Kansas BK Decision 4/27/10 - FDIC NOL SJ Denied 27-May-10 09:23 pm
http://www.ksb.uscourts.gov/index.php?op...
Case 09-05084 File 4/27/10
Robert E. Nugent
US Chief Bankruptcy Judge
District of Kansas
TEAM FINANCIAL INC., TEAM FINANCIAL ACQUISITION SUBSIDIARY, INC., and POST BANCORP, INC., Plaintiffs - FDIC, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Defendant FDIC moves for summary judgment on the complaint of the plaintiff-debtor bank holding companies for turnover of property of the bankruptcy estates claimed by the FDIC as receiver for TeamBank, one of the plaintiffs’ banks closed by the United States Comptroller of the Currency in March of 2009. The FDIC claims a tax refund emanating from the plaintiffs’ 2008 consolidated tax return that is payable to the plaintiffs under a Tax Allocation Agreement entered into on January 8, 2008 by plaintiffs, TeamBank, and other affiliated entitites. The FDIC contends that the tax refund is not property of the bankruptcy estates of these debtor bank holding companies, but rather should be paid to the FDIC as receiver as the separate property of the failed banks.1 The FDIC’s summary judgment motion requires the Court to interpret the Tax Allocation Agreement at issue here and apply applicable bankruptcy and tax law to the uncontroverted facts.
IV. The Tax Refunds are Estate Property
Having concluded that the TAA does not create a trust relationship wherein Team holds any tax refund it receives from the IRS for the benefit of TeamBank or CNB, the Court concludes that Team owns the tax refund and it is property of the bankruptcy estate. The bankruptcy court concluded that reimbursement was more consistent with a “debt” or “receivable,” and not ownership. If the refund was intended to be the subsidiary’s property, the agreement would have provided for “return” of the refund to the subsidiary. The bankruptcy court thus concluded that the parties intended to create an obligation to the subsidiary in the nature of a receivable.53 The district court agreed, holding that the tax agreements were unambiguous and addressed the conditions under which the subsidiary was entitled to reimbursement of the tax refunds.54 The fact that the tax reimbursement agreement did not mention the term “ownership” did not create ambiguity.
The FDIC complains at length that Franklin Savings was incorrectly decided and should not be relied upon. Franklin Savings was decided not on summary judgment, but following a two-day trial, extensive stipulations, and lengthy and detailed findings of fact made by the bankruptcy court.
Paragraph IV.(C)(iii) similarly requires Team to “pay” members of the Consolidated Tax Group with NOL carrybacks their allocable share of the taxes paid by the Member to Team. Nothing in the TAA requires Team to segregate the tax refund, to hold the tax refund in trust for the members of the Consolidated Tax Group, or prohibits Team from using the tax refund. In short, the TAA creates “ordinary contractual obligations” between Team and the members with respect to tax liability and tax refunds. Team is indebted to members of the group with respect to tax overpayments and tax refunds in those amounts specified under the TAA. As such, the relationship between Team and its members with respect to the tax refund is that of debtor and creditor. TeamBank and CNB may assert a claim against the estate for Team’s payment obligation under the TAA, but the tax refund is property of the estate.
Conclusion
Because the FDIC is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law, its motion for summary judgment is DENIED.
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Resumiendo, que el FDIC no puede recibir tampoco las NOL. Sentencia que -justo a tiempo- supone una jurisprudencia muy importante en nuestro caso.
Si FDIC no puede recibir nada de las NOL... en teoría eso corresponde a la Equidad. A Rosen se le va cerrando el grifo de los regalos... y lo bueno es que la jueza Walrath no tiene ni siquiera que decidir nada; esto es jurisprudencia.
Hoy se esperan subidas en Ps y Ks... supongo que las comunes también se subirán al carro.