Matthew W. Cheney is a partner in the firm's Washington, DC Office. With broad experience as a business bankruptcy and creditors' rights lawyer, Matt is a member of the firm's Financial Services Group and Bankruptcy and Restructuring team.
Matt's practice includes bankruptcy, creditors' rights litigation (including receiverships and foreclosures), commercial transactions, loan and leasing workouts and other distressed debt situations. He has extensive experience representing financial institutions, special servicers, hedge funds, individual creditors, and groups of creditors on a variety of insolvency-related matters across diverse industries sectors, such as automotive, energy, health care, manufacturing, real estate and retail. Matt also has represented debtors-in-possession and trustees in bankruptcy cases.
A sample of Matt's notable matters include:
· Lead counsel for a special servicer in connection with multi-million dollar CMBS loans that are in default. The matters involve creditors' rights litigation (such as a federal receivership and foreclosure proceedings) and/or workouts of loans secured by commercial properties in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania.
· Member of the firm's team representing Enron Creditors Recovery Corp. in connection with documenting and obtaining Bankruptcy Court approval of a mammoth settlement of various litigation between Enron and Citigroup. The settlement includes the payment of $1.66 billion by Citigroup, a waiver of certain indemnification claims (as to which the Bankruptcy Court established a $4 billion claim reserve) and a waiver of an additional $249.4 million of claims asserted against Enron entities.
· Member of the firm's team representing a significant bondholder in the Lyondell Chemical bankruptcy proceedings. The matter involved credit default swaps and a preliminary injunction issued to protect foreign, non-debtor affiliates.
· Lead counsel for a Chapter 7 Trustee in the liquidation of several manufacturing companies. One matter involved a former medical device manufacturer. The matter includes a multi-million dollar sale of substantially all of the company's assets and hiring a team to collect Medicare claims on a contingency basis. Another matter involved a former manufacturer of customized power boats. The matter involved trials involving questions of first impression under the Maryland Uniform Commercial Code and resulted in two published decisions. See In re Carman, 399 B.R. 158 (Bankr. D. Md. 2009) (holding that title to unfinished boat had not passed to buyer under prepetition contract because no "good" was in existence and no good had been "identified" to the contract); and In re Carman, 399 B.R. 599 (Bankr. D. Md. 2009) (holding that unfinished shell of a boat was not an existing "good" in which buyer was vested with a "special property" interest).
· Lead counsel for a large hedge fund as a secured creditor in state court receivership and subsequent bankruptcy proceedings of a chain of 130+ convenience stores and gas stations in the Midwest. Within four months of the bankruptcy filing, the hedge fund's collateral was sold at auction and it was paid in full, including all yield maintenance amounts, default interest and attorneys' fees and costs.
· Successfully obtained confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan of liquidation on behalf of the owner and operator of a 158 unit luxury-style apartment complex in Texas in this single asset real estate case involving HUD-insured financing.
· Represented a large financial institution in connection with an equipment lease workout. The multi-million dollar facility involves obligors and collateral in New York, California and Delaware.
Matt also has significant experience assisting a variety of constituents in the energy industry impacted by energy bankruptcies, including utility companies and independent system operators. For example, before joining Crowell & Moring, Matt was one of the main lawyers on the following matters:
· Represented Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco) in complex, cutting edge bankruptcy and appellate litigation concerning the ability of Mirant Corporation, a debtor power generator, to reject electric power supply obligations. The defense of Pepco resulted in new Fifth Circuit law, which requires courts to consider the public interest before authorizing the rejection of a contract involving power supply obligations. Ultimately, Pepco was paid in full on allowed claims exceeding $500 million.
· Represented National Grid, as committee member and creditor in the NRG Energy, Inc. case in New York. The engagement resulted in an agreement for National Grid's complex indemnity and other claims to flow through and be unaffected by NRG's bankruptcy.
· Represented National Grid as one of the largest creditors in the USGen New England, Inc. case in Maryland. The matter resulted in a settlement under which National Grid held more than $200 million in allowed claims, which ultimately were paid in full under the Chapter 11 plan of liquidation.
Matt began his legal career by serving as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable E. Stephen Derby and the Honorable James F. Schneider in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. Before starting his legal career, Matt served on the staff of former Congressman and Democratic Whip David E. Bonior (D-MI).
