Bankruptcy Litigation

Bankruptcy Financing Disputes

Litigation over debtor-in-possession (DIP) and other bankruptcy financing is oftentimes the fundamental at outset of a chapter 11 bankruptcy case. This is particularly true with credit agreements negotiated prebankruptcy, which may contain covenants and provisions that can dictate the course of the case, including but not limited to roll-over, lock-up, and release provisions.

The Firm also has the sophistication and experience to litigate effectively when credit agreements
threaten the interests of its clients.

Avoidance Action and Claims Litigation

The firm handles the entire spectrum of claims and avoidance litigation for debtors, liquidation or post-confirmation trusts, and defendants, specializing into smaller, individual matters. The Firm has over 10 years of bankruptcy litigation experience, allowing the firm to analyze each avoidance action or litigated claim to devise a comprehensive strategy, and recommend an original approach to prosecution and possible settlement, rather than the cookie-cutter, or “percentage-discount,” approach used by many firms handling these types of cases in volume.

We litigate with the confidence and know-how to succeed through discovery and trial when litigation is the only viable option, where most other avoidance and claims litigators have little, if any, trial experience. As a result, we can achieve greater efficiency and thus larger net recoveries than larger, high-volume firms, particularly in cases with numerous claims and avoidance matters.

Asset Sales

The reality of chapter 11 practice is that many more cases are resolved through asset sales than through internal reorganization. However, proposed sales often are not as straightforward as they may appear.
The Firm has represented both purchasers and sellers of section 363 asset sales under the bankruptcy code.
A host of interests are at play that may lead to bidding procedures and notice provisions designed to achieve the goal of a single party. Whichever constituency we represent in a case will benefit from our knowledge regarding tricks or traps of various sale strategies and the best means of defeating or approving them in litigation.

• Bidding Procedures
• Contested Bidding Procedures
• Marketing of Assets and related Notice Provisions
• Sale Motions
• Sales

Bankruptcy Appeals

Bankruptcy appeals can be a procedurally complex area of the law. Unlike nonbankruptcy litigation, there is a great variety of orders in bankruptcy cases that may be subject to immediate appeal. There may also be a choice of appellate forum, i.e. the District Court, or the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appeals Panel.
Further, in many cases, appellate rights may be lost not just by failure to appeal within the appropriate time, but also by failure to take action to prevent an appeal from being dismissed as moot, which can happen with financing or sale orders.

The firm has experience with appeals to the District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.