Lender Liability and Equitable Subordination

American Bankruptcy Institute
18TH ANNUAL SOUTHWEST BANKRUPTCY CONFERENCE

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
BREAKING THE BANK: LENDER LIABILITY AND EQUITABLE SUBORDINATION
A PANEL PRESENTATION BY: Martin R. Barash Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP Scott F. Gautier Peitzman, Weg & Kempinsky LLP Stephen J. King Bank of America Business Capital Geoffrey A. Richards William Blair & Company
*Attached written materials provided by Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP
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18th AnnuAl SouthweSt BAnkruptcy conference

A Review Of Lender Liability Principles Prior To TOUSA and Yellowstone Developments in Lender Liability: Four Causes of Action, a Theory of Damages, and a Defense Materials Prepared By: Prof. Kenneth N. Klee And Matthew C. Heyn 1
2007, All Rights Reserved. Prof. Klee is a partner with Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LL P and a Professor at the UCLA School of Law. Mr. Heyn is an attorney with Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP. Laine Z. Mervis and Brent C. Butler contributed to previous versions of these materials. The views experessed herein reflect solely those of the essay authors and do not represent the views of the UCLA School of Law or Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP, or any of their respective clients or members.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS I. II. OVERVIEW. ................................................................................................ 1 EQUITABLE SUBORDINATION ................................................................. 1 A. B. C. III. Basics ................................................................................................ 1 Supreme Court Requires Specific Findings for Subordination .......... 4 Transferee Liability for Bad Acts of Transferor .................................. 9
RECHARACTERIZATION. ........................................................................ 10 A. B. Recharacterization of a Loan as an Equity Contribution ................. 11 Recharacterization of a Sales Transaction as Secured Loan ......... 16 1. 2. 3. Intent of the Parties................................................................ 19 Language of Agreement. ....................................................... 20 Allocation of Risk and Benefits. ............................................. 20
IV.
AIDING AND ABETTING BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY. .................... 23 A. B. C. The Existence of a Fiduciary Duty and Breach of the Duty ............. 25 Knowing Participation in the Breach of the Fiduciary Duty.............. 26 Causation and Damages ................................................................. 29
V.
DEEPENING INSOLVENCY. .................................................................... 30 A. B. The Development of an Independent Cause of Action.................... 32 Deepening Insolvency as a Theory of Damages............................. 36
VI.
IN PARI DELICTO DEFENSE. ................................................................. 37 A. B. C. The Adverese Interest Exception .................................................... 39 The Innocent Decision Maker Exception....................................... 40 The Successor in Interest Exception ............................................... 42
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES FEDERAL CASES In re 80 Nassau Assocs., 169 B.R. 834 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1994)........................................................... 2, 5 Aaron Ferer & Sons Ltd. v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 731 F.2d 112 (2d Cir. 1984) ........................................................................... 23 Abbott v. Equity Group, Inc., 2 F.3d 613 (5th Cir. 1993)............................................................................... 29 Adena, Inc. v. Cohn, 162 F. Supp. 2d 351 (E.D. Pa. 2001) ............................................................. 25 Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Leahey Construction Co., 219 F.3d 519 (6th Cir. 2000) .......................................................................... 28 Akro Investicni Spolecnost v. A.B. Watley, No. 01 Civ. 7693 (LAP), 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3478 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 12, 2003)............................................................................................................... 42 Allard v. Arthur Andersen & Co., 924 F. Supp. 488 (S.D.N.Y. 1996)............................................................ 31, 37 In re Aluminum Mills Corp., 132 B.R. 869 (N.D. Ill. 1991) ............................................................................ 5 Am. United Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. City of Avon Park, 311 U.S. 138, 61 S. Ct. 157, 85 L. Ed. 91 (1940)............................................. 2 Anchor Resolution Corp. v. State Street Bank & Trust Co. (In re Anchor Resolution Corp.), 221 B.R. 330 (Bankr. D. Del. 1998) .................................................................. 6 Aquino v. Black (In re Atlantic Rancher, Inc.), 279 B.R. 411 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2002)....................................................... 12, 14 Bala v. Kaler (In re Racing Servs.), 340 B.R. 73 (8th Cir. B.A.P. 2006) ................................................................... 3
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Bankruptcy Servs. v. Ernst & Young, Ernst & Young, LLP (In re CBI Holding Co.), 247 B.R. 341 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2000)............................................................. 42 Bateman Eichler, Hill Richards, Inc. v. Berner, 472 U.S. 299, 105 S. Ct. 2622, 86 L. Ed. 2d 215 (1985)................................ 38 Bayer Corp. v. Mascotech, Inc. (In re Autostyle Plastics, Inc.), 269 F.3d 726 (6th Cir. 2001) ................................................................. 7, 8, 12, 14, 15 Bear v. Coben (In re Golden Plan of California, Inc.), 829 F.2d 705 (9th Cir. 1986) .......................................................................... 20 In re Beverages Int'l Ltd., 50 B.R. 273 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1988)................................................................. 3 Bondi v. Bank of America Corp. (In re Parmalat Securities Litigation), 383 F. Supp. 2d 587 (S.D.N.Y. 2005)............................................................. 25 Bookland v. Baker, Newman & Noyes, LLC, 271 F. Supp. 2d 324 (D. Me. 2003) .......................................................... 35, 37 Branch Banking & Trust Co. v. Lighthouse Fin., No. 04 CVS 1523, 2005 WL 1995410 (N.C. Super. Ct. July 13, 2005).......... 24 Breeden v. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, 268 B.R. 704 (S.D.N.Y. 2001) .................................................................. 41, 42 Burden v. United States, 917 F.2d 115 (3d Cir. 1990) ............................................................................. 5 In re CBI Holding Co., 311 B.R. 350 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) ........................................................................ 43 Cohen v. Adventist Health Sys./West (In re Diamond Benefits Life Ins. Co.), No. MDL 93-0972-PHX-RGS, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10074 (D. Ariz. March 10, 2006).............................................................................................. 29 CSC Holdings, Inc. v. Redisi, 309 F.3d 988 (7th Cir. 2002) .......................................................................... 14
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Capitol Bank. & Trust Co. v. 604 Columbus Avenue Realty Trust (In re 604 Columbus Avenue Realty Trust), 968 F.2d 1332 (1st Cir. 1992)........................................................................... 3 Carter-Waters Okla., Inc. v. Bank One Trust Co., N.A. (In re Eufala Indus. Auth.), 266 B.R. 483 (10th Cir. B.A.P. 2001) ............................................................... 4 Cenco Inc. v. Seidman & Seidman, 686 F.2d 449 (7th Cir. 1982) .......................................................................... 42 Chance World Trading v. Heritage Bank of Commerce, 438 F. Supp. 2d 1081 (N.D. Cal. 2005) .......................................................... 27 Citicorp Venture Capital, Ltd. v. Comm. of Creditors Holding Unsecured Claims (In re Papercraft Corp.), 324 F.3d 197 (3d Cir. 2003) ............................................................................. 4 Citicorp Venture Capital v. Comm. of Creditors Holding Unsecured Claims, 160 F.3d 982 (3d Cir. 1998) ............................................................................. 3 In re Citigroup, Inc. Sec. Litig., 330 F. Supp. 2d 367 (S.D.N.Y. 2004)............................................................. 28 In re Clamp-All Corp., 223 B.R. 198 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1999)............................................................... 2 Cohen v. KB Mezzanine Fund II, LP (In re SubMicron Sys. Corp.), 432 F.3d 448 (3d Cir. 2006) ............................................................................. 8 In re Cold Harbor Assocs., 204 B.R. 904 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 1997) ................................................. 11, 14, 16 Collins v. Kohlberg & Co. (In re Southwest Supermarkets, L.L.C.), 315 B.R. 565 (Bankr. D. Ariz. 2004) ............................................................... 32 Official Comm. of the Unsecured Creditors of Color Tile, Inc. v. Blackstone Family Inv. Pshp. (In re Color Tile), 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1303 (D. Del. Feb. 9, 2000)........................................ 16 In re Commercial Loan Corp., 316 B.R. 690 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2004) ............................................................... 19
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Commodity Futures Trading Corp. v. Sidoti, 178 F.3d 1132 (11th Cir. 1999) ...................................................................... 29 Conte v. US Alliance Fed. Credit Union, 303 F. Supp. 2d 220 (D. Conn. 2004) ............................................................ 23 In re County of Orange, 203 B.R. 983 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1996), affd sub nom., County of Orange v. McGraw-Hill Co. (In re County of Orange), 245 B.R. 138 (C.D. Cal. 1997)........................................................................ 25 Daniel Boone Area School Dist. v. Lehman Bros., Inc., 187 F. Supp. 2d 400 (W.D. Pa. 2002) ............................................................ 25 Enron Corp. v. Avenue Special Situations Fund II, LP (In re Enron Corp.), 333 B.R. 205 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2005)..................................................... 4, 9, 10 Enron Corp. v. New Power Co. (In re New Power Co.), 438 F.3d 1113 (11th Cir. 2006) ........................................................................ 7 In re Envid, Inc., 345 B.R. 426 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2006)............................................................. 35 In re Exide Techs., Inc., 299 B.R. 732 (Bankr. D. Del. 2003) .......................................................... 15, 32 FDIC v. First Interstate Bank of Des Moines, N.A., 885 F.2d 423 (8th Cir. 1989) .......................................................................... 28 FDIC v. Nathan, 804 F. Supp. 888 (S.D. Tex. 1992)................................................................. 39 FDIC v. O'Melveny & Myers, 61 F.3d 17 (9th Cir. 1995)............................................................................... 43 In re Fabricators, Inc., 926 F.2d 1458 (5th Cir. 1991) .......................................................................... 4 Fairchild Dornier GmbH v. Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors (In re Dornier Aviation (N. Am.), Inc.), 453 F.3d 225 (4th Cir. 2006) ........................................................................ 7, 8
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Fassett v. Delta Kappa Epsilon, 807 F.2d 1150 (3d Cir. 1986) ......................................................................... 27 Feltman v. Prudential Bache Sec., 122 B.R. 466 (S.D. Fla. 1990) ........................................................................ 31 Filler v. Hanvit Bank, No. 01 Civ. 9510 (MGC), 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15950 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 12, 2003)......................................................................................................... 29 Filler v. Hanvit Bank, 339 F. Supp. 2d 553 (S.D.N.Y. 2004)....................................................... 26, 28 Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. v. Grover (In re Woodson Co.), 813 F.2d 266 (9th Cir. 1987) .......................................................................... 20 In re First Truck Lines, Inc., 190 B.R. 827 (S.D. Ohio 1993)......................................................................... 5 Fla. Dep't of Ins. v. Chase Bank of Tex. Nat'l Ass'n, 274 F.3d 924 (5th Cir. 2001) .......................................................................... 36 In re Flagship Healthcare, (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2001) ................................................................................... 37 Flood v. Makowski, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16957, 2004 WL 1908221 (M.D. Pa. 2004) ............... 25 Ford v. Feldman (In re Florida Bay Trading Co.), 177 B.R. 374 (Bankr. D. Fla. 1994) .................................................................. 2 Glinka v. Dartmouth Banking Co. (In re Kelton Motors, Inc.), 121 B.R. 166 (Bankr. D. Vt. 1990) .................................................................... 5 In re Gouiran Holdings, Inc., 165 B.R. 104 (E.D.N.Y. 1994) ........................................................................ 31 Gouveia v. Tazbir, 37 F.3d 295 (7th Cir. 1994) ............................................................................ 13 Granite Partners, L.P. v. Bear, Stearns & Co., 17 F. Supp. 2d 275 (S.D.N.Y. 1998)............................................................... 38
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Grupo Mexicano De Desarrollo v. Alliance Bond Fund, 527 U.S. 308 (1999) ................................................................................. 13, 14 HBE Leasing Corp. v. Frank, 48 F.3d 623 (2d Cir. 1995) ............................................................................... 2 Hannover Corp. of Am. v. Beckner, 211 B.R. 849 (M.D. La. 1997)................................................................... 31, 37 Hashimoto v. Clark, 264 B.R. 585 (D. Ariz. 2001)........................................................................... 28 In re Hedged Investments Assocs., Inc., 380 F.3d 1292 (10th Cir. 2004) ............................................................ 8, 12, 16 In re Herby's Foods, Inc., 2 F.3d 128 (5th Cir. 1993)....................................................................... 3, 8, 12 Higgins v. McCrea, 116 U.S. 671, 6 S. Ct. 557, 29 L. Ed. 764 (1886)........................................... 38 Holman v. Johnson, 1 Cowp. 341, 343, 98 Eng. Rep. 1120, 1121 (K.B. 1775) .............................. 38 In re Hyperion Enters., 158 B.R. 555, 561 (D.R.I. 1993) ....................................................................... 8 In re IKON Office Solutions, Inc., 277 F.3d 658 (3d Cir. 2002) ........................................................................... 29 Internal Rev. Serv. v. Noland, 48 F.3d 210 (6th Cir. 1995) .............................................................................. 6 In re Investors Funding Corp. of N.Y. Sec. Litig., 523 F. Supp. 533 (S.D.N.Y. 1980)............................................................ 31, 39 Jaguar Cars, Inc. v. Royal Oaks Motor Car Co., 46 F.3d 258 (3d Cir. 1995) ............................................................................. 28 Javitch v. First Montauk Fin. Corp., 279 F. Supp. 2d 931 (N.D. Ohio 2003)........................................................... 28
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K & S Partnership v. Continental Bank, N.A., 952 F.2d 971 (8th Cir. 1991) .......................................................................... 25 Kaye v. Dupree (In re Avado Brands, Inc.), No. 05-3823, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS (Bankr. N.D. Tex. Dec. 28, 2006).............. 35 Kittay v. Atlantic Bank (In re Global Service Group LLC), 316 B.R. 451 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2004)....................................................... 33, 34 Kolbeck v. Lit America, Inc., 939 F. Supp. 240 (S.D.N.Y. 1996), aff'd, 152 F.3d 918 (2d Cir. 1998)..... 27, 29 In re LTV Steel Co., 274 B.R. 278 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 2001) ...................................................... 21-23 In re LTV Steel Co., 333 B.R. 397 (Bankr. D. Ohio 2005)............................................................... 32 In re Lane, 742 F.2d 1311 (11th Cir. 1984) ...................................................................... 16 Lehman Bros. Commer. Corp. v. Minmetals Int'l Non-Ferrous Metals Trading Co., 179 F. Supp. 2d 118 (S.D.N.Y. 2000)............................................................. 29 Levine v. Diamanthusel, Inc., 950 F.2d 1478 (9th Cir. 1991) ........................................................................ 28 Lichtenstein v. Stockton Bates, LLP (In re Computer Personalities Sys., Inc.), No. 01-14231, 2003 Bankr. LEXIS 1572 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. Nov. 18, 2003)............................................................................................................... 32 In re Lifschultz Fast Freight, 132 F.3d 339 (7th Cir. 1997) ........................................................................ 3, 7 Limor v. Buerger (In re Del-Met Corp.), 322 B.R. 781 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2005) ................................................... 32, 37 Lippe v. Bairnco Corp., 218 B.R. 294 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1998)............................................................. 41
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Logan v. JKV Real Estate (In re Bogdan), 414 F.3d 507 (4th Cir. 2005) .......................................................................... 45 Machinery Rental Inc. v. Herpel (In re Multiponics, Inc.), 622 F.2d 709 (5th Cir. 1980) ............................................................................ 4 In re Major Funding Corp., 82 B.R. 443 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 1987).............................................................. 21 Majors Furniture Mart, Inc. v. Castle Credit Corp., 602 F.2d 538 (3d Cir. 1979) ........................................................................... 20 Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. v. Yanakas, 7 F.3d 310 (2d Cir. 1993) ............................................................................... 23 Marrama v. Citizens Bank, ___U.S. ___, 127 S. Ct. 1105, __ L. Ed. 2d __ (2007).................................. 10 McNamara v. PFS (In re Personal & Bus. Ins. Agency), 334 F.3d 239 (3d Cir. 2003) ........................................................................... 44 Mediators, Inc. v. Manney (In re Mediators Inc.), 105 F.3d 822 (2d Cir. 1997) ........................................................................... 40 Merrimac Paper Co. v. Harrison (In re Merrimac Paper Co.), 420 F.3d 53 (1st Cir. 2005)............................................................................... 6 Meyers v. Moody, 475 F. Supp. 232 (N.D. Tex. 1979), affd, 693 F.2d 1196, 1214 (5th Cir. 1982)............................................................................................................... 30 In re Micro-Precision Techs., Inc., 303 B.R. 238 (Bankr. D. N.H. 2003) ............................................................... 15 In re Missionary Baptist Church Foundation of America, Inc., 818 F.2d 1135 (5th Cir. 1987) .......................................................................... 4 Estate of Mixon v. United States, 464 F.2d 394 (5th Cir. 1972) .......................................................................... 16 In re Mobile Steel Co., 563 F.2d 692 (5th Cir. 1977) ......................................................................... 2-5