Memberships
The Maryland State Bar Association, Inc.
District of Columbia Bar
American Bankruptcy Institute
The Bankruptcy Bar Association for the District of Maryland
Publications
· 2009 Deskbook: Guide to Receivership & Foreclosure (Trigild Inc. ed. 2008 and 2009). Co-Authors for District of Columbia and Maryland: Matthew W. Cheney and Monique D. Almy.
· "Reference Handbook on Insurance Company Runoff and Receiverships Property/Casualty & Life/Health," ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (5th ed. June 2009). Contributing Editors (DC Circuit): William C. O'Neill and Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Offshore Hedge Funds and Chapter 15: Can You Ever Really Go Home Again?," 4 Pratt's Journal of Bankruptcy Law 421 (July/August 2008). Co-Authors: William M. O'Connor, Matthew W. Cheney, and Noah S. Bloomberg.
· "Effective Communication is the Key to Developing and Implementing Customized Strategies to Solve Complex Financial Issues," Aspatore Books' Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Client Strategies (Inside the Minds 2007). Co-Authors: Monique D. Almy and Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Riding the Fulcrum Seesaw: How Hedge Funds Will Change the Dynamics of Future Bankruptcies," ALM's The Bankruptcy Strategist, Vol. 24, No. 12 (October 2007). Co-Authors: Mark S. Lichtenstein and Matthew W. Cheney.
Alerts & Newsletters
· "Under New York Law, A Borrower In Distress Is Not Necessarily Under Economic Duress," Financial Services Alert (September 28, 2011). Contacts: Matthew W. Cheney, Alexis V. Chapin.
· "Worldwide Application of Automatic Stay in Chapter 15 Is Not Necessarily Automatic," Financial Services Alert (August 30, 2010). Contacts: Vivian M. Arias, Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Don't Wait for the Federal Rescue Program or Bailout---Auto Suppliers and Servicers Should Take Steps Now to Shore Up Credit Risks and Bankruptcy Exposure," Financial Services Alert (December 10, 2008). Contacts: Monique D. Almy, Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Supreme Court Decision Ends Practice of Applying Section 1146(a)'s Exemption for Stamp and Transfer Taxes to Pre-Confirmation Asset Sales," Financial Services Alert (June 17, 2008). Contact: Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Company in Financial Trouble? Officers Beware," Financial Services Alert (June 11, 2008). Contact: Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Update on Unavailability of U.S. Bankruptcy Relief for Some Offshore Hedge Funds," Financial Services Alert (January 22, 2008). Contact: Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Entitlement to Attorneys' Fees in Bankruptcy by Unsecured Creditors Remains Uncertain," Financial Services Alert (December 20, 2007). Contacts: Monique D. Almy, Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Ohio Federal Court Fires Warning Shots At Mortgage Pool Investors Who Rush To Foreclose Without Adequate Pre-Foreclosure Legal Due Diligence," Financial Services Alert (November 16, 2007). Contact: Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Trouble Averted: Seventh Circuit Court Upholds Yield Maintenance Provision," Financial Services Alert (October 11, 2007). Contact: Matthew W. Cheney.
· "U.S. Bankruptcy Relief Blocked For Some Offshore Hedge Funds," Financial Services Alert (September 11, 2007). Contacts: Mark S. Lichtenstein, Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Trouble Ahead: Seventh Circuit Court Reviewing Yield Maintenance Provisions," Financial Services Alert (August 15, 2007). Contact: Matthew W. Cheney.
Speaking Engagements
· "Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property," Virginia State Bar's 21st Annual Intellectual Property Fall CLE (October 3, 2009). Co-Speakers: Matthew W. Cheney and Karen Hermann.
· "Contract Claims and Disputes," Crowell & Moring's Ounce of Prevention Seminar (OOPS) (May 28, 2009). Co-Speakers: Frederick (Rick) Claybrook Jr., J. Chris Haile, Thomas A. Kruza III, Matthew W. Cheney.
· "Special Servicing in the Year Ahead," Mortgage Bankers Association's CREF/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo, San Diego, CA (February 9, 2009). Panel Discussion: Matthew W. Cheney.
· 4th Annual Special Servicers' Forum, "Servicer's Concerns in Financial Services Litigations," Commercial Mortgage Securities Association's Investor Conference, Miami, FL (January 13, 2009). Panel Discussion: Matthew W. Cheney.