Bankruptcy Court Rejects Bankruptcy Claims Against Maryland Department Of Environment In Comprehensive Opinion

On August 4, 2016, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court considered cross-motions for summary judgment in a preference action case styled as Pirinate Consulting Group, LLC v. Maryland Department of the Environment (In re NewPage Corp.), Adv. Pro. No. 13-52206 (KG). This gem of an opinion is noteworthy in that it analyzes various defenses raised by a state agency to a preference complaint.

Background

Pirimate Consulting Group, LLC, as litigation trustee of the NP Creditor Litigation Trust ("Plaintiff" or "Litigation Trustee") sought to avoid three separate payments as preferences under section 547(b) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (the "Code") against Maryland Department of the Environment ("Defendant" or "MDE").

The Debtors' subsidiary, Luke Paper Company operates a mill (the "Luke Mill") in Maryland that is regulated by various divisions of MDE. Defendant asserted that "the State's operating permit program has been in place for decades" and that the Debtors have "been paying the emissions based fee of the type at issue in this case . . . at least since 1997." Here, the Trustee seeks to avoid three separate fees paid to MDE.

Under Maryland law, all entities that operate "fuel-burning equipment, statutory combustion turbines, or . . . wood digesters" must obtain a permit. Accordingly, the Debtors would remit an annual permit-to-operate fee (the "Permit Fee") in order to maintain their license. The applicable Maryland statute provides that the fee is calculated based upon a "base fee of $200.00 plus an emission-based fee for each ton of regulated emissions from all installations at the plant or facility."

On July 6, 2011, the Debtor paid the Permit Fee in the amount of $1,597,584 to MDE. The Debtors have been paying the Permit Fee since at least 2007, and the amount of the fee has ranged from $328,047 to $1,597,584 in 2011. In addition to the Permit Fee, the Debtors sought to avoid an asbestos license renewal fee in the amount of $750, and a reporting fee of $1,000 under the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act.

In defense, MDE cross-moved for summary judgment, arguing that the Asbestos Fee was not paid on account of an antecedent debt and that the transfers did not enable it to receive more than it would have in a hypothetical liquidation. Additionally, MDE asserts three affirmative defenses under section 547(c) of the Code - the contemporaneous exchange defense, the ordinary course of business defense, and the de minimis...