# Motors Liquidation Co. Avoidance Action Trust ex rel. Wilmington Trust Co. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (In re Motors Liquidation Co.)

> United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York · September 26, 2017 · 576 B.R. 325

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/8501043

## Case

- **Full name:** IN RE: MOTORS LIQUIDATION COMPANY, f/k/a General Motors Corporation, Debtors. Motors Liquidation Company Avoidance Action Trust, by and through the Wilmington Trust Company, solely in its capacity as Trust Administrator and Trustee v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
- **Court:** United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York
- **Decided:** September 26, 2017
- **Citations:** 576 B.R. 325
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion of the court by Glenn
- **Judges:** Glenn
- **Cited by:** 8 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/8501043

## Opinion text

MEMORANDUM OPINION REGARDING FIXTURE CLASSIFICATION AND VALUATION
MARTIN GLENN, UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction... 339
A. Fixtures .. .340
B. Valuation.. .341
II. Background.. .342
A. Brief History of Old GM... 342
B. Events Leading to Bankruptcy. . .342
1. Term Loan Agreement and Collateral Agreement.. .342
2. Financial Difficulty at GM and the Automotive Industry Generally.. .344
3. Failed Efforts to Engage with the Private Market.. .344
4. Government Intervention... 344
C. GM’s Bankruptcy, the DIP Financing Order, and the 363 Sale... 345
D. History of this Action... 346
1. The Original Complaint and Summary Judgment Motions... 346
2. The Amended Complaint.. .346
E. The Court’s Site Visit to LDT and Warren Transmission... 347
F. GM’s eFAST Ledger... 348
III. Factual Background Regarding Relevant GM Plants... 348
A. GM Lansing Delta Township.. .348
1. The LDT Plant... 348
2. The Eaton County Fixture Filing. . .350
B. Warren Transmission Plant Overview. . .350
C. The Lean Agile Flex System... 352
D. Defiance Foundry Overview.. .352
E. MFD Pontiac and Powertrain Engineering. . .354
F. The Forty Representative Assets... 355
1. Presses... 355
2. Conveyor Systems... 359
3. Robots... 362
4. Assets Located at the Warren.. .364
5. Assets Located at the Defiance Foundry.. .368
6. Assets Located in the Paint Shop...372
7. Miscellaneous Assets Located at Lansing Delta Township.. .374
8. Miscellaneous Assets... 376
9. The Central Utility System: Representative Asset No. 11.. .378
10. Assets the Trust Concedes are Fixtures ...381
IV. Legal Standards Regarding Fixtures ...382
A. Michigan’s Three Part Fixture Test... 382
1. Attachment.. .382
2. Adaptation... 383
3. Intent... 383
B. Ohio’s Three-Part Fixture Test... 385
1.Attachment.. .385
2. Adaptation... 385
3. Intent.. .387
C. Burden of Proof... 387
D. The Issue Whether, Under Ohio and Michigan law, in order to Satisfy the Adaptation Prong, the Asset in Question Benefits the Business or Realty.. .387
Y. Conclusions of Law Regarding Preliminary Issues... 389
A. The “Relatedness” of the MFD Pontiac and Powertrain Engineering Facilities. . .389
1. The Defendants’ Contentions... 389
2. The Plaintiffs Contentions... 389
3. Discussion.. .389
4. Conclusion.. .390
B. The Timeliness of the Trust’s Challenge to the Eaton-County Fixture Filing. . .390
1. The Defendants’ Contentions... 390
2. The Plaintiffs Contentions... 391
3. Legal Standard... 391
4. Discussion.. .392
5. Conclusion.. .394
VI. Guiding Principles in Fixture Determinations ...395
A. Concrete Pits, Trenches, Slabs, or Specialized Foundations are Strong Indications that an Asset is a Fixture... 395
B. An Asset’s Integration With Other Assets and the Assembly Process.. .396
C. Where There is a Deficiency in Objective Evidence Regarding Assets That are No Longer In Place, Proving that an Asset is a Fixture Will Be Difficult.. .397
D. Preliminary Discussion... 397
1. There is a Presumption of GM’s Intent for Permanence... 397
2. Goesling’s Movement of Assets is of Little Probative Value Here... 398
3. Goesling’s Secondary Market Analysis is also of Little Probative Value.,.399
4. Classification of Assets as Personal Property for Tax Purposes is of Little Probative Value... 400
VII. Conclusions of Law Regarding the 40 Representative Assets.. .400
A. The Presses.. .400
1. The Leased Presses Are Not Fixtures. . .400
2. The Remaining Three Presses are Fixtures...401
B. The Conveyor Systems... 402
1. The Modularity of the Conveyor Systems Does Not Suggest that the Conveyors are Not Fixtures.. .402
2. The Conveyors are Attached to the Realty.. .403
3. The Conveyors are Highly Integrated into the Assembly Process... 403
C. The Robots... 405
1. Representative Asset Nos. 39 and 12...405
2. Representative Asset No. 22... 406
D. Individual Assets Located Off the Production Line.. .407
1. Representative Asset No. 8... 407
2. Representative Asset No. 10.. .407
3. Representative Asset No. 19.. .408
■ E. The Warren Transmission Assets ...408
1. Representative Asset No. 14,.. 408
2. Representative Asset No. 24... 409
3. Representative Asset No. 25... 410
4. Representative Asset No. 36.. .410
5. Representative Asset No. 23... 411
6. Representative Asset No. 1... 411
F.The Paint Shop Assets... 412
1.Representative Asset No. 5.. .413
2.Representative Asset No. 9... 414
G. The Foundry Assets... 414
1. Representative Asset No. 27... 414
2. Representative Asset No. 38.,. 414
3. Representative Asset No. 40.., 415
H. Representative Asset No. 15-The Soap, Mount and Inflate System.. .416
. I. Miscellaneous Assets... 416
I. Representative Asset No. 13.., 416
2. Representative Asset No. 34.., 417
3. Representative Asset No. 37-the Courtyard Enclosure.. ,417
J. The CUC... 418
1. GM was Permitted to Grant a Lien on its Residual Interest,. .418
2. The Structure Housing the CUC Assets is Real Property.. .419
3. The CUC Systems are Fixtures. . .419
K; The Software,. ,420
L. Holding Furnace, Representative Asset No. 28,.. 421
M. The Court Need Not Make a Determination on Assets that the Parties Concede are or are not Fixtures.. .422
VIII. Legal Standards: Valuation ...422
A. Assets Must Be Valued According to Their Proposed Disposition as of the Valuation Date.. .423
1. Market Value Does Not Include the Amount of any Government Subsidy. . .424
B. The Cost Approach is Routinely Used by Courts to Value Collateral.. .424
C. The Bankruptcy Code Affords Significant Flexibility to the Court in Determining the Proper Method of Valuation .,.425
IX. Findings of Fact: Valuation.. .425
A. The KPMG Report... 425
1. KPMG’s Valuation Process... 426
2. Defendants’ Experts.. .432
3. Plaintiffs Experts... 434
B. The Expert Appraisals... 436
1. Goesling: Orderly Liquidation Value in Exchange,. ,436
2. Chrappa: Fair Market Value in Continued Use with Assumed Earnings. . ,440
3. Goesling: Orderly Liquidation Value in Place.. .441
C. KPMG’s Final Values are a Reliable Valuation of the Assets that were Sold to New GM.. .442
D. Goesling’s Orderly Liquidation Value in Exchange Analysis is a Reliable Valuation of the Assets that were not Sold to New GM...443
X. Conclusions of Law: Valuation ...444
A. The Assets Sold to New GM Should be Valued According to a Going Concern Premise of Value.. .444
1. The Proposed Disposition or Use of the Representative Assets Was to Be Sold to New GM as Part of a Going Concern Business., .444
2. The Public Policy Subsidy Should Be Excluded from the Valuation... 445
3. The KPMG Final Fair Value Amounts Are the Best Available Valuation of the Assets Sold to New GM.. .449
B. The Assets Not Sold to New GM Should Be Valued According ,to Goesling’s OLVIE Analysis.. .449
XI. Conclusion... 450
Table A: Specific Conclusions of Value for Each Asset
I. INTRODUCTION 1
The Defendants are a group of Old GM’s creditors referred to as the Term Lenders, who initially held a security interest in approximately $1.5 billion of Old GM’s assets, with a perfected security interest resulting from a UCC-1 Statement filed in Delaware. In earlier stages of this litigation (described below), the perfected security interest of the Term Lenders resulting from the Delaware UCC-1 filing was terminated when a UCC-3 Termination Statement was mistakenly filed in Delaware. Despite the filing of the UCC-3 Termination Statement in Delaware, the Defendants allege that, at the time of the 363 Sale they held a perfected security interest in over 200,000 fixtures at GM plants because of twenty-six Fixture Filings in counties where disputed assets were located. The Defendants argue that these fixtures should be valued according to their replacement cost new less depreciation, as part of a going-concern business. The Avoidance Action Trust, on behalf of Old GM’s unsecured creditors, disputes whether most of these assets are indeed fixtures, and if they were, it argues that they should be valued at their liquidation value.
It is impractical, to say the least, to litigate issues with respect to each of the over 200,000 disputed assets. Therefore, in pretrial proceedings, the Court directed the parties to designate forty representative assets to be the subject of this trial. The Court indicated that it would issue an opinion regarding which assets are fixtures and how to value them. The parties agreed that after the issuance of this Opinion, they would attempt to settle as to the remaining disputed assets. In an effort to provide guidance to the parties in resolving the remaining disputes, the Court includes extensive factual detail in this Opinion. Where possible, the Court has articulated broad principles of both fixture and valuation law to serve as guiding principles for the more than 200,000 assets that remain in dispute.
A. Fixtures
The representative forty assets were located at General Motors facilities in Michigan and Ohio. Disputed assets were located in other states as well, but the disagreement between the Plaintiff and Defendants touches on the fundamental nature of manufacturing assets located at GM’s plants: which ones were “fixtures” that remained subject to the Term Lenders’ perfected security interests when the chapter 11 cases were filed; and, for those fixtures, what are the appropriate valuation principles?
The Defendants maintain that hundreds of thousands of General Motors assets were fixtures that remained part of the Lenders’ perfected security interest after the UCC-3 Termination Statement was filed in Delaware. The Plaintiff disagrees, and argues that just about every asset located inside General Motors facilities was not a fixture. The forty “representative” assets are characteristic of thousands of other GM assets. Hopefully, with the benefit of this Opinion, the parties will be able to resolve the balance of their dispute through settlement, 2
The Representative Assets selected by the parties range from enormous stamping presses and machining equipment, to high-tech robotic arms, to long and winding conveyor systems, and even include a software program. The assets, many of which the Court observed in operation during a site-visit with the parties, perform a wide assortment of tasks. Presses stamp sheet metal into auto body parts; robots conduct precision welding generating a cascade of sparks along an intricate assembly line; and sophisticated paint sprayers coat auto parts in a state-of-the-art paint shop described at trial as truly “beautiful.”
Throughout this case, several principles. have emerged from both the case law and the nature of the assets involved that have assisted the Court in making its ultimate determinations. First, the presence of a concrete pit, specialized- foundation, or trench attendant to an asset weighed heavily in favor of finding that an asset was a fixture. As borne out by the case law, the permanence of concrete evidences both a strong level of attachment, and also a forceful intent that an asset remain in place permanently. Second, given the highly interconnected nature of the assets in the manufacturing and assembly process at these facilities, the Court found it useful to look at the level of integration and interconnectedness that an asset had with the production and assembly process and surrounding assets. An asset highly integrated into the assembly line or manufacturing process, including with respect to other assets adjacent or attached to it, cannot be easily removed or relocated without bringing the manufacturing and assembly to a halt, and are stronger indications that the asset was intended-to remain in place permanently as an accession to the realty. This is particularly true where a group of assets fit together in a specific amalgamation, and one or more of the assets is installed in concrete. On the other hand, an asset standing on its own, separate from the manufacturing and assembly process and other assets, necessarily has a lower level of integration with the assembly line and manufacturing process, and there is a lesser indication of an intent for permanence. These principles, explained more fully below, will hopefully assist the parties as they endeavor to resolve the disputes surrounding the remaining assets in question.
B. Valuation
The crux of the valuation task the Court faces is this: how can the Court isolate the value of individual assets from the historic government intervention in the 363 Sale? The Plaintiff argues that the Court should pretend the 363 Sale never happened: without the so-called Public Policy Subsidy and government intervention, Old GM would have liquidated, New GM would not be manufacturing automobiles today, and all of Old GM’s assets would be valued at their liquidation value—most' for scrap. But that is not the world we live in. Defendants urge the Court to value the Representative Assets according to an intermediate step in a contemporaneous valuation by KPMG 3 : “RCNLD,” which values assets at their replacement cost new less certain depreciation and utilization-based economic obsolescence, but which omits a downward adjustment for economic obsolescence according to the earning power of the business at the time and under the circumstances of the 363 Sale in June 2009 during the Great Recession. Essentially, Defendants ask the Court to value the Representative Assets as if they were part of a business with guaranteed earnings to support the assets’ value. That is not the world we live in, either.
Instead, the Court now exercises its discretion to craft the best available valuation from the evidence presented at trial. The Court largely rejects the two options presented by the parties and instead finds that the KPMG values, including the earnings-based downward adjustment, are the best valuation methodology for the Old GM assets sold to New GM that were expected to remain in continued use. It would not be appropriate to include the value of the Public Policy Subsidy in the individual valuation of the Representative Assets. But teasing out the value of the Public Policy Subsidy does not require resorting to a counterfactual hypothetical world in which the 363 Sale never occurred. The Court finds that, for the Representative Assets that were sold to New GM, a “going concern in continued use” premise of value is appropriate. Those assets were intended to be sold as part of a going concern business; they were indeed sold; and most of them are still in operation to this day. Valuing those assets under a liquidation premise would disregard their proposed disposition on the Valuation Date, run counter to the facts of this case, and significantly deprive the Defendants of the going concern value of their collateral.
