FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Teltronics, the Debtor in this bankruptcy case, had the right to block the sale of a patent portfolio owned by Harris Corporation. Teltronics gave up that blocking right for $5,000. Five days later, Harris Corporation sold the patent portfolio to RPX Corporation for $12 million. The Court must decide whether the transfer of Teltronics’ blocking right was constructively fraudulent and whether Harris and RPX Corporation are hable for the value of the transfer.
The Court concludes that the Plaintiff, the trustee of a liquidating trust created under the Teltronics’ confirmed plan, has failed to meet his burden of proof on his claims under Bankruptcy Code §§ 544 and 550. To begin with, the Plaintiff failed to prove that Teltronics did not receive reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the blocking right. At trial, the Plaintiff only offered evidence of the value of the patent portfolio. But Teltronics did not transfer the patent portfolio — only its blocking right. Putting that aside, the Plaintiff failed to prove Teltronics was insolvent at the time of the transfer. Accordingly, Harris and RPX Corporation are entitled to judgment in their favor on the Plaintiffs claims.
Findings of Fact
The relevant facts of this case were, for the most part, undisputed at trial. Tel-tronics, the Debtor in this chapter 11 case, was in the telecommunications business.
Initially, Teltronics gave Harris a $6.8 million promissory note for the division
In an effort to pay down that debt, Teltronics and Harris entered into a Patent Transfer Agreement.
First, the Patent Transfer Agreement contained a “blocking right.”
In October 2008, Harris began discussions with RPX Corporation, the other Defendant in this proceeding, about the sale of the patent portfolio.
While performing its due diligence, Harris realized it needed to address Teltronics’ blocking right, which remained in effect until July 31, 2010, to close the sale with
Under the First Amendment to Patent Transfer Agreement, which was entered into on January 21, 2009, the parties agreed that Harris had the right to freely transfer the patent portfolio before April 16, 2009.
Two years later, Teltronics ended up in chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the Plaintiff, who is. the trustee of a liquidating trust created under Teltronics’ confirmed plan, filed this adversary proceeding seeking to avoid the modification of Teltronics’ blocking right under the First Amendment to Patent Transfer Agreement, as well as the transfer of the patent portfolio to RPX Corporation, under Bankruptcy Code § 544.
During the trial in this proceeding, much was made of the fact that Harris did not affirmatively disclose to Teltronics that it had reached an agreement for the sale of the patent portfolio at the time it was negotiating with Teltronics to modify (or give up) its blocking right. Teltronics’ CEO (Ewan Cameron) testified . at trial that he was not told of the pending sale to RPX and that he did not learn the patents were sold for $12 million until trial. The Plaintiff contends, in its post-trial brief, that Teltronics would have taken some action had it known about the pending sale. Harris, for its part, does not dispute that it did not disclose the pending transaction. But it offers an explanation for not doing so: it was subject to a nondisclosure agreement with RPX Corporation that prohibited Harris from revealing RPX
Conclusions of Law
To prevail on his constructive fraud claims at trial, the Plaintiff must establish two central elements.
The Plaintiff failed to prove Teltronics did not receive reasonably equivalent value.
The Plaintiff offered two main pieces of evidence to satisfy its burden that Teltronics did not receive reasonably equivalent value. The first piece of evidence was the expert testimony of Robert Goldman (Charles River Associates), who opined that the fair market value of the patents at the time of the transfer was $14 million.
The problem with that evidence is that the transfer at issue (i.e., the First Amendment to Patent Transfer Agreement) does not involve the transfer of the patent portfolio. Of course, Teltronics could not have transferred the patent portfolio because Teltronics no longer owned it. Teltronics had transferred the portfolio to Harris more than four years earlier.
The Plaintiff cites three cases in support of that proposition.
In relying on those cases to advocate for a one-size-fits-all conception of damages in fraudulent transfer cases like this one, the Plaintiff overlooks the most salient point raised by the Calvillo court: “[C]ourts have recognized valuation considerations are inherently fact-laden, turning on the case-specific circumstances surrounding the debtor’s decision to enter into the challenged transaction.”
There is one crucial distinction between this case and the ones the Plaintiff relies on. All of the cases the Plaintiff relies on involve true option contracts where the debtor had or gave a third party the option to buy the underlying property at any time. In Thomas, the debtor had the unfettered right to buy real property from a third party for $112,450.
Instead, under the original Patent Transfer Agreement, Teltronics only had the right to block any transfer of the patent portfolio before July 31, 2010.