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In re Monahan Ford Corp., 340 B.R. 1 (Bankr. E.D.N.Y. 2006) ................................................................. 36 Munroe v. Harriman, 85 F.2d 493 (2d Cir. 1936) ............................................................................. 40 In re N & D Properties, Inc., 799 F.2d 726 (11th Cir. 1986) .......................................................................... 4 Neilson v. Union Bank of Cal., N.A., 290 F. Supp. 2d 1101 (C.D. Cal. 2003) .............................................. 25, 27, 29 In re New Era Packaging, Inc., 186 B.R. 329 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1995)............................................................... 5 Norwest Bank Worthington v. Ahlers, 485 U.S. 197 (1988) ....................................................................................... 13 OMelveny & Myers v. FDIC, 512 U.S. 79, 114 S. Ct. 2048, 129 L. Ed. 2d 67 (1994).................................. 38 OSRecovery, Inc. v. One Groupe Intl, Inc., 354 F. Supp. 2d 357 (S.D.N.Y. 2005)............................................................. 26 In re Oakwook Homes Corp., 340 B.R. 510 (Bankr. D. Del. 2006) ................................................................ 36 In re Octagon Roofing, 157 B.R. 852 (N.D. Ill. 1993) ............................................................................ 8 Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors v. R.F. Lafferty & Co., 267 F.3d 340 (3d Cir. 2001) ......................................................... 31, 32, 38, 44 Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors VarTec Telecom, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Fin. Coop. (In re VarTec Telecom, Inc.), 335 B.R. 631 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2005)............................................................ 35 Ortho-Med, Inc. v. Micro-Aire Surgical Instruments, Inc., No. CV 93-7621(JGD),1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22217 (C.D. Cal. April 10, 1995)................................................................................................... 29, 30 PM Denver, Inc. v. Porter (In re Porter McLeod, Inc.), 231 B.R. 786 (D. Colo. 1999) ......................................................................... 45
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Pacific Express Holding, Inc. v. Pioneer Commercial Funding Corp. (In re Pacific Express, Inc.), 69 B.R. 112 (9th Cir. B.A.P. 1986) ....................................................... 8, 12, 13 Paulman v. Gateway Venture Partners III, L.P. (In re Filtercorp, Inc.), 163 F.3d 570 (9th Cir. 1998) ............................................................................ 3 Pepper v. Litton, 308 U.S. 295, 605 S. Ct. 238 (1939) ...................................................... 1, 2, 14 Petron Trading Co. v. Hydrocarbon Trading & Transport Co., 663 F. Supp. 1153 (E.D. Pa. 1986) ................................................................ 21 In re Phar-Mor Securities Litigation, 900 F. Supp. 784 (W.D. Pa. 1995) ................................................................. 39 Pinetree Partners, Ltd. v. Retirement Sys. (In re Pinetree Partners, Ltd.), 87 B.R. 481 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 1988) ......................................................... 8, 12 In re Poughkeepsie Hotel Assoc. Joint Venture, 132 B.R. 287 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1991)............................................................... 2 RSL COM Primecall, Inc. v. Beckoff (In re RSL COM Primecall, Inc.), Adv. No. 03-2176, 2003 Bankr. LEXIS 1635 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Dec. 11, 2003)............................................................................................................... 34 Rabex of Colo., Inc. v. Reed (In re Rabex of Colo., Inc.), 226 B.R. 905 (D. Colo. 1998) ........................................................................... 6 In re Reed, 11 B.R. 258 (Bankr. D. Utah 1981)................................................................... 4 Rodolakis v. Chertoff (In re 1236 Dev. Corp.), 188 B.R. 75 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1995)................................................................. 5 Roth Steel Tube Co. v. Commr of Internal Revenue, 800 F.2d 625 (6th Cir. 1986) .......................................................................... 15 Rubin v. Pringle (In re Focus Media, Inc.), 387 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir. 2004) ........................................................................ 14
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S & K Sales Co. v. Nike, Inc., 816 F.2d 843 (2d Cir. 1987) ........................................................................... 23 SPC Plastics Corp. v. Griffith (In re Structurlite Plastics Corp.), 224 B.R. 27 (6th Cir. B.A.P. 1998) ................................................................... 6 In re SW Fla. Heart Group, 346 B.R. 897 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2006) ............................................................ 35 Sampsell v. Imperial Paper & Color Corp., 313 U.S. 215, 61 S. Ct. 904, 85 L. Ed. 1293 (1941)......................................... 2 Schact v. Brown, 711 F.2d 1343 (7th Cir. 1983) .................................................................. 31, 32 Schnelling v. Thomas (In re AgriBiotech, Inc.), 319 B.R. 216 (D. Nev. 2004) .......................................................................... 32 Scholes v. Lehmann, 56 F.3d 750 (7th Cir. 1995) ............................................................................ 43 Scognamillo v. Credit Suisse First Boston LLC, No. C03-2061 (TEH), 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20221 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 25, 2005)............................................................................................................... 26 Scott v. Dime Sav. Bank of New York, FSB, 886 F. Supp. 1073 (S.D.N.Y. 1995), affd, 101 F.3d 107 (2d Cir. 1996) ........ 23 Secs. Investor Prot. Corp. v. BDO Seidman, LLP, 49 F. Supp. 2d 644 (S.D.N.Y. 1999).......................................................... 40-42 Seitz v. Detweiler, Hershey & Assocs. P.C. (In re CitX Corp.), 448 F.3d 672 (3d Cir. 2006) ..................................................................... 36, 37 In re Sharp Intl. Corp., 302 B.R. 760 (E.D.N.Y. 2003) ........................................................................ 24 Shearson, Lehman, Hutton, Inc. v. Wagoner, 944 F.2d 114 (2d Cir. 1991) ..................................................................... 37, 38 Simione v. Nationsbank of Del., N.A. (In re Simione), 229 B.R. 329 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. 1999) .............................................................. 7
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Smith v. Andersen L.L.P., 175 F. Supp. 2d 1180 (D. Ariz. 2001)....................................................... 39, 41 Smith v. Arthur Anderson LLP (In re Boston Chicken), 421 F.3d 995 (9th Cir. 2005) .......................................................................... 36 State St. Bank & Trust Co. v. Inversiones Errazuriz Limitada, 246 F. Supp. 2d 231 (S.D.N.Y. 2002)............................................................. 23 Stone St. Servs. v. Daniels, Civ. A. No. 00-1904, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18904, 2000 WL 1909373 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 29, 2000)................................................................................. 25 Strong v. France, 474 F.2d 747 (9th Cir. 1973) .......................................................................... 27 In re Student Fin. Corp., 335 B.R. 539 (D. Del. 2005) ........................................................................... 37 In re SubMicron Sys. Corp., 291 B.R. 314 (Bankr. D. Del. 2003) ..................................................... 8, 12, 14, 16 In re U.S. Abatement Corp., 39 F.3d 556 (5th Cir. 1994) .............................................................................. 4 U.S. Bank, N.A. v. Stalnaker (In re Rosen Auto Leasing, Inc.), No. BK02-81781, 2004 Bankr. LEXIS 1399 (Bankr. D. Neb. Sept. 17, 2004)............................................................................................................... 15 In re UVAS Farming Corp., 91 B.R. 575 (Bankr. D.N.M. 1988).................................................................... 4 United States ex rel. Rahman v. Oncology Assocs., P.C., 198 F.3d 489 (4th Cir. 1999) .......................................................................... 14 United States v. Noland, 517 U.S. 535, 116 S. Ct. 1524, 134 L. Ed. 2d 748 (1996)....................... 3, 5, 6, 7 United States v. Pepperman, 976 F.2d 123 (3d Cir. 1992) ........................................................................... 13 United States v. Reorganized CF&I Fabricators of Utah, Inc., 518 U.S. 213, 116 S. Ct. 2106, 135 L. Ed. 2d 506 (1996)................................ 6
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In re Vanguard Airlines, Inc., 302 B.R. 292 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 2003)............................................................ 15 In re Verestar, Inc., 343 B.R. 444 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2006)............................................................. 35 In re Virtual Network Servs. Corp., 902 F.2d 1246 (7th Cir. 1990) .......................................................................... 5 In re Vitreous Steel Prods. Co., 911 F.2d 1223 (7th Cir. 1990) .......................................................................... 5 In re WCI Cable, Inc., 282 B.R. 457 (Bankr. D. Or. 2002) ................................................................. 13 In re W.T. Grant Co., 4 B.R. 53, 74 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1980)............................................................... 7 Wechsler v. Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld, L.L.P., 212 B.R. 34 (S.D.N.Y. 1997) .......................................................................... 41 In re Werth, 37 B.R. 979 (Bankr. D. Colo. 1984).................................................................. 2 Whitney v. Citibank, N.A., 782 F.2d 1106 (2d Cir. 1986) ................................................................... 25, 29 Wight v. Bankamerica Corp., 219 F.3d 79 (2d Cir. 2000) ....................................................................... 39, 42 Williams v. Bank Leumi Trust Co., No. 96 Civ. 6695 (LMM), 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7538 (S.D.N.Y. May 30, 1997)......................................................................................................... 28 Woodward v. Metro Bank, 522 F.2d 84 (5th Cir. 1975) ............................................................................ 28 In re Zenith Electronics Corp., 241 B.R. 92 (Bankr. Del. 1999) ........................................................................ 8
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STATE CASES A.W. Crisp, Jr. v. Southwest Bancshares Leasing Company, 586 S.W.2d 610 (1979) .................................................................................. 39 Anstine v. Alexander, 128 P.3d 249 (Colo. Ct. App. 2005) ............................................................... 26 Austins Admx v. Winstons Exx, 11 Va. 33 (1806) ............................................................................................. 38 Bondi v. Citigroup, Inc., No. BER-L-10902-04, 2005 WL 975856 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. Feb. 28, 2005)......................................................................................................... 24 Cacciola v. Nellhaus, 733 N.E.2d 133 (Mass. Ct. App. 2000)........................................................... 24 Camerer v. California Sav. & Comml Bank, 4 Cal. 2d 159, 170-71, 48 P.2d 39 (1935) ...................................................... 43 Carson Fischer, PLC v. Standard Fed. Bank., No. 248125, 2005 WL. 292343 (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 8, 2005), revd in part, 2006 WL 1303137 (Mich. May 12, 2006) ............................................... 24 Casey v. U.S. Bank Assoc., 26 Cal. Rptr. 3d 401. 405-06 (Cal. Ct. App. 2005) ......................................... 24 Casey v. U.S. Bank Nat. Assn., 127 Cal. App. 4th 1138 (2005) ................................................................. 25, 26 Center v. Hampton Affiliates, Inc., 66 N.Y.2d 782 (N.Y. 1985) ............................................................................. 39 Chem-Age Indus., Inc. v. Glover, 652 N.W.2d 756 (S.D. 2002) .......................................................................... 24 Corcoran v. Frank B. Hall & Co., 149 A.D.2d 165, 545 N.Y.S.2d 278 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept 1989).............. 32 Coroles v. Sabey, 79 P.3d 974 (Utah Ct. App. 2003) .................................................................. 37
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DePinto v. Ashley Scott, Inc., 222 A.D.2d 288, 635 N.Y.S.2d 215 (1st Dept 1995)...................................... 29 Desert Palm Properties, N.V. v. McFarlane, No. 01-92-00967-CV, 1994 Tex. App. LEXIS 2951 (Tex. App. 1994)............ 40 Fate v. Owens, 27 P.3d 990 (N.M. Ct. App. 2001), cert. denied, 27 P.3d 476 (N.M. 2001)............................................................................................................... 24 Future Group II v. Nationsbank, 478 S.E.2d 45 (S.C. 1996) ............................................................................. 24 Halifax Corp. v. Wachovia Bank, 604 S.E.2d 403 (Va. 2004) ............................................................................. 24 Herbert H. Post & Co. v. Sidney Bitterman, Inc., 219 A.D.2d 214, 639 N.Y.S.2d 329 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept 1996).............. 32 Holmes v. Young, 885 P.2d 305 (Colo. Ct. App. 1994) ............................................................... 24 King v. George Schonberg & Company, 233 A.D.2d 242, 650 N.Y.S.2d 107 (1st Dept 1996)...................................... 27 Kuhlman Elec Corp. v. Chappell, No. 2003-CA-001232-MR, 2005 WL 3243498 (Ky. Ct. App. Dec. 2, 2005)............................................................................................................... 24 Lenticular Europe, LLC ex rel Van Leeuwen v. Cunnally, 693 N.W.2d 302 (Wis. Ct. App. 2005) ............................................................ 24 Malpiede v. Townson, 780 A.2d 1075 (Del. 2001) ............................................................................. 24 Monroe v. Board of Regents, 602 S.E.2d 219 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004)............................................................... 24 Nerbonne, N.V v. Lake Bryant Intl Properties, 689 So. 2d 322 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1997)....................................................... 24 Putnam v. Chase, 106 Ore. 440 (1923) ....................................................................................... 43
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Rabobank Nederland v. Natl. Westminster Bank, No. A104604, 2005 WL. 1840108 (Cal. Ct. App. Aug. 4, 2005) ..................... 27 Shearson Lehman Bros. Inc. v. Bagley, 614 N.Y.S.2d 5 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994) ............................................................ 24 Thornwood, Inc. v. Jenner & Block, 799 N.E.2d 7.56 (Ill. App. Ct. 2003), appeal denied, 807 N.E.2d 982 (Ill. 2004)............................................................................................................... 24 Toles v. Toles, 113 S.W.3d 899 (Tx. Ct. App. 2003) .............................................................. 24 Trenwick America Litigation Trust v. Ernst & Young, LLP, 906 A.2d 168 (Del. Ch. 2006) ................................................................... 35, 36 Witzman v. Lehrman, Lehrman & Flom, 601 N.W.2d 179 (Minn. 1999) ........................................................................ 25 DOCKETED CASES Blackwell v. Deloitte & Touche (In re IG Servs., Ltd.), No. 02-5061-C (Bankr. W.D. Tex. Feb. 5, 2003) ............................................ 44 Comml Fin. Servs., Inc. v. J.P. Morgan Secs., Inc., No. 103,053 (Ok. Ct. Civil Appeals Sept. 28, 2006) ....................................... 37 Comml Fin. Servs., Inc. v. J.P. Morgan Secs., Inc., No. 103,053 (Ok. Ct. Civil Appeals Sept. 28, 2006) ....................................... 37 FEDERAL STATUTES AND RULES 11 U.S.C. 502 ........................................................................................... 2, 8, 12 11 U.S.C. 510 ................................................................................................ 1-10 11 U.S.C. 541 ............................................................................................. 22, 43 11 U.S.C. 544 ................................................................................................... 44 11 U.S.C. 551 ..................................................................................................... 2
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28 U.S.C. 157 ................................................................................................... 12 Fed R. Bankr. P. 7001 ........................................................................................... 1 MISCELLANEOUS 124 Cong. Rec. H 11, 1096 ................................................................................. 44 Restatement (Second) of Torts 867 ........................................................... 23, 27 Robert D. Aicher & William J. Fellerhoff, Characterization of a Transfer of Receivables as a Sale or a Secured Loan Upon Bankruptcy of the Transferor, 65 American Bankruptcy Law Journal 181 (1991).......................................... 17 Tanvir Alam, Fraudulent Advisors Exploit Confusion in the Bankruptcy Code: How In Pari Delicto Has Been Perverted to Prevent Recovery for Innocent Creditors, 77 American Bankruptcy Law Journal 305, 322-23 (Summer 2003).............. 44 Gerald L. Blanchard, Lender Liability: Law, Practice and Prevention (2003) .. 1, 24 Jeffrey Davis, Ending the Nonsense: The In Pari Delicto Doctrine Has Nothing to Do with What Is 541 Property of the Estate, 21 Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal 519 (2005) .............................. 44 Kenneth N. Klee & Brendt C. Butler, Asset-Backed Securitization, Special Purpose Vehicles and Other Securitization Issues, 35 U.C.C. Law Journal 23 (2002) ................................................................... 20 Jordan A. Kroop, A Ponzi Scheme and a Pointless Technicality, 21 American Bankruptcy Institute Journal 26 (2002)...................................... 44 Peter V. Pantaleo et al., Rethinking the Role of Recourse in the Sale of Financial Assets, 52 Business Lawyer 159 (1996) ..................................................................... 18 Richard A. Brealey & Stewart C. Myers, Principles of Corporate Finance 487 (5th ed. 1996)....................................... 37 Richard C. Mason, Civil Liability for Aiding and Abetting, 61 Business Lawyer 1135 (May 2006) ........................................................... 24
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Matthew Nozemack, Note, Making Sense Out of Bankruptcy Courts Recharacterization of Claims: Why Not Use 510(c) Equitable Subordination?, 56 Washington & Lee Law Review 689 (1999) ................................................ 7
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I.
OVERVIEW.
There are myriad potential sources of lender liability when a debtor files for bankruptcy. In the past, creditors committees and trustees have sued banks for, among other things, breach of contract (both oral and written), breach of the implied duty of good faith, fraud, misrepresentation, aiding and abetting fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty.2 To discuss any one of these sources of lender liability fully would take more space than we have been allotted. Instead, these materials provide the basics and some cutting-edge issues for four lender liability causes of action that have been developing recently: equitable subordination, recharacterization, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, and deepening insolvency. We also discuss deepening insolvency as a measure of damages and one defense that has been rapidly developing: in pari delicto. II. EQUITABLE SUBORDINATION. A. Basics.
