Weisfelner v. Blavatnik (In re Lyondell Chemical Co.)
Weisfelner v. Blavatnik (In re Lyondell Chemical Co.)
Opinion of the Court
DECISION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS COUNTS 12, 15, AND 16
In late December 2007, Basell AF S.C.A. (“Basell”), a Luxembourg entity
In the first week of January 2009, less than 13 months later, a financially strapped Lyondell filed a petition for chapter 11 relief in this Court.
Those events led to the filing of what are now five adversary proceedings — three against shareholder recipients of that $12.5 billion, one dealing with unrelated issues,
In his Amended Complaint (the “Complaint”) in this adversary proceeding (brought, like the others, under the umbrella of the jointly administered chapter 11 cases of Lyondell, the Resulting Company and their affiliates (the “Debtors”)), Edward S. Weisfelner (the “Trustee”), the trustee of the LB Litigation Trust (one of two trusts formed to prosecute the Debtors’ claims), asserts a total of 21 claims against the defendants in this action. The 21 claims variously charge breaches of fiduciary duty; the aiding and abetting of those alleged breaches; intentional and constructive fraudulent conveyances, unlawful dividends, and a host of additional bases for recovery under state law, the Bankruptcy Code, and the laws of Luxembourg, under which several of the Basell entities were organized.
The Trustee’s Complaint, in turn, engendered a large number of motions to dismiss. This is one of several opinions rul
Those counts relate to a $750 million revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”)— one of several debt facilities into which the Debtors ultimately entered — under which the Resulting Company, Lyondell and Ba-sell Finance Company, B.V. (“Basell Finance”) were the borrowers (collectively, the “Borrowers”), and Access Industries Holdings LL (“Access Holdings”) and its assignee AI International, S.á.r.l. (“AI International”) were the lenders (collectively, the “Lenders”). The Revolver was put into place following the Merger in an attempt to supply Lyondell with much-needed liquidity. Count 12 charges the Lenders with breach of the Resolver agreement by reason of their failure to fund upon a draw request in December 2008, shortly before the Debtors’ chapter 11 filing. Counts 15 seeks to recharacterize the Revolver as equity, and, assuming the Revolver debt is recharacterized as equity, to impose liability against the post-Merger Board of Directors of Lyondell (the “Post-Merger Directors”) for unlawful dividends based on the repayment of the Revolver debt.
The Lenders assume potential liability under Count 12 for 12(b)(6) purposes, but seek to dismiss Count 12 under provisions of the Revolver documentation exempting them from liability for “any special, punitive, indirect or consequential damages related to this Agreement.” And the Lyon-dell Post-Merger Directors (who might be civilly liable for illegal dividends for Lyon-dell’s repayments to the Lenders if the Revolver is recharacterized as equity) move to dismiss the Trustee’s recharacterization claim in Count 15, and then the illegal dividend claims in Count 16 that might exist if the recharacterization claims were upheld.
For the reasons set forth below, the Court:
(1) Denies the motion to dismiss Count 12 to the extent Count 12 seeks restitutionary damages, but grants the motion to the extent Count 12 seeks damages of other types;
(2) Grants the motion to dismiss Count 15, seeking recharacterization; and
(3) Grants the motion to dismiss Count 16, charging illegal dividends.
The bases for the Court’s determination follow.
Facts
The Complaint is quite detailed, at over 140 pages, but most of those details are unnecessary for purposes of the motions being decided here. Useful background may be found in the Court’s prior opinions in the actions brought by the Trustee against selling shareholders, familiarity with which is assumed. To minimize the length of this already very long decision, the Court summarizes background facts essential for context and ease of reference, but otherwise focuses only on facts relevant to Counts 12,15, and 16.
As previously noted, the gist of the Trustee’s claims is that the Merger — and more importantly, the highly leveraged financing of the Merger — left the newly formed Resulting Company, Lyondell and
(i) a senior credit facility (consisting of term and revolving loans) in the aggregate amount of approximately $12.4 billion;
(ii) second lien bridge loans in the total amount of $8 billion; and
(iii) a $1 billion inventory-based revolving credit facility (the “ABL Inventory Facility”);7 and
(iv) a $1.15 billion receivables securitization credit facility (the “ABL Receivables Facility,” and together with the ABL Inventory Facility, the “ABL Facilities”).
But by the time the Merger closed in December 2007, the Debtors were already experiencing a liquidity crisis. And within weeks after the Merger, the Resulting Company’s management was forced to seek a $600 million “upsize” in its borrowing capacity under the ABL Facilities.
While waiting for additional funds to become available through the upsizing of the ABL Facilities, the Borrowers entered into the agreement with Access Holdings, as lender, dated March 27, 2008 (the “Revolver Agreement”), underlying the Revolver. It provided for a $750 million unsecured revolving line of credit. Among many other provisions, the Revolver Agreement included one of particular relevance here. Its Section 9.05, captioned “Indemnification by the Borrowers,” stated, in relevant part:
Whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby are consummated, the Borrowers shall ... indemnify and hold harmless the Lender and its Affiliates, and the directors, officers, partners, employees ... from and against any and all liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, claims, demands, actions, judgments, suits, costs, expenses and disbursements of any kind or nature whatsoever which may at any time be imposed, incurred by or asserted against any such Indemnitee in any way relating to or arising out of or in connection with [the Revolver]____ [No Indemnitee ] shall have any liability for any special, punitive, indirect or consequential damages related to this Agreement ... or arising out of its activities in connection herewith or therewith.8 (emphasis added)
Even as the parties were putting the Revolver into place, “the intention was to use [it] only as a last resort” and to delay a draw until the ABL Facilities’ lead agents and arrangers could syndicate the Merger Loans.
Lyondell’s liquidity continued to suffer into December 2008, and Lyondell began
Discussion
The standards for deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) are well known. “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.”
when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. The plausibility standard is not akin to a probability requirement, but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully. Where a complaint pleads facts that are merely consistent with a defendant’s liability, it stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.13
Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief is a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.
A trial court’s function on a motion to dismiss is “not to weigh the evidence that might be presented at trial but merely to determine whether the complaint itself is legally sufficient.”
/.
Count 12 (Breach of Duty to Fund Under the Revolver)
The Complaint alleges that Access Holdings and AI International breached the Revolver Agreement by rejecting the December 30, 2008 draw request, and that the Resulting Company suffered damages as a result of that breach. For the purpose of their motion to dismiss, the Lenders assume liability — that AI International breached the Revolver Agreement when it failed to fund the $750 million. But they assert that the limitation on damages provision in the Revolver Agreement bars, the Trustee from collecting damages for any such breach, and that Count 12 therefore must be dismissed.
In response, the Trustee contends that the Revolver Agreement’s limitation on damages is unenforceable under New York law.
A Enforceability of the Limitation on Damages Provision
As noted above when it was quoted in full, the Revolver Agreement’s Section 9.05 provides, among other things, that no Lender:
shall have any liability for any special, punitive, indirect or consequential damages related to this Agreement ... or arising out of its activities in connection herewith or therewith.
If that language is enforceable, any claims for “special, punitive, indirect or consequential damages” are proscribed.
Limitation on damages clauses, such as Section 9.05 of the Revolver Agreement, are generally enforceable under New York Law. “A limitation on liability provision in a contract represents the parties’ agreement on the allocation of the risk of economic loss in the event that the contemplated transaction is not fully executed, which the courts should honor.”
1. Disparity in Bargaining Power Exception
Under the first exception, a limitation on liability or damages clause will not be enforced in New York if the provision was “the result of unconscionable conduct or unequal bargaining power between the parties.”