It is possible to speculate that Teltronics could have negotiated a higher price for the blocking right had it known definitively that Harris had a $12 million agreement to sell the patent portfolio to RPX Corporation. It is not unreasonable to surmise Harris would have paid more than $5,000 in order to quickly close its sale with RPX Corporation. But there was no evidence offered on that point. And it is worth noting that it is not clear that Harris even needed to sell the patent portfolio to RPX Corporation to accomplish the parties’ objectives for the transaction since it went unrebutted that the same objective could have been accomplished by Harris granting RPX Corporation an exclusive license, in which case neither the blocking right nor the right of first refusal would have come in to play.
In short, the Plaintiff had the burden of proving Teltronics did not receive reasonably equivalent value for the blocking right.
The Trustee failed to prove Teltronics was insolvent at the time of the transfer.
Even if the Plaintiff had proven that Teltronics failed to receive reasonably equivalent value, it nonetheless failed to prove Teltronics was insolvent at the time of the transfer. The question of insolvency largely comes down to competing expert testimony. The Plaintiff offered the expert testimony of Barry Mukamal, who opined that Teltronics was insolvent by approximately $5.6 million at the time of the transfer.
Mukamal based his solvency analysis on Teltronics’ balance sheet.
Critically, there was one major difference between Mukamal’s approach and the one taken by Oscher. Oscher agreed with Mukamal that the value of the finished goods inventory should be adjusted upward, although he disagreed with the precise amount.
Teltronics had been a party to three major maintenance contracts with the New York Department of Corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the New York Board of Education.
Oscher opined, for purposes of his solvency analysis, that the value of the maintenance contracts was $8.5 million.
The Plaintiff and his expert (Mukamal) dispute Oscher’s analysis on a variety of grounds.
On the issue of whether the maintenance contracts ought to be separately valued and added into the balance sheet, the Court finds Oseher more credible. Oseher testified that the contracts should be included because they are separable and transferable.
It appeared Mukamal believed it was inappropriate because an intangible asset that generates cash flow cannot be considered in a'vacuum if the cash flow generated by the asset is necessary for the overall operation and value stream in a discounted cash flow model.
The Plaintiff s' stronger argument is that Oscher’s valuation of the maintenance contracts is unreliable. To be fair, the Plaintiff raises a number of valid points calling into question the $8.5 million valuation.
Because the Court concludes the maintenance contracts should be included in the balance sheet, it is the Plaintiffs burden to prove the value of the maintenance contracts, when added to the other assets, do not exceed Teltronics’ liabilities. Based on the balance sheet, Teltronics’ liabilities exceed their assets by approximately $5.6 million. Accepting all of the Plaintiffs objections to Oscher’s $8.5 million valuation only means the contracts are not worth $8.5 million. But it does not mean they are worth less than $5.6 million, which is what the Plaintiff must show to prove Teltronics was insolvent at the time of the transfer. The Plaintiff offered no evidence of the value of the maintenance contracts, and as a consequence, they have failed to meet their burden of proving Teltronics was insolvent at the time it transferred its blocking right.
Conclusion
At trial, the parties raised a number of factual and legal issues, but in the end the case turns on two factual questions: (i) Was the blocking right worth more than $5,000?; and (ii) Were the maintenance contracts worth less than $5.6 million? To prove lack of reasonably equivalent value, the Plaintiff had the burden of proving that the blocking right was worth more than $5,000. To establish insolvency, the Plaintiff had to prove the maintenance contracts were worth less than $5.6 million. Because the Plaintiff failed to carry its burden of proof on either issue, it cannot prevail on its claim to avoid and recover the value of the transfer under the First Amendment to Patent Transfer Agreement, and therefore, Harris and RPX Corporation are entitled to judgment in their favor.
ORDERED.
Notes
. Doc. No. 115 atp. 59, ll. 4-16.
. Pl.’s Ex. 90.
. Pl.’s Ex. 1; Def.’s Ex. 1; Doc. No. 115 atp. 61, ll. 2-17, p. 98, ll. 11-15.
. Def.'s Ex. 2.
. Pl.'s Exs. 2 & 3; Def.’s Exs. 7 & 11.
. Def.’s Ex. 8.
. Pl.’s Ex. 4.
. Id.
. Id.
. Adv. Doc. No. 115 at p. 99, ll. 7-25.
. Pl.’s Ex. 4.
. Id.
. Pl.’s Exs. 14, 23 & 26; Adv. Doc. No. 116 atp. 51, ll. 11-19.
