Rexnord Holdings, Inc. v. Bidermann, 21 F. 3d 522 - Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 1994

Defendant-appellant Maurice Bidermann appeals from a money judgment entered in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Patterson, J.) in favor of plaintiff-appellee Rexnord Holdings, Inc. ( RHI ) in the amount of $12,989,312.64, the district court having found that Bidermann was in breach of his obligations under a Settlement Agreement and a Stock Purchase Agreement ( Agreements ) dated November 25, 1991. The Agreements represented the resolution of a contract action brought by RHI against Bidermann. The breach occurred when Bidermann defaulted on a scheduled payment due under the provisions of the Agreements. On appeal, Bidermann contends that the district court erred in directing judgment for RHI because there were genuine issues of material fact concerning RHI\u27s breach of the Agreements and its lack of good faith. Bidermann also argues that the judgment should be vacated because it was entered after the filing of his Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, in violation of the automatic stay provided by 11 U.S.C. § 362. For the reasons that follow, we affirm