The Trustee notes what he contends are deficiencies in the drafting of the Revolver Agreement, and contends that it was not negotiated between sophisticated parties at arm’s length. In particular, he asserts that Access Holdings, as the lender and the controlling shareholder of the Resulting Company, was on both sides of the transaction. Additionally, the Trustee argues that the exculpatory clause wasn’t “negotiated” at all. Rather, he contends, Section 9.05 (and possibly the entire Revolver Agreement) was copied from the ABL Facilities’ credit agreement. But assuming the factual predicates for these arguments to be true, the Court neverthe
First, the factual allegations do not support the contention that the Revolver parties were not sophisticated parties. Instead, the Complaint shows that each of Lyondell, Basell Finance, the Resulting Company and Access Holdings were large commercial corporations with experienced directors and officers.
Second, the fact that Access Holdings (as the controlling shareholder of the Resulting Company, Lyondell, and Basell Finance) was on both sides of the transaction, without quite a bit more, is insufficient to show that the Revolver Agreement was not negotiated at arm’s length or that there was a disparity in bargaining power such that the Borrowers were denied a meaningful choice in entering the Revolver Agreement. As the Lenders quite fairly argue,
In connection with all aspect of each transaction contemplated hereby ..., each Loan Party acknowledges and agrees that: (i)(A) the services regarding this Agreement provided the Lender are arm’s-length commercial transactions between the Company and the Borrowers and their respective Affiliates, on the one hand, and the Lender on the other hand, (B) each Loan Party has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory, and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate and (C) each Loan Party is capable of evaluating, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the other Loan Documents ...31
Third, assuming as true that Section 9.05 was taken from one of the ABL Credit Facilities’ contractual documents, such fact cuts against the Trustee’s position. The lenders and obligors who had negotiated the ABL Facilities plainly were sophisticated commercial parties, with at least comparable bargaining power, dealing at arm’s length. If it came from the ABL Facilities, the limitation on damages clause later appearing in Section 9.05, when originally drafted, was negotiated at arm’s length by sophisticated parties. At the very least, it shows that an exculpatory clause like the one in the Revolver Agreement was commercially reasonable, appearing in other credit agreements between arm’s length sophisticated parties.
For these reasons, the Court concludes that the Complaint fails to adequately allege that the limitation of damages provision was the result of unconscionability or a disparity in bargaining power. The Court cannot, and will not, find Section 9.05 to be unenforceable for that reason.
2. The Kalisch-Jarcho Exception
But even if a limitation on damages provision is the result of arm’s length
In Delphi, a similar case involving a failure to fund claim, Judge Drain of this Court applied the Kalisch-Jarcho exception to the enforceability of the exculpatory clauses at issue, and refused to dismiss the plaintiffs action for damages.
either was aware of or even secretly encouraged efforts to denigrate the value of Delphi and its securities, including .., short selling of Delphi’s stock, so as to surreptitiously increase the likelihood that Delphi would not obtain the third party financing that ... was required to*88 consummate Delphi’s Chapter 11 plan.35
Delphi further alleged that “Appaloosa ... had its counsel assert a specious claim that Delphi not only had breached [the agreement] but also was liable for an $82.5 million Alternate Transaction Fee.”
Courts have also refused to enforce exculpatory clauses where the defendant breached the contract in furtherance of an extortionate ulterior motive. In Solow, a New-'York state court judge refused to enforce an exculpatory clause.and denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment based on a finding that, in breaching the contract, the defendant had acted with malice and bad faith.
The Solow Court held that the tenant could collect consequential damages for Solow’s unreasonable refusal to consent to 14 alteration proposals despite an exculpatory clause in the lease that ostensibly shielded Solow from such damages. It did so because the tenant demonstrated that Solow withheld approval “for purely ulteri- or motives, to force [the tenant] to agree, among other things, to unwarranted demands in the millions of dollars for payments not called for under the lease — [The tenant] contended that defendant’s objective in ‘extracting unwarranted payments’ amounts to extortion.”
New York courts have also clarified that to invalidate an exculpatory clause, it is insufficient for the plaintiff to allege or show that the defendant acted with malice or reckless indifference in the general course of conduct between the parties. Rather, the defendant must have acted with malice or reckless indifference in breaching the contract specifically.
For example, in Metropolitan Life, the defendant agreed to license and customize a computer software program for the plaintiff over the course of several years, and then demanded an upward increase in the contractually fixed price ceiling when it became unprofitable for the defendant to continue its performance at the contract price.
[W]e conclude that plaintiffs proof was insufficient as a matter of law to establish that defendant willfully intended to inflict harm on plaintiff through its abandonment of the contract. Apart from evidence of alleged misconduct by defendant during the course of its performance of the contract, totally irrelevant to the subsequent withdrawal from the project, the proof, as plaintiff has indeed stressed, was that defendant’s repudiation of the Agreement was motivated exclusively by its own economic self-interest in divesting itself of a highly unprofitable business undertaking in order to promote the sale of its computer software division to a competitor company. Consequential damages resulting from that kind of contract nonperformance constitute a risk which plaintiff assumed under ... the parties’ Agreement.44
Applying these principles here, the Court determines that the Complaint fails to sufficiently allege malice or reckless indifference by AI Chemical in refusing to honor Lyondell’s drawdown request. Here, there are no allegations of misconduct on the part of the Lenders anywhere near like those alleged on the part of Appaloosa — and thus Delphi, while plainly properly decided, has no material relevance here. Nor are there any allegations that the Lenders declined to fund as a means , of extortion, as in Solow. At most the Complaint plausibly alleges that the Lenders were unwilling to fund by reason of self-interest when they realized that making unsecured loans to Lyondell and the Resulting Company at that point in time would be throwing their money down the drain. Depending on the nature of their documentation’s Material Adverse Change protection, that might or might not excuse them from a finding of breach. But those allegations would fall far short of alleging the requisite malice.
The Trustee points to several allegations of misconduct by Blavatnik and (by virtue of being his alter egos) Access Holdings and AI International, as lenders under the Revolver: (i) refusal to put equity into the Resulting Company and approving the overleveraged Merger financing; (ii) facilitating the syndication of the Merger Loans by providing the Revolver; (iii) committing the Resulting Company to borrow an additional $600 million from third party lenders to purchase the Berre L’Etang refinery (even though the Resulting Company desperately needed equity and liquidity); and (iv) mandating that the Borrowers draw on the credit line only as a last resort, and that they repay any such draws immediately.
There is, however, one allegation of misconduct relating specifically to the breach of the Revolver — that the Lenders denied Lyondell’s request to draw on $750 million in funds because Blavatnik knew that if Access Holdings (or another Blavatnik controlled entity) could lend to Lyondell as a post-petition DIP financing lender — by waiting until Lyondell filed for bankruptcy — Access Holdings would have a better chance to be repaid than it would lending under the Revolver.
Rather, it suggests that (like a possible decision on the part of the Lenders here to decline to make an unsecured loan to a probably insolvent borrower already loaded up with secured debt) the refusal to fund the draw was an economically-motivated business decision. Indeed, other allegations in the Complaint show that Blavatnik and the Lenders had considered whether to fund to the Borrowers, but were concerned with mitigating their losses. These include, for example, allegations that (i) the Revolver had been assigned by Access Holdings to AI International, a Luxembourg corporation, “so that draws under the Revolver can be funded with offshore funds,” in contemplation of the draw requests that Lyondell said it would need at year end 2008; (ii) Access Holdings reacted with distress when Lyondell indicated that the potential year-end draw-downs would not be repaid for several months (which, given the timing, might mean after Lyondell filed for bankruptcy); and (iii) Blavatnik was effectively advised by Lazard not to throw good money after bad.
