UTC Committee Lunch Invitation at Winter Leadership Conference – December 6th
We want to invite all Committee Members to a special lunch on December 6 at the WLC at the Westin Mission Hills Resort.
Frequently we do not have time for networking or to discuss the business of the Committee (publications, projects we should undertake, issues unique to representing or being an unsecured trade creditor). This year we are going to try something new and have both an education presentation on Friday, December 7 at 3:45 and a lunch meeting on Thursday, December 6 at 11:30 a.m.
We have been able to arrange for a room and box lunches for members who can attend. We will meet in the Celebrity C room at the Westin Mission Hills Resort from 11:30 - 1:30. If you attend you will be able to charge your lunch to your room. We are still trying to arrange for a telephone hookup for those who will be unable to attend the meeting this year and will let you know if this becomes possible.
We hope you will be able to join us. Please let any of us know if you have any questions. If you are planning on joining us for lunch let us know as well so that we will have enough food. Please contact Jean Robertson (jrobertson@calfee.com) with responses.
Sincerely,
Debbie Thorne
Jean Robertson
Val Venable
Co-Chairs
Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee
Winter Leadership Conference Agenda
The committee will meet on Friday, Dec. 7, from 3:45-5:15 pm and lead a panel on “Creditors’ Committees: Do They Still Bring Value to Chapter 11?” Hon. James D. Gregg (U.S. Bankruptcy Court; Grand Rapids, Mich.) will moderate a roundtable of committee members.
Finding the Assets in the Corporate Shell Game: Substantive Consolidation
by: David Conaway
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP
Charlotte, NC
Getting paid by an insolvent customer is always a challenge. Successful creditors utilize an arsenal of remedies to enhance recovery in insolvency cases. An often overlooked remedy, substantive consolidation, ought to be included in the checklist for recovery enhancement, although it has recently suffered judicial attack.
Many business enterprises operate using one or more legal entities which own certain enterprise assets, or operate certain aspects of the business operation. A common corporate structure would include a holding company with one or more subsidiary corporations, some of which subsidiaries may have their own subsidiary entities.
What happens when a customer with multiple legal entities files for chapter 11 protection? In the first instance, the “Debtor” chooses which entities will file a chapter 11 petition. As a general rule, if the entity needs debt relief, or will be part of a future structural change, it will likely file a separate petition. On the other hand, often foreign subs do not file in the U.S. proceeding where the impact of the U.S. parent filing is minimal. Most creditors are accustomed to the “first day” court orders providing that the chapter 11 proceedings of related debtors are consolidated “for procedural purposes only”. This means that each separate chapter 11 case will be jointly administered so that there are common court hearings and court orders will generally apply to all “consolidated” entities.