Baker Hughes Oilfield Oprt Inc v. Torres, No. 14-10768 (5th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseBaker Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc., an undersecured creditor in this bankruptcy proceeding appeals the refusal to allow it to promote its unsecured claim to secured status claim under Bankruptcy Code section 1111(b)(2). Baker Hughes and other creditors filed a petition for involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy against R. L. Adkins, Corp. in 2011 and the case was converted into a Chapter 11 proceeding shortly thereafter. Scott Oils, Inc. proposed to purchase the mineral properties of the debtor and filed its Second Amended Plan of Organization. The Plan proposed the sale of substantial mineral interests, some 90 mineral leases and several wells, to Scott Oils “pursuant to Bankruptcy Code Section 363,” in exchange for over 3.4 million dollars. The Plan recognized that Baker Hughes had a lien on four of these mineral leases and one well. The full claim of Baker Hughes in the well was shown to be $321,506.28 but only a secured $38,753.22 interest. Four other creditors were shown to have secured interests in the same well. Baker Hughes filed for an election pursuant to section 1111(b) to have its claim treated as secured to the full extent. Scott Oils replied by pointing to the terms of the statute that denied the election where “such property is sold under [section] 363 of this title or is to be sold under the Plan.” Several days of hearing on confirmation of the Plan were held in April of 2013 and the Plan was confirmed in May. Baker Hughes did not appear at the hearing on confirmation and did not object or appeal any act or decision of the bankruptcy court prior to the confirmation. Nor was the confirmation appealed. Following the confirmation, Baker Hughes continued to pursue its Section 1111 claim and argued that either it had the right to make a credit bid at the sale of the collateral or be granted election sought under 1111(b). Finding no reversible error in the bankruptcy or district courts' rejection of Baker Hughes' claim, the Fifth Circuit affirmed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.