However, the Court disagrees with Defendants that RCNLD is the best valuation of the Representative Assets. KPMG’s RCNLD values take into account depreciation, physical obsolescence, and utilization-based economic obsolescence, but not whether the projected earnings of the business support the valuation of the assets. RCNLD was essentially a midpoint in KPMG’s valuation process; after calculating the RCNLD, KPMG applied a 55% reduction to certain categories of assets (including the Representative Assets) to account for its assessment of GM’s Total Invested Capital, or TIC. The parties and the Court refer to this 55% downward adjustment as the TIC Adjustment. KPMG described the TIC Adjustment as a necessary step to reach a value for the assets that an ordinary private market participant would pay—-in other words, the value of the assets without the Public Policy Subsidy. Defendants’ attacks on the TIC Adjustment, whether from an accounting standpoint or by attacking KPMG’s valuation of New GM’s TIC, are impermissible attempts at Monday-morning quarterbacking. KPMG’s Final Fair Value, including the TIC Adjustment, was a contemporaneous, third-party valuation that was the product of months of hard work by experienced professionals, and unlike the opinion testimony of the other experts in this case, it was not done for litigation purposes. The Court finds that for the assets sold to New GM, KPMG’s Final Fair Value is the best available evidence of the assets’ value.
In keeping with the principle that assets should be valued according to their proposed disposition on the Valuation Date and not a hypothetical outcome, the two Representative Assets that were not sold to New GM should not be valued on a going-concern premise. Those assets were intended on the Valuation Date to remain with the Motors Liquidation Co. estate and be liquidated within one to two years; and so they were. Consistent with their proposed disposition on the Valuation Date, the Court adopts liquidation value for those assets.
Valuing the hundreds of thousands of assets the Defendants contend are collateral for the Term Loan is no less daunting than assessing whether those assets are fixtures. The Court recognizes—as the parties likely do—that individual appraisal of over 200,000 assets is simply not feasible. The Court hopes that by articulating the principles that follow in this Opinion, the parties will be able to resolve the dispute through settlement.
II. BACKGROUND
A. Brief History of Old GM
For over one hundred years, General Motors Corporation (“Old GM”) and its approximately 463 direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries were a major part of the U.S. manufacturing and industrial base and the market leader in the U.S. automotive industry. (TX-6 at 4.) Old GM was the largest Original Equipment Manufacturer (“OEM”) of automobiles in the U.S. and the second largest OEM in the world. (JX-6 at 10.) As of March 31, 2009, Old GM employed approximately 235,000 persons worldwide, with approximately 91,000 employed in the U.S.
Old GM utilized many thousands of different suppliers; approximately 11,500 of those suppliers were located in North America. In re Gen. Motors Corp., 407 B.R. 463, 476 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2009). At least hundreds and possibly thousands of automotive parts suppliers depended on Old GM for survival.
B. Events Leading to Bankruptcy
1. Term Loan Agreement and Collateral Agreement
In 2006, GM obtained a $1.5 billion seven-year term loan (the “Term Loan”), evidenced by a note pursuant to the Term Loan Agreement. 4 (ECF Doc. # 962 (“Joint Pretrial Order” or “JPTO”) ¶ 44.) JPMC was the administrative agent under the Term Loan Agreement. (Id. ¶ 46.) To secure their obligations under the Term Loan, GM and Saturn granted to JPMC, pursuant to a November 29, 2006, collateral agreement, among Old GM, Saturn and JPMC, a first priority security interest in certain equipment, fixtures, documents, general intangibles, all books and records and their proceeds. (Id. ¶ 47.) A UCC-1 financing statement (the “UCC-1 Statement”) was filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware which perfected the Term Lenders’ security interest in all of the Collateral “now owned or at any time hereafter acquired” by Old GM and its affiliates. (Id. ¶ 48.)
The Term Loan Agreement contemplated that fixture filings would be filed in county real estate records (“Fixture Filings”) with respect to each of the “Material Facilities” in the corresponding office of the County Clerk for the counties where the Material Facilities were located. (Id. ¶ 50.) “Material Facilities” is defined in the Term Loan Agreement as manufacturing facilities listed on Schedule 1 to the Term Loan Collateral Agreement where Collateral with a net book value of at least $100,000,000 was installed or located. (Id, 1151.) Twenty-six Fixture Filings were made. (Id. ¶ 52.)
The Term Loan was a complex syndicated commercial financing, pursuant to which JPMC, Credit Suisse, Cayman Islands Branch, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Barclays Bank PLC, The Bank of New York, and National City Bank (collectively, the “Bank Lenders”) committed upfront to fund the Term Loan, (Term Loan Agreement ¶2.01, Ex. 1.) The Bank Lenders then had the right to sell, typically through assignments, interests in the Term Loan and the accompanying note in the secondary market to a variety of investors. (Id. ¶ 10.06.) The Bank Lenders ultimately assigned some or all of their interests in the Term Loan, and over 500 sophisticated entities became lenders under the Term Loan Agreement (the “Term Lenders”). (“Amended Complaint,” ECF Doc. #91 ¶¶ 15-568.)
Prior to entering into the Term Loan Agreement, GM entered into a synthetic lease (the “Synthetic Lease”) on October 31, 2001, by which GM obtained up to approximately $300 million in financing from a syndicate of financial institutions. In re Motors Liquidation Co., 777 F.3d 100, 101 (2d Cir. 2015). The Synthetic Lease was documented by a Participation Agreement dated as of October 31, 2001, with JPMC acting as administrative agent. In re Motors Liquidation Co,, 486 B.R. 596 , 606 n.13 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2013), rev’d, 777 F.3d 100 (2d Cir. 2015) [hereinafter Bankruptcy UCC Opinion]. GM’s obligation to repay the financing under the Synthetic Lease was secured by liens on certain real properties. Id. at 606.
Outstanding amounts under the Synthetic Lease were paid off and the Synthetic Lease was terminated on October 30, 2008, and the liens on real estate and ■related assets were released. Id, at 608-14. On October 30, 2008, GM’s counsel, with respect to the Synthetic Lease, caused the filing of UCC-3 termination statements with the Delaware Secretary of State. Id, As part of that filing, JPMC and its counsel erroneously authorized the filing of a UCC-3 termination statement (the “Termination Statement”) terminating the UCC-1 Statement securing the Term Loan, Id. Specifically, the Termination Statement provided that the “[effectiveness of the [UCC-1] Statement ... is terminated with respect to security interest(s) of the Secured Party authorizing [the] Termination Statement.” 5 (Am. Compl. .¶ 582, Ex. 2.)
2. Financial Difficulty at GM and the Automotive Industry Generally
In 2008, as a result of a decline in market demand for full-size trucks and SUVs, competition from foreign automakers, rising oil prices and overall economic conditions, as well as rising structural costs relating to labor, GM was facing financial difficulties including impaired liquidity. (See JPTO ¶¶ 1-9; Trial Tr. (Worth) at 1801:24-1802:14; Keller Direct ¶¶ 22-25.) With the growth of competitors, between 1980 and early 2009, Old GM’s market share for new North American vehicle sales dropped from approximately 45% to approximately 19.5%.
The pressure mounted in the fall of 2008 with a contraction of the credit markets, lowering of consumer confidence, high unemployment, and a further drop in consumer discretionary spending. These factors contributed to a downturn in auto sales.
Old GM was also burdened with significant structural costs, union restrictions, pension and healthcare obligations, an inefficient dealership network, and several failed brands. These pressures and burdens resulted in Old GM facing a capital shortfall. (JPTO ¶¶ 8-9.)
The price of Old GM’s common stock declined from $23.19 to $0.75 per share from May 1, 2008 to May 29, 2009 (the last trading day before the June 1, 2009 filing of Old GM’s Chapter 11 petition). In its Form 10-Q filed on May 8, 2009, Old GM reported consolidated global assets of approximately $82 billion and liabilities of approximately $172 billion, as of March 31, 2009; That same Form 10-Q reported total net revenue had decreased by 47.1%' in the first quarter of 2009, as compared to the same period in 2008. (Id. ¶ 16.)
3. Failed Efforts to Engage with the Private Market
Prior to filing for bankruptcy, Old GM attempted to raise capital by selling certain business units and brands, including Saturn, Saab, Hummer, Opel, and AC Del-co. Old GM also explored a merger with Chrysler, but no such merger took place. (Id. ¶ 10.)
In April 2009, Old GM attempted a public exchange offer to provide equity to its outstanding bondholders. The public exchange offer announced in April 2009 was unsuccessful. (Id. ¶ 12.)
Between 2008 and June 30, 2009, Old GM engaged in unsuccessful attempts to secure private financing. (Id. ¶ 13.) By all accounts, no private market participant was willing to make a deal with Old GM.
I. Government Intervention
In late 2008 and early 2009, the United States Government agreed to extend substantial financing to Old GM. In late 2008 and through June 30, 2009, the United States and Canadian Governments were concerned that if Old GM ceased operations, it would cause significant harm to the economy and exacerbate the financial crisis. (Id. ¶ 19.)
a) TARP, Treasury Prepetition Loans, and the Viability Plans
The United States Government implemented programs to assist the automotive industry through the U.S. Treasury and its Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry pursuant to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”). (Id. ¶ 20.)
On December 31, 2008, the Government agreed to provide Old GM with a bridge loan of up to $13.4 billion on a senior secured basis (the “Treasury Prepetition Loan”) under TARP. Old GM drew $4 billion on that Treasury Prepetition Loan in December 2008. It then drew $5.4 billion more between December and February 2009, and the remaining $4 billion on February 17, 2009. (Id. ¶ 22.)
On March 30, 2009, the President of the United States announced that the United States Government would extend to Old GM adequate working capital for a period of another sixty days to enable it to continue operations, and that it would work with Old GM to develop and implement an appropriate viability plan. (Id. ¶ 23.)
On April 22, 2009, the United States Government and Old GM entered into amended credit agreements for the Treasury Prepetition Loan. On April 24 2009, Old GM received a second TARP loan of $2 billion. On May 20, 2009, Old GM received a third TARP loan of $4 billion. Old GM had borrowed a total of $19.4 billion from the U.S. Government by the end of May 2009.
As a condition to the TARP loans, Old GM was required to submit viability plans. Old GM ultimately submitted five versions of its viability plan to the United States Government. The first four were rejected. The United States Government accepted the fifth viability plan, Viability Plan 4B (“VP-4B”), which contemplated additional government funding in connection with a bankruptcy filing. (Id. ¶¶ 28-30.)
C. GM’s Bankruptcy, the DIP Financing Order, and the 363 Sale
On June 1, 2009 (the “Petition Date”), GM and certain of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in this Court. As of the Petition Date, the outstanding principal balance under the Term Loan Agreement was in excess of $1.4 billion. (Am. Compl. ¶ 573.)
On June 3, 2009, the Office of the United States Trustee appointed the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Motors Liquidation f/k/a General Motors Corporation (the “Committee”) pursuant to section 1102 of the Bankruptcy Code.
On the Petition Date, the Debtors also filed the motion for debtor-in-possession financing (the “DIP Motion”) seeking authority to obtain interim postpetition financing on a secured and superpriority basis up to a maximum aggregate interim amount of $15 billion and final postpetition financing on a secured and superpriority basis up to a maximum aggregate final amount of $33.3 billion under a DIP facility (the “DIP Facility”) from the United States Department of Treasury and Export Development Canada. The DIP Facility was to be used to pay, among other things, certain prepetition claims and fund the Debtors’ operations and administration costs. (See Am. Compl. ¶ 574.) The Court approved the DIP Facility, first on an interim and then on a final basis. (Interim DIP Order (Main Proceeding ECF Doc. # 292); DIP Order (Main Proceeding ECF Doc. #2529).) Among other things, the DIP Order authorized repayment in full of the Term Loan. (Am. Compl. ¶ 578.)
Paragraph 19(d) of the DIP Order provides for full general releases of any and all claims against, among others, the holders of the Term Loan, except:
that such release shall not apply to the Committee with respect only to the perfection of first priority liens of the Prepetition Senior Facilities Secured Parties (it being agreed that if the Pre-petition Senior Facilities Secured Parties, after Payment, assert or seek to enforce any right or interest in respect of any junior liens, the Committee shall have the right to contest such right or interest in such junior lien on any grounds, including (without limitation) validity, enforceability, priority, perfection or value) (the ‘Reserved Claims’).
(DIP Order ¶ 19(d).)
Following entry of the DIP Order, the Debtors paid $1,481,656,507.70 to the Term Lenders in full satisfaction of all claims arising under the Term Loan Agreement. (Am. Compl. ¶ 578.)
Also on the Petition Date, Old GM filed a motion in this Court seeking approval to sell substantially all of its assets to a Government-sponsored entity in an expedited sale under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code (the “363 Sale”). The Government-sponsored entity purchasing Old GM’s assets was to be a new company, NGMCO, Inc. (“New GM”). In other words, the Sale Motion contemplated that New GM would purchase Old GM’s assets with a credit bid that would include Old GM’s pre-petition TARP loans and the vast majority of the DIP Facility. (DX-4 at 9.) As additional consideration, New GM agreed to distribute to Old GM—for the benefit of Old GM’s unsecured creditors-10% of the common equity of New GM, plus warrants to purchase an additional 15% of New GM’s stock. (JPTO ¶ 36; DX-4 at 9.) As described further below, Old GM’s financial advisor, Evercore, estimated that the total purchase price paid to Old GM was between $91.2 and $93.6 billion, and valued the common equity and warrants provided to Old GM at $7.4 to $9.8 billion. (JX-3 at 106.) The assets that New GM did not acquire would remain with Old GM, which was renamed Motors Liquidation Company. If any bid was higher or better than the existing terms of the 363 Sale, then, subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, Old GM’s assets would be sold to that bidder. (JPTO ¶¶ 33, 39.) No other bids for Old GM’s assets were submitted.