While a claim of economic self-interest would not absolve a party if its conduct were intentionally malicious or reckless (as one can see from Solow, for example), the allegations of misconduct here do not rise to that level.
Thus the Court concludes that the Trustee’s allegations fall short of those necessary to justify invalidating the limitation on damages clause. Accordingly, the Trustee may not recover any “special, punitive, indirect or consequential” damages
B. Restitutionary Damages
The Trustee further argues, however, that even if the exculpatory clause is
Section 9.05 protects the Lenders from any “special, punitive, indirect or consequential damages related to this Agreement.”
In Three S Delaware,
[T]he Agreement does not ... prohibit an award of restitution, the type of damages the arbitrator awarded for [the defendant’s] unjust enrichment claim. Because an award based on unjust enrichment does not contradict the clear language of the Agreement, [the plaintiff] cannot meet its burden of showing that the Award is not drawn from the essence of the Agreement, and the Award cannot be vacated on this ground.56
It is clear, then, that restitution is distinct in character from special or consequential damages, and the Trustee here has alleged that the Borrowers paid fees
Accordingly, dismissal of Count 12 is denied to the extent the Trustee seeks damages for restitution. It otherwise is granted.
II.
Count 15 (Recharacterization of the Revolver)
In Count 15, the Trustee seeks to re-characterize, as an equity contribution, the $300 million drawn down under the Revolver on October 15, 2008,
It has long been established that “bankruptcy courts, as courts of equity, have broad authority to modify creditor-debtor relationships.”
A. The AutoStyle Factors
The leading case on recharacterization doctrine in bankruptcy is SubMicron,
Those factors are now widely used.
(1) the names given to the instruments, if any, evidencing the indebtedness;
(2) the presence or absence of a fixed maturity date and schedule of payments;
(3) the presence or absence of a fixed rate of interest and interest payments;
(4) the source of repayments;
(5) the adequacy or inadequacy of capi-' talization;
(6) the identity of interest between the creditor and the stockholder;
(7) the security, if any, for the advances;
(8) the corporation’s ability to obtain financing from outside lending institutions;
(9) the extent to which the advances were subordinated to the claims of outside creditors;
(10) the extent to which the advances were used to acquire capital assets; and
*94 (11) the presence or absence of a sinking fund to provide repayments.71
While “[ojther cases include other factors, or state the factors somewhat differently, [] they do not differ in material respects.”
No one factor is dispositive of either the intent of the parties or whether a loan should be recharacterized as equity.
On a motion to dismiss, a complaint “would have to plead facts to trigger the applicability of the AutoStyle factors or their equivalent, or a meaningful subset of them” to avoid dismissal.
1. Names given to the instruments evidencing the indebtedness
As to the first factor, “[t]he issuance of a stock certifícate indicates an equity contribution; the issuance of a bond, debenture, or note is indicative of a bona fide indebtedness.”
But here, of course the advance the Trustee seeks to recharacterize as equity was indeed documented with instruments of indebtedness, and was fully documented as a loan. The advance came from the Revolver, pursuant to the Revolver Agreement.
The Revolver was established pursuant to a “Revolving Credit Agreement,”
2. Presence of fixed maturity date and repayment schedule
“The absence of a fixed maturity date and a fixed obligation to repay is an indication that the advances were capital contributions and not loans ... [and] the absence of a set schedule of repayment of principal weighs in favor of equity, but is not dispositive.”
The Revolver Agreement has a clear maturity date, once again weighing in favor of a finding that the advance was a loan.
Ultimately, this factor does not strongly tilt in either direction. But to the extent it goes either way, it tips mildly in opposition to recharacterization of the loan as equity.
S. The presence of a fixed rate of interest and interest payments
“The absence of a fixed rate of interest and interest payments is a strong indication that the advances were capital contributions rather than loans.”
i. The source of repayments
“If the expectation of repayment depends solely on the success of the borrower’s business, the transaction has the appearance of a capital contribution.”
In Roth Steel, the tax court, later affirmed by the Sixth Circuit, determined that repayment was entirely dependent on the prospective financial success of the corporation because all existing assets of the corporation were subject to security interests and thus were not available as a source of repayment.
The Court believes this factor must be considered in conjunction with a borrower’s overall capital structure. The question is whether the lender has any reasonable expectation of payment if the business fails. It is one thing to loan money on an unsecured basis to a debtor with a significant net worth or positive equity. Even if a default occurs, there is a reasonable expectation of repayment out of something other than earnings. On the other hand, if the capital structure of the entity is such that future profits are the only hope of repayment, and a lender knows or should know that, the transaction sounds in equity.92
Those holdings suggest that when other creditors have lent on a secured basis and have a first claim on a company’s assets, and the company is so overleveraged that there is little likelihood that those other creditors will be oversecured (thus generating a surplus for allocation to others), repayment of more junior debt is dependent on success of the business because “future profits are the only hope of repayment.”
The Trustee alleges that at the time the Revolver Agreement was entered into, the Resulting Company and each of its subsidiaries were overleveraged and insolvent due to the $20.7 billion of secured debt incurred in connection with the Merger.
Nevertheless, the Post-Merger Directors argue that the “Complaint avers that Lyondell paid the October 15 borrowing within days from its working capital, notwithstanding alleged liquidity pressures.”
The Post-Merger Directors’ position is stronger when they assert a different point — that there are no allegations that the Borrowers’ duty to repay was dependent on Lyondell’s future performance. They also are right when they note that all borrowings were due on the maturity date and that the Lenders had a right of enforcement on default — though given the Borrowers’ financial situation at the time, and the unsecured nature of the underlying debt, that right of enforcement would likely be of only modest value.
On balance, the Court finds that this factor weighs in favor of recharacterization, at an intermediate level.
5. Adequacy or inadequacy of capitalization
“Thin or inadequate capitalization is strong evidence that the advances are capital contributions rather than loans.”
These factual allegations, taken as true, support weighing this factor in favor of recharacterization. But they overlap materially with those considered under the preceding factor — and indeed are the same reasons why the Court found as it did with respect to Factor 4. The Court considers these to weigh in favor of recharacterization. But because of the admonition in S & B Holdings, and the fact that the Court based its conclusions as to Factor #4 on these same allegations, the Court here gives them only modest weight.
“If stockholders make advances in proportion to their respective stock ownership, an equity contribution is indicated,”
Here, by contrast, the funds came from a single source.
For these reasons, this factor tips either very slightly in favor of recharacterization or is a wash.
7. Security, if any, for the advances
The AutoStyle court stated that “[t]he absence of a security for an advance is a strong indication that the advances were capital contributions rather than loans.”
As previously discussed, the Trustee has alleged that “the Debtors gave Access [Holdings] no security for such advances,”
8. Corporation’s ability to obtain outsidefinancing
“The fact that no reasonable creditor would have acted in the same manner
The Post-Merger Directors point out that in March 2008, the time the parties entered into the Revolver Agreement, Lyondell was in the process of exercising its option to borrow an additional $600 million under the accordion feature in its ABL Facilities.
By comparison, the Trustee points out, the Revolver was an unsecured revolving credit facility.
