In re Caprock Oil Tools, Inc.
In re Caprock Oil Tools, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
Caprock Oil Tools, Inc. filed a voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on April 10, 2017. (ECF No. 88 at 7). Wayne Hall asserted a $1,479,870.94 unsecured proof of claim in Caprock's bankruptcy case, owed after Caprock exercised its right of repurchase of Hall's Common Stock on February 13, 2015. (ECF No. 88 at 7). Caprock filed an objection to the proof of claim alleging that it is subject to mandatory subordination under
Caprock's motion for summary judgment is granted. Hall's motion for summary judgment is denied.
Background
Caprock supplies oil and gas businesses with customized rock drill bits for use in oil and gas drilling and exploration. (ECF No. 2 at 2). Hall served as Caprock's vice president and owned 177 shares of Common Stock in Caprock. (ECF No. 88 at 8). On January 1, 2010, Caprock and Hall entered into a Shareholder Agreement that restricted Hall's right to transfer his Common Stock but also dictated how his stock would be paid in case he separated from Caprock. (ECF No. 88 at 9). Whether Hall was terminated for cause or departed voluntarily, the Shareholder Agreement stated that Caprock had the right to "repurchase *825the shares of Common Stock owned by [Hall] at the time of termination." (ECF No. 88 at 9). The Agreement dictated the amount paid for Common Stock as the Attribution Amount, and separated the payment into "five equal annual installments." (ECF N. 88 at 9).
These provisions of the Shareholder Agreement were triggered in January 2015, at which time, Caprock valued Hall's Common Stock at $1,783,228.00. (ECF No. 87 at 6). Caprock informed Hall of this valuation via e-mail. (ECF No. 87 at 6). At this time, Caprock proposed to Hall a Stock Purchase Agreement whereby Caprock would pay Hall the value of his Common Stock through an initial payment of $356,645.60 followed by four other annual payments of the same amount. (ECF No. 87 at 7). Hall failed to take action on Caprock's proposed Stock Purchase Agreement. (ECF No. 87 at 8). Caprock sent Hall another e-mail on February 13, 2015, advising him that it had elected to pursue its repurchase in accordance with the terms of the Shareholder Agreement and would send him an initial payment to be followed by four annual installments. (ECF No. 87 at 8). Caprock's e-mail stated that Hall's shares were "redeemed and are no longer outstanding." (ECF No. 87 at 8).
Caprock sent Hall an initial check for $356,645.60 but failed to make any of its subsequent annual payments. On April 7, 2017, Caprock filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. (ECF No. 1). Hall filed a proof of claim in the bankruptcy case, alleging a right to payment of $1,479,870.94 for the "2015 stock redemption." (Claim No. 14-1 at 2). Caprock objected to Hall's claim and sought to classify Hall's claim as subordinated in its proposed Plan of Reorganization pursuant to
Jurisdiction
The District Court has jurisdiction over this proceeding under
Summary Judgment
"The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a). Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7056 incorporates Rule 56 in adversary proceedings.
A party seeking summary judgment must demonstrate the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact by establishing the absence of evidence to support an essential element of the non-movant's case. Sossamon v. Lone Star State of Tex. ,
A court views the facts and evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party at all times. Ben-Levi v. Brown , --- U.S. ----,
A party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by citing to particular parts of materials in the record, showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or showing that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact. FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c)(1). The Court need consider only the cited materials, but it may consider other materials in the record. FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c)(3). The Court should not weigh the evidence. Wheat v. Florida Par. Juvenile Justice Comm'n ,
"The moving party bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the record which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Nola Spice Designs, L.L.C. v. Haydel Enterprises, Inc. ,
If the movant bears the burden of proof on an issue, a successful motion must present evidence that would entitle the movant to judgment at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Cattrett ,
Analysis
The material facts of this issue are not in dispute. Hall argues that he is a creditor who holds a general unsecured claim pursuant to Caprock's election to repurchase his shares of Common Stock. (ECF No. 87 at 1-2). Caprock characterizes Hall's claim as the sale of equity that is subject to mandatory subordination. (ECF No. 88 at 7).
*827Subordination affects a creditor's standing in the hierarchy of claims brought within a bankruptcy case. In re SeaQuest Diving, L.P. ,
A claim arising from rescission of a purchase or sale of a security of the debtor or of an affiliate of the debtor, for damages arising from the purchase or sale of such a security, or for reimbursement or contribution allowed under section 502 on account of such a claim, shall be subordinated to all claims or interests that are senior to or equal the claim or interest represented by such security.
Existence of a Claim and Security
For mandatory subordination under § 510(b), a claim must arise from the purchase or sale of a security . The Bankruptcy Code broadly defines a claim as a right to payment.