D. History of this Action
1. The Original Complaint and Summary Judgment Motions
On the July 31, 2009 deadline set out in the Final DIP Order, the Committee filed a complaint initiating this adversary proceeding (the “Original Complaint,” ECF Doc, # 1) against the Defendants. The Original Complaint’s only asserted claim under section 644(a) was one to avoid liens based on the termination of the Delaware UCC-1 Statement. (Original Complaint ¶¶ 7-8, 426, 433-37, 439-41.) The Original Complaint did not challenge the validity, extent, or priority of any security interest arising from fixture filings. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the Bankruptcy Court held that the termination of the UCC-1 Statement was ineffective unless it was authorized, and neither party intended to terminate it. Bankruptcy UCC Opinion., 486 B.R. at 606 .
The case was appealed directly to the Second Circuit which, after a decision by the Delaware Supreme Court on a certified question, held that the UCC-1 Statement was not effective as of the Petition Date due to the filing of the Termination Statement in October 2008. See Motors Liquidation Co., 777 F.3d at 105 (“[A]l-though JPMorgan never intended to terminate the Main Term Loan UCC-1, it authorized the filing of a UCC-3 termination statement that had that effect .. *, Nothing more is needed.”). While the UCC-1 Statement no longer served to perfect the security interest in personal property at GM facilities, the Fixture Filings had been made in the offices of the County Clerks for the counties where the Material Facilities were located. The security interest in fixtures covered by the twenty-six Fixture Filings were unaffected by the UCC-3 Termination Statement filed in Delaware.
2. The Amended Complaint
After the appeal to the Second Circuit was resolved, the Avoidance Action Trust, as successor to the Committee, became the Plaintiff in this case. (JPTO at 1.) The Plaintiff amended the Original Complaint on May 20, 2015 (the “Amended Complaint,” ECF Doc. #91). 6 The Amended Complaint included a new paragraph, which stated:
To the extent that some portion of the Collateral was secured and perfected by filings other than the [UGC-l] Statement (the “Surviving Collateral”), the value of the Surviving Collateral was less than the amount of the Term Loan Lenders’ claim under the Term Loan Agreement, and Defendants were not entitled to receive the Postpetition Transfers to the extent that the amount of such transfers exceeded the value of the Surviving Collateral. The Surviving Collateral is of inconsequential value.
(Am. Compl. ¶601.) Like the Original Complaint, the Amended Complaint only asserts a section 544 claim regarding the termination of the UCC-1 Statement, as the term “financing statement” in paragraph 601 refers to the “Delaware UCC-1.” The “Surviving Collateral” referenced in paragraph 601 refers to collateral secured by the twenty-six fixture filings. As will be discussed further below, paragraph 601 is not an attack on the priority of allegedly unperfected security interests; it is an assertion that the assets actually covered by fixture filings are of “inconsequential value.” Indeed, this assertion about the value of the fixtures is the underlying premise of the Plaintiffs case— that nearly everything at the GM plants are not fixtures, and those assets that are fixtures are of no real value.
On May 19, 2016, the Plaintiff filed a letter (the “May 2016 Letter,” ECF Doe. # 613) raising for the first time an issue regarding the perfection and priority of liens on fixtures located at GM’s Lansing Delta Township (“LDT”) facility. In the May 2016 Letter, the Plaintiff explained that the LDT fixture filing identified a vacant parcel of land near the LDT plant. The Plaintiff noted that it planned to argue that “there is no surviving collateral at the Lansing plant” because of this error in the LDT fixture filing. (May 2016 Letter at 1.) The Amended Complaint was not amended after the May 2016 Letter was filed or at any time before or during trial,
E. The Court’s Site Visit to LDT and Warren Transmission
The Defendants and the Motors Liquidation Company Avoidance Action Trust (the “Plaintiff’) requested that the Court travel to Michigan to view many of the Representative Assets located at the Warren Transmission facility and'the LDT facilities. (See ECF Doc. #896.) On March 23, 2017, the Court entered the Protocol Order for GM Site Visits (the “Protocol Order,” ECF Doc. #897). The Protocol Order set forth the agreed-upon procedures (the “Protocol”) for the Court to accompany the parties on a guided visit to view certain of the Representative Assets located at the GM Warren Transmission facility and the facilities at Lansing Delta Township.
The Court visited Warren Transmission facility on April 4, 2017, and the LDT manufacturing facilities on April 5, 2017. 7 Pursuant to the Protocol, the parties prepared brief scripted statements that were read aloud when the Court was viewing each Representative Asset. The Court found the site visit to be a useful supplement to the testimony and photographic evidence provided at trial.
F. GM’s eFAST Ledger
The database that GM uses for its fixed .asset accounting is called eFAST. (Trial Tr. (Goesling) at 2928:8-25; see also Fulcher Dep. Tr. at 37:12-18.) The eFAST database contains extensive information about GM’s assets, including approximately 425 different fields within eFAST that contain asset-specific information regarding financial accounting, federal tax accounting and property tax reporting. (Trial Tr. (Goesling) at 2928:3-25; see also PX-290 (describing categories of information contained in the eFAST database).)
For this litigation, New GM produced data extracted from eFAST regarding the forty Representative Assets. (PX-231 (eFAST extract).) The eFAST extract, PX-231, includes information relating to each fixed asset, such as: the Asset ID number; a description of the asset; the in-service date, which is the date the asset was capitalized and put into production (Fulcher Dep. Tr. at 41:25-42:2); the installed cost; Lease Contract (ie., whether the asset is subject to a lease); the manufacturer and model number; the Book De-preciable Life in years and months (ie., 1300 in the column means 13 years, 0 months); and “PT Real Personal,” which is GM’s classification of an asset as real estate or personal property for tax purposes. (Id. at 46:23-47:1.)
III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND REGARDING RELEVANT GM PLANTS
A. GM Lansing Delta Township
GM’s facility at Lansing Delta Township consists of stamping, assembly, and paint shop operations. These processes work together in a seamless work flow to produce more than one thousand vehicles each day.
1. The LDT Plant
The assembly operation at Lansing Delta Township (“Lansing Assembly”) in Michigan was completed in 2006 and was the first greenfield plant in the U.S. designed to integrate the best of GM’s flexible manufacturing processes! (Miller Direct ¶ 166; Stevens Direct ¶ 13.) With Lansing Assembly, GM’s goal was to utilize the best and most recent learning and concepts, implementing in the U.S. the concepts that had been implemented in new plants around the world. (Stevens Di.rect ¶ 13.) Consistent with GM’s global manufacturing system (“GMS”), LDT was designed with flexible framing stations and flexible tooling to enable the production of different models at the same time and to enable model changes over time with virtually no machinery and equipment changes and minimal tooling changes. (Id.)
Since it was completed in 2006, Lansing Assembly has always been physically and functionally integrated with the stamping operations (“Lansing Stamping”). (Miller Direct ¶ 166.) As a practical matter, Lansing Stamping and Lansing Assembly function as a single, integrated operation to produce a common line of crossover vehicles: the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia (production recently moved to another plant), and the Buick Enclave. (Id.) GM has managed Lansing Stamping and Lansing Assembly as a unified facility known as “LDT.” (Id.) The two facilities are operationally integrated under the oversight of a single plant manager. (Id.) Structurally, the two “facilities” are in a single building. (Id. ¶ 167.) Employees walk freely from one “facility” to the other “facility” without leaving a building or passing through any security checkpoint. (Id.) The are no walls at all between Lansing Assembly’s body shop and Lansing Stamping; both processes are performed in a single building. (Id.)
In simple terms, the output from Lansing Stamping is the input for Lansing Assembly. (Id. ¶ 168.) The presses in Lansing Stamping stamp nearly all of the sheet metal that is then assembled by sophisticated robots at the body shop of Lansing Assembly in the very same building. (Id.) Even when the plants are not operating, the schedules for maintenance- and safety-related shutdowns are coordinated across the two facilities. (Id.) In addition, the two plants are served by the same complex of utility assets—including the LDT Central Utilities Complex selected by the parties as one of the forty Representative Assets in this case. (Id.) Finally, Lansing Stamping and Lansing Assembly share: (a) information technology infrastructure; (b) maintenance tools and consumables; (c) parking lots; (d) site entrances; (e) security gates; (f) employee congregation areas; (g) storage areas; (h) testing facilities; (i) human resources personnel; and (j) facilities service providers. (Id.)
Since Lansing Assembly was constructed in 2006, GM has invested more than a half a billion dollars into it. (Trial Tr. (Stevens) at 422:25-423:6.) The investment supported numerous renovations, including reconfiguring portions of the subassembly area in the body shop as part of a model change, extending the buildings by 100 feet, and installing an additional 200 feet of conveyor. (Id. at 423:7-424:17.) Framing gates were also added to the framing stations in the body shop (id. at 427:7-16.) and the body shop expanded into the stamping facility. (Trial Tr. (Miller) at 1223:6-14.) Additionally, changes in equipment were made to accommodate a new aluminum vehicle that was going into production. (Id. at 1119:17-1120:19.)
The paint shop is equally integrated into the operations at the LDT facilities. The following exhibit demonstrates the highly integrated production flow at LDT:
[[Image here]]
(Stevens Direct, Ex. A at 11.)
2. The Eaton County Fixture Filing
A Fixture Filing listing Old GM as 'the debtor was recorded on behalf of JPMor-gan on April 26, 2007, in Eaton County, Michigan (the “Eaton County Fixture Filing”). It describes the collateral covered by ⅛ as “all fixtures located on the real estate described in Exhibit A,” Exhibit A, as it is filed* in the Eaton County Register of Deeds office, includes the following;
[[Image here]]
EXHIBIT A
8400 MILLETT HWY, LANSING TOWNSHIP, LANSING MI 48917-9549
S 1/2 SEC 28 LYING W OF W UNE HWY I-96/69, EXC NW 1/4 OF SW 1/4', AND EXC PARTS S & E OF LINE COM 100 FT W OF S 1/4 COR SAID SEC, TH N 50 FT, E 400 FT, N 26 FT, E 188.65 FT TO W LINE SAID HWY R/W& POE, EXC LANDS USED FOR GUNIEA RD & MILLETT HWY; 144 ACRES +/-; SEC 28 T4N R3W
GM Assembly Lansing Delta 8400 Millett Hwy Lansing, Easton County, Ml LandAmerica File No. 100729
The metes and bounds description in Exhibit A describes a vacant "parcel of land across the street to the North of the Lansing Facilities. The parcel described in the metes and bounds description in Exhibit A is denoted in a red outline on EOF Doc. #827, Ex, 1, a sketch plan of the metes and bounds description jointly commissioned by the parties. The street addresses for the Lansing Facilities include 8175 Millett Highway, Lansing, MI and 8001 Davis Highway. (JPTO ¶ 65.)
Plaintiffs’ theory of this portion of the case is fairly simple: the Eaton County Fixture Filing was effective to perfect the Lenders’ security interest in any fixtures on the vacant land—in other words, no fixtures; it was ineffective to perfect the Lenders’ security interest on fixtures located in the Lansing Facilities where many fixtures are, in fact, located. As explained below, if Plaintiff had timely challenged the perfection and priority of the Lenders’ security interest of the fixtures in the Lansing Facilities, the Plaintiffs argument may have succeeded. But Plaintiff did not timely challenge perfection and priority and it is much too late to do so. It is still necessary to determine what is a fixture and how to value it.
B, Warren Transmission Plant Overview
The Warren facility, in Michigan, was acquired by GM from Ford in 1960. (Deeds Direct ¶ 36.) Over the ensuing six decades, GM has produced five products at Warren Transmission. (Id.) Each of those five products was produced with equipment that GM operated for twenty to forty-four years before being removed from the plant as obsolete. (Id. ¶¶ 36-39.) In the process of renovating the facility as each new product was introduced, the facility has changed dramatically, from sixteen separate buildings with one million square feet of floor space to one large building with about 2.1 million square feet of floor space. (Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 458:22-459:16.)
As GM’s 4-speed transmission line was phased out, in 2006 GM installed a new line capable of producing 6-speed transmissions at Warren at a cost of $350 to 450 million. (Deeds Direct, Ex, A at 10.) The 6-speed line was installed in a portion of the plant that had previously manufactured suspension parts and wheels. The. manufacturing equipment used to make those parts became obsolete and was removed. To accommodate the new 6-speed line, GM spent approximately $50 million to renovate that area of the Warren Transmission plant, including removing the floor down to the bare dirt and pouring a new floor, removing old utility piping and replacing it with new piping, upgrading all of the utilities, installing a new fire suppression system, installing a new lighting system and installing a new HVAC system. (Deeds Direct ¶ 43 & Ex. A at 10.) These renovations resulted in what was in effect a new building within the Warren Transmission facility. (Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 475:13-20.)
Prior to any renovations occurring, GM designed and specified the processes that the 6-speed transmission line would include, and the equipment that would be part of those processes. (Deeds Direct ¶42.) The 6-speed equipment that GM selected, and the layout of the equipment, was thereafter specifically adapted to the Warren Transmission facility. (Id. ¶45.) Only then were the renovations to the plant carried out in order to adapt the building to accommodate the new 6-speed line. (Id. ¶¶ 42-43.)
