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The primary attorneys in the Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Group each possess more
than two decades of experience practicing bankruptcy law. Our Seattle bankruptcy attorneys regularly represent
clients in all four major bankruptcy and commercial collection areas: debtor, creditor,
creditors committee and trustee.
For clients, hiring lawyers with experience in all four areas of bankruptcy practice
offers several advantages. The principal one is that we understand each perspective.
The work we do in one area of bankruptcy law often makes us more effective in another area. In addition, our bankruptcy attorneys know that developing realistic expectations and being pragmatic are critical to achieving cost-effective results for our clients. With bankruptcy there are often
limited resources which can be quickly depleted without a focused approach.
While the experience of our bankruptcy group members makes the group comparable to a “bankruptcy
boutique,” the group has the added advantage of being part of a firm with a broad-based
civil practice. This allows the bankruptcy group and our clients efficient access to lawyers
with experience in other disciplines as needed, including litigation, real estate,
tax, employment, corporate and securities.
Based in Seattle, Ryan Swanson is eager to put our experience to work for clients in many types of insolvency,
bankruptcy and commercial collection areas including:
A business in financial distress needs calm, practical and experienced counsel.
Hiring counsel at the first sign of trouble improves the chances of successfully
restructuring a business and may obviate the need for bankruptcy. Also, having counsel
available to work with creditors leaves management with more time to devote to core
business issues.
We have helped businesses work out financial problems and avoid bankruptcy. We have
also represented businesses from small proprietorships to large publicly-traded
companies through the complex web of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
Some of our Chapter 11 bankruptcy representations include:
- Lamonts Apparel, Inc. (Western District of Washington 95-00100 and 00-00045). A
Northwest-based retailer of casual apparel.
- Ernst Home Center, Inc. (Western District of Washington 96-10129). A publicly-traded
major regional retailer in the home improvement, hardware and garden industry. The
case was one of the largest ever in the Western District of Washington and produced
several published court opinions on lease issues.
- Fields Company LLC (Western District of Washington 05-45967). A manufacturer of
roofing products.
- Pro Air, Inc. (Western District of Washington 00-09271). A passenger airline with
corporate headquarters in Seattle and flight operations based out of Detroit.
- Western Cargo Distribution, Inc. (Western District of Washington 04-14908). A warehousing
and transportation company.
- North American Crane & Equipment Co. LLC (Western District of Washington 02-47184).
A company engaged in the design, manufacture and service of cranes, primarily for
the marine industry.
- Penmar Marine Co. (Western District of Washington 03-11873). A marine business including
yacht charters, harbor services, boat storage, boat and motor sales, services and
repairs, and paint and fiberglass services.
- Galaxy Sports Corp. (Western District of Washington 02-22335). A licensee of soccer
products.
- Gruntruck (Western District of Washington 94-08304). Allowed a music band to avoid
an onerous recording contract.
In many Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, an unsecured creditors committee is appointed. During bankruptcy, the role of the committee is to represent the interests of unsecured creditors asa group. The creditors committee has certain duties and its opinion is often very influential. The creditors committee is permitted to hire lawyers and other professionals at no cost to the individual members of the committee.
Some of the cases in which we have represented the Official Unsecured Creditors
Committee include:
- Charles F. Berg, Inc. (Western District of Washington 08-10691). A regional retailer
in the women’s clothing business.
- Doelman Dairy Farms (Western District of Washington 03-44713). A large dairy operation.
- Billy McHale’s Corporation (Western District of Washington 01-18704). A restaurant
chain.
- Equity Trusts I & II and Philip Harmon (Western District of Washington 96-15026
and 97-06982). Related cases involving serious allegations of fraud.
Our experience in representing trustees in Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcy cases may
be unsurpassed among mid-sized and large-sized firms in Western Washington. Over
the last few decades, we have helped trustees fulfill their unique duties in many
hundreds of asset cases. It is a special area of bankruptcy practice at which we
excel.
The cases we have worked on for trustees come in all shapes and sizes. A few of
the more interesting ones include:
- Neil M. Rose (Western District of Washington 01-49703). The debtor made numerous
allegations of improper conduct by the trustee, many lawyers and the judge, as well
as jurisdictional challenges.
- Lawrence Siegel (Western District of Washington 98-14306). The case involved liquidating
nearly $2 million in gold coins.
- All American Bottled Water Corporation (Western District of Washington 06-43133).
The case involved the “Olympic Brewery” property, a very well-known property in
Western Washington.
- Quality Veneer & Lumber Inc. (Western District of Washington 00-09683). Sale of
lumber and plywood mills.
- Gateway Center Retail LLC (Western District of Washington 03-12022). Shopping center.
- Kalakala Foundation Inc. (Western District of Washington 03-13386). Included a sale
of the historic ferry MV Kalakala.