Section 510(b) -Arising From
Caprock argues that, since Hall's claim originates from his equity interest in the company, it satisfies the Fifth Circuit's broad interpretation of "arising from" in § 510(b) even after it was redeemed. (ECF No. 88 at 14-16). Hall responds that, once his stock was redeemed, he became the holder of a debt obligation rather than an equity interest, entitling him to status as a general unsecured creditor. (ECF No. 87 at 13).
The Fifth Circuit addressed a similar question in In re SeaQuest Diving . A group of individuals formed a partnership to provide underwater oil field services to the offshore industry. SeaQuest ,
The remaining partners filed for bankruptcy before S & J could collect its judgment.
The Fifth Circuit held that the phrase "arising from" in § 510(b) was ambiguous, and as such, examined legislative intent to decide whether its application was appropriate.
The Fifth Circuit declined to decide whether to apply this same reasoning to a strict redemption scenario because S & J's judgment did not arise from its redemption of stock.
In SeaQuest , the Fifth Circuit also examined the history and purpose of this provision to aid in its interpretation. See
In this case, Caprock elected to repurchase Hall's shares of Common Stock according to the terms set forth in the Shareholder Agreement. (ECF No. 87 at 8). Hall urges that his rights were fixed once Caprock repurchased his shares, ending the Court's analysis. (ECF No. 87 at 9). However, SeaQuest demonstrates that the Court may look behind the transaction to determine whether or not Hall's stock repurchase "arises from" the sale of a security under § 510(b) and whether subordination would satisfy its legislative purpose.
The security at issue in this case constitutes common stock. (ECF No. 87 at 5). It is settled in the Bankruptcy Code that common stock shareholders are not paid until higher priority claims-secured creditors, unsecured creditors, and preferred stock shareholders-are satisfied. See SeaQuest ,
Additionally, looking at § 510(b)'s legislative history in the context of securities fraud also supports the idea that subordination is appropriate. Section 510(b) was enacted to "prevent disappointed shareholders from recovering their investment loss by using fraud and other securities claims to bootstrap their way to parity with general unsecured creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding." In re Telegroup, Inc. ,
Hall's Arguments
Hall points to a line of cases that purportedly hold that "claims based on the nonpayment of a debtor's debt obligation issued to repurchase its own stock are not subject to Section 510(b) subordination because such claims are only for the recovery of an unpaid debt." (ECF No. 87 at 9). Specifically, the bankruptcy court in In re Mobile Tool Int'l, Inc. recognized that, when an equity holder exchanged its security for a partial payment and a note, § 510(b) was inapplicable.
While this argument comports with Hall's view of the transaction, Mobile Tool is not controlling precedent on this Court. Furthermore, the court's analysis in Mobile Tool was limited to only one aspect of § 510(b)'s purpose-whether the former equity holder could experience greater profits after exchanging it for a note.
This diverges from the Fifth Circuit's analysis of § 510(b)'s purpose which held "the investors initially bargained for the risk and return expectations of investors." In re SeaQuest Diving, L.P. ,
Hall separately echoes the argument in Mobile Tools , purporting that the lapse of two years between Caprock's repurchase of his Common Stock and its bankruptcy filing support his classification as a general unsecured creditor because his right to share in Caprock's profits was terminated. (ECF No. 87 at 13).
However, Hall's distinction fails to recognize the fact that, up until Caprock made its election, his Common Stock was subject to profit sharing. When purchase of the Common Stock was discussed, Caprock performed a valuation of the company and paid Hall's stock in accordance. (ECF No. 87 at 6). Until the repurchase, Hall's Common Stock was tied to the fate of the company and could have yielded a far higher rate of return than his investment. This separates him from other general unsecured creditors who only expected *830a fixed rate of return from the beginning of their transactions. SeaQuest Diving ,
Additionally, the legislative history demonstrates that Congress did not intend to strictly limit application of § 510(b) to pre-issuance conduct. Section 510(b) was enacted under the assumption that when making an equity investment, a shareholder assumes the risk that security fraud may occur regardless of whether it occurs pre or post-issuance. In re Telegroup, Inc. ,
The material facts of this case are not in dispute. Caprock elected to repurchase Hall's shares of Common Stock. Under the Fifth Circuit's broad view of "arising from" established in SeaQuest , Hall's proof of claim arises from Caprock's purchase of his Common Stock. Accordingly, Hall's claim against Caprock is subject to subordination under § 510(b).
Conclusion
The Court will issue a Judgment consistent with this Memorandum Opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: CAPROCK OIL TOOLS, INC., Debtor(s)
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published