Bankruptcy Code 510(c) permits a bankruptcy court to subordinate all or part of a lenders allowed claim or interest, or to transfer any lien securing a subordinated claim to the bankruptcy estate. It provides that a court, after notice and hearing, may: (1) under principles of equitable subordination, subordinate for purposes of distribution all or part of an allowed claim to all or part of another allowed claim or all or part of an allowed interest to all or part of another allowed interest; or (2) order that any lien securing such a subordinated claim be transferred to the estate.3 Unless a creditors claim is subordinated through a plan of reorganization, a claim for equitable subordination must be brought by an adversary proceeding. 4 The authority of the bankruptcy courts to alter the payment priorities of the Bankruptcy Code based on equitable grounds is well established.5 The
2 3 4 5
See generally, Gerald L. Blanchard, Lender Liability: Law, Practice and Prevention (2003). 11 U.S.C. 510(c). Fed R. Bankr. P. 7001(8). See, e.g., Pepper v. Litton, 308 U.S. 295, 305, 605 S. Ct. 238 (1939) (ruling that the bankruptcy court has exclusive jurisdiction over subordination, allowance, and disallowance
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Supreme Court has held that [t]he power of the bankruptcy court to subordinate claims or to adjudicate equities arising out of the relationship between the several creditors is complete.6 The bankruptcy courts equitable authority is not dependent on express statutory provisions. It inheres in the jurisdiction of a court in bankruptcy.7 In the exercise of its equitable jurisdiction the bankruptcy court has the power to sift the circumstances surrounding any claim to see that injustice or unfairness is not done in administration of the bankrupt estate.8 In general, the equitable subordination doctrine is limited to reordering distribution priorities and does not permit total disallowance of a claim.9 In addition to altering the distribution priorities on account of a claim, where a subordinated claim is secured, Bankruptcy Code 510(c)(2) permits courts to transfer any lien securing a subordinated claim to the estate to effectuate the intended remedy.10
of claims, and that the court may reject a claim in whole or in part according to the equities of each case); HBE Leasing Corp. v. Frank, 48 F.3d 623, 633 (2d Cir. 1995) ([e]quitable subordination is distinctly a power of federal bankruptcy courts, as courts of equity, to subordinate the claims of one creditor to those of others); In re Clamp-All Corp., 223 B.R. 198, 211 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1999) (holding that the court could, sua sponte, subordinate the claims of creditors who had engaged in inequitable conduct to all other non-insider claims under section 510(c)); In re Poughkeepsie Hotel Assoc. Joint Venture, 132 B.R. 287, 292 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1991) (The notion of equitable subordination, as embodied in 510(c), is peculiar to bankruptcy law and an issue which can only be decided in a bankruptcy setting).
6
Sampsell v. Imperial Paper & Color Corp., 313 U.S. 215, 219, 61 S. Ct. 904, 85 L. Ed. 1293 (1941) (recognizing equitable power of substantive consolidation). Am. United Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. City of Avon Park, 311 U.S. 138, 146, 61 S. Ct. 157, 85 L. Ed. 91 (1940) (holding that equitable considerations must play a role in deciding whether to confirm a plan). Pepper, 308 U.S. at 308-09 (subjecting the allowance of an insiders claim to strict scrutiny). See In re Mobile Steel Co., 563 F.2d 692, 699 (5th Cir. 1977); In re 80 Nassau Assocs., 169 B.R. 834, 837 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1994). However, if the conduct of the creditor is so egregious that it affects the validity of the claim under applicable principles of law, the bankruptcy court can disallow the claim as part of the claims allowance process, as was done in Pepper v. Litton. See 308 U.S. at 309. Section 502(j) preserves from Chandler act the same language used in Pepper to disallow the claim of an insider under principles of equitable subordination. Compare 11 U.S.C. 502(j) to 308 U.S. at 305, n.12; see also In re Werth, 37 B.R. 979, 991 (Bankr. D. Colo. 1984) (the claim will be disallowed to the extent [the debtor] establishes damages under Colorado law, resulting from the Banks breach [of an oral contract to lend money]). Ford v. Feldman (In re Florida Bay Trading Co.), 177 B.R. 374, 386 (Bankr. D. Fla. 1994). Note that instead of allowing the trustee to avoid the security interest, which is preserved for the bankruptcy estate under Bankruptcy Code 551, only if the court so orders will the security interest be transferred to the estate for the benefit of the creditors. Id.
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Altering the payment priorities is a significant remedy as typically it will reduce the distribution to the creditor on the subordinated claim from payment in full as a secured creditor to payment of pennies on the dollar as an unsecured creditor, or from some payment as an unsecured creditor to no payment at all. The principles of equitable subordination are defined by case law. The majority of courts have held that the following conditions, which were first set forth in Benjamin v. Diamond (In re Mobile Steel Corp.)11 (a case under the Chandler Act, the predecessor to the current Bankruptcy Code) must be satisfied before equitably subordinating a claim: the claimant must have engaged in some kind of inequitable conduct, such as fraud, misuse of fiduciary status, or domination or control of the debtor to the detriment of other creditors; the misconduct must have resulted in injury to the creditors of the bankrupt or conferred an unfair advantage on the claimant; and equitable subordination of the claim must not be inconsistent with the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.12
Where the claimant is a fiduciary of the debtor or the functional equivalent of an insider, the dealings between the debtor and the claimant are subjected to heightened scrutiny and, if the transaction between them is sufficiently challenged (by a prima facia showing), the burden shifts to the claimant to prove both the good faith of the transaction and its inherent fairness, rather than requiring the plaintiff to prove inequitable conduct.13 The equitable subordination
11 12
563 F.2d 692 (5th Cir. 1977). Id. at 700; see also, Paulman v. Gateway Venture Partners III, L.P. (In re Filtercorp, Inc.), 163 F.3d 570, 583 (9th Cir. 1998); Citicorp Venture Capital v. Comm. of Creditors Holding Unsecured Claims, 160 F.3d 982, 986-87 (3d Cir. 1998); In re Lifschultz Fast Freight, 132 F.3d 339, 344 (7th Cir. 1997); cf. United States v. Noland, 517 U.S. 535, 116 S. Ct. 1524, 134 L. Ed. 2d 748 (1996). Some courts ignore this third prong as superfluous. Bala v. Kaler (In re Racing Servs.), 340 B.R. 73, 78 (8th Cir. B.A.P. 2006) (When Congress passed the current Bankruptcy Code in 1978, it expressly authorized equitable subordination. Therefore, any exercise of authority under Section 510(c)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code is not inconsistent with the Code unless it ignores the Codes language.). In re Herbys Foods, Inc., 2 F.3d 128, 141 (5th Cir. 1993); In re Beverages Intl Ltd., 50 B.R. 273, 281 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1988) (The burden is on an insider claimant to show the inherent fairness and good faith of the challenged transaction); cf. Capitol Bank. & Trust Co. v. 604 Columbus Avenue Realty Trust (In re 604 Columbus Avenue Realty Trust), 968 F.2d 1332,
13
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doctrine also has been utilized to address inequitable conduct by insiders trading in a bankrupt debtors claims as well as inequitable pre-petition conduct.14 B. Supreme Court Requires Specific Findings for Subordination.
By the broad language of Bankruptcy Code 510(c), Congress left the development of the law of equitable subordination to the courts. Bankruptcy courts generally equitably subordinate a lender when the lender steps beyond the traditional role of a lender and participates in the debtors business or engages in other egregious conduct that justifies the use of the courts equitable powers.15 Because equitable subordination is remedial, not penal, the claim generally will be subordinated only to the extent necessary to offset the specific harm that the debtor and its creditors suffered on account of the alleged inequitable conduct.16 However, the misconduct need not be related to the creation of the claim for the claim to be subordinated.17 Over the years, the courts developed various standards or tests to determine whether the conduct (or misconduct) of a particular creditor should result in equitable subordination of the creditors claim, some of which deviated
1360 (1st Cir. 1992) (Whether the creditor is an insider or fiduciary of the debtor is fundamentally important to the level of scrutiny that courts apply to allegations of misconduct against a creditor); In re Fabricators, Inc., 926 F.2d 1458, 1465 (5th Cir. 1991) (ruling that if the claimant is not an insider, then evidence of more egregious misconduct . . . is necessary); In re Missionary Baptist Church Foundation of America, Inc., 818 F.2d 1135, 1144 n.8 (5th Cir. 1987); In re N & D Properties, Inc., 799 F.2d 726, 731 (11th Cir. 1986).
14
See Citicorp Venture Capital, Ltd. v. Comm. of Creditors Holding Unsecured Claims (In re Papercraft Corp.), 324 F.3d 197 (3d Cir. 2003) (holding that claimants covert purchase of claims at discounted amount while acting as fiduciary to debtor was sufficiently egregious to warrant subordination of amount paid for claims and damage inflicted on non-selling creditors -- including litigation expenses); In re UVAS Farming Corp., 91 B.R. 575 (Bankr. D.N.M. 1988). In re U.S. Abatement Corp., 39 F.3d 556, 561 (5th Cir. 1994). Id.; Mobile Steel, 563 F.2d at 701; Carter-Waters Okla., Inc. v. Bank One Trust Co., N.A. (In re Eufala Indus. Auth.), 266 B.R. 483 (10th Cir. B.A.P. 2001). Machinery Rental Inc. v. Herpel (In re Multiponics, Inc.), 622 F.2d 709 (5th Cir. 1980); Benjamin v. Diamond (In re Mobile Steel Corp.), 563 F.2d 692 (5th Cir. 1977); Enron Corp. v. Avenue Special Situations Fund II, LP (In re Enron Corp.), 333 B.R. 205 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2005) (Fundamentally, the analysis focuses on the alleged inequitable conduct, and any associated harm therefrom, not on any particular claim or group of claims.); In re Reed, 11 B.R. 258 (Bankr. D. Utah 1981).
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from the Mobile Steel standard.18 In the 1990s, for example, some courts permitted equitable subordination without any proof of inequitable conduct.19 In United States v. Noland,20 however, the Supreme Court announced significant limits on the judicial power to subordinate claims. In that case, the debtor filed for relief under chapter 11 and, in attempting to operate its business, incurred certain federal tax liabilities. After the case was converted to chapter 7, the IRS filed claims for taxes, interest and penalties, and administrative expenses entitled to priority under Bankruptcy Code 503(b), 507(a), and 726(a)(1). The bankruptcy court allowed the tax claims as administrative expenses, but subordinated the portions of the tax claims that were penalties pursuant to 510(c). The bankruptcy court weighed the equities and found that the Bankruptcy Codes preference for repaying actual losses trumped the statutory priority granted to the governments tax penalties.21 The decision was affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held: Because of the nature of the postpetition, nonpecuniary loss tax penalty claims in a chapter 7 case, we believe such claims are
18
Rodolakis v. Chertoff (In re 1236 Dev. Corp.), 188 B.R. 75, 82 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1995) (holding that the trustee has the burden of producing sufficient evidence of a prima facie case of equitable subordination of a creditors claim, after which the burden shifts to the claimant to prove the fairness and good faith of the challenged transaction); In re 80 Nassau Assocs., 169 B.R. at 840 (holding that the claim of a non-insider fiduciary in a commercial case can only be subordinated based on inequitable conduct if the claimant has substantially breached a duty arising under contract, tort or other area of law); In re Aluminum Mills Corp., 132 B.R. 869, 894 (N.D. Ill. 1991) (The quality of conduct considered to be inequitable under 510(c) depends on the nature of the legal relationship between the creditor and the debtor). See, e.g., Burden v. United States, 917 F.2d 115, 120 (3d Cir. 1990) (holding that proof of inequitable conduct need not be found for the general creditors to be entitled to equitable subordination); In re Virtual Network Servs. Corp., 902 F.2d 1246 (7th Cir. 1990) (holding that the subordination of nonpecuniary tax law claims of the IRS was warranted even though IRSs actions were within the law); In re Vitreous Steel Prods. Co., 911 F.2d 1223 (7th Cir. 1990) (holding that bankruptcy court need not find that mortgagee engaged in misconduct, and that inquiry should focus on fairness to the other creditors); In re New Era Packaging, Inc., 186 B.R. 329, 335 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1995) (no fault equitable subordination looks to the nature or origin of the claim . . . While the legislative history states that a bankruptcy court is authorized to subordinate a claim by reason of the claimants misconduct . . . it also suggests that a bankruptcy courts power to subordinate a claim on equitable grounds is more extensive); Glinka v. Dartmouth Banking Co. (In re Kelton Motors, Inc.), 121 B.R. 166, 190 (Bankr. D. Vt. 1990). 517 U.S. 535, 116 S. Ct. 1524, 134 L. Ed. 2d 748 (1996). In re First Truck Lines, Inc., 190 B.R. 827 (S.D. Ohio 1993).
19
20 21
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susceptible to subordination. To hold otherwise would be to allow creditors who have supported the business during its attempt to reorganize to be penalized once that effort has failed and there is not enough to go around.22 However, the Supreme Court reversed, holding that the bankruptcy courts could not reorder the priorities of the bankruptcy code based on their categorical determinations that the claims by their very nature deserve subordination. The adoption in 510(c) of principles of equitable subordination permits a court to make exceptions to a general rule when justified by particular facts . . . (in the absence of a need to reconcile conflicting congressional choices) the circumstances that prompt a court to order equitable subordination must not occur at the level of policy choice at which Congress itself operated in drafting the Bankruptcy Code.23 Later that year, in United States v. Reorganized CF&I Fabricators of Utah, Inc., the Court reaffirmed this central part of its holding.24 Specific facts must justify the subordination, not the nature of the claim asserted. Following Noland and Reorganized CF&I, some courts have limited the use of equitable subordination to cases where bad acts have been shown.25 Other courts have correctly noted that the Supreme Court expressly reserved the decision of whether inequitable conduct is required for equitable subordination,26 and have permitted subordination where no such conduct was shown.27
22 23 24
Internal Rev. Serv. v. Noland, 48 F.3d 210 (6th Cir. 1995). Noland, 517 U.S. at 542-43. 518 U.S. 213, 228, 116 S. Ct. 2106, 135 L. Ed. 2d 506 (1996) (the principle of Noland has nothing to do with transfer between classes, as distinct from ranking within one of them. The principle is simple that categorical reordering of priority that takes place at the legislative level of consideration is beyond the scope of judicial authority to order equitable subordination under 510(c).). Merrimac Paper Co. v. Harrison (In re Merrimac Paper Co.), 420 F.3d 53, 62 (1st Cir. 2005) (Here, the decisions in Noland and Reorganized CF&I, read together, constitute such supervening authority. We therefore abrogate the categorical rule of Keith and Matthews Bros. and hold that claims founded on stock redemption notes are not to be automatically subordinated solely on the basis of their intrinsic nature.); Anchor Resolution Corp. v. State Street Bank & Trust Co. (In re Anchor Resolution Corp.), 221 B.R. 330 (Bankr. D. Del. 1998) (refusing to subordinate a creditors claim that was based upon an arms length agreement between the parties and that was not a penalty). Noland, 517 U.S. at 543 (we need not decide today whether a bankruptcy court must always find creditor misconduct before a claim may be equitably subordinated.). See, e.g. SPC Plastics Corp. v. Griffith (In re Structurlite Plastics Corp.), 224 B.R. 27 (6th Cir. B.A.P. 1998); In re Lifschultz Fast Freight, 132 F.3d at 348; Rabex of Colo., Inc. v. Reed (In re Rabex of Colo., Inc.), 226 B.R. 905, 908-09 (D. Colo. 1998) (Applying the flexible
25
26
27
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In response to this Supreme Court authority, bankruptcy practitioners sometimes have recast their equitable subordination arguments as arguments for the recharacterization of debt into equity, which is discussed below. The propriety of recharacterization largely depends on whether recharacterization is distinct from Bankruptcy Code 510(c)s power to equitably subordinate claims. Certainly, the effect of both recharacterization and equitable subordination is similar in that in both cases, the claim is subordinated below that of other creditors.28 However, there are important differences.29 In an equitable subordination analysis, the court is reviewing whether a legitimate creditor engaged in inequitable conduct, in which case the remedy is subordination of the creditors claim to that of another creditor only to the extent necessary to offset injury or damage suffered by the creditor in whose favor the equitable doctrine may be effective.30 On the other hand, where a claim is recharacterized, the advance is not a claim to begin with, and the creditor is not a legitimate one [and therefore] equitable subordination never comes into play.31 Accordingly, a court
approach, the court in Virtual Network determined proof of inequitable conduct was not necessary for subordination of nonpecuniary loss tax penalty claims. In my view...Tenth Circuit jurisprudence...[does not] preclude[] application of the flexible test under appropriate circumstances....); cf. Simione v. Nationsbank of Del., N.A. (In re Simione), 229 B.R. 329, 336 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. 1999) (noting that since Noland, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has not decided whether misconduct is always a prerequisite to equitable subordination).