The Court is only modestly persuaded by each party’s argument here. As the Third Circuit, speaking through Judge Ambro, observed in SubMicron:
when existing lenders make loans to a distressed company, they are trying to protect their existing loans and traditional factors that lenders consider (such as capitalization, solvency, collateral, ability to pay cash interest and debt capacity ratios) do not apply as they would when lending to a financially healthy company.115
That analysis is compelling — and grounded in both law and experience. It will usually, if not always, be applicable when lenders make additional protective loans. And when the asserted loan is made by an equity holder, as contrasted to a previous lender, the factors identified by Judge Am-bro would often, if not always, apply as well. Like the investors in SubMicron, the Lenders here, as insiders and parents of the Borrowers, were looking to protect their existing investment in Lyondell. For these exact reasons, the terms of the Revolver would be far more favorable than what Lyondell could obtain under the ABL upsize. Thus, any differences between the below-market terms of the Revolver and the highly costly upsizing of the ABL Fa
The Trustee also contends that the Debtors could not obtain funding from any outside lender on any terms.
Under these circumstances, the Court concludes that this factor is either neutral or weighs only modestly in favor of recharacterization.
9. Extent to which advances were subordinated to claims of outside creditors
“Subordination of advances to claims of all other creditors indicates that the advances were capital contributions and not loans.”
Here, the Revolver was clearly an unsecured loan, and unlike the loans in S & B Holdings, any advances would not be senior to any other creditor claims. On the other hand, advances under the Revolver would rank pari passu with, and would not be subordinated to, the claims of all other unsecured creditors. As such, this factor is neutral. It certainly does not weigh in favor of recharacterization.
10. Extent to which the advances were used to acquire capital assets
“Use of advances to meet the daily operating needs of the corporation, rather than to purchase capital assets, is indicative of bona fide indebtedness.”
11. The presence or absence of a sinking fund to provide repayment
A sinking fund is “[a] fund consisting of regular deposits that are accumulated with interest to pay off a long-term corporate or public debt.”
But even so, this Court queries, with the benefit of its experience,
Both sides agree, as does this Court, that the presence or absence of a sinking fund is irrelevant here.
12. Other Indicia of Intent
The purpose of the 11 point analysis just completed is, or should be, to discern the intent of the parties. As the Third Circuit explained in SubMicron:
In defining the recharacterization inquiry, courts have adopted a variety of multi-factor tests borrowed from non-bankruptcy caselaw. While these tests undoubtedly include pertinent factors, they devolve to an overarching inquiry: the characterization as debt or equity is a court’s attempt to discern whether the parties called an instrument one thing when in fact they intended it as something else. That intent may be inferred from what the parties say in their contracts, from what they do through their actions, and from the economic reality of the surrounding circumstances. Answers lie in facts that confer context case-by-case.130
the overarching inquiry in a recharacterization case is the intent of the parties at the time of the transaction, determined not by a applying any specific factor, but through a common sense evaluation of the facts and circumstances surrounding a transaction.132
Thus the Court can, and should, look to any indicia of intent beyond what the Roth Steel and AutoStyle factors themselves suggest, and to the entirety of the facts and circumstances surrounding the transaction, when such are helpful in gauging intent. That means, for example, that the Court should also consider, as the SubMicron court suggested, “what the parties say in their contracts” and “what they do through their actions.”
B. Conclusions As To Recharacterization
As appears from the discussion above, only four
We think it important to note that a claimant’s insider status and a debtor’s undercapitalization alone will normally be insufficient to support the recharacterization of a claim. In many cases, an insider will be the only party willing to make a loan to a struggling business, and recharacterization should not be used to discourage good-faith loans. However, when other factors indicate that the transaction is not a loan at all, recharacterization is appropriate to ensure the consistent application of the Bankruptcy Code.141
Looking at the factual allegations in their totality (and, importantly, the manifestation of the parties’ intent) — the Court concludes that the Revolver is exactly what the parties said it was — a debt facility under which funds could be (and were) borrowed, and could be (and were) repaid.
• They prepared documentation;
• The documentation said it was a loan;
• They referred to it as such to the SEC;
• The Borrowers had to pay interest; and
• The Borrowers paid the advanced amounts back.
It is plainly true that the loan was unsecured and behind a mountain of secured debt, but the discussion in SubMicron explains why loans are nevertheless made as a protective matter.
Then, since as SubMicron and Radnor Holdings make clear, the ultimate exercise is to ascertain the intent of the parties, the Court focuses on allegations in the Complaint indicative of that intent. And those allegations support the view that Blavatnik never wanted to make any equity contribution to the Resulting Company or Lyon-dell. For example, the Complaint alleges that in March 2008 (around the time the Revolver was entered into), Goldman Sachs
Finally, the allegations here stand in contrast those in cases in which courts have recharacterized loans as capital contributions or denied motions to dismiss recharacterization claims. For instance, in Dornier Aviation, in which the Fourth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court’s grant of summary judgment and decision to recharacterize, not only was the purported lender the sole owner of the debtor, but also the purported loan lacked a fixed maturity date, the debtor was not required to repay the purported loan until it became profitable, and the purported lender assumed the debtor’s losses.
Similarly, the court in Musicland sustained a claim for recharacterization where the plaintiff alleged that “[d]uring the two- and-one-half years that [the lender] contributed cash to Musicland, it had never imposed any repayment terms” and that even though [the investor] began “loaning” money to Musicland in 2001, the purported loan agreement was not executed until 2003.
Again, in Lexington Oil, the court determined that most of the factors weighed in favor of recharacterization, and emphasized that: the purported lenders “advanced money before the promissory note was signed and before he had even seen it”; could not remember when the promissory notes were actually signed; did not execute the related loan agreement until over a year after the date on the promissory notes; and “when the notes were rewritten in 2006, they contained no provision for payment of the interest accrued
And in a case from the District of Massachusetts,
As these decisions demonstrate, in most cases where courts have recharacterized a loan as equity, the purported loan documentation did not comport with the formalities typical of debt instruments, the lender did not take any action to enforce his rights as a lender, or both.
But here, the Trustee has not alleged that the Revolver Agreement was written after the funds were advanced or otherwise failed to comport with formalities typical of a commercial loan. In addition, Access Holdings did not decline to exercise its rights as a lender. In fact, it is alleged that that Access used its position as an insider to force the Resulting Company to pay back the October 15 draw in five days at a time when the Resulting Company was undercapitalized and insolvent. Such allegations might support claims for equitable subordination or for a preference, but are insufficient for recharacterization.
For these reasons, the Court finds that the Trustee has failed to state a claim for recharacterization. The defendants’ motion to dismiss Count 15 is granted.
II
Count 16 (Illegal Dividends)
In Count 16, the Trustee asserts that if the $300 million advance made on October 15, 2008 is recharacterized as an equity contribution, then the repayments of those funds, on October 16, 17, and 20, were actually dividend payments to Access Holdings. But by reason of the Court’s conclusions as to Count 15, declining to recharacterize the Revolver debt as equity, the underpinning of Count 16 has fallen away. The payments on those three days — on account of debt the Court has declined to recharacterize' — no longer can be argued to be dividends.
Count 16 too must be dismissed.
Conclusion
For the reasons stated above, the motions to dismiss of Access Holdings,
AI International, and the Lyondell Post-Merger Directors are denied in part and granted in part:
• Count 12 (Breach of Contract): dismissal is denied to the extent the Trustee seeks restitutionary damages; dismissal is granted to the extent the Trustee seeks damages of other types.
• Count 15 (Recharacterization): dismissal is granted.
'• Count 16 (Illegal Dividends): dismissal is granted.
As to each Count, the Court sees no material possibility that deficiencies it has noted could be cured by an amended pleading. Thus, to the extent the Court
SO ORDERED.
