Delaware Chapter 11 Filings - 2009
Commercial Chapter 11 case filings in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in 2009:
Continue Reading...Delaware Chapter 11 Filings - 2008
Commercial Chapter 11 case filings in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in 2008:
Continue Reading...Due Process and 363 Sales of Consignment Goods
Due Process and 363 Sales of Consignment Goods, American Bankruptcy Institute Young & New Members Committee Newsletter, Vol. 6, No. 4, November 2008. Authored by Ericka F. Johnson.
Court Grants Motion to Dismiss Amended Avoidance Complaint, But Grants Plaintiff Leave to Amend
MAS Litigation Trust v. Plastech Engineered Prods. (In re Meridian Automotive Sys.-Composite Ops. Inc.), Adv. Pro. No. 07-51196 (KG), 2007 WL 4322527 (Bankr. D. Del. Dec. 5, 2007) (Judge Kevin Gross)
Plastech Engineered Products, Inc., a defendant in an avoidance action commenced by the MAS Litigation Trust, moved to dismiss the plaintiff’s amended complaint on the grounds that, inter alia, the new claims set forth in the amended complaint did not relate back to the original complaint. In a matter related to one we discussed here last week, The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware granted the motion, finding that the new claims did not seem to arise out of the same transactions described in the original complaint. However, the Court granted the plaintiff twenty days to amend the complaint, if it could allege facts sufficient to show the additional claims related back to the original ones.
Bankruptcy Court Dismisses Adversary Complaint For Failure To Comply With Service Requirements of Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004(b)(3)
MAS Litigation Trust v. Plastech LDM (In re
The trustee of the litigation trust for the estate of debtor Meridian Automotive Systems, Inc. attempted to serve an adversary complaint by naming and serving an entity that does not exist, and addressed such service to an incorrect address and without addressing service to an officer or agent of the defendant. On the putative defendant’s motion, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware dismissed the complaint, finding that service did not comport with the requirements of Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7004(b)(3).
Mattress Retailer Gallery Corp. Files Chapter 11 Petition in Delaware
On November 1, 2007, California mattress retailer Gallery Corporation filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The debtor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of non-debtor Pacific Coast Mattress, Inc.
According to the affidavit that the debtor filed in support of its first-day motions, the debtor owns and operates 52 Mattress Gallery retail stores in Southern California. The debtor attributes the filing, in part, to fallout from record high gas prices, home foreclosures and the subprime lending crisis, which led to a downturn in the Southern California housing market. As a result, according to the debtor, fewer people have been buying and furnishing homes, severely affecting the debtor’s business.
The debtor will propose a sale of all its stock to Ortho Mattress, Inc. According to the debtor's affidavit, Ortho Mattress has made an irrevocable commitment to purchase the stock. The Honorable Kevin Gross is presiding over this case, which has been assigned case number 07-11628.
Delaware Chapter 11 Filings - 2007
Commercial Chapter 11 case filings in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in 2007:
Continue Reading...SCO Group Files Bankruptcy in Delaware
The SCO Group, Inc. and SCO Operations, Inc. each filed voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The SCO debtors filed their cases in Delaware, where Judge Kevin Gross will preside.
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Northwest Suburban Community Hospital, Inc. Files Chapter 11 Petition
Northwest Suburban Community Hospital, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of non-debtor Chatham Capital Corp., filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code by commencing a case in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on July 30, 2007. This case, has been assigned to the Honorable Kevin Gross under case number 07-11018.
According to the debtor’s first day declaration, beginning in 1997, the debtor operated a treatment facility for morbidly obese patients at its facility in Belvidere, Illinois. However, because of declining business and revenue attributed by the debtor to increased competition and insufficient levels of reimbursement from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, the debtor ceased its treatment of obesity in January 2007. Since that time, the debtor has continued to operate an emergency standby department at its facility.
According to the declaration, the debtor’s liabilities exceed its assets by in excess of $3.7 million. The debtor is using the bankruptcy process to effect a sale of its facility. SwedishAmerican Hospital is the proposed stalking horse, with a bid of $5,750,000.
Pharmaceutical Companies Exaeris, Inc. and Inyx USA Ltd. File Chapter 11 Petitions in Delaware
On July 2, 2007, Exaeris, Inc. and Inyx USA Ltd. each filed petitions for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The debtors filed a motion for joint administration of these cases under case number 07-10887. Judge Kevin Gross of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has been assigned to these cases.
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Bankruptcy Court Approves Management Incentive Plan and Sales Bonus Plan as Proper Exercise of Debtor's Business Judgment and Holds That Plans Were Not KERPs That Were Subject to 11 U.S.C. § 503(c)
In re Global Home Prods., LLC, Case No. 06-10340 (KG), 369 B.R. 778 (Bankr. D. Del. 2007) (Judge Kevin Gross)
The debtors proposed bonus plans for management and certain sales staff, which were based on performance and incentives. The debtors’ unionized employees objected to the plan, characterizing it as a Key Employee Retention Plan (KERP), approval of which was subject to the rigorous requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 503(c). The court approved the plans, finding that section 503(c) was inapplicable, as the plans were primarily incentivizing, rather than retentive or in the nature of severance. Accordingly, the court measured whether the plans were formulated according to a proper exercise of the debtors’ business judgment, and finding that they were, approved them under the less exacting business judgment standard of 11 U.S.C. § 363.
Continue Reading...Court Denies Request For Immediate Payment To Creditor Pursuant To 11 U.S.C. § 503(b)(9) Because Of Finding Of Prejudice To Debtor And Absence Of Hardship To Creditor
In re Global Home Prods., LLC, Case No. 06-10340 (KG), 2006 WL 3791955 (Bankr. D. Del. Dec. 21, 2006) (Judge Kevin Gross)
The movant, a creditor of the debtors, with an administrative expense claim for goods delivered to the debtor within the 20 days preceding the date of the debtors’ bankruptcy petitions, moved for allowance and immediate payment of its claim pursuant to11 U.S.C. § 503(b)(9). The court denied the request for immediate payment, finding that the harm to the debtor of being required to make a payment that was not in its budget, and of a type that many other parties had sought, and might in the future seek, outweighed the hardship, if any, to the creditor.
Continue Reading...Court Grants In Part Trustee's Motion To Enjoin Auction Sale Of Equipment Allegedly Belonging To The Debtors
Shubert v. Premier Paper Prods, LLC (In re American Tissue Inc.), Case No. 01-10370 (KG), Adv. No. 06-50929 (KG) (Bankr. D. Del. Dec. 4, 2006) (Judge Kevin Gross)
This dispute concerned numerous items of machinery and equipment which the Chapter 7 Trustee alleged belonged to the debtors but were in possession of the defendants. In this ruling, the Bankruptcy Court extended an ex parte temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction, but with added limitations based on the evidence. The court allowed the planned auction to go forward, but escrowed the sale proceeds from the items to which it was shown the debtors might have title.
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