28
Bayer Corp. v. Mascotech, Inc. (In re Autostyle Plastics, Inc.), 269 F.3d 726, 748 (6th Cir. 2001). Some of the confusion between the doctrines [of equitable subordination and recharacterization] is caused by the fact that undercapitalization is a factor in the equitable subordination analysis and often is a factor in a recharacterization analysis, leading some courts to equitably subordinate claims that other courts would recharacterize as equity contributions. Id. at 749 (quoting Matthew Nozemack, Note, Making Sense Out of Bankruptcy Courts Recharacterization of Claims: Why Not Use 510(c) Equitable Subordination?, 56 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 689, 717 (1999)). Id. (quoting In re W.T. Grant Co., 4 B.R. 53, 74 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1980)); Fairchild Dornier GmbH v. Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors (In re Dornier Aviation (N. Am.), Inc.), 453 F.3d 225 (4th Cir. 2006)(holding that recharacterization is separate from the claim allowance process); Enron Corp. v. New Power Co. (In re New Power Co.), 438 F.3d 1113, (11th Cir. 2006) (recharacterization inquiry by a court-appointed Examiner was allowed to proceed beyond both the claim allowance proceedings and Plan Confirmation itself). In re Autostyle Plastics, Inc., 269 F.3d at 749 (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).
29
30
31
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may recharacterize debt as equity regardless of satisfaction of the other requirements of equitable subordination.32 Notwithstanding the arguments above, courts adhering to the minority view have held that recharacterization requires, as one element, some manner of inequitable conduct.33 Under this minority view, if the bankruptcy court decides that the lenders claim should not be subordinated or disallowed because it does not meet the criteria set forth in 510(c) or as determined by applicable case law, the debtor/mortgagor generally will not be permitted to seek to have the lenders claim recharacterized under other sections of the Bankruptcy Code. Section 502 of the Bankruptcy Code, which sets forth various claim objections, does not include an objection based on recharacterization.34 For example, the bankruptcy court in In re SubMicron Sys. Corp. held that in order to recharacterize a loan as an equity contribution there must be evidence of . . . inequitable conduct. This is because any other analysis would discourage loans from insiders to companies facing financial difficulty and that would be unfortunate because it is the shareholders who are most likely to have the motivation to salvage a floundering company.35
32
Id., 269 F.3d at 749 (quoting In re Hyperion Enters., 158 B.R. 555, 561 (D.R.I. 1993)) (internal quotations omitted); see also Fairchild Dornier, 453 F.3d at 225, Cohen v. KB Mezzanine Fund II, LP (In re SubMicron Sys. Corp.), 432 F.3d 448 (3d Cir. 2006); In re: Autoplastics, Inc., 269 F.3d 726 (6th Cir. 2001); In re Hedged Investments Assocs., Inc., 380 F.3d 1292 (10th Cir. 2004); In re Herbys Foods, Inc., 2 F.3d at 133 (a court is authorized to recharacterize a loan as an equity contribution even when circumstances do not warrant equitable subordination.). See, e.g., In re Zenith Electronics Corp., 241 B.R. 92, 107 (Bankr. Del. 1999) (to recharacterize debt as equity or to equitably subordinate a claim, the creditor must have done something inequitable.). See, e.g., Pacific Express Holding, Inc. v. Pioneer Commercial Funding Corp. (In re Pacific Express, Inc.), 69 B.R 112, 115 (9th Cir. B.A.P. 1986) (ruling that while the bankruptcy court may determine the amount and disallowance of claims under 502(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, those provisions do not provide for the characterization of claims as equity or debt because such a determination is governed specifically and exclusively by 510(c)); Pinetree Partners, Ltd. v. Retirement Sys. (In re Pinetree Partners, Ltd.), 87 B.R. 481, 491 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 1988) (The equitable powers of the court derive from the Bankruptcy Code and consequently reach no further than its provisions. Accordingly, the claims of [the debtor] are not subject to recharacterization from debt to equity absent controlling provisions of [ 510(c)]). In re SubMicron Sys. Corp., 291 B.R. 314, 325 (Bankr. D. Del. 2003) (quoting In re Octagon Roofing, 157 B.R. 852, 858 (N.D. Ill. 1993) (internal quotations omitted)).
33
34
35
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C.
Transferee Liability for Bad Act of Transferor.
Another issue that has cropped up recently is the question whether a bad actor may transfer a claim that would otherwise be subordinated, free and clear of the potential subordination. Section 550(b) of the Bankruptcy Code protects good faith transferees of transfers avoidable pursuant to Bankruptcy sections 547(b) (relating to preferential transfers) and 548 (relating to fraudulent transfers). Although the language of 510(c) does not specifically provide for a good faith defense for purchasers of claims, it has been argued that the good faith defense under 550(b) of the Bankruptcy Code should be extended to claims purchasers in the claims transfer process. In Enron Corp. v. Avenue Special Situations Fund II, LP (In re Enron Corp.),36 the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York confronted this issue. Prior to filing bankruptcy, Enron entered into a $1.75 billion revolving credit agreement with certain lenders, including Fleet National Bank. Fleet held certain resulting claims, but sold them postpetition. Fleets claims eventually were transferred to Avenue Special Situations Fund II, LP and others. Enron commenced an adversary proceeding against various banks, including Fleet, alleging, inter alia, equitable subordination. Enron commenced a separate adversary proceeding against Avenue Special Situations Fund II, LP and the other transferees seeking to equitably subordinate and disallow Fleets claims that had been transferred to the Defendants.37 The Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint. They argued that the claims should not be subject to subordination because 510(c) requires that the party whose claims are subordinated has engaged in the inequitable conduct causing injury, and that the conduct of one party is not imputed to another for purposes of equitable subordination.38 In addition, they argued that Fleet, a solvent financial institution, would be bound by any judgment requiring it to return allegedly avoidable or preferential transfers, and that its wrongdoing should be corrected by having only Fleets own claims, arising out of other transactions with Enron, subordinated. The Defendants also argued that subjecting transferees of claims to equitable subordination would both introduce multiple layers of litigation against subsequent innocent transferees, and seriously and needlessly impact liquidity in the market for postpetition transfers of claims.
36 37 38
333 B.R. 205 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2005). Id. at 211-12. Id. at 216.
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Enron argued that the transferred claims should be subject to subordination on the ground that the transferred claims that would have been subject to subordination as of the Petition Date should remain subject to subordination thereafter because Fleet cannot transfer greater rights than it had.39 To the extent the purchasers of the claims are not indemnified, they should have protected themselves by demanding indemnification, which is in the standardized claims trading contract, rather than by seeking to limit a debtors rights. In addition, Enron contended that a judicial holding that the transferred claims could not be subordinated based on the transferors conduct would dramatically undermine the congressional purpose behind 510(c). Such a holding would encourage wrongdoers to wash their claims in order to escape from subordination, contrary to public policy and congressional intent under the Bankruptcy Code. The bankruptcy court found that the transferred claims were still subject to equitable subordination under 510(c) of the Bankruptcy Code. In so ruling, the court effectively held that the remedy of equitable subordination remains with the claims; the transfer of those claims does not immunize them from subordination in the hands of the transferee. It further held that the good faith defense is not available to the transferee. The bankruptcy court agreed with Enrons policy argument that shielding transferred claims from subordination would encourage creditors who have engaged in inequitable conduct to wash their claims free of the possibility of subordination merely by transferring them. III. RECHARACTERIZATION.
Recharacterization refers to an equitable power exercised by bankruptcy courts to treat a purported claim or transaction according to its true economic nature and substance, notwithstanding its form or name. The Bankruptcy Code does not expressly grant any such power, but many courts have nonetheless found an implied power to recharacterize based on their general powers as courts of equity.40 In the context of lender liability, two types of recharacterization have recently had significant implications for banks: recharacterization of loans as equity contributions and recharacterization of sales as secured loans.
39 40
Id. at 215. In Marrama v. Citizens Bank, ___U.S. ___, 127 S. Ct. 1105, __ L. Ed. 2d __ (2007), the Supreme Court recently held that an individual debtors right to convert their case from chapter 7 to chapter 13, under the Bankruptcy Code section 706(a) was subject to the inherent power of every federal court to sanction abusive litigation practices.
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A.
Recharacterization of a Loan as an Equity Contribution.
The following scenario helps illustrate the recharacterization of a loan as an equity contribution: Corporation is grossly undercapitalized. It must raise $6 million in order to meet payroll and other immediate and critical working capital needs. Unfortunately, Corporation cannot locate any lender willing to extend financing. Among other things, Corporation can barely service its current debt, it has no unencumbered assets to offer as security for an additional loan, and it does not have sufficient cash flow to service interest or principal on any additional loan. Two Investors sit on Corporations board of directors, each of whom has already invested millions of dollars in equity in Corporation at its inception and in subsequent financing rounds. Investors agree that they will each loan $3 million to Corporation in exchange for notes bearing interest at 10 percent. The notes are negatively amortized: they do not require any payment of principal or interest during their term but must be satisfied in their entirety by a balloon payment at maturity after three years. The loan proceeds are used immediately to fund Corporations working capital needs. However, Corporations financial condition continues to deteriorate; it cannot service its other debt; and it eventually files for bankruptcy relief. Investors file proofs of claim on account of their notes. At this point, Corporations other unsecured creditors request that the bankruptcy court recharacterize the purported financing notes as equity contributions. They argue that the amounts advanced by Investors, although cast in the form of loans, were actually equity infusions. Presented with such a request, under the majority view, the bankruptcy court is not required to accept the label of debt or equity placed by the debtor upon a particular transaction, but must inquire into the actual nature of the transaction to determine how best to characterize it.41 In other words, the court is required to scrutinize the transaction according to an objective test of economic reality to determine its true economic nature.42 If the transaction, although cast in the form of a loan[,]nevertheless has the substance and
41 42
In re Cold Harbor Assocs., 204 B.R. 904, 915 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 1997). Cohen v. KB Mezzanine Fund II, L.P. (In re Submicron Sys. Corp.), 291 B.R. 314, 323 (Bankr. D. Del. 2003) (citations omitted).
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character of an equity contribution[,] then the court may recharacterize the transaction as an equity contribution.43 As a threshold proposition, jurisdictions do not agree uniformly whether bankruptcy courts have the power to recharacterize debt into equity. The vast majority of jurisdictions have held that bankruptcy courts may recharacterize debt as equity: Bankruptcy courts that have applied a recharacterization analysis have stated that their power to do so stems from the authority vested in the bankruptcy courts to use their equitable powers to test the validity of debts. The source of the courts general equitable powers is 105 of the Code, which states that bankruptcy judges have the authority to issue any order, process or judgment that is necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of the Code.44 These jurisdictions include the Fifth, Sixth, and Tenth Circuits, as well as numerous lower courts in these and other jurisdictions.45 On the other hand, a minority of courts have taken the position that the Bankruptcy Code does not permit the recharacterization of debt to equity.46 In In re Pacific Express, Inc., the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit reasoned that Bankruptcy Code 502 authorizes a court to determine the amount of a claim, and 157(b)(2)(B) of the Judicial Code47 authorizes a court to determine the allowance or disallowance of a claim, but that no provision authorizes a court to decide the character of a claim.48 The panel next examined Bankruptcy Code 510(c), which authorizes the equitable subordination of
43 44 45
Aquino v. Black (In re Atlantic Rancher, Inc.), 279 B.R. 411, 437 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2002). In re Autostyle Plastics, Inc., 269 F.3d at 749. See, e.g., In re Herbys Foods, Inc., 2 F.3d at 133 (a court is authorized to recharacterize a loan as an equity contribution); In re Autostyle Plastics, Inc., 269 F.3d at 748 (a bankruptcy court can consider whether to recharacterize a claim as equity); In re Hedged-Investments Assocs., Inc., 380 F.3d at 1298 (same). Pacific Express Holding, Inc. v. Pioneer Commercial Funding Corp. (In re Pacific Express, Inc.), 69 B.R. 112, 115 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 1986); In re Pinetree Partners, Ltd., 87 B.R. at 491 (following In re Pacific Express, Inc.). See 28 U.S.C. 157(b)(2)(B). In re Pacific Express, Inc., 69 B.R. at 115 (While the Code supports the courts ability to determine the amount and the allowance or disallowance of claims, those provisions do not provide for the characterization of claims as equity or debt.).
46
47 48
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claims under certain circumstances. It is well-settled that, although bankruptcy courts have broad authority to work equity under 105(a), they may not do so in a manner inconsistent with the Bankruptcy Code.49 Stated another way, 105(a) supplements the courts specifically enumerated bankruptcy powers by authorizing orders necessary or appropriate to carry out provisions of the Bankruptcy Code. However, 105(a) has a limited scope. It does not create rights that would otherwise be unavailable under the Bankruptcy Code.50 The panel found that recharacterization was inconsistent with the Bankruptcy Code. It therefore concluded that recharacterization was not a permissible exercise of a bankruptcy courts equitable power.51 The Supreme Courts 1999 decision in Grupo Mexicano De Desarrollo v. Alliance Bond Fund52 may affect the debate over the authority of bankruptcy courts to recharacterize debt as equity. In Grupo Mexicano, the Supreme Court held that a preliminary injunction may not issue to preserve assets to which a party did not yet have a legal claim. The Supreme Court recognized that equity is flexible; but in the federal system, at least, that flexibility is confined within the broad boundaries of traditional equitable relief. To accord a type of relief that has never been available before ... is to invoke a default rule . . . not of flexibility but of omnipotence.53 Grupo Mexicano may lend support to the minority position that recharacterization is not a legitimate exercise of a bankruptcy courts general equitable powers under Bankruptcy Code 105(a).54 Recharacterization is neither authorized by statute nor a traditional equitable power. As stated in Grupo Mexicano, it may be that to permit bankruptcy courts to recharacterize claims under 105 would be to adopt a rule not of flexibility, but of omnipotence. On the other hand, several relatively recent opinions have held that the holding in Grupo Mexicano may not be as comprehensive as it first appeared. In
49
Norwest Bank Worthington v. Ahlers, 485 U.S. 197, 206 (1988) (whatever equitable powers remain in the bankruptcy courts must and can only be exercised within the confines of the Bankruptcy Code.); Gouveia v. Tazbir, 37 F.3d 295, 300 (7th Cir. 1994). In re WCI Cable, Inc., 282 B.R. 457, 468 (Bankr. D. Or. 2002) (quoting United States v. Pepperman, 976 F.2d 123, 131 (3d Cir. 1992)). In re Pacific Express, Inc., 69 B.R. at 115 (Where there is a specific provision governing these determinations, it is inconsistent with the interpretation of the Bankruptcy Code to allow such determinations to be made under different standards through the use of the courts equitable powers.). 527 U.S. 308 (1999). Id. at 322. See In re Pacific Express, Inc., 69 B.R. at 115.
50
51
52 53 54
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Rubin v. Pringle (In re Focus Media, Inc.),55 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Grupo Mexicano appeared to except from its general rule the following two situations: where the plaintiff pleads for (i) equitable relief, and not just legal damages, in instances where a preliminary injunction is a reasonable measure to preserve the status quo; and (ii) avoidance of preference or fraudulent transfer claims, which are designed to prevent such conduct as debtors trying to avoid paying their debts, or seeking to favor some creditors over others.56 Jurisdictions that have allowed bankruptcy courts to recharacterize debt as equity have adopted similar, although varying, multi-factor tests.57 These factors are not exclusive, and no one factor is predominant, nor are the factors to be given rigidly equal weight.58 The overriding principle governing this determination is whether the transaction bears the earmarks of an arms length negotiation. The more such an exchange appears to reflect the characteristics of an arms length negotiation, the more likely such a transaction is to be treated as debt.59 A second key factor is whether the corporation is undercapitalized at the time the funds are advanced. When a corporation is undercapitalized, a court is more skeptical of purported loans made to it because they may in reality be infusions of capital.60 On the other hand, recharacterization may not be appropriate where a party is acting as a lender of last resort and not as an investor.61 Courts have adopted three sets of factors to be used in determining whether to recharacterize debt as equity. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and
55 56
387 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir. 2004). Grupo Mexicano, 527 U.S. at 322; see also, e.g., United States ex rel. Rahman v. Oncology Assocs., P.C., 198 F.3d 489 (4th Cir. 1999) (explaining that the Supreme Court in Grupo Mexicano was not presented with, not did it choose to address, a situation in which equitable remedies were claims.); CSC Holdings, Inc. v. Redisi, 309 F.3d 988 (7th Cir. 2002) (upholding preliminary injunction where equitable relief sought). These established criteria may act as a guideline for those seeking to advise an insider investing money in a troubled company to minimize the risk of recharacterization. In re Cold Harbor Assocs., 204 B.R. at 915; see also In re Autostyle Plastics, Inc., 269 F.3d at 750 (No one factor is controlling or decisive. The factors must be considered within the particular circumstances of each case.). In re Cold Harbor Assocs., 204 B.R. at 915 (citing Pepper v. Litton, 308 U.S. 295 (1939)). In re Submicron Sys. Corp., 291 B.R. at 325 (quoting In re Autostyle Plastics, Inc., 269 F.3d at 746-47) (noting that undercapitalization alone is insufficient to justify the subordination of insider claims; there must be evidence of other inequitable conduct.). In re AtlanticRancher, Inc., 279 B.R. at 438.