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX A
Count
Claim
Defendant Parlies
Constructive fraudulent transfer under the Bankruptcy Code and applicable state law
Nell, Limited; AI Chemical Investments LLC; and Leonard Blavatnik
Intentional fraudulent transfer under the Bankruptcy Code and applicable state law
Nell, Limited; AI Chemical Investments LLC; and Leonard Blavatnik
Constructive fraudulent transfer under the Bankruptcy Code and applicable state law
Lyondell Pre-Merger Directors and Lyondell Pre-Merger Officers
Intentional fraudulent transfer under the Bankruptcy Code and applicable state law
Lyondell Pre-Merger Directors and Lyondell Pre-Merger Officers
Breach of fiduciary duty
Lyondell Pre-Merger Directors
Mismanagement and breach of duty under Luxembourg law
Leonard Blavatnik
Tort under Luxembourg law
Blavatnik;
Count
Claim
Defendant Parlies ■
Breach of fiduciary duty
Subsidian" Directors
Avoidance preference under the Bankruptcy Code and applicable state law
Access Industries Holdings LLC
10
Equitable subordination under the Bankruptcy Code
AT International, S.a.r.1.
11
Constructive fraudulent transfer under the Bankruptcy Code and applicable state law
Nell Limited; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.; and Ferella Weinberg Partners LP
12
Breach of contract
Access Industries Holdings LLC; and AI International. S.á.r.l.
13
Illegal dividends or redemption
Lyondell Pre-Merger Directors
14
Unlawful distribution and extra-contractual tort under Luxembourg law
Leonard Blavatnik; the CfP Managers; BT S.á.r.l.; Alan Bigntan; Alex Blavatnik; Peter Thorén: Simon Baker: and Hie Nominees
15
Declaratory judgment for characterization of purported loan advances under the Access Revolver as capital contributions
Access Industries Holdings LLC; and the Lyondell Post-Merger Directors
Id
Illegal dividends
Lyondell Post-Merger Directors
TT
Constructive fraudulent transfer under the Bankruptcy Code and applicable state law
Access Industries Holdings LLC
18
Aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty under applicable slate law and Luxembourg law
Nell Limited; Access Industries Holdings, LLC: Access Industries, Inc.; AI International, S.á.r.l.; AI Chemical Investments T.I.C
Count
Claim
Defendant Parlies
19
Constructive fraudulent transfer under the Bankruptcy Code
BI S.a.r.1,
20
Breach of fiduciary duty
Dan Smith; T. Kevin DcNicola; Edward Dineen; Kerry Galvin; and W; Norman Phillips
21
Aiding and abetting breach ofliduciary duty
T. Kevin DcNicola; Edward Dineen; Kerry Galvin; and W. Norman Phillips
. Acronyms make understanding difficult for readers who have nof been living with a case. The Court tries to minimize their use. For readability, except where acronyms appear in quotations or have acquired obvious meaning, the Court expands the acronyms out, or substitutes terms that are more descriptive of the entity’s role in the transaction.
. Lyondell then filed along with 78 affiliates. About three months later, the Resulting Company and another Lyondell affiliate joined them as Debtors in this Court.
. See Weisfelner v. NAG Investments, LLC, Adv. Proc. 11-01844.
. A table listing all of the claims and the particular defendants against whom they were asserted appears in Appendix A. The Complaint numbers each claim using a Roman number, To make them easier to read, the Court has referred to the claims using Arabic ones.
. This Court issued other opinions on 12(b)(6) motions in the related adversary proceedings against selling shareholders. See Weisfelner v. Fund 1 (In re Lyondell Chemical Co.), 503 B.R. 348 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 2014); Weisfelner v. Fund 1 (In re Lyondell Chemical Co.), 541 B.R. 172 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 2015).
. To avoid a decision of unwieldy length, the Court’s rulings on the other motions appear in separate decisions.
."ABL” is an acronym not uncommonly used to refer to "asset based lending” — i.e. lending secured by assets of one or more particular types, with lending advances made under a formula pegged to the value of the ' underlying collateral. The Court understands that to be the meaning of ABL as it was used here.
. Revolver Agreement (Exh. A to Decl. of Dianne Coffino) [Dkt, No. 402-2], § 9.05,
. Cmplt, ¶ 294.
. Id. ¶ 311.
. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ("Iqbal") (citations omitted); accord Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ("Twombly").
. See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ("the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in the complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions”).
.Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556-57, 127 S.Ct. 1955) (internal quotation marks omitted).
. Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.
. Goldman v. Belden, 754 F.2d 1059, 1067 (2d Cir. 1985).
. Cortec Indus., Inc. v. Sum Holding L.P., 949 F.2d 42, 47 (2d Cir. 1991) ("Cortee Industries ").
. Chambers v. Time Warner, Inc., 282 F.3d 147, 153 (2d Cir. 2002).
. Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors of Color Tile, Inc. v. Coopers & Lybrand, LLP, 322 F.3d 147, 158 (2d Cir. 2003) (‘Color Tile'') (citations omitted).
. Section 9.15 of the Revolver Agreement provides that New York law governs. See also Hr’g Tr„ dated Mar. 10, 2011 [Dkt. No. 520], at 133.
. The Revolver Agreement made reference to an "Indemnitee.” By a series of definitional cross-references unnecessary to address at length here, each of the Lenders was an "Indemnitee.”
. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Noble Lowndes Int’l, Inc., 84 N.Y.2d 430, 436, 643 N.E.2d 504, 507, 618 N.Y.S.2d 882, 885 (1994) (“Metropolitan Life”).
. See Kalisch-Jarcho, Inc. v. City of New York, 58 N.Y.2d 377, 448 N.E.2d 413, 461 N.Y.S.2d 746 (1983) (“Kalisch-Jarcho").
. Id. at 384, 448 N.E.2d 413, 461 N.Y.S.2d 746.
. CAMOFI Master LDC v. College P’ship, Inc., 452 F.Supp.2d 462, 478 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (Chin, J.) (citing DynCorp v. GTE Corp., 215 F.Supp.2d 308, 317 (S.D.N.Y. 2002) (Hellerstein, J.) ("DynCorp”)); see also Indus. Risk Insurers v. Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J., 387 F.Supp.2d 299, 307 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) (Hellerstein, J.) ("[P]arties, especially those of equal bargaining power, should be able to rely upon the general New York rule that enforces contracts for the release of claims of liability.”).
. See, e.g., SI Commc'ns, Inc. v. Nielsen Media Research, 181 F.Supp.2d 404, 412 (S.D.N.Y. 2002) (Batts, J.) ("SI Communications") (applying Illinois law); Mistry Prabhudas Manji Eng. Pvt. Ltd v. Raytheon Eng’rs & Constructors, Inc., 213 F.Supp.2d 20, 25 (D.Mass. 2002) (Saris, J.) ("Mistry Prabhudas”) (evaluating enforceability of liquidated damages clause under Pennsylvania law); Stelluti v. Casapenn Enterprises, LLC, 203 N.J. 286, 300-301, 1 A.3d 678, 687-688 (2010) ("Stelluti") (enforcing exculpatory clause in contract under New Jersey law); Orion Refining Corp. v. UOP, 259 S.W.3d 749 (Tex.App. 2007) ("Orion Refining ”) (applying Illinois law).
. See Mistry Prabhudas, 213 F.Supp.2d at 27 ("The burden of proof lies with the party who alleges unconscionability.”); Orion Refining, 259 S.W.3d at 763 ("As the party seeking to avoid an exculpatory clause or limitation, Orion has the burden to establish unenforceability.").