The 6-speed line that resulted from this elaborate planning and renovation process is a complex assemblage of assets that takes steel and aluminum castings and produces completed transmissions that can be shipped to GM assembly plants, such as LDT, for inclusion in GM vehicles. (Deeds Direct, Ex. A at 11.) The line consists of four highly integrated but distinct areas: the transfer gear machining area, the planetary gear machining área, the transmission housing machining area and the transmission assembly area. (DX-103.) The two gear machining areas machine steel gear blanks to fine tolerances, producing twenty-three ready-to-install gears for each 6-speed transmission. (Deeds Direct, Ex. A at 11-12 (process overview); Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 480:11-481:3; DX-109 (schematic of planetary gear machining area, including Asset 36); DX-112 (schematic of transfer gear machining area, including Assets 22, 24 and 25).) The transmission housing machining area machines cast aluminum housings into the four finished transmission housings that each 6-speed transmission requires and then tests them. (Deeds Direct, Ex. A at 11-12 (process overview); Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 480:11-481:3; DX-104 (schematic of transmission housing machining area, including Assets 3, 14 and 23).) The assets in the transmission assembly area then combine-the housings, gears and other components and extensively, test each transmission; completed transmissions are then packed and shipped to assembly plants. (Deeds Direct, Ex. A at 11; Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 480:11-481:9; DX-110 (schematic of transmission assembly area, including assets 1 and 35),)
Warren Transmission also produces an electric-drive unit used in the Chevy Volt and Chevy Malibu Hybrid. (Deeds Direct, Ex. A at 10.) The electric-drive production area was formerly occupied by the 4-speed line, and the facility was renovated specifically to accommodate the electric-drive unit. {Id,/, Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 464:19-465:9.) Consistent with its practice of renovating facilities around the specific process and equipment to be installed, GM has renovated only those areas of the former 4-speed transmission area that the electric-drive unit occupies—in all, about one-third of the space the 4-speed formerly used. (Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 464:19-465:9 (discussing DX-101).)
C. The Lean Agile Flex System
In powertrain, as in other areas of GM’s manufacturing, fuel economy regulations and customer preferences started to shorten product cycles in the early 1990s. (Trial Tr. (Buttermore) at 1287:22-1288:11; Buttermore Direct ¶ 81.) In an attempt to adapt to a changing business environment, starting in 1994, GM began developing a “Lean Agile Flex” strategy for powertrain. (Trial Tr. (Buttermore) at 1291:11-13.) The strategy utilized computer numerically controlled technology in machines that cut or otherwise process metal castings (known as CNC machines). CNC machines perform one or more types of cutting and processing operations on a raw or semi-finished part to turn it into a finished component. 8 CNCs are flexible as their programming can be updated as new machining operations are required, without any mechanical alterations to or movement of the CNC machine itself. (Deeds Direct, Ex. A at 106, 16, 44, 50; Buttermore Direct ¶ 34; Trial Tr. (Buttermore) at 1288:13-1289:3.) By June 2009, GM was well on its way to implementing Lean Agile Flex technology in its powertrain plants. (Trial Tr. (Buttermore) at 1291:17-1292:5.)
The 6-speed transmission line installed at Warren Transmission between 2005 and 2007 embodied these Lean Agile Flex principles, and was specifically designed with sufficient flexibility to allow its major production assets—including nine of the Representative Assets—to operate in place for their useful lives. (Deeds Direct ¶ 40.) This equipment was more expensive but more flexible, consistent with GM’s focus on building a Lean Agile Flex powertrain system.
D. Defiance Foundry Overview
The Defiance Foundry sits on a 420 acre plot in Defiance, Ohio. GM built the Defiance Foundry in 1948 and has operated it continuously as a foundry for almost seventy years. (Thomas Direct ¶ 22; Trial Tr. (Thomas) 744:2-11.) It operates as a foundry to this day. (Id.; see also Trial Tr. (Thomas) 867:15-19.)
Plants 1 and 2 are the two primary manufacturing plants at Defiance Foundry, and a number of smaller buildings support the foundry operation. Plant 1 opened in 1948 and has approximately 1.6 million square feet of floor space. GM opened Plant 2 in 1964 and then expanded it in 1972. It consists of approximately 1.1 million square feet. (Thomas Direct ¶¶ 28-29 & Ex. A, at 49.)
The Defiance Foundry turns scrap metal and metal ingots into cast metal parts— such as engine components (iron and aluminum blocks and cylinder heads; iron crank shafts) and transmission parts. These parts are then shipped to GM engine and transmission plants (like Warren Transmission), where they are further machined and assembled into finished engines and transmissions. (Id. ¶ 23.)
Directly adjacent to Plant 1 and Plant 2 are a number of external areas that are essential to the operations of the foundry. On the Defiance premises are ponds that collect water laden with contaminated foundry sand and other waste, and that contain water used to cool the cupola shell, cool induction units, provide evaporative cooling for employees and for the air treatment system. (Thomas Direct ¶¶ 29, 30 (at Figure 3, Area 1) & Ex. A at 49 (Area A); Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 749:15-23.)
Also on the premises is a reservoir that stores water before it is pumped back to the plants for cooling. (Thomas Direct ¶ 30 (at Figure 3, Area 1) & Ex. A at 49 (Area C).) Relatedly, there is a large man-made berm built to protect the Maumee River from possible runoff of contamination from the property. (Thomas Direct, Ex. A at 49 (Area D); Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 750:12-19.) There is also an EPA-mandated landfill for toxic foundry sand that covers more than 25 percent of the 428-acre site and stores contaminated core and foundry sand 9 so that harmful waste does not escape to nearby water sources. (Thomas Direct ¶ 30 (at Figure 3, Area 4) & Ex. A at 49 (Area E); Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 748:13-749:3.) And importantly, running into the foundry plants is a rail line, comprised of a roughly five-mile railroad network that is unique to the requirements of the foundry for material unloading. (Thomas Direct ¶ 30 (at Figure 3, Area 6) & Ex. A at 50; Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 751:3-752:4, 752:8-12, 758:11-22; DX-1019.) There is also a water treatment plant that neutralizes waterborne contaminants generated by the foundry process. (Thomas Direct ¶ 30 (at Figure 3, Area 7) & Ex. A at 50.)
The following exhibit shows an overhead view of the foundry and its surrounding areas, including Plants 1 and 2 located at the bottom of the exhibit.
[[Image here]]
(Thomas Direct, Figure 2.)
E. MFD Pontiac and Powertrain En» gineering
The Metal Fabricating Division (Stamping) Pontiac facility (“MFD Pontiac”) is listed as one of the forty-two facilities on Schedule 1 of the Term Loan Collateral Agreement, and is a Material Facility for which a Fixture Filing was filed. (JPTO 1170.) Accordingly, Defendants have a perfected security interest in any fixtures owned by Old GM at MFD Pontiac. (Id. ¶ 71.) GM Powertrain Engineering Pontiac (“Powertrain Engineering Pontiac”) is not listed on Schedule 1 of the Term Loan Collateral Agreement. (Id. ¶ 72.) The parties dispute whether the Lenders have a perfected security interest in any fixtures located in Powertrain Engineering Pontiac.
Powertrain Engineering Pontiac is a research and development facility where GM designs, engineers, develops, and tests engines and transmissions. (Buttermore Direct ¶42.) The engineering that takes place at Powertrain Engineering Pontiac is not specific to the manufacturing and production at MFD Pontiac. (Trial Tr. (But-termore) at 1811:18-1312:7.) The work at Powertrain Engineering Pontiac has nothing to do with MFD Pontiac. (Id, at 1312:4-7.) Both facilities, however, get power, steam, and utilities by a utility trestle from the Central Utility Complex on the Pontiac North Campus. (Butter-more Direct ¶¶ 44-45.)
MFD Pontiac and Powertrain Engineering Pontiac have two different addresses and are located on opposite sides of the street. Powertrain Engineering Pontiac is located at 896 Joslyn Road, in Pontiac, Michigan. MFD Pontiac is located across the street (Glenwood Avenue) from Power-train Engineering Pontiac at 220 East Columbia Ave. (Marquardt Direct ¶ 53.)
The street separating MFD Pontiac and Powertrain Engineering Pontiac is on a piece of land that Old GM deeded to the City of Pontiac, Michigan in 2008 to develop for public use. (Buttermore Direct ¶ 43; Trial 'Tr. (Buttermore) at 1312:8-10; Mar-quardt Direct ¶ 66). MFD Pontiac is located on a parcel currently numbered “14-17-476-002,” while Powertrain Engineering Pontiac is currently on parcel number “14-21-102-001.” (Marquardt Direct ¶ 61.)
F. The Forty Representative Assets
As noted above, Plaintiffs Amended Complaint alleges that the lien on the collateral securing the Term Loan was not perfected as of June 1, 2009, and to the extent that some portion of the collateral was perfected by filings other than the umbrella UCC-1, the value of that portion of the collateral was less than the amount paid to Defendants and Defendants were not entitled to receive payment in excess of that amount. Twenty-six other Fixture Filings covered the fixtures in a number of Old GM U.S. facilities; those Fixture Filings were filed in the records of the counties in which such facilities are located.
Following the filing of the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff and Defendants engaged in initial discovery of the scope and value of the Term Loan collateral. Based on that initial discovery, it became clear that two principal issues divide the parties: (a)which of the over 200,000 assets of Old GM located in the facilities covered by the fixture filings are “fixtures,” and (b) what is the proper methodology for valuing assets that are found to be fixtures.
In light of the broad scope of the dispute, the Court ordered this initial trial (the “Representative Assets Trial”) that focused on forty representative assets selected by the parties (the “Representative Assets”). These forty assets are described below. At the Representative Assets Trial, the Court was asked to decide:
(a) Whether each of the forty Representative Assets is a fixture; and
(b) What principles should be applied in valuing the Representative Assets as of June 30, 2009 (the agreed upon “Valuation Date”), and what was the value of each Representative Asset as of the Valuation Date applying those principles.
The Court was also asked to decide three additional issues relevant to determining the scope of the Term Loan collateral:
(c) Whether Representative Asset No. 11, the CUC, is a fixture in which the Defendants had a perfected security interest as of June 1,2009;
(d) Whether Defendants had a perfected security interest in the fixtures at the GM assembly and stamping facilities at Lansing Delta Township (the “Lansing Facilities”) as of June 1, 2009, and whether Plaintiffs challenge to Defendants’ security interest in the fixtures at the Lansing Facilities is time-barred; and
(e) Whether Defendants had a perfected security interest in the fixtures at GM Powertrain Pontiac Engineering facility, as of June 1,2009.
A description of each of the forty Representative Assets is set forth below. The Court has grouped the assets by asset-type, rather than in order of the numbers assigned by the parties to each of the Representative Assets.
1. Presses
a) Representative Asset No. 30
The TP-14 CS1-1 Transfer Press Danly ET-2 (“TP-14 Transfer Press”), which was located at GM Metal Fabricating Division (MFD) Mansfield (“Mansfield Stamping”), is a transfer press that processes metal coil through a single ram that transforms the metal using large dies to produce finished automotive body parts. (JPTO ¶ 103.) The asset was put into service in September 1987 and had an installed cost of $4,636,106. (Id.) The press weighed 700 tons, stood 3 stories tall, and was 70 feet long and 55 feet wide. (Miller Direct ¶ 119.) It had double rolling bolsters that sat on rails installed in the concrete floor to allow for quick die changes. (Id.) The TP-14 Transfer Press was installed in a large pit and was mounted on four approximately four-foot by five-foot by twelve-foot reinforced concrete pillars that were secured to the bedrock below the plant. (Id.)
All of the presses, including the TP-14, were removed from Mansfield Stamping after it closed in 2010; none were sold with the building. (Trial Tr. (Miller) at 1149:15-28.) The process of removing the TP-14 Transfer Press was difficult, as the press could not be removed without disassembling it. (Miller Direct ¶ 126.) The removal project was scheduled to take three months. (Id.) It was sold by Maynards and Hilco in 2011 to Flex-N-Gate for $1.15 million (including a 15% buyer’s premium). (JPTO ¶ 103; PX-96 (Bill of Sale Agreement between RACER and Flex-N-Gate Mexico).)
b) Representative Asset No. 31
The Danly 4000 ton press (“Danly Press”) is a single ram, standalone stamping press that is used at LDT to validate dies before they are used in the production presses. (Miller Direct ¶ 103.) It weighs 775 tons, stands 3 stories tall, and extends 30 feet long and 20 feet wide. (Id.) Installation of the Danly Press required excavation of a custom pit in which four large, steel-reinforced concrete foundation pillars were anchored to the bedrock. (Id.) The asset was originally put into service in October 1980 at the GM Indianapolis stamping plant to make truck body components and had an installed cost of $2,729,407. (JPTO ¶ 104; Trial Tr. (Miller) at 1010:3-11.) It was moved and installed at LDT in 2003. (JPTO ¶ 104.)
The Danly Press is not a production press but is used instead to test or “tryout” new and repaired stamping dies without having to take one of LDT’s production presses temporarily out of operation. (Miller Direct ¶ 104.) To perform its “tryout” function, the Danly Press is linked with the other presses at LDT through a network of mobile die carriers and overhead cranes that are installed in specific locations to allow the large dies to be removed from the production presses, moved to a rework area, and installed on the Danly Press for testing. (Id.) The Danly Press was moved to LDT Stamping in 2003 and it took three to six months to remove it and prepare it for shipment. (JPTO ¶ 104; Trial Tr. (Miller) at 1128:23-1129:13.)
c) Representative Asset No. 29
The GG-1 Transfer Press, which was located at GM Metal Fabricating Division (MFD) Grand Rapids, is a transfer press that processes sheet metal blanks through a series of two rams that transform the metal using large dies to produce finished automotive body parts. (JPTO ¶ 102.) The press was put into service in September 1989 and had an installed cost of $11,340,238. (Id.) The GG-1 Transfer Press weighed 1,100 tons, stood 3 stories tall, and extended 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. (Miller Direct ¶ 133.) It was installed in a sixteen to twenty-foot deep pit on steel-reinforced concrete pillars anchored with pylons into the bedrock. (Id.) Support components were also installed to complete the press system, including a scrap conveyor, overhead crane, front-of-line component, and end-of-line component, and trenches were cut into the concrete floor to lay rails for the press’s double rolling bolsters. (Id.)
