Proskauer

Representative Experience

Century 21 Department Stores - Represented the iconic New York-based, 13-store chain that sells off-price clothing and accessories, leading their restructuring efforts. The chain of stores was temporarily closed between March and June 2020 as a result of COVID-19, and the restructuring/liquidation needs and efforts are directly related to and a direct result of the pandemic and the government-ordered shutdowns, as well as a disputed $175 million business interruption insurance claim, which is now being litigated.

Hospitality Investors Trust - Served as debtor’s counsel in the prepackaged chapter 11 bankruptcy of Hospitality Investors Trust, a 101 hotel REIT.  The chapter 11 plan provided for conversion of preferred stock to 100% of the common equity, and distributed contingent value rights to the prefiling (old) common equityholders.

ITT Educational Services  -  Represented the Chapter 7 Trustee overseeing the liquidation of one of the nation’s largest for-profit colleges, ITT Technical Institute, which had, prior to closing, 139 locations in 48 states.  Closely following the closure of ITT Tech in early September, Jeff was enlisted as the Trustee’s general bankruptcy counsel to assist the Trustee in responding to regulatory actions brought by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and various state attorneys general, pursue fraudulent conveyance and preference avoidance actions and other claims against certain of ITT students’ former lenders, the Department of Education and other third parties. He also represents the Trustee in defending, and ultimately settling, a $1.5 billion ITT students’ class action lawsuit.

Velocity Holding Company, Inc. (MAG)  - Served as debtors’ counsel to MAG, a national integrated distributor of aftermarket motor sports products which filed a pre-arranged chapter 11 case in Delaware.  The case is set for confirmation and MAG is expected to emerge from its chapter 11 case within 140 days after the petition date.

The Budd Company - Served as debtor’s counsel to The Budd Company, a former supplier to the automotive industry, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois in March 2014. The company, which ceased manufacturing operations in 2006, has obligations consisting largely of medical and other benefits to approximately 10,000 retirees and environmental and asbestos liabilities. The complex case involves multiple constituents. Confirmation of the plan or reorganization is expected to take place in June 2016.

Energy Future Holdings Corp. (EFH) - Served as co-debtors’ counsel in the chapter 11 bankruptcy of EFH, the largest generator, distributor and certified retail provider of electricity in Texas. With more than $49 billion in liabilities and $36 billion in assets, EFH and its affiliated debtors’ chapter 11 cases are the largest operating chapter 11 cases ever filed in Delaware and the seventh largest chapter 11 cases filed. EFH commenced reorganization under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on April 29, 2014.

Ocala Funding - Represented Ocala Funding, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., in its chapter 11 case. Taylor Bean created and then subsequently operated the special-purpose entity subsidiary that was a conduit that purchased its home loans and bundled them into securities, which it then sold to Freddie Mac and other investors. It funded the mortgage loan business by selling $1.75 billion of asset-backed commercial paper short-term notes to Deutsche Bank and the mortgage subsidiary of BNP Paribas. Deutsche Bank bought about $1.2 billion of the notes, and BNP had purchased about $480.7 million. Taylor Bean, once the largest mortgage lender in the U.S. not owned by a deposit-taking bank, sought bankruptcy protection in August 2009 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Florida after federal law enforcement raided its headquarters. Prosecutors discovered a fraud scheme and eventually secured several lengthy prison sentences for its executives.

Bayou Group of Hedge Funds – Was appointed as a Receiver for the failed hedge funds and then as the sole fiduciary for the debtor-in-possession in Bayou’s chapter 11 case devised and implemented a “clawback” litigation strategy to recover payments to certain investors in order to effectively equalize the harm to all investors that resulted from the Ponzi Scheme fraud.

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