In re Irasel Sand, LLC
MEMORANDUM OPINION REGARDING THE DISMISSAL OF THE DEBTOR’S CHAPTER 11 CASE
[Doc. No. 191]
I. Introduction
Irasel Sand, LLC (the “Debtor”), a company that provides sand used in fracking, failed to comply with a prior ruling of this Court that required it to either (1) obtain a final agreement on post-petition financing and use of cash collateral, or (2) face dismissal. The Court gave the Debtor thirteen days to comply with this ruling. The Debtor failed to obtain a final agreement on post-petition financing and use of cash collateral; therefore, the Court found that it was in the best interest of the estate and the creditors to dismiss the case for cause. Thus, the Court issued an order dismissing the above-styled Chapter 11 case. [Doc. No. 191], The findings of fact and conclusions of law set forth below memorialize this Court’s ruling.
II. Findings op Fact
On February 27, 2017, because of the oil and gas downturn of 2015, the Debtor attempted to file for relief under Chapter 11 (the “Petition”). [Doc. No. 1]; [Tape Recording, Mar. 3, 2017 Hearing at 2:19:47-2:20:02 P.M.]. The Court uses the term “attempted” because this case has a checkered history of proper filing. Louis Butler (“Mr. Butler”), the CEO of the
In addition to the problem concerning the filing of the Petition, the Debtor also faced another issue: whether it would be able to reach a final agreement with its debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) lender, Carousel Specialty Products (“Carousel”), to obtain post-petition financing and permission to use cash collateral. The Court held various emergency hearings regarding these issues, and issued interim orders approving certain post-petition financing and use of cash collateral. [Doc. Nos. 34 & 151]. The most recent interim order was entered after the hearing held on April 27, 2017. At that hearing, the Debtor asserted that it would be able to exit bankruptcy by October 2017 if: (1) it obtained an increase of $500,000.00 in financing from Carousel; (2) it completed various improvements worth over $1.0 million to increase productivity; and (3) it successfully entered into a “take or pay” contract with Sanchez Energy (“Sanchez”). [Apr. 27, 2017 Tr. 13:1-17:11, 20:3-21:13]. Based upon the record made at this hearing, the Court entered a ■ second interim order on May 3, 2017, and this order set forth that the final hearing on post-petition financing would be held on May 18,2017. [Doc. No. 151].
Then, on May 18, 2017, the Court held what it thought was to be the final hearing. However, the Debtor’s proposed counsel informed the Court that the Debtor had not yet reached a final agreement with Carousel regarding DIP financing and the use of cash collateral. [Tape Recording, May 18, 2017 Hearing at 2:35:00-2:35:11 P.M.]. The Court expressed its concern that if the parties could not reach an agreement, then “there’s no way [the Debtor] is going to be reorganized and I’m not going to let attorney time and court time be used when we have a patient that is dying a quick death.” [Id. at 5:10:00— 5:10:13 P.M.]. The Court then gave the Debtor until May 30, 2017 (i.e., thirteen days) to reach a final agreement on post-petition financing and cash collateral usage, or else face dismissal of the case. [Id. at 5:09:17-5:09:26 P.M.].
On May 30, 2017, the Debtor returned to Court and, in response to whether it had Reached a final agreement on post-petition financing and the use of cash collateral, proposed counsel stated that there was no agreement with either Carousel or any alternative lender. [Tape Recording, May 30, 2017 Hearing at 11:44:55-11:44:59 A.M.]. In addition, the parties informed the Court of other developments in the case, namely, that Carousel had finalized an agreement with Irabel’s receiver and Select Sand that would make Carousel the new 100% owner of the Debtor. Specifically, counsel for Carousel stated the following:
At this point, Carousel would like dismissal of the case. And, the reasons for that being we finalized the deal with Irabel’s receiver that was to purchasethe equity interest in the debtor through the receivership. The state court in Beaumont [presiding over Irabe’s receivership proceeding] has entered a final order approving that sale, so now, Carousel controls half the interest in ... Irasel, the debtor, through Irabel’s interest and has also signed an option agreement with Select Sand, the other 50% owner, or by it is acquiring 50% of Select Sand — or 100% in Select Sand’s interest in the debtor. Select Sand has also given a proxy to Carousel. The proxy allows Carousel to vote Select Sand’s interest. This morning, the unanimous consent was signed by the 100% owners of this debtor removing Irabel as the manager of the debtor and appointing Carousel — Mr. Mitchell in particular — as the new manager. And, as the new manager of the debtor, we would like this case to be dismissed at this time.