The GG-1 Transfer Press was very similar to the Danly Press, although with a lower pressing capacity (3,000 and 1,500 tons for GG1 vs. 4,000 tons for the Danly Press), and ■ it is likely that each press station of the GG-1 Transfer Press had the same basic components as the Danly Press—a bed and rolling bolsters, uprights, a slide, and a crown with top side drive system. (Goesling Direct ¶ 366.)
The GG-1 Transfer Press was left with Old GM and not included in the 363 Sale. It was sold by Maynards and Hilco with an electronic transfer rail system, and an end of line conveyor system as a single item (called a “lot”) at the equipment auction of the Grand Rapids plant in November 2010 for $275,000 (excluding a 13.5% buyer’s premium). (Id.; PX-94 (Asset list for Grand Rapids Auction); Goesling Direct ¶ 365.) It is not clear from the evidence at trial whether the GG-1 Transfer Press was sold Tor scrap value or for reuse; it was purchased by a press dealer, but the low sale price suggests scrap value. (Sofíkitis Dep. Tr. at 69:22-70:1; Goesling Direct ¶369.) Removal of the press system for sale took over three months and left a sixty-foot by forty-foot hole in the plant floor. (Miller Direct ¶ 134.)
d) Representative Asset No. 32
The AA-11 Schuler No. 1 AA Crossbar Transfer Press (“AA Transfer Press”) is a 2,800 ton, 200-foot long, 125-foot wide, and 40-foot tall transfer press. (Miller Direct ¶72.) It is the largest press system employed by GM, and it is used to fabricate large, paint-ready body panels from stacks of sheet metal as part of the stamping operations at GM’s LDT plant. (Id.) It uses five rams, ten rolling bolsters, and interchangeable tooling (called “dies”) to shape the sheet metal. (Id.) The fabrication of body parts for vehicles is a necessary first step in the vehicle assembly process. (Id. ¶ 78.)
The AA Transfer Press was installed in 2003 and had an installed cost of $33,767,895. (JPTO ¶ 105.) The installation of the AA Transfer Press required GM to excavate a 100-foot long, 50-foot wide, and 12-20-foot deep pit to hold the press. (Miller Direct 1173.) Twelve reinforced concrete pillars were installed (each measuring approximately four feet long by five feet wide by twelve to twenty feet tall), and those pillars were mounted by pylons into the bedrock below the building. (Id.) The press was “stacked” in place after arriving in pieces at LDT. (Id.) During stacking, the press was secured to each of the twelve foundation pillars with a six-foot long, two to three-inch diameter steel rod. (Id.) GM dug trenches adjacent to the press to install rails on which the press’s ten rolling bolsters could ride. (Id.) The process of removing (or moving) the AA Transfer Press would take months, if not years, and cause significant disruption to operations and damage to the realty. (Id. ¶ 79.)
e) Representative Asset No. 33
The B3-5 Transfer Press System Incl. Destacker and End of Line (“B3-5 Transfer Press”) is a 3-ram transfer press system used by GM to make stamped metal body parts that can be assembled in the body shop at LDT and the other assembly plants supported by LDT’s stamping operations. (Miller Direct ¶ 85.) It weighs approximately 1,800 tons, stands 3 stories tall, and extends 260 feet long and 75 feet wide. (Id.) Installation of the B3-5 Transfer Press required GM to excavate an approximately 12- to 20-foot deep, 100-foot long, and 50-foot wide pit out of the floor of the building, and to install 8 reinforced concrete foundation pillars that are approximately 12 feet tall, 4 feet wide and 5 feet long. (Id.) This press system processes sheet metal blanks through a series of three rams that transform the metal using large dies to produce finished automotive body parts. (JPTO ¶ 106.) The asset was put into service in 2003 and had an installed cost of $27,682,072. (Id.)
GM included the front-of-line and end-of-line components of the press system in the same Asset ID as the B3-5 Transfer Press itself. (Miller Direct ¶ 86.) The front-of-line component is a “destacker,” which receives stacks of large metal blanks and then “destacks” them one at a time by feeding them into the press itself. (Id,) The end-of-line component receives the stamped finished panels from the press, provides an opportunity for manual quality inspection, and then prepares the stamped parts for delivery to the next operation. (Id.) Like the AA Transfer Press, the B3-5 Transfer Press’ fabrication of body parts for vehicles is a necessary first step in the vehicle assembly process. (Id. ¶ 92.) Also like the AA Transfer Press, the process of removing (or moving) the B-35 Transfer Press would take months, if not years, and cause significant disruption to operations and damage to the realty. (Id. ¶ 93.)
f) Regarding the Two Leased Presses
The Defendants concede that they do not have a collateral interest in the AA Transfer Press (Representative Asset No. 32), because it is leased—not owned—by GM. (JPTO ¶ 66.) Shortly after its installation, the AA Transfer Press became subject to a sale/leaseback agreement which included the following covenant:
The Lessee and the Lessor agree that the Equipment, each Unit and every Part thereof are severed from, and shall remain severed from, any real property and are readily moveable, and, even if physically attached to such property, it is the intention of .the Lessee and the Lessor that the Equipment, each Unit and every Part thereof (i) shall retain the character of personal property, (ii) shall be removable without causing material damage to the real property, (iii) shall be treated as personal property with respect to the rights of all Persons whomsoever, (iv) shall not become part of any real property, and (v) by virtue of its nature as personal property, shall not be affected in any way by any instrument dealing with any real property. The Lessee shall not, without the prior written consent of the Lessor and, until the Lien of the Indenture shall have been discharged in accordance with its terms, the Indenture Trustee, and subject to such conditions as the Lessor and, until the Lien of the Indenture shall have been discharged in accordance with its terms, the Indenture Trustee may impose for their protection, affix or install any Unit to or in any real property in such a manner as to cause or permit such Unit to become a fixture or subject to the rights of any Person having an interest in such real property.
(PX-283 at 41.)
Like the AA Transfer Press, the Defendants concede that they do not have a collateral interest in the B3-5 Transfer Press (Representative Asset No. 33) because it is leased. (JPTO ¶ 106.) Shortly after its installation, the press became subject to a sale/leaseback agreement with an identical provision as that in the AA Transfer Press lease, under which GM agreed to maintain the B3-5 Transfer Press as personal property. (PX-220 at 38.)
The parties agree that GM has other transfer presses, similar to the AA Transfer Press and B3-5 Transfer Press, in other facilities, that are not subject to sale/leasebaek agreements with provisions mandating that the presses remain personal property. Defendants contend that such presses are fixtures; Plaintiff maintains they are not fixtures. The Court will address whether Representative Asset Nos. 32 and 33 would satisfy fixture criteria but for the sale/leaseback restrictions. In the absence of sale/leaseback provisions, the Court finds that Representative Asset Nos. 32 and 33 would be classified as fixtures.
2. Conveyor Systems
There are eight conveyors included among the Representative Assets. Two of the conveyors are at Warren Transmission: Power Zone Roller Conveyor (Representative Asset No. 3) and Button Up and Test Conveyor (Representative Asset No. 35). Five of the conveyors are at Lansing Delta Township Assembly: Paint Dip Conveyor (Representative Asset No. 6); Skid Conveyor (Representative Asset No. 16); P & F Conveyor (Representative Asset No. 17); Wheel & Tire Delivery Conveyor (Representative Asset No¡ 20); Skillet Conveyor System (Representative Asset No. 21). One of the conveyors is at Defiance: Core Delivery Conveyor (Representative Asset No. 26).
a)Representative Asset No. 3
The Power Zone Roller Conveyor Automation TCH MOD 3, which is located at Warren Transmission, is a powered conveyor system that moves rough transmission housing castings through a number of Computer Numerically Controlled, or “CNC,” milling machines that mill the housings to GM’s specifications and then delivers the milled housings to smoothing and testing machines. The asset was put into service in February 2007 and had an installed cost of $1,053,051. (JPTO ¶ 76.)
Asset No. 3 consists of a number of straight, fourteen-inch wide power roller conveyor sections, three overhead workpiece transfer bridges with light curtains, four rotary table conveyor sections for direction changes, and a human machine interface (“HMI”) control panel. (Goesling Direct ¶ 247.)
Asset No. 3 is largely attached to the realty by bolts; the overheard transfer bridges are supported by steel tube legs that are attached to the floor slab with lag bolts. (Id. ¶ 250.) The bridge supports are connected to the eight-foot long bridge track using bolts, and an underhung carriage is attached to the bridge- track by four roller track wheels and can easily be removed at either end of the track, (Id; JX-1027.)
b) Representative Asset No. 6
The Paint Dip Conveyor—ELPO Oven IMC, which is located throughout the LDT paint shop, is a conveyor system that carries vehicle bodies through the Electro-coat Paint-curing Operation, or ELPO, process. The conveyor spans all three operating levels of the paint shop and transports vehicle bodies through the ELPO system’s curing ovens. The asset was put into service in November 2006 and had an installed cost of $1,107,185. (JPTO ¶ 79.)
Asset Ño. 6 consists of approximately 1,500 feet of conveyor track, load and unload stations, two main electric drives, and standalone control panels. (Goesling Direct ¶ 182.)
Asset No, 6 is largely attached to the realty by bolts; the conveyor track is constructed in modular sections of three to twenty feet in length, connected by eight nut and bolt fasteners. (Goesling Direct ¶ 185; see also Trial Tr. (Topping) at 989:24-990:5, 20-23; JX-1067.)
Defense expert Steven Topping testified that Asset No. 6 “is a necessary part of the ELPO Process, which is a critical step in the paint-shop process,” and that “the facility was clearly customized to support this Conveyor.” (Topping Direct ¶ 47.)
c) Representative Asset No. 35
The Button Up and Test Conveyor System, which is located at Warren Transmission, is a conveyor system that moves transmissions through the final leg of the transmission assembly and testing process. The asset was put into service in June 2006 and had an installed cost of $2,689,706. (JPTO ¶ 108.)
Asset No. 35 consists of an eighteen-inch-wide powered friction roll conveyor modules, rotary tables, elevator and lower-ator sections, a control panel, and a human machine interface. (JX-1523; Goesling Direct ¶ 253.) Asset No. 35 is 340 total linear feet of conveyor and assembled from conveyor frame modules that are approximately 25 feet long. (Goesling Direct ¶ 257.)
Defense expert Deeds testified that Asset No. 35 “is a necessary, customized component of the final assembly line for completed transmissions [and] was also specifically designed for the layout of Warren Transmission’s assembly area,” with a glass wall built around the Asset “to separate the assembly building process from the shipping dock.” (Deeds Direct ¶ 178.)
Asset No. 35, including the conveyor sections (JX-1527), the rotary tables (JX-1531), and the control panel (JX-1524), is largely attached to the realty by bolts. (Goesling Direct ¶ 256.)
d) Representative Asset No. 16
The Body Shop Skid Conveyor, which is located at the Lansing Facilities, is a skid conveyor system that includes the convey- or itself and the mezzanine. The Defendants maintain that the support steel was included in GM’s fixed asset ledger as part of this asset; Plaintiff maintains that the support steel was not included in GM’s fixed asset ledger as part of this asset. This conveyor transports skids carrying complete vehicle body frames from the end of the outer framing line, where the outer body frames are welded to the inner body structures, to the start of the area where doors, hoods, lift gates and fenders are added. The asset was put into service in November 2006 and had an installed cost of $2,495,283. (JPTO ¶ 89.)
Asset No. 16 consists of over 1,000 linear feet of powered roller-bed conveyor track assembled from 20-foot long conveyance sections. (Trial Tr. (Stevens) at 109:2-110:10; Goesling Direct ¶ 142.) It is mounted on the mezzanine structure and is made up of modular roller bed sections, the majority of which have legs that are bolted directly to the mezzanine and three of which are mounted on pivoting units, allowing a skid to change direction. (JX-1240; Goesling Direct ¶¶ 142,145.)
Asset No. 16 is largely attached to the realty by bolts; it is mounted on a mezzanine, which is in turn suspended by steel members that are attached to the building trusses by removable clips. (JX-1185; Goesling Direct ¶ 145.)
e) Representative Asset No. 17
The Body Shop Power and Free Conveyor, which is located at the Lansing Facilities, is an overhead power and free conveyor system that includes the convey- or itself and the mezzanine structure. Defendants maintain that the support steel was included in GM’s fixed asset ledger as part of this asset; Plaintiff maintains that the support steel was not included in GM’s fixed asset ledger as part of this asset. The conveyor transports complete inner body subassemblies for the left side of the vehicle to the inner body framing station, where they are joined to other inner body frame components. The asset was put into service in November 2006 and had an installed cost of $1,649,074. (JPTO ¶ 90.)
Asset No. 17 consists of over 2,000 linear feet of overhead conveyor track, a position-er unit, two chain drive units, two chain take-ups, trolley/load bar units, control cabinets, and access platforms and mezzanines. (Goesling Direct ¶ 138.)
Asset No. 17 is largely attached to the realty by bolts; the sections of the convey- or track are connected to each other with nut and bolt fasteners. (JX-1262; Goesling Direct ¶ 141.) The conveyor system is bolted to steel members that are suspended from the roof trusses. (JX-1266; Goesling Direct ¶ 141.)
f)Representative Asset No. 18
The General Assembly Conveyor: Vertical Adjusting Carrier, which is located at the Lansing Facilities, is a set of eight-seven vertical adjusting carriers that travel along an overhead rail, which is part of a separate eFAST ledger line. The carriers transport vehicle bodies through the chassis assembly line, which is where the suspension and vehicle powertrains are attached to the vehicle bodies. The asset was put into service in November 2006 and had an installed cost of $4,141,896. (JPTO ¶ 91.)