57
58
59 60
61
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lower courts in the First, Third, and Eighth Circuits have adopted the so-called Roth Steel62 set of 11 factors, as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. the names given to the instruments, if any. the presence or absence of a fixed maturity date and schedule of payments. the presence or absence of a fixed rate of interest and interest payments. the source of repayments. the adequacy or inadequacy of capitalization. the identity of interest between the creditor and the stockholder. the security, if any, for the advances. the corporations ability to obtain financing from outside lending institutions. the extent to which the advances were subordinated to the claims of outside creditors. the extent to which the advances were used to acquire capital assets. the presence or absence of a sinking fund to provide repayments.63
The Fifth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits, as well as lower courts in the Second Circuit, have adopted the following 13 factor test, largely identical to the Roth Steel factors: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
62
the names given to the certificates evidencing indebtedness. the presence or absence of a fixed maturity date. the source of payments. the right to enforce payment of principal and interest. participation in management flowing as a result. the status of the contribution in relation to regular corporate creditors. the intent of the parties. thin or inadequate capitalization. identity of interest between creditor and stockholder. the source of interest payments.
These factors were adopted from the tax court case Roth Steel Tube Co. v. Commr of Internal Revenue, 800 F.2d 625, 630 (6th Cir. 1986). In re Autostyle Plastics, Inc., 269 F.3d 726; In re Micro-Precision Techs., Inc., 303 B.R. 238, 246-48 (Bankr. D.N.H. 2003); In re Exide Techs., Inc., 299 B.R. 732, 740-42 (Bankr. D. Del. 2003); U.S. Bank, N.A. v. Stalnaker (In re Rosen Auto Leasing, Inc.), No. BK02-81781, 2004 Bankr. LEXIS 1399, at *8-9 (Bankr. D. Neb. Sept. 17, 2004); In re Vanguard Airlines, Inc., 302 B.R. 292, 300 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 2003).
63
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11. 12. 13. the ability of the corporation to obtain loans from outside lending institutions. the extent to which the advance was used to acquire capital assets. failure of the debtor to repay on the due date or seek postponement.64
Finally, lower courts in the Third Circuit also have adopted the following seven factor test, which incorporates various factors from the preceding tests: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) the name given to the instrument. the intent of the parties. the presence of a fixed maturity date. the right to enforce payment of principal and interest. the presence or absence of voting rights. the status of the contribution in relation to regular corporate contributors. the certainty of payment in the event of the corporations insolvency or liquidation.65
As a result of these recharacterization decisions, lenders and investors should clearly specify whether their transactions are intended to give rise to debt or equity. Otherwise, lenders/investors risk having a bankruptcy court make such a determination for them. For a transaction to be characterized as a loan, the documentation should specify repayment terms, a loan maturity date and interest rate, and provide typical indicia of indebtedness. The transaction should also be administered as a loan. B. Recharacterization of Sale Transactions as a Secured Loan.
Recharacterization also has surfaced in relation to the treatment of a sale of financial assets, i.e., a securitization. The sale of a financial asset to a third party is an attractive option to many businesses because it can enable the
64
Estate of Mixon v. United States, 464 F.2d 394 (5th Cir. 1972) (Fifth Circuit tax case); In re Hedged-Investments Assocs., Inc., 380 F.3d at 1298 (Tenth Circuit bankruptcy case); In re Lane, 742 F.2d at 1314-15 (Eleventh Circuit bankruptcy case)); In re Cold Harbor Assocs., 204 B.R. at 915 (lower court within Second Circuit). See In re Submicron Sys. Corp., 291 B.R. at 323 (citing In re Color Tile, Inc., 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1303, at *14 (D. Del. Feb. 9, 2000)).
65
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business to generate cash quickly and relatively inexpensively. This is described as follows:66 [F]or businesses seeking to realize quickly the value of their receivables, the financial markets have developed elaborate mechanisms to finance the purchase of such receivables. These mechanisms involve bankruptcy remote special purpose corporations which acquire inexpensive funds by selling securities in the public or private debt securities markets, and use the funds to purchase receivables from the originators. This process is known as securitization of the receivables. Debt service on the securities issued to finance the purchase of the receivables is typically supported by a bank letter of credit or loan facility. In such a structure the bank, rather than the securities holder, assumes the most significant credit risk associated with the receivables. In deciding to participate in such transactions, banks (and other parties to the transaction as well) rely on the continued existence of a moreor-less predictable and uninterrupted stream of cash flow from the receivables. More specifically, the parties to these transactions want to feel assured, to the extent possible, that if the business originating the receivables enters bankruptcy, the receivables would not become part of the bankruptcy estate. The typical receivables securitization is structured as a purchase of the receivables from the originator, i.e., a true sale, in order to provide the party such assurance. Receivables which have truly been sold by the originator should be property of the purchaser, not of the originator (or the originators bankruptcy estate). From time to time, courts are called on to determine whether a transaction can be characterized either as a true sale or a disguised secured loan. Consider the following scenario: Corporation sells its existing receivables to a third party, possibly a wholly owned subsidiary created by Corporation specifically for this purpose. Corporation receives the purchase
66
Robert D. Aicher & William J. Fellerhoff, Characterization of a Transfer of Receivables as a Sale or a Secured Loan Upon Bankruptcy of the Transferor, 65 Am. Bankr. L.J. 181, 181 (1991).
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price, and receivables are transferred to the third party. Pursuant to the sale agreement, as the receivables are collected, they are distributed in part to the third party and in part to Corporation. Corporation files for bankruptcy relief. Third party claims that Corporation has no interest in the sold receivables, which never form part of Corporations bankruptcy estate under 541 and are not available for distribution to creditors. Now consider the following additional details: Under the sale agreement, Corporation continues to collect receivables, although they have been sold to third party. Also under the sale agreement, third party receives a fixed amount every month from Corporation, regardless of the amounts collected, and even if no amounts are collected. Corporation receives only the balance, if any. In fact, all risk of collection rests on Corporation, with no risk allocated to third party. Following Corporations bankruptcy filing, Corporations creditors request that the bankruptcy court look past the label of the transaction and find that no sale took place. Certainly, Corporation received funds from the third party. But Corporations creditors argue that these were loan proceeds, not a purchase price. And Corporation did not sell to third party ownership of the receivables. Rather, it transferred a security interest in the receivables. Corporation then paid a fixed amount to third party in repayment of the loan. As such, the receivables now form part of Corporations bankruptcy estate. Third party has claim against estate, in line with other creditors. Assuming third party has perfected its security interest, third partys claim will be secured by the receivables. Whatever the outcome, third partys recovery on the assets would be delayed by the bankruptcy process. Some commentators have defined a true sale as a transfer of financial assets in which the parties state that they intend a sale, and in which all of the benefits and risks commonly associated with ownership are transferred for fair value in an arms-length transaction.67 Courts have struggled, however, in crafting a standard for determining whether the sale of a financial asset should be characterized as a true sale or a secured loan. The recent opinion In re Commercial Loan Corp. described this as follows:
67
Peter V. Pantaleo et al., Rethinking the Role of Recourse in the Sale of Financial Assets, 52 Bus. Law. 159, 159 (1996).
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Whether to deem a transaction a sale or a loan when a financial asset a right to payment has changed hands is an old legal problem for which there has never been an easy solution. The extensive case law is almost no help. Confronted with loan/true sale questions, courts typically adopt something resembling a totality of the circumstances test, declaring that the sale determination depends on the intent of the parties and requires an examination of the parties relationship. Under that amorphous rubric, however, different courts consider different factors and give those factors different weight. So, for example, the language of the parties contract has mattered little to some courts. To others, it is has been more or less dispositive. Some courts find critical the purchasers retention of some recourse against the seller. Others deem it merely relevant, or choose to ignore it altogether[.] With no discernible rule of law or analytical approach evident from the decisions, a court could flip a coin and find support in the case law for a decision either way. The absence of any set legal analysis, along with the annoying tendency of decisions to turn on their facts, makes predicting the outcome of a loan/true sale dispute nearly impossible. 68 As noted, courts have relied on numerous, varying, and sometimes opposing factors in order to determine whether a transfer of assets should be treated as a true sale or as a disguised secured loan. Some of these factors are briefly described below. 1. Intent of the Parties. First, courts typically will ignore the labels used by the parties and instead investigate the true nature of the transaction and the intent of the parties in entering into the transaction. The courts examine all of the relevant factual circumstances surrounding the transaction, including the parties practices, objectives, business activities, and relationships. Thus, in Majors Furniture Mart, Inc. v. Castle Credit Corp., the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected the argument that an agreements explicit reference to sales and purchases proved that the parties intended a true sale of accounts and not a
68
316 B.R. 690, 700-01 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2004).
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security transfer. 69 The court rejected this argument and instead analyzed the parties business activities, objectives and relationship. 2. Language of Agreement. On the other hand, a minority of courts has focused on the agreements language as determinative. For example, in Bear v. Coben (In re Golden Plan of California, Inc.), the Ninth Circuit found substantive indicia of a sale where the parties agreement contained phrases such as assigns, sets over and transfers all rights, title and interest, and concluded that the parties intended a true sale not a disguised loan. 70 3. Allocation of Risk and Benefits. By far, the most important factor in determining whether a sale of a financial asset should be characterized as a true sale or as a secured loan is the extent to which the risks and benefits associated with ownership have either been retained by the [seller] or transferred to the [purchaser].71 One of the risks of ownership that is always examined is whether the transferee bears the risk of loss with respect to the transferred assets. If the transferor fails to retain any of the risks or obligations of ownership, a court is likely to consider the transaction a secured loan.72 The presence of recourse is the most important aspect of risk allocation; it suggests that the parties intended a loan and not a sale. If the parties had intended a sale, then the buyer would have retained the risk of default, not the seller. The greater the recourse the transferee has against the debtor (through, for example, chargebacks or adjustments to the purchase price), the more the transfer resembles a disguised loan rather than a sale. Courts differ on the weight they attach to the presence of
69
602 F.2d 538, 543 (3d Cir. 1979) (rejecting argument that an agreements explicit reference to sales and purchases proved that the parties intended a true sale of accounts and not a security transfer). Bear v. Coben (In re Golden Plan of California, Inc.), 829 F.2d 705 (9th Cir. 1986) (concluding that transaction was a true sale where agreement contained phrases such as assigns, sets over and transfers all rights, title and interest.). Kenneth N. Klee & Brendt C. Butler, Asset-Backed Securitization, Special Purpose Vehicles and Other Securitization Issues, 35 U.C.C.L.J. 23, 49 (2002). Extensive portions of this article are excerpted here. Majors Furniture Mart, Inc. v. Castle Credit Corp., 602 F.2d 538, 543 (3d Cir. 1979) (holding that a shifting of all risk indicates a security interest). See also, Firemans Fund Insurance Co. v. Grover (In re Woodson Co.), 813 F.2d 266, 271-72 (9th Cir. 1987) (holding that transaction was loan because the seller bought an insurance contract in order to guarantee a fixed return to investors; in a true sale the loan pool investors would share in the risk of default and would have to rely on the creditworthiness of the borrowers [mortgagors] and the collateral.).
70
71
72
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recourse provisions. Some courts view the presence of such a provision as nearly conclusive of the parties intent to create a security interest, while others view recourse as only one of several factors. Related to transference of risk of loss to the transferee is the retention of the benefits of ownership by the debtor. The issue here is whether the debtor has the right to repurchase the assets transferred or to substitute other property for the assets transferred. If the debtor were permitted to do this, it could capture any increase in the value of the transferred assets and thus would have retained a significant benefit of ownership. If there is an obligation on the part of the SPV to transfer to the Originator surplus in excess of the purchase price paid for the assets (or in excess of the purchase price plus a reasonable interest rate or rate of return), or an ability of the Originator to repurchase the assets, then the benefits of ownership appear to have been retained by the Originator, and this transaction resembles a secured financing rather than a true sale. Once the debtor has received the purchase price for the assets, it should not have control over the assets.73 The decision in In re LTV Steel Co.74 received significant attention from the securitization industry. LTV had entered into two separate securitization transactions with separate bank groups prepetition, one backed by receivables and the other by inventory. Each transaction involved a transfer of identified assets to a SPV, and in each case a major law firm provided an opinion to the banks to the effect that the asset transfer from LTV to the SPV was a true sale. Once in bankruptcy, LTV (as debtor in possession) sought to recharacterize the two asset securitization transactions arguing that the transactions did not involve true sales; rather, they constituted financing designed to deprive unsecured creditors of the ability to realize any meaningful recovery from the lenders enormous equity cushion, and to enable the lenders to exercise remedies without any accountability to the bankruptcy court or any other parties in interest. LTV focused on the five indicia that it believed established a security financing instead of a true sale of inventory and receivables:
73
In re Major Funding Corp., 82 B.R. 443, 449 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 1987) (characterizing a transaction as a loan based on the fact that the assignor did not segregate specific receivables to pay its investors, but rather paid each investor a specified return from its general pool of mortgage receivables); Petron Trading Co. v. Hydrocarbon Trading & Transport Co., 663 F. Supp. 1153, 1159 (E.D. Pa. 1986) (declining to uphold a true sale when an assignor continued to prepare invoices for contract payments, did not notify its account debtor that its debt had been assigned, and retained rights under the assignment contract to petition the account debtor for price adjustment). 274 B.R. 278 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 2001).
74
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(i) absence of fair market value or standard payment terms under the sale agreements; (ii) allocation of risk to LTV if the value of the inventory or accounts would be insufficient to repay the debtors; (iii) amount of control that LTV exercised over the inventory and receivables; (iv) economic benefit that LTV would receive if the inventory and receivables generate excess proceeds; and (v) failure to maintain corporate formalities. The bankruptcy court authorized LTV to use the cash proceeds of the transferred assets as cash collateral on an interim basis pursuant to Bankruptcy Code 363. The agent bank for each group of lenders consented to this use. The adequate protection provided under the order consisted of a combined package of rights to inventory and receivables. The largest lender under the receivables arrangement (Abbey) filed an emergency motion for modification of the interim cash collateral order. Abbey argued that it was not a lender to LTV inasmuch as the assets had been transferred as a true sale to the SPVs. It further argued that the AAA rating of the SPV and the lower interest costs of the SPV were based on the understanding of all parties, including LTV, that the SPV was bankruptcy remote. Abbey concluded that the bankruptcy court lacked jurisdiction because the assets were not part of LTVs bankruptcy estate under Bankruptcy Code 541. The court denied Abbeys motion, stressing that the interim cash collateral order was necessary to enable debtor to keep its doors open and continue to meet its obligations to its employees, retirees, customers and creditors, and that denial of the use of the assets would put an immediate end to the debtors business, would put thousands of people out of work, would deprive 100,000 retirees of needed medical benefits, and would have far reaching economic effects on the geographic areas where the debtor does business.75 It also held: [T]here seems to be an element of sophistry to suggest that Debtor does not retain at least an equitable interest in the property that is subject to the interim order. Debtors business requires it to purchase, melt, mold and cast various metal products. To suggest that Debtor lacks some ownership interest in products it creates with its own labor, as well as the proceeds to be derived from that labor, is difficult to accept. Accordingly, the court concludes that Debtor has at least some equitable interest in the inventory and receivables, and that this interest is property of the estate. This equitable interest is
75
Id. at 286.
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sufficient to support the entry of the interim cash collateral order.76 IV. AIDING AND ABETTING BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY.
In general, a bank does not have a fiduciary duty to its borrowers.77 There are recognized exceptions to this whereby courts will find that a fiduciary duty was created where a banks conduct exceeds the usual creditor-debtor relationship,78 such as where there is either a confidence reposed which invests the person trusted with an advantage in treating the person so confiding, or an assumption of control and responsibility.79 However, these circumstances are beyond the scope of these materials, which focus on when lenders will be liable for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty. A claim for aiding and abetting the breach of a fiduciary duty generally requires that the plaintiff show: (1) the plaintiff was in a fiduciary relationship with a third party, (2) there was a breach of the fiduciarys duty by the third party, (3) there was a knowing participation in the breach by a defendant who is not a fiduciary and (4) there are damages proximately caused by the breach.80
76
Id. at 285. Abbey subsequently filed an appeal but the matter was settled prior to a decision thereon when the parties agreed upon a debtor in possession financing arrangement. Even though the courts decision was not a final decision on the merits of the true sale issues, it continues to create concern in the finance industry. State St. Bank & Trust Co. v. Inversiones Errazuriz Limitada, 246 F. Supp. 2d 231, 256-257 (S.D.N.Y. 2002). See also, Aaron Ferer & Sons Ltd. v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 731 F.2d 112, 122 (2d Cir. 1984) (under New York law, usual relationship of bank and customer is that of debtor and creditor and a bank owes no fiduciary duty to borrower). Conte v. US Alliance Fed. Credit Union, 303 F. Supp. 2d 220, 227 (D. Conn. 2004) (in special circumstances... a fiduciary relationship will arise between a bank and a customer if there is a confidence placed in the bank that gives it an advantage in dealing with the customer who is placing his trust in the bank.); Scott v. Dime Sav. Bank of New York, FSB, 886 F. Supp. 1073 (S.D.N.Y. 1995) affd, 101 F.3d 107 (2d Cir. 1996). Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. v. Yanakas, 7 F.3d 310, 318 (2d Cir. 1993) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). See S & K Sales Co. v. Nike, Inc., 816 F.2d 843, 851 (2d Cir. 1987); Blanchard, supra note 2 5.10; cf. Restatement (Second) Torts 876(b).