[Id. at 11:52:30-11:53:41 A.M.].
Based upon the above-referenced factual background, and the Debtor’s poor financial condition as reflected in the Debtor’s most recent monthly operating report, the Court finds cause to dismiss the case, as discussed below.
III. Conclusions of Law
A.Jurisdiction
The Court has jurisdiction over this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(b) and 157(a). Section 1334(b) provides that “the district courts shall have original but not exclusive jurisdiction of all civil proceedings arising under title 11 [the Bankruptcy Code], or arising in or related to cases under title 11.” District courts may, in turn, refer these proceedings to the bankruptcy judges for that district. 28 U.S.C. § 157(a). In the Southern District of Texas, General Order 2012-6 (entitled General Order of Reference) automatically refers all eligible cases and proceedings to the bankruptcy courts.
This matter is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A) because a dismissal of a case necessarily affects the administration of the bankruptcy estate. Additionally, this matter is a core proceeding under the general “catchall” language of 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2). See In re Southmark Corp.,
B. Venue
Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1408(1) because the Debtor’s principal place of business was in the Southern District of Texas for the 180 days preceding the filing of the Petition.
C. Constitutional Authority to Enter a Final Order Dismissing a Chapter 11 Case
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s issuance of Stern v. Marshall,
Alternatively, even if Stem applies to all of the categories of core proceedings brought under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2), see In re Renaissance Hosp. Grand Prairie Inc.,
D. The Debtor’s Chapter 11 Case Can be Dismissed
1. After Notice and a Hearing, §§ 1112(b) and 105 Allow the Court to Sua Syonte Dismiss a Chapter 11 Case for Cause
Section 1112(b) states that “on request of a party in interest, and after notice and a hearing, the court shall ... dismiss a
No provision of this title providing for the raising of an issue by a party in interest shall be construed to preclude the court from, sua sponte, taking any action or making any determination necessary or appropriate to enforce or implement court orders or rules, or to prevent an abuse of process.
While § 1112(b) provides that a “party in interest” can make a request for dismissal, when read in conjunction with § 105, judges in the Southern District of Texas, and various other courts, have concluded that a bankruptcy court has power to dismiss a case sua sponte for cause. See, e.g., In re Antelope Techs., Inc., No. 07-31159-H3-11,
The Code defines “cause” for purposes of § 1112(b) with an enumerated list including, in pertinent part: “substantial or continuing loss to or diminution of the estate and the absence of a reasonable likelihood of rehabilitation.” § 1112(b)(4)(A). However, “ ‘this list is not exhaustive’ and courts should ‘consider other factors as they arise.’ ” In re Brown,
2. This Court Provided Sufficient Notice and Held a Hearing
Before the Court can sua sponte dismiss a case under § 1112(b), it must ensure there is proper notice and a hearing. As the Fifth Circuit has stated ¡in a different but analogous context, “fairness requires that a litigant have the opportunity to be heard before a claim is dismissed, except where the claim is patently frivolous.” See Century Sur. Co. v. Blevins,
3. Considering the Totality of the Circumstances, the Court Finds that this Case Should be Dismissed
Having satisfied due process considerations, the Court now ■ turns to the issue of whether it should dismiss this case. It will do so if the two prongs of § 1112(b)(4)(A) are satisfied. First, there must be a substantial or continuing loss to the estate; and second, there must be no likelihood of rehabilitation. § 1112(b)(4)(A); TMT,
a. There is a Substantial or Continuing Loss to the Debtor’s Estate
Satisfying the first prong of § 1112(b)(4)(A) can be done in two ways. One approach is to prove that there is a substantial loss to the estate. In TMT, the court notes that it is not necessary to find both a substantial and continuing loss in order to meet the first prong of § 1112(b)(4)(A).