- Brookhaven Homes L.P. (Western District of Washington 03-13932). Sales of real properties
and resolution of purported secured claims.
- United Home Loans, Inc. (Western District of Washington 86-01881). Liquidation of
a large troubled loan portfolio.
- FD Processing Inc. dba Foremost Dairies Northwest (Western District of Washington
91-01080). Liquidation of dairy bottling and production facility.
- Western Optical Corporation (Western District of Washington 96-15018). Liquidation
of large optical company.
Receiverships are a non-bankruptcy vehicle that puts a fiduciary in control of some
(custodial receiver) or all (general receiver) of an entity’s assets. The duties
of a receiver vary depending on the scope of the proceeding. A custodial receiver’s
duties may be as limited as preserving a single asset pending resolution of a lawsuit
while a general receiver’s duties may be to liquidate all assets of a business.
Members of our Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Group have served as receivers and
as lawyers for receivers. A few of our receivership cases include:
- Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Kirkland Nissan Inc. et al. (Washington State Superior
Court, King County No. 01-2-27466-0SEA). We represented the receiver in a complex
automobile dealership case.
- John Yonich v. Chester Trabucco and Aberdeen Development Co., LLC (Washington State
Superior Court, Grays Harbor County No. 07-2-712-8). We represent the receiver in
the liquidation of some dilapidated real estate in connection with the resolution
of a dispute between its owners.
- Xu et al. v. Xu et al. (Washington State Superior Court, King County No. 06-2-35691-8SEA).
One of our members was the receiver in this case involving an ownership dispute
over an apartment complex.
- Lindsay Moving & Rigging, Inc. (Washington State Superior Court, King County No.
04-2-25404-3SEA). We represented the receiver in the complete liquidation of the
company.
Special rules apply to sales of property by bankruptcy debtors and trustees. Many
sales are subject to higher and better offers even after a purchase and sale agreement
has been executed. Purchasers also need to be cognizant that representations and
warranties by sellers which are common outside of bankruptcy are often not available.
Even when given, the warranties may be of dubious value as the seller often will
be gone shortly after a sale is completed.
We have assisted prospective buyers or actual buyers in the following bankruptcy
cases:
- Larry’s Markets, Inc. (Western District of Washington 06-11378). We represented
potential buyers of a grocery store claim.
- Mini-Tankers USA, Inc. (Western District of Washington 03-22882). We represented
a potential buyer of the debtor’s assets.
- Metawave Communications Corporation (Western District of Washington 03-11272). We
represented the buyer of intellectual property.
- MOC Investment LLC (Eastern District of Washington 05-11320-7). We represented the
buyer of a service station after the initial purchase transaction failed.
The bankruptcy laws grant debtors certain rights and responsibilities with respect
to real property leases. Whether a landlord wants its rent paid or desires to remove
its tenant from the property, a knowledgeable bankruptcy lawyer is a useful tool.
We have assisted landlords in maximizing their recovery and/or getting their property
back in several cases including:
- Network Commerce Inc. (Western District of Washington 02-23396).
- TreeSource Industries Inc. (Western District of Washington 99-10937).
In addition to representing our clients in insolvency cases, we have also represented
them in related lawsuits (called adversary proceedings) and in appeals from orders
of the bankruptcy court. Our experience in adversary proceedings includes defending
creditors from dreaded preference claims (i.e., a claim by a debtor or trustee to
recover a payment the debtor made to the creditor prior to the bankruptcy case).
Our appellate experience includes cases appealed to the District Court, the Bankruptcy
Appellate Panel and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
We represent banks, commercial financial companies and other secured lenders in
a variety of matters. Our engagements include commercial collections and loan workouts,
regulatory matters, general operations issues and document preparation. We have
represented some institutions headquartered in Western Washington for decades; our
practice also includes representation of out-of-state lenders with needs in Washington
State.
The firm’s representation of commercial lenders has been in all forums, including
federal and state courts, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and in receivership, arbitration
and mediation proceedings
We have wide experience in commercial collection litigation and loan workouts and
restructurings. The firm also assists in advising lenders on the structure of loan
transactions in dispute resolutions.
The firm's involvement in matters for its financial institution clients includes
cases involving several thousands of dollars up to many millions. Just recently,
the firm has undertaken representation of a lender regarding a large portfolio of
troubled real estate loans
Various aspects of the collection process with which the firm has been involved
include foreclosure of real estate mortgages and deeds of trust, foreclosure of
security interests, and actions against guarantors. With the firm’s experience,
we are both knowledgeable and efficient in our representation of financial institution
clients.
Recent significant engagements include:
- Management and work out of a troubled real estate portfolio
- Successful resolution of lender-liability claims asserted by borrowers and guarantors
- Recovery of collateral, including bankruptcy and receivership cases
- Determining bidding strategy at foreclosures of multiple properties
Bankruptcy Related Practice Areas:
Team
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