The vertical adjusting carriers themselves are not permanently affixed to the building. (Goesling Direct ¶ 118.) Instead, the carriers’ wheels ride along the top of the rail and are connected to it by gravity. (Trial Tr. (Stevens) at 165:18-167:23; Goesling Direct ¶ 115.) The rail for the Vertical Adjusting Carriers is attached to white steel beams within the facility that is in turn bolted to the building. (Trial Tr. (Stevens) at 165:18-167:23; Goesling Direct ¶ 118.) The white steel is connected to the roof structure with bolts. (Trial Tr. (Stevens) at 165:18-167:23.)
Although very heavy and large, the carriers could feasibly be removed by detaching a rail section and taking the carrier off the rail. (Goesling Direct ¶ 119.)
Defendants assert that the white steel should be included as part of the eighty-seven vertical adjusting carriers, (Trial Tr. (Stevens) at 165:18-167:23), but there is no indication in the eFAST description that the asset includes anything other than the carriers. (PX-219.)
g) Representative Asset No. 20
The General Assembly Conveyor Sub-ASM Receiving—Wheel & Tire Delivery, which is located at the Lansing Facilities, is a conveyor system that transports wheel and tire assemblies from the tire and wheel assembly system to the final assembly line. The asset was put into service in November 2006 and had an installed cost of $1,150,919. (JPTO ¶ 93.)
Asset No. 20 consists of several types of conveyors, a mezzanine “catwalk” system, and a control cabinet. (Goesling Direct ¶ 123.) The conveyance system, which is approximately 400 linear feet in length, is made up of an inclined belt section that rises from the floor level to a mezzanine 12.5 feet overhead, a powered roller conveyor at the mezzanine level, and two spiral conveyors/silos, which bring the wheels back down to floor level and act as a short-term storage buffer. (See, e.g., JX-1290; JX-1287; Goesling Direct ¶ 123.)
Asset No. 20 is largely attached to the realty by bolts. (JX-1288; Goesling Direct ¶ 126; Trial Tr. (Stevens) at 162:19-163:5.) The floor-level conveyance system is attached to the floor in various places with lag bolts. (JX-1286; Goesling Direct ¶ 126.) The spiral ■ portion of the convey- or—that travels from the second level to the first level—is also attached to the floor with lag bolts. (JX-1291; Goesling Direct ¶ 126.)
h) Representative Asset No. 21
The General Assembly Conveyor (Skillet—Final—Leg 1), which is located at the Lansing Facilities, is a skillet 10 conveyor system that transports nearly complete vehicles on skillets through the final assembly process. The asset was put into service in November 2006 and had an installed cost of $1,484,980. (JPTO ¶ 94.)
Asset No. 21 consists of approximately 500 linear feet of conveyor track, 18 freestanding drive rollers used to propel the skillets along the assembly line, and a control panel. (Goesling Direct ¶ 129.) The track consists of two separate, floor mounted rails spaced about five feet apart that are assembled from twenty-foot sections bolted to the ground, and bolted together and supported by leveling feet at two foot intervals. (JX-1297; Goesling Direct ¶¶ 130,134.)
Asset No. 21 is largely attached to the realty by bolts, and is installed in a pit that is part of a separate Representative Asset (the Pits and Trenches, Representative Asset No. 2). (JX-1297; Goesling Direct ¶¶ 130-31,134.)
i) Representative Asset No. 26
The Core Delivery Conveyor System CB116 & 122, which is located at GM Powertrain Defiance, is a conveyor system and associated support platform that transports engine core subassemblies as part of the iron casting process at Power-train Defiance. The asset was put into service in November 2007 and had an installed cost of $280,816. (JPTO ¶ 99.)
Asset No. 26 consists of six conveyor sections, a mezzanine and an HMI control panel, and is positioned overhead in the factory in order “to avoid blocking the aisle and work area below ,... ” (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 858:24-859:13.)
Asset No. 26’s function is to “transport molded core assemblies from the CB 116 robotic assembly cell located on the ground level, up an incline and down again to the CB 122 robot dip cell located on ground level. (Goesling Direct ¶ 317.)
Asset No. 26 is largely attached to the realty by bolts; Plaintiffs expert Goesling testified that the conveyor system is modular, its pieces connected with “non-permanent bolts,” and that the ground portion of the conveyor system is “supported by floor posts bolted to the ground,” while the overhead portions “are bolted or spot welded to the mezzanine.” (Id. ¶ 322.) Defense expert Thomas also testified to the conveyor’s attachment to the realty, stating that the conveyor’s support platform is “bolted to the vertical support columns in the building,” “bolted to the horizontal steel beams that support the floor of the sand deck,” and “suspended over the aisle way with structural angle iron hangers [which are] bolted to the building trusses.” (Thomas Direct, Ex. A at 34.)
However, Goesling and Thomas disagree on the permanence of the bolts connecting the conveyors to the realty. Goesling characterizes the bolts attaching the conveyor to the realty as “non-permanent.” (Goes-ling Direct ¶322.) In contrast,' Thomas testified that
Mr. Goesling [...] oversimplifies the process that would be required to remove [Asset 26] [... ] Mr Goesling overlooks the fact that the platform and support steel would also need to be extricated. Removal of the conveyor would involve much more than “simply” detaching conveyance sections from the “mezzanine.”
(Thomas Direct ¶43.) Thomas also notes that removing Asset 26 would entail “unbolting hundreds of bolts; cutting/removal of welding [... and the] removal of four guard posts, each embedded in concrete ....’’(Id.)
3,- Robots
a) Representative Asset No. 39
The GB 91 Robot is a robot at the Defiance Foundry that unloads engine cores from the CB 91 core making machine. The asset delivers each core to several work stations before delivering a complete core sub-assembly to a conveyor for further processing. The subassemblies are used later in the iron casting process at Powertrain Defiance. The. asset was put into service in March 2005. (JPTO ¶ 112.)
The CB 91 Robot is mounted on a steel plate that is, in turn, attached with eight lag bolts to the floor. (Goesling Direct ¶ 346; see also Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 834:19-835:14, 838:18-24.) There are also two utilities connections to the CB 91 Robot: Electric and compressed air. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 835:18-25; see also JX-1679.) GM used a quick connect fitting 11 to connect the CB 91 Robot and the controller. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 837:3-6.)
The CB 91 Robot is itself made up of a six-axis robot and a standalone robot control cabinet. (Goesling Direct ¶342.) The robot controller rests directly on the building floor. (Id. ¶ 346; Trial Tr. (Thomas) 836:23-837:2; JX-1584.) The robot controller was designed with forklift carrying tubes and the cabinet top has four side-mounted eye hooks to assist with moving the controller. (Goesling Direct ¶ 347; see also JX-1584.)
Removal of the robot, without the basep-late, would take approximately two to two and a half hours. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 837:7-838:17.) Removing the baseplate would take roughly an additional thirty-five minutes. (Id. at 838:18-839:14.) Healing and reconcreting the floor would then take approximately three hours. (Id. at 839:15-25.) And to take the feed lines back to their source would take about six to eight hours. (Id. at 840:2-5.)
This robot could be removed from the cell where it is located and reprogramed for use in another area of the foundry, (Id. at 842:25-843:4.) All robots are reprogrammable. (Id. at 843:14-16.) “And as long as the robot is operating within its specified range of movement, weight capability and specification, there’s really no restrictions on where you could use and place” Representative Asset No, 39. (Id. at 843:17-22.)
b) Representative Asset No. 12
The Body Shop Robot LAZN-150R1, which is located at the Lansing Facilities, is a framing robot that is installed on an overhead structure. The robot is one of a number of robots in the outer body framing station in the body shop that applies spot welds to join together body panels into a complete vehicle body outer frame.
The Body Shop Robot LAZN-150R1 consists of a single Fanuc model R-2000ÍA/200R six-axis robot, a six-inch high riser, and a mounting plate, (Goesling Direct ¶ 146.) The robot is bolted to the riser plate, and the riser is in turn bolted to the mounting plate with eight bolts. (Id. ¶ 147.) The Fanuc RJ3ÍB robot controller is mounted on casters and is also equipped with forklift carrying tubes to aid in transporting the asset. (Id. ¶ 148.)
Incoming electrical power is supplied from an overhead bus duct via loose flexible cabling to a quick connect fitting at the cabinet. (Id.) The controller then feeds power and data to the robot by loose cabling contained in l’econfigurable metal cable trays. (Id.) The data and control wiring also utilizes quick connect fittings for easy separation. (Id.)
The overhead mounting position makes removal of Representative Asset No. 12 more difficult than a robot mounted on the floor, though the bolts can be removed and the robot lifted out of position without damage to either the asset or the building. (Id. ¶ 152.)
The asset was put into service in November 2006 and had an installed cost of $27,526. GM classified Representative Asset No. 12 as personal property for tax classification purposes. (Id. ¶ 150; see also PX-231.)
c) Representative Asset No. 22
The Panuc M-710IB/70T Robot (the “Gantry”), which is located at Warren Transmission, is a Fanuc robot mounted on a gantry rail. The asset is used to move gears within a subassembly process before the finished gears are sent to the transmission assembly line. Defendants believe that the associated safety fencing and interlocks were included in GM’s fixed asset ledger as part of this asset; Plaintiff believes that the safety fencing was not included in GM’s fixed asset ledger as part of this asset. The asset was put into service in July 2007 and had an installed cost of $270,101. (JPTO ¶ 95.)
The Gantry is a modular metal structure supported by three freestanding steel tube columns estimated to be ten feet tall, each with a floor-mounting plate that is attached to the floor with lag bolts. (Goesling Direct ¶280.) The three columns support the approximately fifty-foot-long horizontal Gantry rail using right angle brackets and various Allen bolts. (Id.; see also JX-1309.) The Gantry installation does not require any bracing or support from the building structure. (Goesling Direct ¶ 280.)
' The rectangular baseplate of the robot arm is attached to an underslung carriage with Allen bolts, and the carriage is moved along the rail with a drive system. (Id.; see also JX-1314.) Electrical wiring is fed to the robot through loose wiring contained in an open cable tray on top of the Gantry rail. (Goesling Direct ¶ 280; see also JX-1308.)
The robot controller is mounted on casters. (Goesling Direct ¶ 280; see also JX-1307; Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 618:19-619:5.) The power and data feeds to and from the controller utilize loose cabling and quick connect fittings. (Goesling Direct ¶ 280.)
J. Assets Located at the Warren Transmission Plant
a) Representative Asset No. 1
The OP-150 Select, Check Place Shims Auto Station (“OP-150”), which is located at Warren Transmission, is a shim select and placement machine. The asset measures transmission housings to ensure they conform to design tolerances and selects and installs a thin piece of metal, or “shim,” with the specific thickness needed to adjust for any detected intolerance. The asset was put into service in June 2006 and had an installed cost of $467,741. (JPTO ¶74.) The OP-150 Select weighs 9,000 pounds, is 10 feet tall and occupies some 200 square feet of floor space. It is designed specifically to work with the family of transmissions being made at Warren. (Deeds Direct ¶ 162.)
The OP-150 Select consists of an automatic placement station, a shim dispenser with approximately twenty-six storage magazines, and a control panel with a human machine interface. (Goesling Direct ¶ 266.) A conveyor system (which is a separately capitalized asset) is used to carry the pallets with transmission cases through the Shim Select and Placement Machine. (Id.)
The components of the OP-150 Select are mounted on height adjustable base plates, which are attached to the building floor with lag bolts. (Goesling Direct ¶ 270; see also JX-1005.) The machine is also attached to the pallet conveyor with Allen bolts. (Goesling Direct ¶ 270; see also JX-1004.)
Loose wiring and quick connect fittings are used to supply power and data from the control panel to the Shim Select and Placement Machine. (Goesling Direct ¶ 270; see also JX-1004.)
b) Representative Asset No. 14
The Leak Test Base Machine, which is located at Warren Transmission, tests for fluid leaks in transmission housings after they have been manufactured and before they are sent to the transmission assembly line. This asset was put in service in July 2007 and had an installed cost of $1,254,458. (JPTO ¶ 87.)
The Leak Test Machine is 30 feet by 25 feet by 12 feet, and weighs roughly 30,000 pounds. (Deeds Direct, Ex. A at 22.) It includes: (i) three individual test stands, each of which has a standalone fluid pump and delivery station; (ii) a pallet transfer conveyor, which runs through the three test stands; and (iii) three control cabinets (one for each test, stand). (Goesling Direct ¶272.) The Leak Test Machine wás customized to its place in the specific layout at Warren so that the conveyors on the Leak Test Machine would be aligned precisely with the height, width, and location of the conveyors feeding into and leading out of it. (Deeds Direct ¶ 72.) it is also attached to a high-pressure, steel-pipe plumbing connection to the plant’s compressed air distribution system, to the plant’s high-voltage (440-volt) power supply and to the deburring machine and pack out conveyor, which connects the Leak Test Machine to an unload robot. (Deeds Direct,.Ex. A at 22.)
It is surrounded by the other machines in its module: a load robot, twelve CNC machines, a power zone conveyor, a debur-ring machine, and an unload robot. (Deeds Direct ¶ 76; Deeds Direct, Ex. A at 81.)
c) Representative Asset No. 23
The Aluminum Machining System, which is located at Warren Transmission', is an aluminum machining system that is connected to Computer Numerically Controlled, or “CNC,” machines. The asset includes the piping that circulates clean, temperature controlled coolant to the CNC machines and also removes metal chips generated during the CNC milling process from the coolant so the coolant can be recirculated to the CNC machining centers. The System is an 800,000-pound, 75-foot-long, 60-foot-wide, 25-foot-tall machine that is critical to the 6-speed line. (Deeds Direct ¶ 82; JX-1330; JX-1331; JX-1345.) The asset was put into service in June 2006 and had an installed cost of $1,946,878. (Deeds Direct ¶ 87.)
