Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights

Woods Rogers’s bankruptcy and creditors’ rights attorneys guide borrowers, lenders, and other creditors through the complex issues distressed businesses and their creditors face. Our guidance includes solutions for financial restructuring transactions and out-of-court loan workouts both inside and outside of the bankruptcy process.

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Companies must have legal help when reorganizing and emerging from bankruptcy. Our chapter 11 bankruptcy attorneys have considerable experience developing and implementing restructuring plans or selling assets through bankruptcy court proceedings. Our attorneys led debtor’s counsel in dozens of liquidations in chapter 11, including companies in the manufacturing, telecommunications, service, medical, financial, and real estate industries. When adversary proceedings arise, our bankruptcy litigators prosecute and defend in court.

Rich Maxwell is a chapter 11 subchapter V trustee. Under the Department of Justice’s purview, only 250 trustees are selected out of more than 3,000 applicants.

Creditors’ Rights

Creditors, lenders, and loan servicers receive assistance from our creditors’ rights attorneys in a broad range of loss and litigation, default servicing, debt recovery, lien perfection, enforcement and litigation, and lender defense matters. We represent creditors, debtors, and trustees in Chapter 7, 11, and 13 bankruptcy cases in virtually all aspects of such cases, including:

• Automatic stay relief
• Commercial transactions by and with debtors in bankruptcy
• Enforcement and collection of administrative and post-petition claims
• Enforcement of rights to cash collateral and adequate protection
• Non-bankruptcy workouts (representing both creditors and debtors)
• Plan confirmation
• Prepetition claim allowance
• Prosecution and defense of dischargeability and discharge complaints,
• Prosecution and defense of preference and other avoidance claims,
• 363 sales

Acquisition of Distressed Businesses

We represent purchasers of distressed businesses in all stages of an acquisition in bankruptcy, from initial due diligence, negotiating and drafting transaction documents and procedural pleadings, to the final closing.

• Successful representation of secured lender in litigation arising in the context of chapter 11 bankruptcy of a regional oil and gas distributor.
• Represented national title insurance company against federal and state law claims asserted by trustee appointed under confirmed chapter 11 plan.
• Represented offshore trust in defense against Rule 2004 examination in chapter 11 reorganization of noteholder.
• Represented secured lender in litigation to establish priority of client’s mortgage lien against adverse claims of corporate insider.
• Lead debtor’s counsel in a 24-month long chapter 11 reorganization for continuing care retirement center.

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• Represented official committee of unsecured creditors in a coal mining company’s bankruptcy.
• Represented Official Committees of Unsecured Creditors in cases in Virginia and Delaware, including the Champion Homes, International Garden Products, and Samuels Jewelers bankruptcy cases in the District of Delaware and numerous chapter 11 cases in Virginia bankruptcy courts.
• Lead debtor’s counsel in liquidation of modular home manufacturer in chapter 11 case in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond.
• Represented secured and unsecured creditors in chapter 11 cases, including some of the largest cases filed in the United States, including without limitation, representing Fortune 500 companies in the General Motors (Southern District of New York), Hawker-Beechcraft (Southern District of New York), Kodak (Southern District of New York), RG Steel (District of Delaware), and Lyondell Chemical (Southern District of New York) bankruptcy cases.
• Represented lessors in the Circuit City (Eastern District of Virginia), Ennstone (Eastern District of Virginia) and Movie Gallery (Eastern District of Virginia) case.
• Represented the founder and former CEO of Health Diagnostics Laboratories, Inc. in the Eastern District of Virginia.
• Counsel to a manufacturing company that reorganized and emerged from bankruptcy in 90 days.
• Reorganized a broadband company in bankruptcy preserving jobs and providing for payment to secured lenders and creditors.
• Completed a bankruptcy sale of a seafood company as a going concern.
• Represented vendors in the Circuit City bankruptcy case.
• Represented exchange depositors in the Land America bankruptcy case.
• Represented lender in a bankruptcy sale of a furniture company.

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