. SI Communications, 181 F.Supp.2d at 412 (citing Reuben H. Donnelley Corp. v. Krasny Supply Co., 227 Ill.App.3d 414, 592 N.E.2d 8, 11-12, 169 Ill.Dec. 521 (1st App.Div. 1991)); see also Stelluti, 1 A.3d 678 (enforcing exculpation clause in a case involving an unsophisticated consumer plaintiff who was presented with a contract on "take-it-or-leave-it” basis because (1) the contract related to widely-available services such that the plaintiff could have gone elsewhere, (2) the plaintiff could have sought legal advice before signing the contract, and (3) no time limitation was placed on her ability to do so) (some quotation marks omitted).
. See Cmplt. ¶¶ 23-33, 54-66, 79-81, 86-88.
. See Lenders’ Count 12 Reply Br., dated Dec. 23, 2010 [Dkt. No. 470], at 2.
. As the Lenders also note in their Count 12 Reply Br. (at p. 5), the Complaint lacks any allegations that Blavatnik had any role in the negotiation of the Revolver.
. Revolver Agreement § 9.22.
. Kalisch-Jarcho, 58 N.Y.2d at 384, 461 N.Y.S.2d 746, 448 N.E.2d 413. See also Global Crossing Telecomm. Inc. v. CCT Commc’ns, Inc. (In re CCT Commc’ns), 464 B.R. 97, 106-108 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 2011) (Bernstein, C.J.) ("CCT Communications”); Sommer v. Fed. Signal Corp., 79 N.Y.2d 540, 554, 593 N.E.2d 1365, 583 N.Y.S.2d 957 (1992) ("Sommer”)). This exception applies equally to contract clauses exonerating a party from all liability as well as clauses limiting damages. See Trump Int’l Hotel & Tower v. Carrier Corp., 524 F.Supp.2d 302, 315 (S.D.N.Y. 2007) (Scheindlin, J.) ("Trump") (citing Colnaghi, U.S.A., Ltd. v. Jewelers Protection Servs., Ltd., 81 N.Y.2d 821, 823, 611 N.E.2d 282, 283, 595 N.Y.S.2d 381 (1993).
. Kalisch-Jarcho, 58 N.Y.2d at 384-85, 461 N.Y.S.2d 746, 448 N.E.2d 413. See also Metropolitan Life, 84 N.Y.2d at 438, 618 N.Y.S.2d 882, 643 N.E.2d 504 (“limiting [a] defendant's liability for consequential damages to injuries to plaintiff caused by intentional misrepresentations, willful acts and gross negligence does not offend public policy”).
The Trustee contends that because the case-law requires an "intentional wrongdoing” showing to avoid enforceability of exculpation clauses negotiated by sophisticated commercial parties at arm's length — citing Baidu, Inc. v. Register.com, Inc., 760 F.Supp.2d 312, 317 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (Chin, J.) ("Baidu") (“The gross negligence exception applies even to contracts between sophisticated commercial parties, although a ‘more exacting standard of gross negligence’ must be satisfied.”) — in instances where a contract was not negotiated by sophisticated parties at arm’s length, only a lesser showing of "willful or gross negligence” or "recklessly indifference conduct” is required to avoid enforcement of a damages limitation clause.
The Court disagrees. Baidu cited to Sommer for support, but the Sommer Court neither stated nor suggested that there were two different standards of gross negligence — the word "sophisticated” does not appear anywhere in that decision. Instead, Sommer, like Kalisch-Jarcho, makes clear that in all cases, to avoid enforcement of an exculpatory clause, the plaintiff must show that in breaching the agreement, there was intentional wrongdoing, which can be "gross negligence that betokens a reckless indifference to the rights of others.”
. Delphi Corp. v. Appaloosa Mgm’t L.P. (In re Delphi Corp.), 2008 WL 3486615, *5 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y.) (Drain, J.) ("Delphi”).
. Id. at *6.
. Id.
. Id. at *7.
. Id. But Judge Drain also decided that the other two defendant-lenders could enforce limitation on damages provisions because although these defendants likewise breached, “the complaint [did not] allege[] sufficient jaw-dropping wrongdoing or recldess disregard in respect of those two entities ... to justify ,.. lifting the damage cap ... under Kalisch-Jarcho and Solow Bldg.” Id. at *21.
. Banc of Am. Sec. LLC v. Solow Bldg. Co. II, L.L.C., 47 A.D.3d 239, 249, 847 N.Y.S.2d 49, 56 (App.Div. 1st Dep’t 2007) ("Solow").
. Id.
. Id. at 50.
. Metropolitan Life, 84 N,Y.2d at 435, 618 N.Y.S.2d 882, 643 N.E.2d 504.
. id.
. Id. at 439, 618 N.Y.S.2d 882, 643 N.E.2d 504.
. The Complaint did not specifically allege that Blavatnik mandated the “unstated term” that advances under the Revolver be repaid immediately. Instead, this allegation was raised in the Plaintiff’s Memorandum of Law. See Cmplt. ¶¶ 294, 302; Trustee Count 12 Opp. Br., dated Nov. 24, 2010 [Dkt. No. 457], at 1.
. See Metropolitan Life, 84 N.Y.2d at 439, 618 N.Y.S.2d 882, 643 N.E.2d 504 (concluding that defendant’s alleged misconduct during course of its performance of the contract was "totally irrelevant” to the specific breach at issue and enforcing limitation on damages clause).
. See Cmplt. ¶ 308.
. See Cmplt ¶¶ 305-307, According to the Complaint, a Managing Director at Lazard, Ltd., who was seeking to be retained for LBI’s - restructuring, allegedly told Blavatnik that not only would an additional $1 billion infusion ($250 million more than the Revolver limit) be insufficient to save the equity in Lyondell, but Blavatnik would not get that money back.
. See Net2Globe Int'l, Inc. v. Time Warner Telecom of New York, 273 F.Supp.2d 436, 451 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (Marrero, J.) (finding that defendant’s alleged misconduct "amounted to an effort to mitigate costs and consequentially diminish the amount of the charges passed on to [the plaintiff],” and that "this economically motivated decision cannot, as a matter of law, rise to the level of malice or intentional wrongdoing necessary to invalidate the contracts' limitation on liability provision.").
. Revolver Agreement § 9.05.
. Id.
. See generally, CCT Communications, 464 B.R. at 117; Amer. List Corp. v. U.S. News and World Report, Inc., 75 N.Y.2d 38, 43, 550 N.Y.S.2d 590, 593, 549 N.E.2d 1161, 1164 (1989); Kenford Co. Inc. v. County of Erie, 73 N.Y.2d 312, 537 N.E.2d 176, 540 N.Y.S.2d 1 (1989). See also Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 351 cmt. b. (1981) ("The damages recoverable for loss that results other than in the ordinary course of events are sometimes called 'special' or ‘consequential’ damages.”).
. 360Networks Corp. v. Geltzer (In re Asia Global Crossing, Ltd.), 404 B.R. 335, 341 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) (Holwell, J.) (citations omitted). See also Restatement, Restitution, § 150, cmt. a. (1937) ("In an action in restitution in which the benefit received was money, the measure of recovery for this benefit is the amount of money received”); Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 371 cmt. a. (1981) ("a party who is liable in restitution for a sum of money must pay an amount equal to the benefit that has been conferred upon him”); Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014) (defining "restitution damages” as damages awarded to a plaintiff when the defendant has been unjustly enriched at the plaintiff’s expense).
. See Three S Delaware, Inc. v. DataQuick Info. Sys., Inc., 492 F.3d 520 (4th Cir. 2007).
. 492 F.3d 520, 528 (4th Cir. 2007).
. Id. at 528-529. See also CCT Communications, 464 B.R. at 118 (explaining that defendant conceded that clause providing, “[i]n no circumstances shall either we or you be liable for indirect, consequential, reliance, or special loss or damages or for lost revenues, lost savings, lost business opportunity or lost profits of any kind,” did not prevent plaintiff from recovering restitution).
