In re Woodson

In re Woodson

Opinion

 [*404] ORDER ON BARNETT BANK N.A.'S MOTION TO DISMISS DEBTOR'S CHAPTER 11 PETITION (DOC. # 79)

This is a yet to be confirmed Chapter 11 case and the matter under consideration is the Motion to Dismiss the Chapter 11 case of James Woodson (Debtor) filed by Barnett Bank, N.A., formerly Barnett Bank of Jacksonville, successor by merger to Barnett Bank of Manatee County, N.A. (Bank). The Bank contends, in essence, that this is a Chapter 22 case, the Debtor's second attempt to achieve rehabilitation under Chapter 11 and so far without success and that the second Chapter 11 case has the traditional hallmark of a bad faith filing. Therefore, according to the Bank the case is ripe for dismissal "for cause" pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1112(b). In support of this proposition, the Bank points out the following facts which appear from the record of this and the previous Chapter 11 case.

The Debtor is a farmer and [**2]  is the owner of a large tract of farmland located in South Georgia. The Debtor's farmland is encumbered by three mortgages. The first mortgage, currently with an approximate principal balance of $ 300,000, is held by Southwest Georgia Farm Credit. The second mortgage is held by Lykes Agri Sales, Inc. (Lykes). The third mortgage, held by a fertilizer supplier, has a current balance of less than $ 6,000.00. It is unclear whether this mortgage is in fact superior to the mortgage held by Lykes.

The Debtor farmed the land in the past, albeit not very successfully. For instance, between 1993 and 1996 the Debtor had six crops of tomatoes, five of which were completely lost due to a hail storm and freeze. None of these losses were covered by insurance.

Full case includes Shepard's, Headnotes, Legal Analytics from Lex Machina, and more.