Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights

With offices in virtually every important financial and commercial center in the country, the Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights Group provides representation to clients throughout the United States. The attorneys in our Group possess substantive and significant experience in large and middle market cases, representing, both in and out of court, clients in bankruptcies, workouts and litigation. Our clients include creditors’ committees, secured and unsecured creditors, debtors-in-possession, bankruptcy trustees, buyers of distressed businesses, and receivers. Our attorneys have provided representation in cases involving all segments of industry, including finance, real estate, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, construction, hospitality, food services, oil and gas, tobacco products and gaming.

Backed by the strength of a full service national business law firm, we work in close cooperation with our colleagues who practice in finance, litigation, securities, insurance, employment, real estate, drug and medical device, securities, products liability, healthcare, environmental compliance, and government regulatory matters. This expertise is readily available and allows our clients the satisfaction of knowing that we are capable of handling all of their sophisticated business needs.

Please click on the links below to learn more about our practice and our attorneys.

Practice Profile
Attorney Profiles
Representative Clients
Industry Experience
Publications

Practice Profile

Bankruptcy. We represent debtors-in-possession, creditors' committees, bankruptcy trustees, secured and unsecured creditors, bond holders, equity security holders, investors, and insurance companies in bankruptcy courts across the country. In court or out of court, our attorneys possess the experience and expertise in all aspects of business reorganizations and liquidations. We also assist clients seeking to acquire assets from an entity in financial distress.

Restructuring. We regularly counsel clients on bankruptcy considerations related to business transactions and we are often called up to counsel boards of directors to provide restructuring advice.

Creditors' Rights. Our creditors' rights practice includes representing secured and unsecured creditors on matters involving bankruptcy and the attainment of provisional remedies. In bankruptcy, we represent the interests of secured and unsecured creditors, lessors and contract parties seeking to assert their rights and protect their interests. We have represented secured lenders, rents/profits receivers and equity receivers throughout California.

Attorney Profiles

Representative Clients

Our work on behalf of significant national and international clients in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases includes the following representative matters:

Debtors:

• Global Photon Systems, Inc. and Global West Network, Inc. (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California) - Represented debtors who owned and operated a fiber-optic network system built along the coast of California.
• Aradiant Corporation (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California) - Represented debtor that provided advanced text messaging, outsourced customer care and technical support.
• Turner Media Group Incorporated, Turner Advertising Group, LLC and The Networks Group, LLC (United States Bankruptcy Court for District of Colorado) - Representation of a television services organizations with over twenty years of experience in all aspect of the broadcast, cable and satellite television industries.
• Medland Controls (United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of California) - Represented owner and operator of mechanical control manufacturer that serviced the maritime industry.
• M/s Dhanraj International and Dhanraj Imports (United States Bankruptcy Court for Central District of California) Represented and reorganized in chapter 11 an Indian registered partnership involved in the manufacture of tobacco products and related California Import company
• Boston Equities (United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of California) - Represented petitioning creditors in involuntary case involving an investment and business incubation company

Committees:

• People's Chose (United States Bankruptcy Court for Central District of California) - Represented chair of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in Chapter 11 case filed by subprime mortgage lender.
• New Century Financial (United States Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware) - Represented chair of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in Chapter 11 case filed by subprime mortgage lender.
• Magnatrax Corporation (United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, 2003) - Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in a case filed by a manufacturer of steel buildings with operations in the United States and Canada.
• Credit Store (United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Dakota, Southern Division, 2003) - Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in a chapter 11 filed by this financial services company that provided credit card products to consumers and purchased in excess of $7 billion of subprime accounts receivable.
• ZapatA Industries, Inc. (United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, 2004) - Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in this Chapter 11 case filed by the leading supplier of twist-off battle cap tops to Anheuser-Bush and Miller Brewing Company.
• Iten Chevrolet, Co. (United States Bankruptcy Court for District of Wisconsin) - Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in this Chapter 11 case filed by an automobile dealership operating under a franchise agreement with General Motors.
• Koh, Sroujieh, Smythe and Suckle (United States Bankruptcy Court for Central and Northern Districts of California) - Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in four related chapter 11 filed by trustee of a self-insured medical insurance trust.
• Boston Equities (United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of California) - Represent Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in chapter 11 case involving an investment and business incubation company
• Creative Capital Leasing Group (United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of California) - Represent Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in chapter 11 case filed by leasing company
• DEP Marketing (United States Bankruptcy Court for Middle District of Florida) - Represented Chair of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in chapter 11 case filed by retail electronics company

Trustees:

• Magnatrax Litigation Trust (United States Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware) - General counsel to a trustee of a litigation trust created pursuant to a plan of reorganization confirmed by United States Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware.

Secured/Unsecured Creditors:

• Trinity Place Child Care Centers (United States Bankruptcy Court for District of Colorado) - Represent creditor who loaned in excess of $1 million to a chain of childcare centers.
• Monet Mobile Networks (United States Bankruptcy Court for Western District of Washington) - Represented a major Korean company that sold telecommunications equipment and provided telecommunications services to a privately held provider of cellular service operating in the Midwest United States.
• Nationwide Computers & Electronics (United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of New York) - Represented largest unsecured creditor in chapter 11 case filed by retail electronics company

Lessors:

• Titan Cruise Lines (United States Bankruptcy Court for Middle District of Florida) - Represented lessor of gaming equipment involved in a dispute with the owner/operator of a "cruise to nowhere" maritime vessel in Florida.

Receiverships:

• Receiverships - Representation of secured creditors and receivers in more than 200 equity and rents/profits receiverships in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and Napa Counties involving multi-family housing, retail shopping centers, office buildings, industrial facilities, restaurants, wineries and golf courses.

Asset Acquisitions:

• Builders Staff Corporation (United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of California) - Represented a stalking horse bidder in connection with the acquisition of assets of a employee leasing company.
• Advanced Technologies International, Ltd. (United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of California) - Represented a stalking horse bidder in connection with the acquisition of intellectual property assets.

In order to reflect the breadth of experience of the current members of our Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights Practice Group, the foregoing list of representative cases includes some representations by some of our current partners prior to their joining Gordon & Rees LLP.

Industry Experience

Construction

Finance (subprime mortgages, subprime credit card receivables, accounts receivable securitizations, collateralized investments)

Food Service
Gaming

Healthcare

Hospitality

Manufacturing (pre-engineered steel buildings, twist-off bottle cap tops, aircraft insulation blankets, consumer electronics)

Medical (self-insured physicians group)

Oil and Gas

Real Estate (golf courses, residential home developments)

Retail

Telecommunications (festooned fiber optic cable, cellular phone manufacturer and service provider, FCC licenses)

Tobacco Products

Publications

Creditors' Committee Guide

"Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Client Strategies - Leading Lawyers on Understanding Key Business Issues, Working with Debtors and Creditors, and Formulating a Successful Strategy." Peter W. Ito, Aspatore Books, February 2008

"Recent Bankruptcy Law Amendments Affecting Commercial Real Estate - A Historical Perspective." Phillip K. Wang, California Real Property Journal - Silver Anniversary Edition; Vol. 24, No. 3 - 2006.

"Finally, a Limit on a Solvent Tenant's Ability to Use Bankruptcy to Shortchange a Landlord." Phillip K. Wang, The Real Estate Finance Journal, Spring 2005.

"Bad Faith Filings and Solvent Tenant Bankruptcies." Phillip K. Wang, Business Law News - 2005.