Keller Rohrback attorneys have deep and broad experience litigating in the bankruptcy courts on behalf of debtors, creditors, and creditor committees, as well as on behalf of plaintiffs whose claims were interrupted by bankruptcy petitions.
Our experience includes representing class claimants in the bankruptcy proceedings of one or multiple defendants in numerous large-scale bankruptcies. These representations have involved virtually all areas of sophisticated bankruptcy practice, including (i) pursuing relief from an automatic to litigate claims in district court; (ii) filing and opposing orders to withdraw to the reference to the bankruptcy court; (iii) certifying a claimant class in bankruptcy; (iv) asserting rights to officer, director, or fiduciary insurance policies between conflicting bankruptcy claimants; (v) evaluating and negotiating proposals for debtor financing, cash collateral orders, estate sale orders and other bankruptcy administrative matters; (vi) defending against subordination claims; and (vii) negotiating acceptable terms of a plan of reorganization with the debtors’ committee, creditors’ committees, and other constituencies.
Keller Rohrback’s bankruptcy attorneys also have extensive experience in a wide variety of matters involving corporate restructuring and commercial bankruptcies. Our bankruptcy clients range from tort claimants to operating entities to institutional lenders. Examples include representation of the official committee of victims of clergy sexual abuse in the Chapter 11 reorganization of a Catholic diocese, the debtors in a reorganization of fifty commercial real properties across the nation, and a national services company in the acquisition of a competitor’s assets in a bankruptcy court-approved sale in the Northern District of California.
In re Enron Corp.
(Bankr. S.D.N.Y.). Keller Rohrback obtained stay relief to pursue litigation in the Southern District of Texas and defended against a motion to subordinate claims. Keller Rohrback achieved a settlement for the class that included the allowance of a $364 million claim in the Enron bankruptcy.
In re WorldCom, Inc.
(Bankr. S.D.N.Y.). Keller Rohrback defended against a motion to subordinate claims and successfully negotiated a simultaneous resolution of claims in the bankruptcy and district courts against third parties in the total amount of $48 million.
In re Nortel Networks, Inc.
(Bankr. D. Del.). Keller Rohrback represented class claimants in simultaneous insolvency proceedings in Canada under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and bankruptcy court in the District of Delaware. Keller Rohrback obtained stay relief to pursue litigation in the Middle District of Tennessee and ultimately settled class claims in Tennessee for over $21 million.
In re Washington Mutual, Inc.
(Bankr. D. Del.). Keller Rohrback sought stay relief to pursue litigation in the Western District of Washington and pursued claims in bankruptcy court in Delaware, resulting in a simultaneous resolution of claims in the bankruptcy and district courts for $20 million.