Here, the Debtor has scheduled property with a total value of $3,098,230.24, which is completely encumbered. [Doc. No. 101, p. 8 of 8]. Further, the Debtor has scheduled the following debts: (1) a claim held by First NBC Bank for $4,167,907.64 secured by all of the Debtor’s property having a value of $3,098,322.24, leaving a deficiency of $1,069,585.40, [Doc. No. 101-1, p. 1 of 2]; and (2) unsecured claims totaling
The second approach to satisfying the first prong of § 1112(b)(4)(A) is to prove that there is a “continuing loss” to the estate. This term, as defined by the court in In re Moore Construction, Inc., requires courts to “look beyond a debtor’s financial statement and make a full evaluation of the present condition of the estate.”
In sum, the Court finds that there is a substantial loss to the Debtor’s estate, and that there is also a continuing loss to the Debtor’s estate. There is no question that the first prong of § 112(b)(4)(A) is satisfied.
b, There is No Reasonable Likelihood of Rehabilitation
The Court now turns to the second prong of § 1112(b)(4)(A): the likelihood of rehabilitation — or lack thereof. Collier’s Treatise defines this second prong as “whether the debtor’s business prospects justify continuance of the reorganization effort [and] ... [r]ehabiliation means to reestablish a business.” 7 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 1112.04(6)(a)(ii) (Alan N. Resnick & Henry J, Sommer eds., 16th ed.
In another case, one of the creditors sought dismissal of the case by asserting that there was no possibility of reorganization because the Debtor had no source of income or funding for a plan of reorganization. In re 865 Centennial Ave. Assocs. Ltd.,
Here, the facts are very similar to L.S. Good and 865 Centennial. The Debtor has negative equity because First NBC Bank’s claim for $4,167,907.64 is secured by all of the Debtor’s assets worth only $3,098,322.24, leaving a deficiency of $1,069,585.40. [Doc. No. 101-1, p. 1 of 2]. Second, Mr. Butler, the individual who has substantial experience about how the Debtor’s business operates, [see, e.g., Mar. 10, 2017 Tr. 16:21-19:20], testified, uncon-troverted, that the Debtor’s operations would fail without post-petition financing, [id. at 55:10-16] — and here, there is no additional post-petition financing in place. Third, the MOR reflects that the Debtor had a negative net cash flow of $64,864.27 for the month of April 2017, a net loss of $61,362.96 through the month of April 2017, [Doc. No. 182, pp. 6, 8 of 11], and virtually no cash on hand as of April 30, 2017, [id. at p. 2 of 11]; therefore, the Debtor cannot — to use the L.S. Good court’s expression — be “put back in good condition.”
Finally, this Court, in assessing whether cause exists to dismiss a case under § 1112(b), should “consider other factors as they arise.” Brown,
Based upon all of the above-discussed circumstances, the Court finds that there is no reasonable likelihood of the Debtor’s rehabilitation; therefore, the second prong of § 1112(b)(4)(A) is satisfied.
IV. Conclusion
For the reasons stated herein, the Court finds that the Debtor’s case should be dismissed for cause pursuant to § 1112(b)(4)(A) because of the substantial or continuing loss to the Debtor’s estate and the absence of a reasonable likelihood of the Debtor’s rehabilitation. An order dismissing this case has already been entered on the docket. [Doc. No. 191].
Notes
. Irabel is currently insolvent and has been under receivership since April 4, 2017. [Apr. 27, 2017 Tr. 6:16-21],
. Any reference to "the Code” refers to the United States Bankruptcy Code, and reference to any section (i.e., §) refers to a section in 11 U.S.C., which is the United States Bankruptcy Code, unless otherwise noted.
. This statute has been amended and is now § 1112(b)(4)(A). Compare Act of Nov. 8, 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-598, § 1112, 92 Stat. 2549, 2630 (1978) (creating "a uniform Law on the Subject of Bankruptcies” and defining reasons for dismissal under § 1112(b)(1)) with The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-8, § 442, 119 Stat. 23, 115-16 (2005) (amending title 11 and allowing dismissal for enumerated reasons under § 1112(b)(4)).