77
78
79
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To the extent the underlying breaches of fiduciary duty are based on fraudulent conduct, the complaint must meet the requirement of Rule 9(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which mandates that all allegations of fraud must be pled with particularity.81 Financial institutions are among those entities most frequently sued for aiding and abetting: Because modern banks provide an array of valuable, and frequently innovative, financing services, banks often are regarded as having been a partner in crime with a company the bank may have considered merely a borrower or customer. The factual elements frequently recurring in bank fraud cases include, most notably: (i) financing, through a series of transactions, of a fraudulent enterprise over an extended duration; (ii) the banks use of actual or alleged atypical banking practices, and; (iii) an ultimate bankruptcy (or absconding with funds) by a borrower or client of the bank.82 One of the most significant issues in the area of aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty is whether the cause of action exists in all states and, if not, where does it not exist. Eighteen states have recognized a cause of action for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty.83 At least one case indicates federal
81 82
In re Sharp Intl. Corp., 302 B.R. 760, 770 (E.D.N.Y. 2003). Richard C. Mason, Civil Liability for Aiding and Abetting, 61 Bus. Law. 1135, 1166 (May 2006). Id. at 1159 (citing Casey v. U.S. Bank Assoc., 26 Cal. Rptr. 3d 401. 405-06 (Cal. Ct. App. 2005); Holmes v. Young, 885 P.2d 305, 308 (Colo. Ct. App. 1994); Malpiede v. Townson, 780 A.2d 1075, 1097 (Del. 2001); Nerbonne, N.V v. Lake Bryant Intl Properties, 689 So. 2d 322, 325 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1997); Thornwood, Inc. v. Jenner & Block, 799 N.E.2d 7.56, 768-69 (Ill. App. Ct. 2003), appeal denied, 807 N.E.2d 982 (Ill. 2004); Kuhlman Elec Corp. v. Chappell, No. 2003-CA-001232-MR, 2005 WL 3243498, at *8 (Ky. Ct. App. Dec. 2, 2005); Cacciola v. Nellhaus, 733 N.E.2d 133, 139 (Mass. Ct. App. 2000); Carson Fischer, PLC v. Standard Fed. Bank., No. 248125, 2005 WL 292343, at *6 (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 8, 2005), revd in part, 2006 WL 1303137 (Mich. May 12, 2006); Witzman v. Lehrman, Lehrman & Flom, 601 N.W2d 179, 186-87 (Minn. 1999); Branch Banking & Trust Co. v. Lighthouse Fin., No. 04 CVS 1523, 2005 WL 1995410, at *7 (N.C. Super. Ct. July 13, 2005); Bondi v. Citigroup, Inc., No. BER-L-10902-04, 2005 WL 975856, at *18 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. Feb. 28, 2005); Fate v. Owens, 27 P.3d 990, 997-98 (N.M. Ct. App. 2001), cert. denied, 27 P.3d 476 (N.M. 2001); Shearson Lehman Bros. Inc. v. Bagley, 614 N.Y.S.2d 5 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994); Future Group II v. Nationsbank, 478 S.E.2d 45, 50 (S.C. 1996); Chem-Age Indus., Inc. v. Glover, 652 N.W.2d 756, 773-76 (S.D. 2002); Toles v. Toles, 113 S.W.3d 899, 917 (Tx. Ct. App. 2003); Halifax Corp. v. Wachovia Bank, 604 S.E.2d 403, 412-14 (Va. 2004); and Lenticular Europe, LLC ex rel Van Leeuwen v. Cunnally, 693 N.W2d 302, 309 (Wis. Ct. App. 2005)).
83
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common law provides a cause of action aiding and abetting breach of a fiduciary duty.84 On the other hand, Georgia does not recognize a claim for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty85 and there are conflicting federal decisions concerning predictions of Pennsylvania law.86 A. The Existence of a Fiduciary Duty and Breach of the Duty.
Proving aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty requires proving that there existed a fiduciary to the plaintiff of a third party. Typically, the plaintiff does not need to prove that the defendant had an independent fiduciary duty to the plaintiff, 87 though (as noted below) if the defendant owes plaintiff a fiduciary duty, this will change the analysis.88 The recent case of Bondi v. Bank of America Corp. (In re Parmalat Securities Litigation) is typical of suits against banks. In that case, the plaintiff, suing on behalf of Parmalat (the debtor), alleged that Bank of America assisted Parmalat managers in structuring and executing a series of complex, mostly offbalance sheet, financial transactions that were deliberately designed to conceal Parmalats insolvency.89 These complex transactions allegedly included loans with undisclosed side-letter agreements, use of special purpose entities to hide the use of debt as equity, and swaps that had no currency or interest rate exchanges and offered the counterparties no ability to hedge.90
84
K & S Partnership v. Continental Bank, N.A., 952 F.2d 971, 980 (8th Cir. 1991) (Knowing participation in a breach of fiduciary duty is analogous to a cause of action . . . for aiding and abetting a securities fraud, where the primary violation involves a breach of fiduciary duty.) cf. Whitney v. Citibank, N.A., 782 F.2d 1106, 1115 (2d Cir. 1986)). Monroe v. Board of Regents, 602 S.E.2d 219, 224 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004). Compare Adena, Inc. v. Cohn, 162 F. Supp. 2d 351, 357 (E.D. Pa. 2001) (predicting Pennsylvania would recognize a claim for aiding-abetting breach of fiduciary duty) and Stone St. Servs. v. Daniels, Civ. A. No. 00-1904, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18904, 2000 WL 1909373, at *3 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 29, 2000) with Daniel Boone Area School Dist. v. Lehman Bros., Inc., 187 F Supp. 2d 400, 413 (W.D. Pa. 2002) and Flood v. Makowski, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16957, No. 03-1803, 2004 WL 1908221 at *36 (M.D. Pa. 2004). Neilson v. Union Bank of Cal., N.A., 290 F. Supp. 2d 1101, 1133 (C.D. Cal. 2003); Casey v. U.S. Bank Nat. Assn., 127 Cal. App. 4th 1138, 1145 (2005) (we reject the banks attempt to overlay the civil conspiracy independent duty requirement onto an aiding and abetting claim.). But see In re County of Orange, 203 B.R. 983 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1996), affd in part, revd in part on other grounds sub nom, County of Orange v. McGraw-Hill Co. (In re County of Orange), 245 B.R. 138 (C.D. Cal. 1997). See infra, note 97 and accompanying text. 383 F. Supp. 2d 587, 590 (S.D.N.Y. 2005). Id. at 592.
85 86
87
88 89 90
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Bank of America characterized the claim as one of aiding and abetting a breach of duty owed to Parmalats shareholders -- to whom the Bank argued Parmalat owed no duty. The court held that this argument was entirely irrelevant because the complaint adequately alleged the banks aided insiders in breaching duties the insiders owed to Parmalat itself.91 B. Knowing Participation in the Breach of the Fiduciary Duty.
Substantial assistance requires a plaintiff to allege that the action of the aider and abettor proximately caused the harm on which the primary liability is predicated.92 The substantial assistance prong is fulfilled where a defendant affirmatively assists, helps conceal, or by virtue of failing to act when required to do so enables the fraud to proceed.93 While summary allegations of participation or aiding in the wrongdoing will not make it past the pleading stage,94 courts have generally not required significant amounts of aid to hold banks liable for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty. One court has held common sense tells us that even ordinary business transactions a bank performs for a customer can satisfy the substantial assistance element of an aiding and abetting claim if the bank actually knew those transactions were assisting the customer in committing a specific tort. Knowledge is the crucial element. 95 Attorneys advising a company president on how he might warehouse premiums so he could purchase illicit off-shore insurance policies were found to be aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty.96 Similarly, where a bank lent sums to the fiduciary (a trust) knowing the loan was made for purposes of misleading a plaintiff creditor, the lender was liable to the plaintiff.97 However, mere silence or inaction can only constitute
91 92 93
Id. at 599. Filler v. Hanvit Bank, 339 F. Supp. 2d 553, 557 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) (citation omitted). OSRecovery, Inc. v. One Groupe Intl, Inc., 354 F. Supp. 2d 357, 378 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) (citation omitted). Scognamillo v. Credit Suisse First Boston LLC, No. C03-2061 (TEH), 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20221, at *14-15 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 25, 2005). Casey v. U.S. Bank Nat. Assn., 127 Cal. App. 4th 1138, 1145 (Cal. Ct. App. 2005). Anstine v. Alexander, 128 P.3d 249, 265 (Colo. Ct. App. 2005). Rabobank Nederland v. Natl. Westminster Bank, No. A104604, 2005 WL 1840108, at *9-11 (Cal. Ct. App. Aug. 4, 2005).
94
95 96 97
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substantial assistance if the alleged aider/abettor has a fiduciary duty to the injured party.98 The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in applying Pennsylvania law, has noted that Restatement (Second) of Torts 876 suggests the following six factors to determine whether a defendant rendered substantial assistance for purposes of accomplice liability: a. the nature of the act encouraged; b. the amount of assistance given by the defendant; c. the defendants presence or absence at the time of the tort; d. the defendants relation to the other tortfeasor; e. the defendants state of mind; and f. the foreseeability of the harm that occurred.99 Knowledge of the fiduciarys breach of duty is required for liability for aiding and abetting that breach.100 The knowledge of wrongdoing requirement generally means the aider/abettor must have known the act was a breach of fiduciary duty.
98 99
Strong v. France, 474 F.2d 747, 752 (9th Cir. 1973). Fassett v. Delta Kappa Epsilon, 807 F.2d 1150, 1163 (3d Cir. 1986) (quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts, 876(b), comment d). Chance World Trading v. Heritage Bank of Commerce, 438 F. Supp. 2d 1081, 1086-1087 (N.D. Cal. 2005) (the inference that Heritage Bank knew of Ms. Yadav-Ranjans fraud cannot be drawn from evidence that Heritage Bank did not follow its own internal rules, and the only other evidence Chance World has produced that could show knowledge by Heritage Bank is an e-mail, which, according to uncontradicted testimony, was not sent to a valid address for the bank.); Neilson, 290 F. Supp. 2d at 1120 (C.D. Cal. 2003) (The complaint asserts that the Banks knew Slatkin was committing fraud and was breaching his fiduciary duties to class members. It also alleges that each bank actively participated in Slatkins Ponzi scheme with knowledge of his crimes. . . . It alleges, in particular, that the Banks utilized atypical banking procedures to service Slatkins accounts, raising an inference that they knew of the Ponzi scheme and sought to accommodate it by altering their normal ways of doing business. This supports the general allegations of knowledge.); Kolbeck v. Lit America, Inc., 939 F.Supp. 240, 247 (S.D.N.Y. 1996), affd, 152 F.3d 918 (2d Cir. 1998) (Inaction, or a failure to investigate, constitutes actionable participation only when a defendant owes a fiduciary duty directly to the plaintiff; that the primary violator owes a fiduciary duty to the plaintiff is not enough.); King v. George Schonberg & Company, 233 A.D.2d 242, 243, 650 N.Y.S.2d 107 (1st Dept 1996).
100
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In Hashimoto v. Clark the court found that plaintiff had not adequately alleged knowledge where: As far as these officers were concerned, the disposal of the metals presented no cause for alarm. Sheffield was a metals dealer who, Safrabank assumed, regularly traded metals. Furthermore, Safrabank had no reason to believe that Sheffield had not otherwise covered its positions. These officers deny that Safrabank had any knowledge of Sheffields overall metals positions or of its futures trading.101 Generally, Knowledge is hard to prove. However, in bank fraud cases, defendants use of atypical banking procedures is a judicially recognized basis for an inference of knowledge the bank is aiding anothers misconduct.102 Familiarity over an extended period with the course of conduct relating to the scheme at issue also may support an inference of knowledge.103 Most court have even gone beyond the actual knowledge standard. Where facts are known to the defendant from which the conclusion objectively follows that a fraud is being perpetrated (and assisted by defendant), aiderabettor liability may exist even if the defendant lacked actual knowledge.104 Those courts have held that, unlike a cause of action for conspiracy, the knowledge requirement for aiding and abetting liability may be satisfied by proof that a defendant acted with reckless disregard.105 Reckless disregard is not,
101 102
Hashimoto v. Clark, 264 B.R. 585, 598-99 (D. Ariz. 2001). Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Leahey Construction Co., 219 F.3d 519, 536 (6th Cir. 2000); Camp v. Dema, 948 F.2d 455, 459 (8th Cir. 1991); Woodward v. Metro Bank, 522 F.2d 84, 97 (5th Cir. 1975). Jaguar Cars, Inc. v. Royal Oaks Motor Car Co., 46 F.3d 258, 270 (3d Cir. 1995) (holding that experience and active participation in the . . . dealership, combined with the extent of the fraud presented a sufficient basis for imposition of aiding-abetting liability). In that case, the evidence of the fathers control over the dealership, included his having (1) spent significant time there, (2) reviewed the financial statements, and (3) discussed the dealerships operations on a daily basis with his son, the architect of the fraudulent scheme combined with evidence of the pervasive nature of the fraudulent scheme. Id. at 271. Filler, 339 F. Supp. 2d at 560; Javitch v. First Montauk Fin. Corp., 279 F. Supp. 2d 931, 941 (N.D. Ohio 2003); Williams v. Bank Leumi Trust Co., No. 96 Civ. 6695 (LMM), 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7538 (S.D.N.Y. May 30, 1997). But see In re Citigroup, Inc. Secs. Litig., 330 F. Supp. 2d 367 (S.D.N.Y. 2004). Levine v. Diamanthusel, Inc., 950 F.2d 1478, 1483 (9th Cir. 1991); FDIC v. First Interstate Bank of Des Moines, N.A., 885 F.2d 423, 432-33 (8th Cir. 1989).
103
104
105
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however, evidenced by mere suspicion, but rather requires proof the aiderabettor ignored obvious danger signals106 or was deliberatively indifferent to the propogation of the fraud scheme.107 C. Causation and Damages.
A plaintiff must also show that the defendants conduct (that otherwise meets the requirements for aiding and abetting liability) was the proximate cause of the plaintiffs damages.108 The assistance must have been a substantial factor in causing the harm suffered.109 Ortho-Med is instructive because the court found that plaintiff Micro-Aire had established each of the requisite elements for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty, but the court concluded that plaintiff had no claim for damages against defendant Ortho-Med: The Court does not intend to condone the private commission arrangement [which breached a fiduciary duty]. There is little doubt that it would have been ample grounds for terminating the Agreement if Micro-Aire had not already done so when it learned of
106 107
Abbott v. Equity Group, Inc., 2 F.3d 613, 623 n.33 & 626 (5th Cir. 1993). Commodity Futures Trading Corp. v. Sidoti, 178 F.3d 1132, 1136 (11th Cir. 1999) (aiding and abetting occurred through decision to hire sales personnel exclusively from various companies with histories of sales practice fraud coupled with absence of training or attempt to restrain practices); see generally, In re IKON Office Solutions, Inc., 277 F.3d 658, 673 (3d Cir. 2002); Lehman Bros. Commer. Corp. v. Minmetals Intl Non-Ferrous Metals Trading Co., 179 F. Supp. 2d 118, 153 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) ([A] third party can become obligated to investigate an agents actions where there are indications that the agents actions are suspicious in nature. A failure to investigate under such circumstances may result in the third partys liability for aiding and abetting the agents breach of his fiduciary duty. See Whitney v. Citibank, N.A., 782 F.2d 1106, 1115-16 (2d Cir. 1986)). See, e.g., Filler v. Hanvit Bank, No. 01 Civ. 9510 (MGC), 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15950, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 12, 2003); Neilson, 290 F. Supp. 2d at 1135 (holding that substantial assistance requires the plaintiff to allege that the actions of the aider/abettor proximately cause the harm on which the primary liability is predicated.). Cohen v. Adventist Health Sys./West (In re Diamond Benefits Life Ins. Co.), No. MDL 930972-PHX-RGS, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10074, at *14-15 (D. Ariz. March 10, 2006) (Had DBLIC not been looted of the $ 18 million in cash by Defendants, and those they aided and abetted, and deprived of another $ 11 million owed to it by LACOP, DBLIC would now be in the position to pay all of its creditor claims. The losses are clear. The causal link to Defendants is irrefutable.); Neilson, 290 F. Supp. 2d at 1135; Ortho-Med, Inc. v. Micro-Aire Surgical Instruments, Inc., No. CV 93-7621(JGD), 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22217, at *32 (C.D. Cal. April 10, 1995) (It is clear in California that a party must suffer detriment to have a claim for damages); Kolbeck, 939 F. Supp. at 246; DePinto v. Ashley Scott, Inc., 222 A.D.2d 288, 290, 635 N.Y.S.2d 215, 217 (1st Dept 1995).
108
109
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the arrangement. But it cannot be grounds for a separate claim unless it results in provable damages. Its argument that a proper comparison would show such damages is not only logically flawed, but is unsupported by the evidence. In the place of evidence is the parties speculation: Ortho-Med speculates that both parties benefited from the arrangement because the customers were served more efficiently and more products were sold; Micro-Aire speculates that it lost sales because a loyal distributor would have performed better. There is no evidence to support either position.110 V. DEEPENING INSOLVENCY.