. Def.’s Ex. 67 at p. 42, 1. 18—p. 43, 1. 2; Pl.’s Ex. 41. A defense aggregator is an entity that acquires patents and takes them off the market to prevent patent trolls or non-practicing entities from asserting infringement claims against certain companies. Adv. Doc. No. 115 at p. 134, ll. 8-16. A patent troll (a pejorative term for non-practicing entity) is a company whose sole business is to acquire patents for the purpose of bringing infringement claims against third parties. Adv. Doc. No. 115 atp. 134, ll. 8-16; Adv. Doc. No. 116 at p. 53, ll. 1-6.
. Def.’s Ex. 67 at p. 42, 1. 18—p. 43, 1. 2; Pl.’s Ex. 41.
. Pl.’s Exs. 32-34.
. Adv. Doc. No. 116 at p. 50, l. 11—p. 51, l. 12; p. 81, l. 25—p. 82, 19.
. Pl.’s Ex. 46.
. Pl.’s Exs. 46 & 47.
. Pl.’s Ex. 49.
. Pl.’s Ex. 50.
. Pl.’s Exs. 54 & 55.
. Id.
. Id.
. Pl.’s Ex. 58.
. Adv. Doc. No. 22.
. Id.
. Pearlman v. SunTrust Mtg. (In re Pearlman),
. In re Pearlman,
. Id.
. Id.
. Adv. Doc. No. 117 at p. 6, l. 7 — p. 8, l. 1; p. 16, l. 9—p. 65, l. 3.
. Adv. Doc. No. 122 at 14-15.
. Adv. Doc. No. 116 at p. 75, ll. 19-23; p. 83, l. 3—p. 85, l. 6; Pl.’s Ex. 25.
. Pl.’s Ex. 4.
. Adv. Doc. No. 123 at 2-3.
. Id. (citing Thomas v. Bender (In re Thomas),
. Id. (citing In re Thomas,
. Id. (citing In re Thomas,
. In re Calvillo,
. In re Thomas,
. In re Thomas,
. In re Calvillo,
. In re JTS Corp.,
. Pl.'s Ex. 4.
. Adv. Doc. No. 115, p. 161, ll. 12-22; Adv. Doc. No. 117 at p. 143, l. 10 p. 145, l. 2.
. Pearlman v. SunTrust Mtg. (In re Pearlman),
. Adv. Doc. No. 116 atp. 112, 1. 15—p. 119, l. 16.
. Adv. Doc. No. 118 at p. 6, l. 25—p. 19, l. 15.
. Adv. Doc. No. 116 at p. 116, l. 24—p. 117, l. 13.
. Id. atp. 117, l. 25—p. 118, l. 20; p. 119, ll. 2-4.
. Id. at p. 118, ll. 4-10.
. Id.
. Id. atp. 118, ll. 11-17.
. Id. atp. 119, ll. 13-16.
. Adv. Doc. No. 118 at p. 13, l. 10—p. 14, l. 17.
. Id. at p. 14, ll. 1-10.
. Id. at p. 12, ll. 4-12; p. 14, ll. 18-21; p. 15, l. 9-p. 19, l. 15
. Def.’s Exs. 71-75; Adv. Doc. No. 115 at p. 111, ll. 4-10; Adv. Doc. No. 118 at p. 15, ll. 13-19.
. Adv. Doc. No. 115 atp. 115, ll. 1-5; Adv. Doc. No. 117 at p. 124, 1. 4—p. 125, l. 5; p. 125, 1. 19—p. 126, l. 6.
. Adv. Doc. No. 118 atp. 17, l. 15—p. 18, l. 15.
. Id. at p. 16, l. 18—p. 19, l. 6.
. Id. at p. 17, l. 15—p. 18, l. 15; p. 19, ll. 10-15.
. Id. atp. 58, l. 7—p. 69, l. 3.
. Id. atp. 59, l. 5—p.60, l. 9.
. Id. at p. 33, ll. 4-25.
. Id. at p. 60, l. 10—p. 69, l. 3.
. Id. at p. 15, l. 9—p. 16, l. 2.
. Id. at p. 27, l. 4—p. 29, l. 15.
. Doc. No. 116, p. 123, l. 25—p. 124, l. 9.
. Id.
. Id. atp. 124, ll. 10-20.
. Id. atp. 125, ll. 20-23.
. Adv. Doc. No. 118 at p. 59, l. 12—p. 60 l. 2.
. Id. at p. 59, l. 5—p. 60, l. 9.
. Id. at p. 60, l. 10—p. 69, l. 3.
. Id. at p. 34, l. 10—p. 39, l. 23.
. Id. at p. 60, l. 10—p. 69, l. 3.
. Pearlman v. SunTrust Mtg. (In re Pearlman),