The components of the Aluminum Machining System include two filtration units, a polish filter unit, a heat exchanger, a chip conveying, system, piping and a control panel. (Goesling Direct ¶ 283.)
Plaintiff agrees with Defendants that the pits, trenches, and the piping that are components of Representative Asset No. 23 are fixtures. These portions of the asset were installed permanently. (Id ¶291.) The trenches, which are integrated into the floor -slab, would be destroyed as part of removal and would leave extensive unlined holes, constituting damage to the building. (Id.) The long runs of large diameter piping also would likely be destroyed during removal. (Id.)
The two main filtration units, made of welded steel and measuring approximately fifteen feet long, sixty feet wide and twelve feet tall, are essentially large steel tanks, with travelling filter belts and chip conveying equipment installed inside. (Id. ¶ 284.) The main filtration units are attached to the building floor with angle iron clips and lag bolts in several locations around the perimeter of the units. (Id; see also JX-1321.)
The polish filtration unit is essentially a smaller version of the two main filtration units, measuring approximately six feet by thirty feet by ten feet. (JX-1333; Goesling Direct. ¶ 285.)
Drainage trenches have been installed in the floor surrounding the filtration units to collect water and coolant spillage. (Goes-ling Direct ¶ 284; see also JX-1333.)
The heat exchanger is mounted on a skid, which rests on the building floor and has two openings that allow the skid to be easily lifted with a forklift truck. (JX-1325; JX-1326 (visible openings for forklift truck); Goesling Direct ¶ 286.)
Similar to the main filtration units, the chip conveyor is constructed out of welded steel and is attached to the building floor with lag bolts. (JK-1327; Goesling Direct ¶ 286.)
The control panel is resting on the building floor, and is not attached by bolts or any other method. (JX-1323; Goesling Direct ¶ 287.)
Incoming electrical power is supplied to the control panel from an overhead bus duct through metal conduit; the controller then feeds power and data to the components of the Aluminum Machining System by loose cabling in enclosed cable trays and, in certain places, utilizes quick disconnect fittings. (Id.)
d) Representative Asset No. 24
The LFS220 Base Shaping Machine-Op 20 Transfer Drive Gear (“Base Shaping Maching’’), which is located at Warren Transmission, is a Base Shaping Machine, which is a type of Computer Numerically Controlled, or “CNC,” machine that is part of the process of machining or cutting steel blanks into transfer gears that are used in GM transmissions. The main components of the asset include the gear shaping machine, a control panel, a hydraulic power pack, and an entry/exit conveyor section. (JX-1350; Goesling Direct ¶ 292.) The asset, was manufactured in 2005, put into service in December 2007, and had an installed cost of $1,050,540. (JPTO ¶97.)
The Base Shaping Machine weighs 30,-000 pounds and is 15 feet long, 12 feet wide and 10 feet tall. (Deeds Direct ¶ 108; JX1352.) The Base Shaping Machine is mounted on a number of vibration isolation pads that rest in a drip pan that is sitting on the building floor without further attachment. (JX—1354; JX-1349; Goesling Direct ¶ 295.) The connection between machine and pad serves to control vibrations. (Goesling Direct ¶ 295.)
The Base Shaping Machine is attached to the inlet and outlet conveyors that feed it, as well as to an electrical supply transformer and electrical control cabinets. All utilities that are provided to the Base Shaping Machine use bolted flange or threaded pipe connections. (JX-1355; JX-1347; Goesling Direct ¶ 296.)
The control panel rests directly on the floor slabs. (JX-1348; Goesling Direct ¶296.) Next to- the control cabinet is a small transformer that is secured to the building floor by lag bolts. (JX-1351; Goesling Direct ¶ 297.)
Electrical power is supplied to the control cabinet from an overhead bus duct by wire in conduit; the control panel then feeds electrical power and data to the ONC Gear Shaper through loose wiring utilizing quick connect fittings. (JX-1351; Goesling Direct ¶ 296.)
Part loading and unloading conveyors, consisting of two ninety degree curves approximately five linear feet in length, are bolted to the- Base Shaping Machine and the conveyor legs either rest on the building floor, or in some cases are secured to the floor by single lag bolts, (JX-1353; Goesling Direct ¶ 297.)
Finally, the hydraulic power pack, which pumps fluid to the Base Shaping Machine, has four leg pads that rest on the building floor and uses various quick connect data wiring for sensors and control. (Goesling Direct ¶ 297.) Hydraulic fluid is pumped to the CNC Gear Shaper through small diameter piping and attached using threaded compression fittings. (JX-1356; Goesling Direct ¶ 297.)
e) Representative Asset No. 25
The Liebherr Hobb Machine from St. Catharines, which is located at Warren Transmission, is a hobb machine manufactured by Liebherr. It is another type of Computer Numerically Controlled, or “CNC,” machine and is part of the process of machining or cutting steel blanks into transmission gears that are used in GM transmissions. The Liebherr Hobb weighs approximately 33,000 pounds and is 12 feet long, 15 feet wide and 10 feet tall. (Deeds Ejirect ¶ 144; JX-1380; JX-1385.) To keep the machine from moving when the horizontal forces of the cutting tools inside the Liebherr Hobb are applied to cut the gear blanks, the Liebherr Hobb is bolted to the floor, (Deeds Direct ¶ 144; Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 692:7-9.)
The asset was moved from GM’s St. Catharines, Ontario facility to Warren Transmission in 2008. It had an installed cost of $1,192,377. 12 (JPTO ¶ 98.)
The Liebherr Hobb “consists of: (i) a standalone human-machine interface (“HMI”) control cabinet; (ii) the gear hob-bing machine; (iii) two hydraulic power packs; and (iv) an entry/exit conveyor section to load and unload parts.” (JX-1368; JX—1873; JX—1381; Goesling Direct ¶ 309.)
The exit conveyor belt is separate from the main conveyor belt and is connected to the main conveyor with nut and bolt fasteners. (Goesling Direct ¶ 313; JX-1383.) The exit conveyor frame is constructed of modular aluminum extrusions that allow for multiple configurations and various interchangeable parts. (Goesling Direct ¶ 313; JX-1375; JX-1376.) The exit conveyor is attached to the frame of the gear hobbing machine in four places (two on each side of the conveyor) for stability. (JX-1375; JX-1376; Goesling Direct ¶315.) Certain sections of the conveyor frame are stabilized by a bracket that is affixed to the building floor with a lag bolt. (JX-1382; JX-1383; Goesling Direct ¶ 315.)
Finally, the connections to the machinery for electrical power, data wiring and piping utilize methods such as loose cabling or flanged joints that are bolted together, allowing for easy disconnection between the machine and the piping or wiring. {See JX-1367; JX-1369; Goesling Direct ¶ 315.)
f) Representative Asset No. 36
The Helical Broaching Equipment, which is located at Warren Transmission, is a type of Computer Numerically Controlled, or “CNC,” machine used to cut gear teeth on a steel gear blank for use in GM transmissions. It weighs approximately 90,000 pounds and is 18 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 20 feet tall. (Deeds Direct ¶ 123; Trial Tr (Deeds) 633:10-16.) Like the Báse Shaping Machine (Representative Asset No. 24) and the Liebherr Hobb (Representative Asset No. 25), the Helical Broach is part of the gear-making processes in the 6-speed line. It is located in the one area of the Warren facility that provides sufficient roof clearance for its twenty-foot height. (Deeds Direct ¶ 123; Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 631:11-632:16.) The main components of the asset include a broaching machine, a standalone control and electrical cabinet, a chip conveyor and filtration system, a hydraulic powerpack, and a centralized lubrication system. (JX-1550; Goesling Direct ¶ 299.) The asset was put into service in June 2006 and had an installed cost of $1,472,023. (JPTO ¶ 109.)
The Helical Broach is mounted on four heavy duty isolation pads, which are bolted to the machine base and rest in a drip pan that is sitting on the building floor. (JX-1541; Goesling Direct ¶ 302; Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 629:4-631:10.) In addition to several attachment points, Representative Asset No. 36 is held in place by its enormous weight and size. (Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 630:21-631:7; Goesling Direct ¶'305.) Three small, six foot high, self-supporting operator platforms are attached to the Helical Broach with bolts, and the platform legs simply rest on the building floor. (Goesling Direct ¶ 302.)
Helical Broaches have previously been installed in i pit, but advances in techniques and procedures now dictate that these types of assets be situated above ground. (Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 635:10-15; Goesling Direct ¶ 307.)
The Helical Broach is integrated with the conveyor that feeds it and with an electrical power transformer and electrical panels. (Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 630:21-631:7; Deeds Direct ¶ 124.) The Helical Broach is also integrated with the plant’s centralized chilled water supply system and mist collection systems via hard steel piping that runs to the precise location of the Helical Broach. All utilities attached to the Helical Broach use connections (such as a bolted flange) that allow for disconnection or modification. (Goesling Direct ¶302.) The standalone control and electrical cabinet is secured to the building floor by lag bolts. (Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 630:21-631:7; Goes-ling Direct ¶ 303.) The control and electrical cabinet was designed and constructed with forklift carrying tubes and top-mounted eye-bolts to assist with movement of the machine. (JX-1545; Goesling Direct ¶303.) Next to the control cabinet is a small transformer that is secured to the building, floor by lag bolts. (Goesling Direct ¶ 304; • Trial Tr. (Deeds) at 630:21-631:7.) The hydraulic powerpack, which sits next to the Helical Broach, is mounted on vibration pads that simply rest on the building floor. (JX-1541; Goesling Direct. ¶304.)
A central lubrication pumping unit is attached to the side of the hydraulic pow-erpack reservoir, and connected to the broaching machine with flexible hose. (JX-1548; Goesling Direct ¶ 304.) Finally, a coolant filtration system with a chip con- ■ veyor is bolted to the side of the Helical Broach and runs on the building floor between the Helical Broach and the control cabinet. (JX-1547; Goesling Direct ¶ 304.)
5. Assets Located at the Defiance Foundry
a) Representative Asset No. 27
Emissions System # 4 Cupola, which is located at GM Powertrain Defiance, is a gas cleaning system that heats the hot blast air injected into the No. 4 melting furnace at Powertrain Defiance . (also known as a “cupola”) and removes and controls particulates and toxic gases generated by the foundry melting. The asset replaced an earlier system that served a similar function, Representative Asset No. 38, the System Gas Cleaning No. 4 Cupola. The asset was put into service in November 2007 and had an installed cost of $9,811,712.
It has five significant components that collectively weigh over 400,000 pounds: a thermal oxidizer, a heat exchanger, a scrubber, a hot blast turbine and hundreds of feet of ductwork. (Thomas Direct ¶ 46 & Ex. A at 39; JX-1431; JX-1432; JX-1433; JX-1434; JX-1435.) GM designed and constructed two multi-story enclosures totaling 6,000 square feet to support these components. (Thomas Direct ¶ 46; Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 789:18-791:16; DX-1019.) Several of the components, such as the thermal oxidizer, heat exchanger and scrubber, span multiple levels; thus, GM engineered openings in the floor of the enclosures to accommodate them. (Thomas Direct ¶ 46 & Ex. A at 39.)
The thermal oxidizer is a large vertical vessel approximately 108 feet tall and 12 feet in diameter that extends through the roof of the melt shop building and also connects to the heat recuperator via a duct that is 45 feet long and 10 feet in diameter. (Goesling Direct ¶ 326; see also JX-1425; JX-1426.) The thermal oxidizer pulls and incinerates off-gas from the melting process. (Goesling Direct ¶ 326.) The heat re-cuperator is another large vessel, approximately fifty-three feet high and seven and a half feet in diameter that extends through the roof. (Id.; see also JX-1424; JX-1422.) The heat recuperator receives and cools hot exhaust from the thermal oxidizer while heating outside air used in the cupola melting process. (Goesling Direct ¶ 326.)
The hot blast turbine blower, which pulls air from the outside to send to the heat recuperator, is a contained metal turbine blower that is bolted to a raised cement platform. (Id.; see also JX-1420; JX-1421.)
The scrubber vessel, which removes fíne particulate matter from the air received from the heat recuperator and releases the cleaned air through stacks, is a large vessel approximately fifty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in diameter that extends through multiple floors of the building. (Goesling Direct ¶ 326; see also JX-1435; JX-1423.)
Representative Asset No. 27 is necessary only to the iron casting process and thus is not particularly useful in connection with a different foundry process, such as making aluminum castings. (Goesling Direct ¶ 329.)
b) Representative Asset No. 28
100 Ton Vertical Channel Holding Furnace, which is located at GM Powertrain Defiance, is a furnace that holds molten iron at a stable temperature until the mold line at Powertrain Defiance requires the molten iron. It was approximately 12 feet in diameter and 16 feet high and held up to 100 tons of molten iron at a stable, molten temperature (2,500 degrees Fahrenheit for iron). The asset was put into service in December 2007 and had an installed cost of $4,174,288. The asset was removed in 2011.
The 100 Ton Vertical Channel Holding Furnace was comprised primarily of the holding furnace, a pit with foundation and equipment mounting pedestals, a control panel, and associated utilities. (Goesling Direct ¶ 332.)
The 100 Ton Vertical Channel Holding Furnace was installed in 2007 as part of the project of moving the malleable iron business to Defiance from a foundry in Saginaw, Michigan, which was shut down in 2007. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 822:14-23; see also Goesling Direct ¶ 336.)
