Welded Construction – Seeks Enforcement of Stay Against Sunoco, Noting “Crippling” Impact of Sunoco’s Termination of Critical Agreement

October 24, 2018 – Welded Construction filed a complaint against Sunoco Marketing Partners & Terminals and Sunoco Pipeline (together, Sunoco”) and requested that the Court stay Sunoco’s termination of a critical construction agreement [Docket No. 75]. The complaint states, “Plaintiffs seek entry of a judgment (i) declaring that Defendant’s purported immediate termination on October 19, 2018 of that certain Master Construction Services Agreement No. 460000099 between Welded Construction and Sunco shall not be effective for at minimum, 60 days following the Debtors’ bankruptcy petition; (ii) declaring that any efforts by Defendants to exercise control over property of the Debtors’ estates, including the Debtors’ interests in equipment owned or leased by the Debtors located on Defendants’ property and/or otherwise subject to the Agreement, are prohibited by the automatic stay; (iii) enjoining and restraining Defendant from confiscating, using, exercising control over, or otherwise interfering with equipment owned or leased; and (iv) requiring Defendants to turnover property of the Debtors’ estates in their possession or under their control.

Regardless of Sunoco’s purported post-termination rights, any efforts by Sunoco to confiscate, use, or otherwise interfere with equipment owned or leased by the Debtors would plainly represent an act to exercise control over property of the Debtors’ estates in violation of  the automatic stay imposed by section 362(a)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code, and would cripple the Debtors’ efforts to preserve and maximize the value of the Debtors’ business going forward. Absent enforcement of the automatic stay, or an order otherwise enjoining Sunoco from interfering with the Debtors’ equipment, the Debtors, their estates, and their creditors will suffer immediate, irreparable, and substantial harm.”