we did not (1) “explicitly identify the standard of review or burdens applied to” the matter before us or (2) set forth elements or law defining the causes of action or applicable preclusion principles. We therefore address the District Court’s concerns.

In April of 2003, WorldClass filed a motion for summary judgment with respect to Count VIII of its amended complaint. Adv. Dkt. No. 73. That count was an objection to CIT’s proof of claim and asserted that CIT’s inaction and misrepresentation described in the other counts was inequitable and so its indemnification claims were unenforceable, unreasonable and contrary to agreements between CIT and WorldClass. It further asserted that CIT’s claims for postpetition interest and indemnification were not sums certain and that amounts CIT had received under the debtor-in-possession facility were not reflected in its claim. A hearing was held on the motion for summary judgment on July 11, 2003,3 and this court issued its Memorandum Opinion and Order which is the subject of the remand from the District Court on February 10, 2005, Adv. Dkt. No. 91.4

The standard the court applies is this: a motion for summary judgment shall be granted if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law when the facts are viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.5 Fed.R.Bankr.P. 7056, Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). See also Koenig v. Automatic Data Processing, 2005 WL 2891740 *4 (3d Cir., Nov.3, 2005). On a motion to dismiss, if matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the matter is treated as motion for summary judgment. Brown v. Brock, 169 Fed.Appx. 579, 581 (11th Cir.2006). In that instance, parties have the opportunity to present material pertinent to the motion. Id. In this case, the parties [136]*136are relying on the proceedings in the Court of Common Pleas and had the opportunity to present material. See infra. Cf. Shenango, Inc. v. Apfel, 307 F.3d 174, 185, n. 6 (3d Cir.2002), cert. denied sub nom. Shenango, Inc. v. Barnhart, 539 U.S. 958, 123 S.Ct. 2641, 156 L.Ed.2d 656 (2003)(when parties themselves submit documents outside the pleadings, the appropriate standard of review is that for a motion for summary judgment).

The parties do not dispute the material facts, rather the interpretation and legal effect thereof. Thus, the matter is ripe for summary adjudication. The motion for summary judgment asserted that CIT received more payments during the bankruptcy case than it was entitled to inasmuch as it was undersecured prepetition. Our prior opinion pointed out that, under the confirmed chapter 11 plan, CIT was to be paid in full and, although World-Class asserted in its motion that CIT was undersecured on the petition date, all evidence was to the contrary. 323 B.R. at 168. The fact that CIT was not underse-cured was the basis for the chapter 11 plan provisions providing for full payment of CIT’s claims and for the Financing Order of February 11, 1999, entered in the main bankruptcy case at Docket No. 115,6 both of which were proposed and prosecuted by WorldClass. WorldClass’s assertion is contrary to its entire prosecution of the bankruptcy case and, at this late date, is both estopped and without evidentiary support. The plan as advocated by World-Class is confirmed. It was accepted by the creditors of WorldClass and approved by this court. It provided for payment in full to CIT and that provision, a linchpin of the plan, was relied on by the creditors when considering whether or not to accept the plan. The plan confirmation order is final and binding. 11 U.S.C. § 1141. The confirmation order is res judicata. See, e.g., New Jersey Dept. of Treasury v. Visara Intern., Inc., 166 Fed.Appx. 639, 641 (3d Cir.2006)(res judicata applied in the bankruptcy context means that a confirmed plan binds every entity that holds a claim or interest and precludes parties from raising claims or issues that could or should have been raised prior to confirmation); In re Crown Vantage, Inc., 421 F.3d 963, 972 (9th Cir.2005)(a confirmed “plan operates as a final judgment with res judi-cata effect”); 11 U.S.C. § 1141 (regarding effect of confirmed chapter 11 plan). WorldClass cannot now change its strategy and advocate the exact opposite position from that which it successfully asserted in, and used to gain confirmation of, its confirmed plan. See note 12 and accompanying text, infra. See also In re Battram, 31 Fed.Appx. 488, 489 (9th Cir.2002)(“[a] confirmed plan ‘is binding on all parties[,] and all questions that could have been raised pertaining to [it] are entitled to res judicata effect’ ”) (citations omitted).

In our prior opinion we also noted that WorldClass, without ever having commenced an action under 11 U.S.C. § 547, asserted a preference cause of action under that section in its motion for summary judgment which we rejected for various reasons that were stated in that opinion. See 323 B.R. at 170-71. In brief, Rule 7001 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure requires that a preference action, which is a request for [137]*137affirmative relief with its own elements, be commenced by an adversary complaint. It cannot be raised and addressed in a motion for summary judgment or an objection to claim.

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Bluebook (online)
346 B.R. 132, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 1338, 46 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/worldclass-processing-inc-v-at-t-capital-corp-in-re-worldclass-pawb-2006.