In Re Moses N. Aslan, Debtor. Moses N. Aslan Irving Sulmeyer, Trustee v. Sycamore Investment Company

OVERVIEW

In 1982, the appellant-debtor, Moses As-lan, entered into a contract to sell a shopping arcade (“the Arcade”) to Sycamore Investment Co. (“Sycamore”). Aslan failed to fulfill certain of its contractual obligations. Sycamore initially refused to purchase the Arcade, but subsequently sued to specifically enforce the contract. In 1986, with Sycamore’s suit still pending, Aslan filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The bankruptcy court then granted Aslan’s motion to reject the sales contract as an executory contract. Rejection of an executory contract constitutes a breach under 11 U.S.C. § 865 (g) (1988), and the bankruptcy court fixed the date of breach for its damages calculations at the date that Aslan failed to fulfill its contractual obligations in 1982. 65 B.R. 826 . On appeal by both parties, the district court held that the relevant date of breach was the day immediately prior to the filing of the bankruptcy petition. We affirm the district court.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Aslan contracted to sell the Arcade to Sycamore in April 1982 for $4.5 million. The contract required Aslan to provide Sycamore with the leases and estoppel certificates for…