Although the term deepening insolvency was coined over 20 years ago, courts still exhibit divergent understandings of the concept. Some courts recognize deepening insolvency as an intentional tort, some recognize it as a form of negligence, some recognize it merely as a theory of damages and some just see it as a mistake. Recent decisions have begun to narrow the scope of this confusing body of law; however, many cases still provide significant uncertainty. Generally, deepening Insolvency describes a claim that a defendant acted (or failed to act) in a manner that wrongfully prolonged the life of the corporation outside of bankruptcy and that such action (or inaction) damaged the corporation through a decline in its net value or an increase in its debt. Two cases are generally cited as genesis for deepening insolvency as a separate tort: Schact v. Brown111 and Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. R.F. Lafferty & Co.112 In Schact, the Illinois Director of Insurance was acting as liquidator of the Reserve Insurance Company. The Director pursued claims against the insolvent insurance companys officers, directors, and parent corporation alleging that they continued the insurance company in business past the point of insolvency and looted the company of its most profitable assets. In affirming the district courts
110
Ortho-Med, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS, at *31 - 32; compare Meyers v. Moody, 475 F. Supp. 232, 237 (N.D. Tex. 1979) (holding that damages were measurable in terms of loss of value or physical damage to corporate assets, restraints upon the marketability of corporate assets, and interference with the development of corporate properties.), affd, 693 F.2d 1196, 1214 (5th Cir. 1982). 711 F.2d 1343 (7th Cir. 1983). 267 F.3d 340 (3d Cir. 2001).
111 112
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denial of a motion to dismiss, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held the corporate body is ineluctably damaged by the deepening of its insolvency through increased exposure to creditor liability . . . in most cases, it would be crucial that the insolvency of the corporation be disclosed so that shareholders may exercise the right to dissolve the corporation in order to cut their losses.113 In Lafferty, a creditors committee brought a claim on behalf of the debtors estate alleging that the defendants, including the debtors officers, directors, and outside professionals, induced the debtors into issuing debt securities, thereby deepening the debtors insolvency and forcing them into bankruptcy.114 According the committee, the outsider professionals conspired with the debtors management, who were also the debtors sole shareholders, in engineering a Ponzi scheme to the detriment of the debtor corporations general unsecured creditors. The district court found that a claim based on deepening insolvency could give rise to a cognizable injury under Pennsylvania law. In affirming, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held, even when a corporation is insolvent, its corporate property may have value. The fraudulent and concealed incurrence of debt can damage that value in several ways.115
113
711 F.2d at 1350 (citing In re Investors Funding Corp. of N.Y. Sec. Litig., 523 F. Supp. 533, 536 (S.D.N.Y. 1980). In In re Investors Funding Corp., plaintiffs alleged that the debtors insiders (the Danskers) embarked on a scheme to loot the debtor using its professionals. The insiders induced creditors and shareholders to invest more funds in the debtor based on a false picture of the debtors financial well-being and misappropriated a portion of the funds that were raised. Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. (PMM), the debtors outside auditor, was sued for enabling the Danskers to paint a false financial picture. Id. at 537. PMM moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the corporation was in pari delictio because the Danskers were its officers and they were not acting adversely to the corporation in trying to keep it afloat. In denying of PMMs motion to dismiss, the court held: Even to the extent one focuses upon the artificial financial picture of IFC [the debtor] created by the Danskers which prolonged IFCs existence several years beyond its actual insolvency, PMMs position is not persuasive. A corporation is not a biological entity for which it can be presumed that any act which extends its existence is beneficial to it. The complaint plainly alleges that, as a result of the Danskers practices, IFCs financial situation was caused to deteriorate even further after 1971. Accepting the allegations of the complaint as true, it is manifest that the prolonged artificial solvency of IFC benefited only the Danskers and their confederates, not IFC. 523 F. Supp. at 541.
114 115
267 F.3d 340, 345 (3d Cir. 2001). Id. at 349. The Court went on to cite Schacht v. Brown, 711 F.2d at 1350; Hannover Corp. of Am. v. Beckner, 211 B.R. 849, 854-55 (M.D. La. 1997); Allard v. Arthur Andersen & Co., 924 F. Supp. 488, 494 (S.D.N.Y. 1996); In re Gouiran Holdings, Inc., 165 B.R. 104, 107 (E.D.N.Y. 1994); Feltman v. Prudential Bache Sec., 122 B.R. 466, 473 (S.D. Fla. 1990);
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A. The Development of an Independent Cause of Action.
Several courts have followed Schact and Lafferty, recognizing deepening insolvency as an independent cause of action.116 One such example is Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. Credit Suisse First Boston (In re Exide Technologies). 117 In that case, a creditors committee alleged that the agent bank and other lenders controlled and dominated the debtor by, for example, initiating an acquisition that proved disastrous to the debtor. According to the complaint, the lenders caused the debtors to make the acquisition so that they could obtain the control necessary to force the Debtors fraudulently to continue its business for nearly two years at ever increasing levels of insolvency.118 Following Lafferty and Schact, the Delaware bankruptcy court held that Delaware would recognize a claim for deepening insolvency if the lender controlled the debtor and caused the debtor to continue its business at ever increasing levels of insolvency. 119 Whether and to what extent there is a separate tort for deepening insolvency is not firmly established in all courts. The Exide, Lafferty and Shacht decisions suggest that there is, indeed, a separate tort for which lenders could be held liable for increasing the insolvency of the borrower by continuing to lend. However, there has also been some resistance to deepening insolvency as an independent cause of action. Many courts have held that lending to an insolvent borrower in and of itself cannot create a lender liability. Those courts that have disputed deepening insolvency as an independent cause of action usually invoke one or more of the following concerns: To label the prolongation of an insolvent corporation a tort -- by itself -- ignores the possibility that the directors and officers of the
Herbert H. Post & Co. v. Sidney Bitterman, Inc., 219 A.D.2d 214, 639 N.Y.S.2d 329 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept 1996); and Corcoran v. Frank B. Hall & Co., 149 A.D.2d 165, 175, 545 N.Y.S.2d 278 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept 1989) for the proposition that deepening insolvency had attained a growing acceptance as a cause of action.
116
See, e.g., Limor v. Buerger (In re Del-Met Corp.), 322 B.R. 781(Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2005); In re LTV Steel Co., 333 B.R. 397, 422 (Bankr. D. Ohio 2005); Collins v. Kohlberg & Co. (In re Southwest Supermarkets, L.L.C.), 315 B.R. 565 (Bankr. D. Ariz. 2004); Schnelling v. Thomas (In re AgriBiotech, Inc.), 319 B.R. 216 (D. Nev. 2004); In re Exide Techs., Inc., 299 B.R. at 736; Lichtenstein v. Stockton Bates, LLP (In re Computer Personalities Sys., Inc.), No. 01-14231, 2003 Bankr. LEXIS 1572, (Bankr. E.D. Pa. Nov. 18, 2003). 299 B.R. 732 (Bankr. D. Del. 2003). Id. 750-51. Id. at 752.
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corporation are using the funds provided post-insolvency to save the corporation. Identifying the theory of deepening insolvency as a tort would be contrary to the business judgment rule, which protects the decisions of directors and officers to make business decisions that are in the best interests of the corporation and its constituents. The theory of deepening insolvency as an independent cause of action seems to be subsumed by other tort causes of action, such as common law fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, professional malpractice, or negligence.
Two cases in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York have illustrated these problems. In Kittay v. Atlantic Bank (In re Global Service Group LLC),120 the chapter 7 trustee of Global Service Group sued Atlantic Bank of New York, alleging that Global Service Group was in the zone of insolvency from its formation and that Atlantic Bank of New York knew or should have known that Global would be unable to repay its loans. Notwithstanding its knowledge of Global Service Groups insolvency, Atlantic Bank made a secured loan to Global Service Group and obtained a security interest in the personal assets of Global Service Groups principals, thereby prolonging its life outside of bankruptcy. Other creditors allegedly extended credit (including trade credit) based on Atlantic Banks loan. The bankruptcy court determined that the trustee stated no cause of action: The distinction between deepening insolvency as a tort or damage theory may be one unnecessary to make. Prolonging an insolvent corporations life, without more, will not result in liability under either approach. Instead, one seeking to recover for deepening insolvency must show that the defendant prolonged the companys life in breach of a separate duty, or committed an actionable tort that contributed to the continued operation of a corporation and its increased debt. *** The Complaint alleges, in substance, that Atlantic Bank should be liable for Globals deepening insolvency because the bank made a loan that it knew or should have known Global could never repay. This may be bad banking, but it isnt a tort. A third party is not prohibited from extending credit to an insolvent entity; if it was, most companies in financial distress would be forced to liquidate. And
120
316 B.R. 451, 456 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2004).
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while the Complaint alleges that Atlantic Bank made the loan on the strength of its relationship with the Goldmans and their personal assets, this is neither surprising nor improper. Banks prefer to lend to those they know, and have the right to insist on guaranties and pledges of personal assets from the corporate principals. Notably, the Complaint does not allege or imply that Atlantic Bank extended the loans to enable the Goldmans to siphon off the funds or commit some other wrong. This leads to the second problem with the First Cause of Action, and for that matter, with much of the Complaint. The unspoken premise of the trustees deepening insolvency theory is that the managers of an insolvent limited liability company are under an absolute duty to liquidate the company, and anyone who knowingly extends credit to the insolvent company breaches an independent duty in the nature of aiding and abetting the managers wrongdoing. The assumption is a faulty one. *** [I]n contrast to the laws of some foreign jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, there is no absolute duty under American law to shut down and liquidate an insolvent corporation. The fiduciaries may, consistent with the business judgment rule, continue to operate the corporations business.121 The Court went on to rule that the complaint filed by the trustee did not contain specific allegations to overcome the business judgment rule (e.g., that the directors and officers acted in bad faith or with fraudulent intent), and dismissed the trustees counts for deepening insolvency and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty. In re Verestar, Inc., another case in the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York, went one further than Global Service Group. In Verestar, the court affirmatively held that deepening insolvency was not an independent cause of action because it added nothing to the causes of action under breach of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty.122
121
Id. at 458-60. See also RSL COM Primecall, Inc. v. Beckoff (In re RSL COM Primecall, Inc.), Adv. No. 03-2176, 2003 Bankr. LEXIS 1635, at *8 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Dec. 11, 2003) (There is no authority that supports [the] position that there is a blanket duty to liquidate upon insolvency, untempered by the business judgment rule. . . . It has never been the law in the United States that directors are not afforded significant discretion as to whether an insolvent company can work out its problems or should file a bankruptcy petition.). 343 B.R. 444, 477 n.18 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2006).
122
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Some courts in other jurisdictions have followed the reasoning of Verestar, rejecting deepening insolvency as a cause of action.123 Trenwick America Litigation Trust v. Ernst & Young, LLP,124 is likely one of the most influential of these because it comes out of the Delaware Court of Chancery. In that case, a publicly traded insurance holding company had acquired three unaffiliated insurance companies in arms length transactions. The acquisitions were approved by the holding companys shareholders and there was no evidence that the directors of the holding company acted fraudulently in connection with the acquisitions. However, the acquisitions proved improvident when the amount of insurance claims against the holding company and its subsidiaries exceeded estimates and prevented the holding company from being able to timely pay its debts.125 The holding company and its top subsidiary filed for bankruptcy and a trustee for the top subsidiary initiated a lawsuit against the holding companys banks, alleging deepening insolvency. The Court dismissed the lawsuit, holding that there was no cause of action for deepening insolvency. Under Delaware law, there is no obligation for a corporation to cease business and liquidate upon reaching the state of insolvency. The board of directors may, in good faith, continue to pursue strategies to maximize the value of the firm. The Court observed: the fact of insolvency does not render the concept of deepening insolvency a more logical one than the concept of shallowing profitability. That is, the mere fact that a business in the red gets redder when a business decision goes wrong and a business in the black gets paler does not explain why the law should recognize an independent cause of action based on the decline in enterprise value in the crimson setting and not in the darker one.126 Thus, a failed but good faith attempt to turn things around for a corporation is still subject to the business judgment rule.127 Courts in other jurisdictions have also rejected deepening insolvency as an independent cause of action.128 While it
123
See, e.g., In re Envid, Inc., 345 B.R. 426, 453 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2006); In re SW Fla. Heart Group, 346 B.R. 897, 898 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2006); Bookland v. Baker, Newman & Noyes, LLC, 271 F. Supp. 2d 324 (D. Me. 2003). 906 A.2d 168 (Del. Ch. 2006). Id. at 272. Id. at 205. Id. See, e.g., Kaye v. Dupree (In re Avado Brands, Inc.), No. 05-3823, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS (Bankr. N.D. Tex. Dec. 28, 2006) (determining that no cause of action for deepening insolvency existed under Georgia law); Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors VarTec Telecom, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Fin. Coop. (In re VarTec Telecom, Inc.), 335 B.R. 631 (Bankr.
124 125 126 127 128
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acknowledged the growing trend toward recognizing deepening insolvency as a cause of action, the Fifth Circuit has declined to speculate on whether the Texas Supreme Court would recognize deepening insolvency as a viable, independent legal theory.129 Other courts have declined to go as far, indicating that there was a tort of deepening insolvency, but requiring that there be some showing of fraud.130 These rulings suggest that a lender should not be at risk simply because it loans funds to an entity that is insolvent or in the zone of insolvency, just because the loan permits the entitys life to be prolonged. B. Deepening Insolvency as a Theory of Damages. Even courts that have rejected the deepening insolvency as a cause of action wholesale have recognized that it is a useful theory of damages. The damage theory is well founded in general principles of corporate finance: Even when a corporation is insolvent, its corporate property may have value. The fraudulent and concealed incurrence of debt can damage that value in several ways. For example, to the extent that bankruptcy is not already a certainty, the incurrence of debt can force an insolvent corporation into bankruptcy, thus inflicting legal and administrative costs on the corporation131
N.D. Tex. 2005) (determining that no cause of action for deepening insolvency existed under Texas law).
129
Fla. Dept of Ins. v. Chase Bank of Tex. Natl Assn, 274 F.3d 924 (5th Cir. 2001) (Ultimately, the Court need not decide whether the Texas Supreme Court would recognize this theory as an independent cause of action. Even if it would, Florida has made no attempt, either in its summary judgment briefing and evidence in the district court, or in its brief on appeal, to quantify how much additional debt, if any, Western Star incurred after Chase assisted in establishing the empty trust. To the extent that Florida has adequately briefed deepening insolvency as a viable legal theory, there is no evidence of damages measured from the deepening insolvency perspective that would justify allowing Florida to proceed to trial on this claim.); see also Smith v. Arthur Anderson LLP (In re Boston Chicken), 421 F.3d 995, 1003 (9th Cir. 2005) (although we hold that the dissipation of assets constitutes an injury to Boston Chicken, we express no opinion on whether the complaint states a valid claim for relief based on that injury). Seitz v. Detweiler, Hershey & Assocs. P.C. (In re CitX Corp.), 448 F.3d 672, 677 (3d Cir. 2006); In re Oakwook Homes Corp., 340 B.R. 510, 531-33 (Bankr. D. Del. 2006) (citing to Lafferty to hold that Delaware, New York and North Carolina would recognize a cause of action for deepening insolvency); In re Monahan Ford Corp., 340 B.R. 1, 40 (Bankr. E.D.N.Y. 2006) (holding that New York recognized a cause of action for deepening insolvency). Richard A. Brealey & Stewart C. Myers, Principles of Corporate Finance 487 (5th ed. 1996).
130
131
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In certain jurisdictions, negligence may be sufficient to establish damages for deepening insolvency.132 In other jurisdictions, allegations of fraud are required.133 Courts have taken inconsistent approaches in how they measure the damages of deepening insolvency. Some courts seem to hold that the amount of debt incurred is the measure of the deepening insolvency.134 Other courts have held that the damages for deepening insolvency are the amount of trade obligations incurred.135 Still other courts hold that the loss of enterprise value is the appropriate measure of damages.136 Finally, a few courts have held that deepening insolvency is not an appropriate measure of damages at all.137 VI. IN PARI DELICTO DEFENSE. In pari delicto138 is recognized by several courts as a defense to deepening insolvency and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty.139 Indeed no discussion of deepening insolvency and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty would be complete without a discussion of the defense of in pari delicto because, where it applies, it bars a plaintiff from asserting claims where he, she or it participated in the wrongdoing underlying the claims.140 According to the Supreme Court, in pari delicto is based on two premises: first, that courts should not lend their good offices to mediating disputes among wrongdoers; and
132 133
See, e.g., Hannover, 211 B.R. at 851. See, e.g., In re Student Fin. Corp., 335 B.R. 539, 548 (D. Del. 2005), In re CitX, 448 F.3d at 677. See, e.g., In re Flagship Healthcare (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2001). In re DeLorean Motor Co., 924 F. Supp. at 494. Bookland, 271 F. Supp. 2d at 331 (D. Me. 2003). See, e.g., In re CitX Corp., 448 F.3d at 678; Comml Fin. Servs., Inc. v. J.P. Morgan Secs., Inc., No. 103,053 (Ok. Ct. Civil Appeals Sept. 28, 2006); Coroles v. Sabey, 79 P.3d 974, 983 (Utah Ct. App. 2003). Bateman Eichler, Hill Richards, Inc. v. Berner, 472 U.S. 299, 306, 105 S. Ct. 2622, 86 L. Ed. 2d 215 (1985) (citations omitted) In pari delicto is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase in pari delicto potior est conditio defendentis (meaning, where the wrong of both parties is equal, the position of the defendant is the stronger). See, e.g., Lafferty, 267 F.3d at 358; In re Del-Met Corp., 322 B.R. at 813-15. See Shearson, Lehman, Hutton, Inc. v. Wagoner, 944 F.2d 114, 120 (2d Cir. 1991) and cases cited therein.
