ZHEJIANG TOPOINT PHOTOVOLTAIC CO, LTD et al v. H2 CONTRACTING, LLC

Filing 18

MEMORANDUM ORDER directing the Debtor to file their supplemental briefing by 11/4/2015; Hessert may, if desired, file a responsive brief by 11/11/2015, etc. Signed by Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 10/21/2015. (drw)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
CAMDEN VICINAGE
_______________________________
ZHEJIANG TOPOINT PHOTOVOLTAIC
CO., LTD et al.,
Appellants/Debtors
v.

Civ. Action 15-3584 (RMB)
MEMORANDUM ORDER

H2 CONTRACTING, LLC et al.,
Appellees
_______________________________

This matter comes before the Court upon the AppellantsDebtors’ Zhejiang Topoint Photovoltaic Co., Ltd., Zhejiang
Jiutai New Energy Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Yutai Solar Materials
Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Willsolar Photoelectric Materials Co.,
Ltd. (collectively the “Debtors”) Notice of Appeal of
Bankruptcy Court’s Opinion and Order Determining Ownership of
SPV Panels [Docket No. 1].
This matter involves a dispute between the Debtors and
Appellees H2 Contracting LLC and Hessert Construction NJ LLC
(collectively “Hessert”) regarding the ownership of various
solar panels.

In her Order, Judge Burns found, after

permitting the parties discovery and holding a plenary
hearing, that the solar panels were not property of the
estate.

In their appeal, the Debtors contend that Judge Burns
erred first, because in this Chapter 15 recognition
proceeding, the issue of ownership should have been determined
by the foreign court presiding over the Debtors in their main
proceeding in China.

Second, the Debtors contend that Judge

Burns erred in her determination that Hessert had standing to
dispute title to the solar panels.

As the Debtors put it,

“[o]nce the Bankruptcy Court erroneously permitted Hessert to
bring its third-party challenge, the errors multiplied.”
Appellant Brief, at 2.

[Docket No. 5.]

The Court is troubled by the caustic tone taken by the
Debtors.

As the Court reads the Agreed Order signed by Judge

Burns on August 12, 2014, and reviews the record, it appears
the Debtors and Hessert expressly agreed to have Judge Burns
resolve the issue of the ownership of the solar panels.

See

e.g., Transcript regarding Hearing Held on 08/08/14, at 6:167:2 [Bankruptcy Case No. 14-24549-JNP.

[Docket No. 84].

(Debtors’ attorney:

“. . . it will be this Court, not the

Chinese Court. . . .

Judge, just to be clear, when we’ve

referred to resolution and final adjudication, we are in no
way referencing the Chinese proceedings and we in no way
believe that the Chinese proceedings will have anything to do
with the resolution of this particular dispute.”)
Inexplicably, the Debtors appear to now seek (1) rescission of

the Agreed Order granting Judge Burns the authority to resolve
ownership but (2) validation of the part of the Order limiting
Hessert’s rights to only the set aside panels.
Accordingly,
IT IS ON THIS 21st day of October 2015, ORDERED that the
parties shall file supplemental briefs addressing the Agreed
Order, specifically, the terms agreed to by the parties.

The

parties shall provide this Court with all documents and
proceedings prior to the entry of the Order.
Order, at 3.

See Agreed

[Docket No. 7-6]. (“The Court has considered and

reviewed the pleadings and exhibits submitted by the Debtors
in support of the request for recognition and further relief
and heard the positions of counsel at the hearings conducted
therein.”)
1.

The Debtors shall file their supplemental briefing

(not to exceed ten pages) by November 4, 2015.

Hessert may,

if desired, file a responsive brief by November 11, 2015.
2.

The Court intends to set this matter down for oral

argument at a later date.

The parties should also be prepared

to discuss at oral argument the status of settlement
negotiations.
s/Renée Marie Bumb
RENÉE MARIE BUMB
United States District Judge