. See Trustee Count 12 Opp. Br. at 17; 3/10/11 Hr’g Tr. at 141-143.
. The views in this decision conform to those in the recent decision by Judge Chapman of this Court in the Lehman bankruptcy case. See In re Lehman Bros. Holdings, Inc., 544 B.R. 62, 74-75, 2015 Bankr.LEXIS 4369, *29, 2015 WL 9582753, at *9 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. Dec. 29, 2015). There, the claimant Spanish Broadcasting asserted a claim for damages (including fees paid to Lehman as administrative agent) stemming from Lehman's failure to fund under a credit agreement that contained a provision waiving "special, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages.” Judge Chapman found the damages waiver enforceable, and disallowed that component of the claim. But although not the subject of the dispute, the fee damages (though only the fee damages) component of the claim was ultimately allowed as that was not a consequential damage subject to the waiver clause.
. This is the same $300 million that was repaid, in increments of $100 million each, on October 16, 17 and 20. See discussion under Facts section, supra.
. The issue before the Court here is whether the complaint states a claim for recharacterization of debt as equity. The Complaint contains a separate claim against AI International for equitable subordination, Count 10, which the defendants have not here moved to dismiss. Recharacterization and equitable subordination address distinct concerns. See In re SubMicron Systems Corp., 432 F.3d 448, 454 (3d Cir. 2006) ("SubMicron ”) (“Equitable subordination is apt when equity demands that the payment priority of claims of an otherwise legitimate creditor be changed to fall behind those of other claimants. In contrast, the focus of the recharacterization inquiry is whether ‘a debt actually exists.’ ” (internal citations omitted)).
. United States v. Energy Res. Co., 495 U.S. 545, 549, 110 S.Ct. 2139, 109 L.Ed.2d 580 (1990) (citations omitted).
. Pepper v. Litton, 308 U.S. 295, 305, 60 S.Ct. 238, 84 L.Ed. 281 (1939).
. See In re AutoStyle Plastics, Inc., 269 F.3d 726, 749 (6th Cir. 2001) (“AutoStyle") ("we join those courts that have concluded that a bankruptcy court has the power to recharacterize a claim from debt to equity”); Fairchild Dornier GmbH v. Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors (In re Dornier Aviation (N. Am.), Inc.), 453 F.3d 225, 231 (4th Cir. 2006) (“Dormer Aviation ") ("In our view, recharacterization is well within the broad powers afforded a bankruptcy court in § 105(a) and facilitates the application of the priority scheme laid out in § 726.”); Adelphia Commc'ns Corp. v. Bank of America, N.A. (In re Adelphia Commc'ns Corp.), 365 B.R. 24, 74 n. 209 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 2007) (Gerber, J.) ("AdelphiaBank of America") (rejecting contention that bankruptcy courts lack authority to recharacterize debt as equity, noting that Domier Aviation had rejected that exact contention).
. See AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 749-750.
. See n.60 supra.
. See SubMicron, 432 F.3d at 455-56 & n. 8.
. 800 F.2d 625 (6th Cir. 1986) (“Roth Steel").
. See id. at 630.
. See AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 7-49-50.
. See, e.g., Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors v. Bay Harbour Master Ltd. (In re BH S & B Holding's LLC), 420 B.R. 112, 157-60 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 2009) (Glenn, J.) (“S & B Holdings") (applying AutoStyle factors); Adelphia-Bank of America, 365 B.R. at 74 (same); Dornier Aviation, 453 F.3d at 233-34 (same); In re Broadstripe, LLC, 444 B.R. 51, 95-101 (Bankr.D.Del. 2010) (Sontchi, J.) (“Broadstripe ”) (same).
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 749-50. These factors are derived from tax law. See Roth Steel, 800 F.2d at 630) (determining whether advances to a corporation were loans or capital contributions using the 11 listed factors for the purpose of establishing rights to a tax deduction); Adelphia-Bank of America, 365 B.R. at 74.
. Adelphia-Bank of America, 365 B.R. at 74. See also Dornier Aviation, 453 F.3d at 234, n. 6; SubMicron, 432 F.3d at 455-56 & n. 8.
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 750 ("No one factor is controlling or decisive.”); S & B Holdings, 420 B.R. at 157 (same); Sender v. Bronze Group, Ltd. (In re Hedged-Investments Assocs.), 380 F.3d 1292, 1298-99 (10th Cir. 2004) ("None of these factors is dispositive and their significance may vary depending upon circumstances.”); Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors of Radnor Holdings Corp. v. Tennenbaum Capital Partners (In re Radnor Holdings Corp.), 353 B.R. 820, 838 (Bankr.D.Del. 2006) (Walsh, J.) ("Radnor Holdings ”) (stating "the intent of the parties at the time of the transaction, [is] determined not by a applying any specific factor”).
. See Dornier Aviation, 453 F.3d at 234 (affirming the lower court’s determination that "[w]hile some aspects of the transaction were consistent with a loan, the transaction on the whole was more consistent with a capital contribution” and therefore should be treated as such.); In re Cold Harbor Assocs. L.P., 204 B.R. 904, 916-19 (Bankr.E.D.Va. 1997) (Shelley, J.) ("Cold Harbor”) (concluding the advances should be treated as equity where 5 factors weighed in favor of equity and 4 factors weighed in favor of a loan).
. Adelphia-Bank of America, 365 B.R. at 75, n. 216.
. S & B Holdings, 420 B.R. at 158 (quoting Stinnett’s Pontiac Serv., Inc. v. Comm'r, 730 F.2d 634, 638 (11th Cir. 1984)).
. Broadstripe, 444 B.R. at 95 ("The absence of notes or other instruments of indebtedness is a strong indication that the advances were capital contributions and not loans.”) (quoting AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 750).
. See Cmplt. ¶ 302.
. See id. at ¶ 8, 291, 294. See also 3/10/11 Hr’g Tr. at 138-41 (counsel for the Trustee noting that Access Holdings should have pro
. See Revolver Agreement.
. See id.
. See 3/10/11 Hr’g Tr. at 144-45.
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 750.
. See Revolver Agreement § 2.06 (“Each Borrower shall repay the Lender on the Maturity Date the aggregate principal amount.”); Revolver Agreement § 1.01 (defining "Maturity Date” as "the date which is eighteen months after the Closing Date”).
. See id. § 2.04 (Repayments); § 2.06 (Repayment of Loans on the Maturity Date).
. In deciding motions to dismiss, trial courts may, and indeed must, analyze the allegations for plausibility in light of their experience. See n.14 supra, and Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ("Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief is a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.”).
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 750.
. See Revolver Agreement § 1.01 (defining "Applicable Rate,” "Base Rate” and “Euro-currency Rate”); see also Revolver Agreement § 2.07 (providing for the accrual and payment of interest).
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 751 (citing Roth Steel, 800 F.2d at 631).
. Id.; see also S & B Holdings, 420 B.R. at 159 (finding source of repayments factor weighed in favor of recharacterization because the committee "adequately pled that the source of repayments was expected to be [the borrower’s] earnings”).
. Roth Steel Tube Co. v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 1985-58 (U.S.Tax Ct. 1985) aff.d 800 F.2d 625 (6th Cir. 1986).
. Miller v. Dow (In re Lexington Oil and Gas Ltd.), 423 B.R. 353, 366 (Bankr.E.D.Okla. 2010) (Michael, J.) ("Lexington Oil”).
. Id.
. Cmplt. ¶ 259.
. Id. ¶¶ 293-295; 431.
