Practice Areas & Industries: Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Creditors' Rights.
Pre-Bankruptcy Planning. Asset Protection.
Liquidation. Litigation.

Our attorneys have extensive experience counseling and representing commercial and consumer clients with complex critical financial issues requiring immediate action.

The attorneys in the Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights Group represent clients in litigation and transactions relating to bankruptcy, insolvency, loan workouts, collections, repossessions, foreclosures, lien disputes and other matters affecting debtor/creditor relationships. The Group has extensive experience in both commercial and consumer issues.

The Group works closely with clients in matters regarding transactional issues with debtor/creditor implications, including matters involving asset securitization. We also represent both buyers and sellers in connection with sales arising out of bankruptcy, insolvency and liquidation proceedings. In the litigation area, our attorneys handle cases dealing with preferences, fraudulent transfers, lien avoidance, secured creditor rights, forfeiture, setoff, lender liability, breach of contract, dischargeability and numerous other creditors' rights issues. We also work with other practice groups in the Firm to provide valuable assistance regarding problems that can arise in transactions having implications in the bankruptcy, insolvency and collection areas.

We regularly represent various financial institutions in bankruptcy and creditors' rights issues, and also have been involved in pre-bankruptcy planning issues and represented debtors in Chapter 11 cases, as well as bankruptcy trustees and examiners.

Representative Matters

• Represented secured lenders in numerous Chapter 11 proceedings with wide variety of collateral ranging from real estate to accounts receivable to intellectual property.
• Represented dozens of large regional and national landlords in Chapter 11 cases, including the representation of more than 50 landlords in one large publicly traded retail business in bankruptcy.
• Coordinated regional representation of several national consumer lenders in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases and defense of class action litigation brought by a trustee in consumer cases.
• Represented bankruptcy examiner in investigation and analysis of alleged officer/director liability of publicly traded company and, in several other Chapter 11 cases, represented members of board of directors sued by bankruptcy trustee for breach of fiduciary duties.
• Represented Chapter 11 debtors in a number of real estate cases, including multiple apartment complexes and resort hotel property.
• Represented defendants sued throughout the country in connection with preference litigation, including approximately 75 preference defendants in one large retail bankruptcy proceeding.
• Represented Creditors' Committees, Bondholders' Committees, Trustees and Examiners in Chapter 11 cases, as well as service state court receiver.
• Represented numerous buyers of assets and businesses out of bankruptcy, including manufacturing facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, restaurant chains, office buildings, aircraft, real estate and personal property and a variety of other business operations,.
• Coordinated foreclosures involving complex commercial properties.
• Represented equity holder with approximately $1 billion of investment in pre-bankruptcy workout negotiations involving a large national company.

Representative Clients

• American Honda Financial
• Arcade Marketing, Inc.
• Cendant Corporation
• Creative Foods, LLC
• Dart Transit Company
• First Tennessee Bank
• Ford Motor Credit Company
• Hunter Fan Company
• Mazda American Credit
• Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
• State Farm Insurance
• TrustMark National Bank