In re Patriot Coal Corp.
| Decision Date | 27 November 2012 |
| Docket Number | No. 12–12900 (SCC).,12–12900 (SCC). |
| Citation | 482 B.R. 718 |
| Parties | In re PATRIOT COAL CORPORATION, et al., Debtors. |
| Court | U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Southern District of New York |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, By: Marshall S. Huebner, Esq., Elliott Moskowitz, Esq., Damian S. Schaible, Esq., Michelle M. McGreal, Esq., New York, NY, for Debtors.
United States Department of Justice, By: Tracy Hope Davis, Esq., Andrea B. Schwartz, Esq., Susan D. Golden, Esq., New York, NY, Office of the United States Trustee.
Kennedy, Jennik & Murray, P.C., By: Susan M. Jennik, Esq., Serge Ambroise, Esq., New York, NY, for United Mine Workers of America.
Stites & Harrison PLLC, By: W. Blaine Early, III, Esq., William T. Gorton, III, Esq., Lexington, KY, Brian H. Meldrum, Esq., Louisville, KY, for Surety Movants.
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, By: Thomas Moers Mayer, Esq., Adam Rogoff, Esq., New York, NY, for Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, By: Marcia L. Goldstein, Esq., Joseph H. Smolinsky, Esq., New York, NY, for Citibank and Barclays, First–Out DIP Agent.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, By: Margot B. Schonholtz, Esq., Ana M. Alfonso, Esq., New York, NY, for Bank of America N.A., Second–Out DIP Agent.
Andrews Kurth LLP, By: Paul N. Silverstein, Esq., Jeremy B. Reckmeyer, Esq., New York, NY, for Wilmington Trust Company.
Brown Rudnick LLP, By: Robert J. Stark, Esq., New York, NY, for Ad Hoc Consortium of Senior Noteholders.
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, By: Kristi A. Davidson, Esq., New York, NY, for Caterpillar Inc., Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, and Caterpillar Global Mining LLC.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, By: John C. Goodchild, III, Esq., Philadelphia, PA, for UMWA Health and Retirement Funds.
McKool Smith, By: Michael R. Carney, Esq., New York, NY, for Certain Interested Shareholders.
Jones Day, By: Carl E. Black, Esq., Cleveland, OH, for Peabody Energy Corporation.
United Mine Workers of America, By: Grant Crandall, Esq., Triangle, VA.
Commonwealth of Kentucky, By: Michael P. Wood, Esq. (telephonically), Frankfort, KY, for Department for Natural Resources.
The narrow question before the Court is deceptively simple—should the chapter 11 cases of Patriot Coal Corporation and its ninety-eight affiliated debtors be transferred to another district? The broader question before the Court, however, is dauntingly complex—what is justice? In order to answer the narrow question the Court must attempt to answer the broader question and give meaning to the “interest of justice” test for venue transfer set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1412. This decision will thus address not only the relatively scant case law on venue transfer in large bankruptcy cases but will also examine the historical basis of the concept of venue; the decades-old controversy surrounding the domicile/affiliate rule; and, last but not least, the meaning of justice in the context of the Patriot cases.
It is of utmost importance to note at the outset what is unquestionably not in dispute in these cases: the critical importance of Patriot Coal to its employees—union and non-union alike—and its retirees, as well as their thousands of dependents. The employees' lives and livelihoods depend on the outcome of these...
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In re Patriot Coal Corp.
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