. See Adelphia-Bank of America, 365 B.R. at 74 (”[T]he paradigmatic situation for recharacterization [is] where the same individuals or entities (or affiliates of such) control both the transferor and the transferee, and inferences can be drawn that funds were put into an enterprise with little or no expectation that they would be paid back along with other creditor claims.”).
. Post-Merger Directors’ Counts 15 & 16 Reply Br., dated Dec. 23, 2010 [Dkt. No. 472], at 15 (citing Cmplt. ¶ 302).
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 751.
. See S & B Holdings, 420 B.R. at 159 ("Courts should not put too much emphasis on this factor, in any event, because all companies in bankruptcy are in some sense undercapitalized.").
. See Cmplt. ¶¶ 273-277, 289, 293, 302, 431.
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 751.
. Id.
. See Cmplt. ¶ 23, 302, 305.
. See Post-Merger Directors’ Reply Br. at 20 (citing AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 751 ("Where there is an exact correlation between the ownership interests of the equity holders and their proportionate share of the alleged loan ... this evidence standing alone is almost ... overwhelming”), Cold Harbor (same), and Broadstripe (same)).
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 752.
. Cmplt. ¶ 431.
. S & B Holdings, 420 B.R. at 158 (citing AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 752).
. See In re AutoStyle Plastics, 238 B.R. 346, 350 (Bankr.W.D.Mich. 1999) (Stevenson, J.) (citing Cold Harbor, 204 B.R. at 918 ) (emphasis added). See also Roth Steel, 800 F.2d at 631; S & B Holdings, 420 B.R. at 158 (explaining that this factor looks at whether "a reasonable creditor would have acted in the same manner” (citation omitted)).
. See Cmplt. ¶ 291.
. Id. ¶¶ 262, 291, 431.
. IdA 262.
. IdA 291.
. IdA 431.
. See Trustee Counts 15 and 16 Opp, Br., dated Nov. 24, 2010 [Dkt. No. 456], at 20,
. SubMicron, 432 F.3d at 457 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
. See also Broadstripe, 444 B.R. at 100 (noting that ability to obtain outside funding factor, “while weighing in favor of recharacterization as equity, should be afforded little to no weight," where there were no alternative loans comparable to the insiders’ investment that was the subject of the recharacterization).
. See Cmplt. ¶ 431 ("credit was unavailable from outside parties at the time Access advanced the funds; [and] no non-insider third party would have advanced the funds to the Debtors at the time such funds were advanced because of the Debtors' inability to repay such obligations.”).
. See id. ¶¶ 9, 249, 294.
. Compare Broadstripe, 444 B.R. at 99-100 (referencing evidentiary record regarding company’s efforts to obtain outside financing, and noting testimony conceding that “Other companies were not willing to put as much debt on the company;” and emails with general counsel that the insiders’ notes were "[the] only financing option” and "the only game in town.”) Here, there are no allegations of this type — for example, that that the Resulting Company had even sought or tried to negotiate alternative funding with other lending institutions around the time of the Revolver, but failed in its efforts. See also 3/10/11 Hr’g Tr. at 284 ("They say that no one would make a loan. But that’s not a fact, that’s a speculation.”).
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 752.
. S&B Holdings, 420 B.R. at 160.
. Id. ("The Finco Loan was junior to the Abelco Loan, but was senior to the claims of other creditors. This weighs in favor of a finding of indebtedness. The Committee cannot plead facts showing that this factor weighs in favor of recharacterization.”).
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 752.
. See Cmplt. ¶ 291.
. Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014).
. AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 753, effectively quoting Roth Steel, 800 F.2d at 631.
. Id.
. See n.86 supra.
. See Trustee Counts 15 and 16 Opp. Br. at 24; Post-Merger Directors’ Counts 15 and 16 Reply Br. at 18-19. The relevance of this factor in determining whether a purported debt should be recharacterized has been questioned in similar situations. See, e.g., AutoStyle, 269 F.3d at 753; S & B Holdings, 420 B.R. at 160 (stating ”[t]his factor is irrelevant" because a loan secured by a lien obviates the need of a sinldng fund).
. 432 F.3d at 455-56.
. Id. (emphasis in original).
. SubMicron, 432 F.3d at 456, accord Rad-nor Holdings, 353 B.R. at 839 (quoting Sub-Micron ).
. See Cmplt. ¶ 302 ("on October 16, 17, and 20, [Lyondell] repaid the $300 million in three payments of $100 million.").
. See Factors 4, 5, 6 and 8.
.See Factor 4.
. See Factors 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, found by the Court to be irrelevant or to result in no material tip.
. See Factors 1, 3 and the loan payback recognized as a separate indicator of intent (each of which weighs against recharacterization) and Factor 4 (which weighs in favor), in each case to the extent noted above.
. SubMicron, 432 F.3d at 456.
. Id.
. Id.
. Goldman Sachs Credit Partners L.P. ("Goldman Sachs”) and Merrill Lynch Capital Corporation ("Merrill Lynch”) were two of the original joint lead arrangers for the Merger Loans.
. Cmplt. ¶ 293.
. Id. ¶ 176.
. Id.
. See In re Musicland Holding Corp., 398 B.R. 761, 775 (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 2008).
. Lexington Oil, 423 B.R. at 370.
. See Aquino v. Black (In re AtlanticRancher, Inc.), 279 B.R. 411 (Bankr.D.Mass. 2002) (Feeney, J.).
.Id. at 437.
Except as to Count 6, (see n.2, infra), counts and claims listed below are based on the amended complaint dated July 23, 2010 [Dkt. 381] (the "Complaint”), This table does not reflect subsequent dismissals of claims or defendants by stipulation of the parties or by order of the Court.
.Pre-Merger, in addition to chairman and CEO Dan Smith, Lyondell had ten outside directors on its Board of Directors: Carol Anderson, Susan Carter, Stephen Chazen, Travis Engen, Paul Halata, Daniel Huff, David Lesar, David Meachin, Daniel Murphy, and William Spivey (collectively, the "Lyon-dell Pre-Merger Directors”). The relevant Lyondell officers identified in the Complaint as named defendants are: James Bayer, T. Kevin DeNicola, Bart de Jong, Edward Dineen, Kerry Galvin, Morris Gelb, John Hollinshead, and W. Norman Philips (collectively, the "Lyondell Pre-Merger Officers”).
. This Count 6 is based upon the second amended complaint dated September 29, 2011 [Dkt. 598].
. Although the Complaint did not specify whether Count 7 is asserted against Leonard Blavatnik or Alex Blavatnik, who is also a named defendant in this action, the Court understands this claim to be asserted against Leonard Blavatnik.
. The "GP Managers” are identified in the Complaint as including: Alan Bigman, Richard Floor and Philip Kassin. The "Nominees” are defined in the Complaint as including: Simon Baker, Dawn Shand, and Bertrand Due. The "Successors” are defined in the Complaint as including: Philip Kassin, Lincoln Benet, Lynn Coleman, and Richard Floor.
Richard Floor is deceased and Diane Currier has been appointed as the executor for • the estate of Richard Floor.
. The "Subsidiary Directors” are identified in the Complaint as including: Kevin Cadenhead, Charles Hall, Rick Fontenot, and John Fisher Gray.
. The "Lyondell Post-Merger Director” are identified in the Complaint as including: Alan Bigman, Edward Dineen, and Morris Gelb,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: LYONDELL CHEMICAL COMPANY, Debtors. Edward S. Weisfelner, as Litigation Trustee of the LB Litigation Trust v. Leonard Blavatnik
- Cited By
- 19 cases
- Status
- Published