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Representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Century 21 Department Stores in its bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of New York. The Committee investigated potential estate causes of action relating to prepetition transactions involving the company’s family owners and their network of entities. Based on its investigative findings, the Committee was able to negotiate a global settlement that involved the sale of insurance claims and mutual releases for the family and entities in exchange for $59 million for the estate, plus potential proceedings sharing on the insurance claims.
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Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Mission Coal Company, LLC, a Tennessee coal mining company. As counsel to the Committee, we led a three-month Rule 2004 investigation and filed a motion seeking standing to prosecute a 52-count complaint, which included claims for avoidance of fraudulent transfers, recharacterization of debt as equity, equitable subordination, and corporate waste. The matter culminated in a contested confirmation trial, which resulted in the parties resolving all outstanding issues for total consideration of approximately $29 million for the estate.
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Represented Debtor Aceto Corporation and its affiliated companies, including Rising Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in its Chapter 11 filing and plan of liquidation. Aceto successfully sold its global chemicals business assets and Rising’s pharmaceutical assets in two Section 363 sales for an aggregate value of about $548 million. We continued to represent Aceto in its wind-down, including the Chapter 11 plan of liquidation process, recovery of additional assets (including certain litigation claims), and the review and reconciliation of over $1 billion in filed claims. This representation required a multifaceted effort involving coordination among various practice groups, as well as seamless integration with foreign counsel, as the client operated in more than 15 non-U.S. jurisdictions.
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Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Exide Holdings, Inc. in its bankruptcy proceedings in the District of Delaware. The Committee investigated potential causes of action for fraudulent conveyances and preference avoidance held by the Debtors’ estates. In connection with its investigation, the Committee conducted over a dozen witness interviews and reviewed over 10,000 documents. Based on its findings, the Committee was able to negotiate a global settlement that included $2.4 million for unsecured creditors.
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Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of SportCo Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries. The litigation team conducted an extensive investigation into potential claims held by the Debtors’ estates and ensured the establishment of a litigation trust for the benefit of creditors to allow the Committee to pursue claims against the Debtor’s sole shareholder, a private equity firm. The Committee continues to represent the trustee for the litigation trust in prosecuting claims for breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent transfer, and corporate waste.
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Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of GNC Holdings, Inc. We conducted an investigation into potential estate causes of action and issued discovery requests in anticipation of a contested sale hearing. The Committee was able to negotiate a consensual Plan of Reorganization, including the sale of the GNC business as a going concern, with the Debtors, secured lenders, unsecured noteholders, and purchaser, resulting in significantly increased recovery for unsecured creditors.
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Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Cenveo Inc. The Committee’s investigation culminated in a publically filed report that included significant findings regarding potential claims against Cenveo’s insiders, including for fraudulent conveyance and breach of fiduciary duty claims relating to Key Employee Incentive Plan (KEIP) and Key Employee Retention Plan (KERP) payments and additional forms of compensation made to insiders. As a result, the parties entered into a global settlement that tripled the cash pool for unsecured creditors from $1.5 million to $7 million.
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Representing the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico in the chapter 11 case of Pacific Gas and Electronic Company (PG&E) before the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. As counsel to the Association, which is the court-appointed lead plaintiff in a securities class action against PG&E’s officers and directors, we prevented the litigation from being enjoined and defeated a standing motion seeking to usurp the claims filed by the committee representing the victims of the 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires. We also participated in the heavily contested confirmation hearing that spanned approximately two weeks.
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Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Fred’s Inc. The Committee investigated potential causes of action against certain of the Debtors’ current and former directors and officers. Using our findings, we litigated the right to include language in the Liquidating Plan that disclosed against the inequitable and improper nature of the third-party releases sought.
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Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Bumble Bee Parent, Inc. We successfully litigated the Committee’s objections to the Debtors’ proposed KEIP and KERP payments. We also successfully prosecuted an objection to the Debtor’s proposed Section 363 sale. As a result, the Committee and the Debtors arrived at a mutual resolution, which provided for the establishment of a litigation trust to allow the Committee to prosecute and collect on claims held by the Debtors’ estates for the benefit of creditors.
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Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Hygea Holdings, Corp., a Florida-based company that delivered primary-based health care. The Committee investigated potential causes of action against certain of the Debtors’ current and former directors and officers, which included dozens of interviews, the issuance of subpoenas, and a motion to compel discovery from Hygea, as well as the review of thousands of emails and the analysis of financial data to detect fraudulent transfers. The Plan of Reorganization was confirmed in 2020, and included the creation of a creditors’ trust to pursue causes of action against certain managing members.
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Representing the Official Committee of Tort Claimant Creditors of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey. The Committee is advocating for a bar date for sexual abuse claimants in the case that reflects the extended statute of limitations enacted by the New Jersey Legislature in 2019 and takes into account the unique injuries suffered by abuse survivors. The Committee is also conducting an investigation into the assets, structure, and relationships of the Diocese, parishes within the Diocese, and other related Catholic entities to ensure the maximum recovery for abuse survivors.
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Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Yueting (YT) Jia, a Chinese tech mogul and entrepreneur carrying debts in excess of $3.6 billion. Our international investigation focused on potential fraudulent transfers by unwinding a vast network of shell companies and intricate financial transactions. We obtained significant concessions from the Debtor in his proposed plan of reorganization, which the Committee ultimately voted to support. In addition, the litigation team participated in several adversary proceedings instituted by stand-alone creditors seeking to derail the reorganization.