134 135 136 137
138
139 140
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second, that denying judicial relief to an admitted wrongdoer is an effective means of deterring illegality.141 The difficulty in applying this defense in a lender liability context is determining just when the bad acts of the former directors and officers of a plaintiff corporation will be attributed to the corporation. Many courts have held that, because a bankruptcy trustee stands in the shoes of the debtor, in pari delicto applies to bar a trustee in bankruptcy or other successor from asserting claims against third parties that arise out of misconduct in which the debtor participated.142 This position has been highly criticized by academics for creating inequitable results not contemplated by the Bankruptcy Code143 and a growing number of courts are holding that a trustee, as successor of the debtor, is not subject to the in pari delicto defense.144 State law governs whether an agents actions or knowledge may be imputed to a corporation for state law claims.145 Although, generally, the actions and knowledge of a corporations directors and officers bind the corporation, every jurisdiction has exceptions to this, and the exceptions very from state to state. Very often, whether the in pari delicto defense can be asserted can depends on whether an exception to the basic rules of corporate agency applies.146
141
Bateman Eichler, Hill Richards, Inc. v. Berner, 472 U.S. 299, 306, 105 S. Ct. 2622, 86 L. Ed. 2d 215 (1985) (citations omitted) (citing Higgins v. McCrea, 116 U.S. 671, 685, 6 S. Ct. 557, 29 L. Ed. 764 (1886); Austins Admx v. Winstons Exx, 11 Va. 33, 47 (1806); Holman v. Johnson, 1 Cowp. 341, 343, 98 Eng. Rep. 1120, 1121 (K.B. 1775)). Granite Partners, L.P. v. Bear, Stearns & Co., 17 F. Supp. 2d 275, 310 (S.D.N.Y. 1998). See infra note 168. See infra notes 169-171. OMelveny & Myers v. FDIC, 512 U.S. 79, 84, 85 & 87-89, 114 S. Ct. 2048, 129 L. Ed. 2d 67 (1994). One very significant variation among the states is New Yorks recognition of in pari delicto, also known in the Second Circuit as the Wagoner rule, as one relating to standing (an element the plaintiff must generally prove), whereas in pari delicto is generally a defense with the burden on the defendant to prove. Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc. v. Wagoner, 944 F.2d 114, 118 (2d Cir. 1991) (In our analysis of the question [of standing], the case or controversy requirement coincides with the scope of the powers the Bankruptcy Code gives a trustee, that is, if a trustee has no power to assert a claim because it is not one belonging to the bankrupt estate, then he also fails to meet the prudential limitation that the legal rights asserted must be his own. (internal citations omitted)).
142 143 144 145
146
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A.
The Adverse Interest Exception.
Almost all courts recognize the adverse interest exception to in pari delicto. It provides that management misconduct will not be imputed to the corporation if the insiders acted entirely in their own interests and adverse to the interests of the corporation.147 However, under the law of some states, to come within the exception, the agent must have totally abandoned his principals interests and be acting entirely for his own or anothers purposes. It cannot be invoked merely because he has a conflict of interest or because he is not acting primarily for his principal.148 Moreover, where the agent acts with a mixed motive, seeking to gain both personal and corporate benefits, the exception will not apply, even if the primary motivation for the acts is inimical to the principal.149 In A.W. Crisp, Jr. v. Southwest Bancshares Leasing Company, an oftencited case from the Texas court of appeals, the court ruled: where the agent acts both for himself and his principal, the agents knowledge is imputed to the principal, who cannot achieve an advantage secured by the fraud of the agent. Th[is] rule is for the protection of innocent third parties and does not protect those who collude with the agent to defraud the principal. So, that rule loses its applicability when the agent is acting fraudulently toward his principal. In that situation, the agents knowledge is not binding on the principal and the one who avails himself of the fraudulent services of the agent cannot claim that the agents acts or knowledge bind the defrauded principal. 150
147 148
Wight v. Bankamerica Corp., 219 F.3d 79, 87 (2d Cir. 2000). Center v. Hampton Affiliates, Inc., 66 N.Y. 2d 782, 784-85 (N.Y. 1985). See also, Smith v. Anderson, 175 F. Supp. 2d 1199 (D. Ariz. 2001) (complaint alleged a far reaching scheme to continue a company in business past its point of insolvency and systematically looting it); In re Phar-Mor Securities Litigation, 900 F. Supp. 784, 787 (W.D. Pa. 1995) (the true motive of the wrongdoers was the preservation of their employment, salaries, employments and reputations, as well as their liberty, at the expense of [the debtors] corporate well-being); FDIC v. Nathan, 804 F. Supp. 888, 894 (S.D. Tex. 1992) (bank officers allegedly filled their own pockets while fraudulently extending the life of the thrift they continued to milk and intensifying the deficiencies which would push the institution into insolvency); In re Investors Funding Corp., 523 F. Supp. at 541 (S.D.N.Y 1980) (the thrust of the complaint is that [insiders] created the false appearance of fiscal salubrity to conceal their past acts of mismanagement and to raise capital for their future plundering.). Sec. Investor Prot. Corp. v. BDO Seidman, LLP, 49 F. Supp. 2d 644, 650 (S.D.N.Y. 1999). 586 S.W.2d 610, 615 (1979).
149 150
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This articulation of the rule seems is much broader than most courts, suggesting that Texas law is less inclined enforce in pari delicto in favor of wrongdoers.151 Many states also recognize an exception to this exception, known as the sole actor rule. Under the sole actor rule, where the alleged wrongdoer who comes within the adverse interest exception is one and the same with the corporation, then the adverse interest exception is inapplicable, in pari delicto applies, and the corporation is barred from asserting its claims.152 This rule applies only, however, where the wrongdoer exerts domination sufficient to affect corporate action with respect to the particular transaction.153 B. The Innocent Decision Maker Exception.
Some courts have held that in pari delicto applies only where all relevant shareholders and/or decision-makers are involved in the fraud.154 In Wechsler v. Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld, L.L.P., the debtors bankruptcy trustee sued its former law firm for legal malpractice in failing to stop the fraud personally overseen and directed by [the debtors] CEO Steven Hoffenberg and his cohorts.155 The court dismissed the case under the in pari delicto rule because the trustee had no standing to sue for misconduct that was perpetrated principally by the corporations own directors. The court noted, however, that in pari delicto does not apply where there were innocent decision-makers who were ignorant of the ongoing fraud and could and would if advised of facts . . . have taken steps to bring the fraudulent conduct to an end.156 The court in Breeden v. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, clarified that this innocent decision-maker exception set forth in Wechsler requires the existence of relevant innocent decision-makers. The court there explained:
151
Id.; see also Desert Palm Properties, N.V. v. McFarlane, No. 01-92-00967-CV, 1994 Tex. App. LEXIS 2951 (Tex. App. 1994) (holding that the in pari delicto defense did not apply where an insider acted for his own benefit and adverse to the interest of the corporation). Mediators, Inc. v. Manney (In re Mediators Inc.), 105 F.3d 822, 827 (2d Cir. 1997). Munroe v. Harriman, 85 F.2d 493, 496 (2d Cir. 1936). Secs. Investor Protection Corp. v. BDO Seidman, LLP, 49 F. Supp. 2d 644, 650 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) (quoting Wechsler v. Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld, L.L.P., 212 B.R. 34, 36 (S.D.N.Y. 1997)). Id. at 35. Id. at 36.
152 153 154
155 156
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Wechsler does not stand for the proposition, as the trustee would have it, that the presence of any innocent officer, director, or shareholder avoids the imputation of fraudulent acts by management to the corporation. Indeed, to the extent the Wechsler Court refers to all relevant shareholders and/or decision-makers it concedes the well-accepted proposition that some members of management are irrelevant for the purposes of applying the Wagoner rule. Only management that exercises total control over the corporationor that exercises total control over the type of transactions involved in the particular fraudulent activity at issueare relevant.157 Stated another way, the Wechsler innocent decision-maker exception exists and the trustee therefore has standing to assert claimswhere there are relevant, outside decision-makers who: (1) had no knowledge of any wrongdoing; (2) could have taken affirmative action to stop the wrongdoing; and (3) would have taken such action if they had been aware of the wrongdoing.158 On the other hand, the court in Lippe v. Bairnco Corp. held that, notwithstanding the existence of relevant, innocent decision-makers, the innocent decision-maker exception did not apply and in pari delicto barred the plaintiff from asserting claims where there was sufficient unity between the corporate plaintiff (Keene) and the management wrongdoers. 159 The court there explained:
157 158
268 B.R. 704, 710 (S.D.N.Y. 2001). See id.; see also Smith v. Andersen L.L.P., 175 F. Supp. 2d 1180, 1199 (D. Ariz. 2001) (In cases involving more than one corporate actor, the plaintiff may avoid dismissal for lack of standing by alleging the existence of an innocent member of management who would have been able to prevent the fraud had he known about it. ); Bankruptcy Servs. v. Ernst & Young, Ernst & Young, LLP (In re CBI Holding Co.), 247 B.R. 341, 364-65 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2000) (corporation whose management was involved in an accounting fraud is not barred from asserting claims for professional malpractice in not detecting the fraud, provided the corporation had at least one decision-maker in management or among its stockholders who was innocent of the fraud and could have stopped it.); Wight v. BankAmerica Corp., 219 F.3d 79, 87 (2d Cir. 2000), as standing for the proposition that the Wagoner rule . . . applies where all relevant shareholders and/or decision makers are involved in the fraud.); Secs. Investor Protection Corp., 49 F. Supp. 2d at 649-51 (permitting malpractice complaint against auditor to stand provided trustee re-pleads to assert the existence of an innocent member of management who could have prevented the fraud). 218 B.R. 294, 302 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1998)
159
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Even accepting as true all the factual allegations[, the] complaint still alleges that it was Keene and its officers that masterminded, orchestrated, and engaged in the alleged misconduct. Indeed, Keenes decision makersthe individual director and officer defendants named in this action as well as Bairnco and its subsidiariesare charged in the amended complaint with causing Keene to wrongfully divest as well as divert its assets for inadequate consideration in breach of their fiduciary duties to the corporation. Hence, even if the clarification noted in Wechsler is valid, it does not apply here, for there is a sufficient unity between Keene and defendants to implicate Keene in the alleged wrongdoing.160 In In re CBI Holding Co.161 the Southern District of New York, vacated a judgment of $70 million on its fraud, breach of contract and negligence claims against the debtors pre-petition accounting firm. In determining that, under New York law, the fault imputed to the debtor as a result of managements fraud deprived the plaintiff of any ability to recover, the Court rejected the application of the innocent insider exception and declined to adopt any innocent insider exception to in pari delicto. The Court reasoned that, where a publicly traded company has delegated to a board of directors the owners role of hiring and supervising managers, and where that board has failed to prevent managers from committing fraud, the managers misconduct should be imputed to the company, so as not to disincentivize the innocent managers, board members, and owners from policing the conduct of the guilty.162 The court concluded that misconduct by those given authority to make decisions on behalf of a company should be imputed to the company even if innocent members of management could and would have prevented the fraud had they been aware of it.163 C. The Successor in Interest Exception.
In the receivership context, several courts have declined to apply in pari delicto to bar the receiver from asserting the claims of an insolvent corporation on the ground that application of the doctrine to an innocent successor would be
160
Id.; see also Akro Investicni Spolecnost v. A.B. Watley, No. 01 Civ. 7693 (LAP), 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3478 at *19-20 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 12, 2003) (These pleaded facts strongly suggest the existence of sufficient unity between Tejkal and Private Investors management to deprive the Receiver of standing, as the Court found in Lippe.). 311 B.R. 350 (S.D.N.Y. 2004). Id. at 372. Id. (citing Cenco Inc. v. Seidman & Seidman, 686 F.2d 449 (7th Cir. 1982)).
161 162 163
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inequitable. These courts have thought it proper to consider events arising after a corporation enters into receivership.164 These courts have noted that defenses based on a partys unclean hands or inequitable conduct do not generally apply against that partys receiver.165 Curiously, many courts have refused to extend this authority to trustees acting on behalf of the estate. While in both contexts it is acknowledged that the successor trustee/receiver takes no greater cause of action than the original insolvent entity had, some courts have claimed Bankruptcy Code 541. This does not seem to be supported by the legislative history to the Bankruptcy Code. 166 It has drawn criticism from judges167 and academics for deviating from good sense and fidelity to bankruptcy policy.168
164
FDIC v. OMelveny & Myers, 61 F.3d 17, 19 (9th Cir. 1995) (While a party may itself be denied a right or defense on account of its misdeeds, there is little reason to impose the same punishment on . . . [an] innocent entity that steps into the partys shoes pursuant to court order or operation of law.). See also, Scholes v. Lehmann, 56 F.3d 750, 754 (7th Cir. 1995) (the defense of in pari delicto loses its sting when the person who is in pari delicto is eliminated.); Putnam v. Chase, 106 Ore. 440, 444-5 (1923) (creditors or depositors who are not in pari delicto with the original wrongdoers have a right to say that he who executed his note for the express purpose of perpetrating a fraud should not be heard to assert that fact in order to evade the consequences which his unlawful act has brought upon him.). FDIC, 61 F.3d at 19 (citing Camerer v. California Sav. & Comml Bank, 4 Cal. 2d 159, 17071, 48 P.2d 39 (1935)). 124 Cong. Rec. H 11, 1096 (daily ed. Sept. 28, 1978) (remarks of Edwards) (as section 541(a)(1) clearly states, the estate is comprised of all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case. To the extent such an interest is limited in the hand of the debtor, it is equally limited in the hands of the estate except to the extent that defenses which are personal against the debtor are not effective against the estate.) Lafferty, 267 F.3d at 360 (Cohen, J., dissenting) (the majoritys reasoning rests on a mistaken interpretation of the bankruptcy code, needlessly thwarts recovery for innocent creditors, and insulates from civil liability those who help perpetrate fraud.). Jeffrey Davis, Ending the Nonsense: The In Pari Delicto Doctrine Has Nothing to Do with What Is 541 Property of the Estate, 21 Emory Bankr. Dev. J. 519 (2005); see also Jordan A. Kroop, A Ponzi Scheme and a Pointless Technicality, 21 Am. Bankr. Inst. J. 26 (2002); see also Tanvir Alam, Fraudulent Advisors Exploit Confusion in the Bankruptcy Code: How In Pari Delicto Has Been Perverted to Prevent Recovery for Innocent Creditors, 77 Am. Bankr. L.J. 305, 322-23 (Summer 2003).
165
166
167
168
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261
However, there is a noteworthy trend in bankruptcy courts to refuse to apply in pari delicto. In Blackwell v. Deloitte & Touche (In re IG Servs., Ltd.), the bankruptcy court found: The logic of the equitable [in pari delicto] doctrine fades quickly, however, when an innocent successor in interest, such as a bankruptcy trustee, brings the action. . . . After all, the push behind the doctrine is that the wrongdoer should not benefit from his wrongdoing. Once the wrongdoer has been displaced in bankruptcy by a third party trustee, who is acting for the benefit of innocent creditors, applying the doctrine against the trustee would be positively perverse, effectively punishing creditors for the sins of prior management, while allowing the wrongdoer to go free, sheltered behind, of all things, the wrongdoing of prior management.169 The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that where the trustee takes an absolute assignment of creditors causes of action, the in pari delicto defense will not apply to a cause of action asserted by the trustee.170 Moreover, at least one court has found that a Debtor can avoid application of in pari delicto through the use of Bankruptcy Code 544s strong arm powers.171 Practitioner can reasonably anticipate further development of this case law in the months and years to come.
169
Blackwell v. Deloitte & Touche (In re IG Servs., Ltd.), No. 02-5061-C at 20-21 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. Feb. 5, 2003) (Report and Recommendation to District Court) (citations omitted), report accepted, (W.D. Tex. July 30, 2003). See also McNamara v. PFS (In re Personal & Bus. Ins. Agency), 334 F.3d 239, 247 (3d Cir. 2003) (nothing in the language of 548 precludes us from considering the replacement of Kesselring by the Trustee and the concomitant removal of the taint of Kesselrings fraud from PBI, and we hold that Kesselrings conduct will not be imputed to the Trustee.). Logan v. JKV Real Estate (In re Bogdan), 414 F.3d 507, 514-15 (4th Cir. 2005). PM Denver, Inc. v. Porter (In re Porter McLeod, Inc.), 231 B.R. 786, 793-94 (D. Colo. 1999).
170 171
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Lender Liability and Equitable Subordination

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American Bankruptcy Institute

18TH ANNUAL SOUTHWEST BANKRUPTCY CONFERENCE

BREAKING THE BANK: LENDER LIABILITY AND EQUITABLE SUBORDINATION

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18th AnnuAl SouthweSt BAnkruptcy conference

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18th AnnuAl SouthweSt BAnkruptcy conference

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18th AnnuAl SouthweSt BAnkruptcy conference

American Bankruptcy Institute

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Transferee Liability for Bad Act of Transferor.

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Recharacterization of a Loan as an Equity Contribution.

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316 B.R. 690, 700-01 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2004).

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