There were other assets, in addition to Representative Asset No. 28, that were installed at Defiance as part of the malleable iron business, including two induction melting furnaces and a charging system. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 825:14-24.) The total expense of moving the malleable iron business to Defiance was, approximately $35 million. (Id. at 774:9-13.)
When the malleable iron line was installed at Defiance in 2007, GM knew that there was a finite life of the malleable business. (M at 826:25-826:5.) The malleable iron operations supplied parts for 4-speed transmissions (id. at 773:8-17), and when Representative Asset No. 28 was installed, GM expected that the life of 4-speed transmissions would be only three to five years. (Id. at 826:11-15; see also Goesling Direct ¶ 336.)
Thus, GM knew at the time the holding furnace was installed that the malleable iron product would only be needed for about three to four more years. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 826:16-20.)
Mr. Thomas, Defendants’ expert who testified about this asset, assigned a 25-year normal useful life for the 100 Ton Vertical Channel Holding Furnace. (Id. at 826:21-24.)
As reflected in the June 2009 eFAST, New GM assigned a three-year deprecia-ble life to Representative Asset No, 28. (Id. at 827:25-828:4; Goesling Direct ¶ 336; PX-0219 (Asset ID: 1000991251).) In contrast, GM assigned a depreciable life of sixteen years to two similar Ajax Holdings Furnaces at Defiance. (PX-0219 (Asset IDs: 100025421 (Ajax Induction Holding Furnace) & NJL6082100 (130 Ton Ajax Holding Furnace),)
Mr. Niszczak confirmed that GM depreciates its fixed assets over the item’s useful life, as defined in GM’s accounting policy. (Niszczak Dep. Tr. at 34:12-35:6.) The years of depreciation should be equal to the useful life of the actual asset. (Id. at 35:4-6; 44:4-11.)
The comparatively shorter depreciable life shows that GM knew and acknowledged in its own accounting records that within a few years after installation, the equipment would no longer be needed. (Goesling Direct ¶336.) Consistent with GM’s expectations, the malleable iron line, in fact, ceased production about three years after its installation. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 828:19-22; see also Goesling Direct ¶ 336.) The holding furnace was ultimately removed from Defiance in 2010 or 2011 because GM needed the floor space to expand its production of aluminum castings (Trial Tr, (Thomas) at 778:4-21; 829:3-6), and different assets are used to make aluminum castings as compared to malleable iron. (Id. at 829:3-6.)
Despite the significant cost of Representative Asset No. 28 (approximately $4,2 million) and its large size and relatively permanent method of attachment, GM installed the 100 Ton Vertical Channel Holding Furnace expecting to remove it after only a few years, well before the end of its useful life. (Goesling Direct ¶ 337; Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 826: 21-24 (Mr. Thomas, Defendants’ expert, stating that he estimated the normal useful life of Representative Asset No. 28 to be twenty-five years).) Representative Asset No. 28 was specific to GM’s malleable iron line, and once that line was discontinued, the holding furnace was idled and removed a short time later. (Goesling Direct ¶ 335.) GM attempted to resell the holding furnace, but could not find a buyer, so it was ultimately scrapped. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 829:7-18.)
c) Representative Asset No. 38
System Gas Cleaning No. 4 Cupola, which is located at GM Powertrain Defiance, is a gas cleaning system that cleaned high-temperature exhaust gases from a cupola at Powertrain Defiance. It weighs fifty tons, and is a forty foot tall, twenty foot wide, ten foot deep, multi-story steel unit designed to clean high temperature exhaust gases from the No. 4 Cupola at Plant 1. (Thomas Direct ¶79.) The asset was put into service in May 1976 and had an installed cost of $1,173,272. The asset was idled in 2007.
Two significant portions of Representative Asset No. 38 have been removed, and the remaining portions of the asset remain abandoned in place. (Trial Tr, (Thomas) at 784:6-15; Goesling Direct ¶ 338.) The portions of Representative Asset No. 38 that remain in place include the venturi scrubber and separator, a supporting metal superstructure, a gas compressor, and a small portion of ductwork. (Goesling Direct ¶ 338.)
The venturi scrubber and separator vessels are more than fifty feet tall and are supported by a steel structure that is secured to the building with lag bolts. (Id.) An elaborate stair and railing system surrounds both units and is attached to the two vessels and steel structure with welds and bolts. (Id.) The size of the remaining portions of Representative Asset No. 38 makes removal very difficult and expensive and would cause serious damage to the building and destroy much of the remaining asset. (Id.)
GM classified Representative Asset No. 38 as personal property for tax classification purposes. (Id. ¶ 340; see also PX-0231.)
d) Representative Asset No. 40
The P & H 71/2 Ton Charger Crane 6E Cupola (“Charger Crane”), which is located at GM Powertrain Defiance, consists of a charging bridge crane, suspended above the ground, that moves along rails (which were part of a separate ePAST ledger line) within a raw material bay at Power-train Defiance. The Charger Crane itself weighs 70 tons, spans approximately 100 feet, and is 20 feet wide and 10 feet high, and is suspended 55 feet above the ground by two runway rails, hovering over incoming railcars in a “charge yard.” (Thomas Direct ¶ 112 & Ex. A at 13; JX-1602.) The Charger Crane travels along the runway rails and lowers a 4-foot-diameter magnet to lift up to 15,000 pounds of scrap metal (the foundry’s “raw materials”) from those railcars. (Thomas Direct ¶ 111; JX-1609 (video of asset); JX-1725.). The Charger Crane then moves across the yard and delivers the scrap metal to a feeder / conveyor system that transports the metal to one of the foundry’s large melting furnaces (known as a “cupola”). (Thomas Direct ¶ 111; JX-1609.) The asset was put into service in July 1997 and had an installed cost of $639,653. (Thomas Direct, Ex, A at 13.)
The Charger Crane is the primary scrap metal delivery mechanism for the 6E cupola, which melts iron. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 863:13-19.) As part of the iron casting process, Representative Asset No. 40 picks up raw scrap metal from railcars with a magnet and brings the metal to one of the charging feeders for Defiance’s cupolas, (JPTO ¶ 113.) It is primarily a double girder bridge that spans approximately 100 feet between the rails, a top-riding trolley with wire rope hoist, and a control cab. (Goesling Direct ¶ 351.)
The Charger Crane is not capable of delivering non-ferrous materials in the manner-that it delivers iron. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 864:5-14.) It is a magnet crane, and its magnet cannot pick up aluminum materials because aluminum materials are delivered by truck to Defiance— not railcar—and are unloaded at a dock, which is a different area than where iron materials are unloaded and then moved by this crane. (Id; see also id. at 758:23-759:13.)
The asset includes only the P & H 7 ½ Ton Charger Crane 6E Cupola—the rails on which the crane travels and the magnet are separately capitalized assets. (Goesling Direct ¶ 350.)
Prior to the installation of Representative Asset No. 40, there was a predecessor crane that ran along the same rails. (Trial Tr. (Thomas) at 861:4-10.) GM removed the predecessor crane and installed the P & H 7 ½ Ton Charger Crane 6E Cupola in a sixteen-day period. (Id. at 861:16-862:7.) The P & H 7½ Ton Charger Crane 6E Cupola is assembled with nuts and bolts. (Id. at 859:24-860:2.)
6. Assets Located in the Paint Shop
a) Representative Asset No. 5
The Paint Circulation Electrical System, which is located at the Lansing Facilities, is a paint mix and circulation electrical system that consists of electrical distribution and control cabinets that support the paint mixing and circulation equipment for the paint shop. The asset is bolted to a custom four-inch raised concrete foundation that allows the Paint Circulation Electrical System to sit above the floor, protected from any spill or flood. (Topping Direct ¶ 63; Trial Tr. (Topping) at 913:5-18.) The asset was put into service in November 2006 13 and has an installed cost of $1,899,672.
As the Avoidance Trust concedes, removal of the asset would, as a functional matter, stop all paint application operations at LDT. (Topping Direct ¶ 68; Trial Tr. (Goesling) at 3255:23-3256:3.) Representative Asset No. 5 provides electrical power for paint process equipment. (Goes-ling Direct ¶ 176.) The asset includes two motor control center (“MCC”) cabinets and two control cabinets. (Id.) Both MCC cabinets are resting on a four-inch raised concrete pad without further methods of attachment. (Id. ¶ 180; see also JX-1055.) Incoming power is fed by overhead wire through conduit and conduit supports are bolted to the top of the cabinets. (Goesling Direct ¶ 180; see also JX-1059.) The two control cabinets are similar in construction to the MCC cabinets but are much smaller in size and secured to the concrete pad by several lag bolts. (Goesling Direct ¶ 180; see also JX-1065.) It is also connected to thousands of feet of electrical conduit that GM embedded in the concrete floor. Moreover, the Paint Circulation Electrical System is connected to hard conduit that carries power from the Paint Circulation Electrical System to the paint mix room. (Topping Direct ¶¶ 64, 66 & Ex. A at 30; Trial Tr. (Topping) at 909:25-910:22.)
b) Representative Asset No. 7
Paint Top Coat Automation Software, which is located at the Lansing Facilities, is software that assists in coordinating the operation of the primer and top coat/clear coat conveyors and paint process equipment, such as Representative Asset No. 9 (the TC2 CC Bell Zone). The asset was put into service in November 2006 and had an installed cost of $200,000.
Users access the Top-Coat Software on nine separate monitors located on terminals in the control room adjacent to the top-coat spray booth (a conceded fixture). (Topping Direct ¶¶ 78, 86; see also Trial Tr. (Topping) at 924:13-16.) While a user can control certain spray parameters (air pressures, bell speeds, voltages, fluid deliveries) with the Paint Top Coat Automation Software, the software does not,operate the spray equipment. Each piece of spray equipment has its own software loaded onto it. (Trial Tr. (Topping) at 932:15-934:23.) Rather, Representative Asset No. 7 allows for access to data to monitor, but not to operate, the paint assets. (Id. at 932:15-934:13.) And if the Paint Top Coat Automation Software were to malfunction, the spray equipment would continue to run. (Id. at 952:12-17; 954:5-14.)
The Paint Top Coat Automation Software does not have a physical presence—it is an intangible asset that “exists” within a computer data storage device and can be transferred to any other compatible computer device without damage to the realty or software. (Goesling Direct ¶¶ 186, 189.)
Mr. Topping concedes that the Paint Top Coat Automation Software could be loaded onto another computer and perform the same function, and also concedes that the computer on which the software could be loaded would not be a fixture. (Trial Tr. (Topping) at 975:16-977:21.)
GM classified Representative Asset No. 7 as personal property for purposes of tax classification. (Goesling Direct ¶ 188; see also PX-0231.)
c) Representative Asset No. 8
The General Assembly End of Line Paint Spot Reprocess System Paint Mix Room (“GA Paint Mix Room”), which is actually located at the Lansing Facilities assembly area but relates to the painting process, is a self-contained fireproof paint mixing room. The GA Paint Mix Room is approximately 9 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 12 feet tall, weighs roughly 2,000 pounds, and is bolted to the floor. (Topping Direct ¶ 97; Trial Tr. (Topping) at 998:19-21.) It is used as a vented enclosure to mix small batches of paint for minor paint repairs to vehicle bodies at the end of the final assembly line. The asset was put into service in November 2006 and had an installed cost of $815,150.
The GA Paint Mix Room is constructed of galvanized steel panels fastened together with nuts and bolts and attached to the floor with lag bolts. (Goesling Direct ¶ 105; see also JX-1089.) This paint mix room is standard and was purchased by GM from a catalogue. (Trial Tr. (Topping) at 999:9-12.) The GA Paint Mix Room is a smaller, more portable paint mix room compared to the more permanent paint mix rooms located in the paint shop, which are designed with walls and ventilation systems integrated into the building structure that would likely be considered fixtures. (Goes-ling Direct ¶ 106.)
There are various utilities connected to the Paint Mix Room (compressed air, sprinkler water for fire suppression, ventilation ducting, and electrical wiring), all of which are connected in a way that allows for easy detachment. (Id. ¶ 105; see also JX-1088.)
If the GA Paint Mix Room were removed, paint would have to be mixed in the paint shop. (Trial Tr. (Topping) at 947:10-16.) GM has previously relocated one similar paint mix room showing that movement is possible without damage and that this type of asset can be redeployed. (See PX-0022C at Asset # 8-0001; Goes-ling Direct ¶ 107.) GM could likely remove Representative Asset No. 8 over the course of a weekend. (Trial Tr. (Topping) at 1000:6-9.)
d) Representative Asset No. 9
The Top-Goat Bells system, which is located at the Lansing Facilities, is a set of paint applicator machines or “Bells” mounted overhead or installed through the walls of one of the spray booths in the paint shop. Specifically, there are a set of twelve paint applicators (or “Bells”) that form a “bell zone” within the top-coat spray booth. (Topping Direct ¶ 750 There are eight vertical Bells and four horizontal overhead Bells, all of which are part of the walls of the top-coat spray booth. (Id.) Each Bell cabinet has a rigid steel frame that is bolted to the floor and engineered into the booth structure in a way that creates a hermetic seal. (Id.; Trial Tr. (Topping) at 923:22-924:4.) This air-tight seal is critical to the painting process. (Topping Direct ¶ 75; Trial Tr (Topping) at 924:5-12.) Controls on the back of the Top-Coat Bells can be accessed without entering the booth. (Topping Direct ¶ 75; Trial Tr. (Topping) at 923:6-21.)
A conveyor delivers vehicle bodies to the top-coat spray booth, where a clear coat of paint is applied by the Top-Coat Bells. (Topping Direct ¶ 76.) The process is monitored and coordinated by the Top-Coat Software (discussed bel

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/8501043. Public record. Not legal advice.