Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights

Overview

Working with Holland & Knight's Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights Group means having a team of lawyers dedicated to result-oriented client service and whose collaborative approach affords clients access to both seasoned and cost-effective representation.

Across-the-Board Representation

Holland & Knight insolvency attorneys represent clients at every level of the capital structure, both in court and in connection with out-of-court restructurings and transactions. Members of Holland & Knight's bankruptcy practice are as adept at restructuring debtors and preserving the interests of equity holders as they are in pursuing the rights of senior lenders. We have a depth of experience in representing both official and ad hoc committees, as well as indenture and collateral trustees. The group's experience extends to representing asset acquirers, parties to fiduciary duty litigation and foreign representatives seeking U.S. recognition and pursuing enforcement actions.

Our lawyers have acted as trustees, examiners and receivers and have published extensively on such varied topics as Bankruptcy Code safe harbors for securities transactions, derivatives in Chapter 11 cases, fraudulent conveyance law, prepackaged bankruptcies, Ponzi schemes, lending practices, fiduciary duties in bankruptcy, financial management and more.

We have broad market sector knowledge in finance, real estate, transportation, hospitality, energy, higher education, healthcare, communications, technology and manufacturing.

Industry Recognized Lawyers on Your Side

Our Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights Group has received multiple awards for transactions that our attorneys have spearheaded, including the Global M&A Network's 2019 Consumer Discretionary Deal of the Year, 2019 M&A Atlas Award for Engineering and Construction M&A Deal of the Year, 2018 M&A Advisor Refinancing Deal of the Year, 2017 Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Turnaround and Transaction of the Year for Turnaround of the Year: Large Company, 2017 Chapter 11 Restructuring of the Year and its 2016 Turnaround Atlas Award for Consumer Manufacturing Restructuring of the Year.

The Holland & Knight restructuring group also was named in the Global Restructuring Review's GRR 100 guide to the world's leading restructuring and insolvency practices in 2017 and 2019-2021. Members of our team have been selected for inclusion in leading industry publications based on their work in this area. A number of our attorneys are routinely ranked in the annual editions of Chambers USA, Who's Who Legal, Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers. Our Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law practice received national first-tier ranking in the 2024 Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" guide, as well as metropolitan first-tier rankings in Austin, Birmingham, Boston, Dallas, Jacksonville, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Tampa and Washington, D.C. The firm also received national first-tier ranking in Litigation – Bankruptcy, as well as metropolitan rankings in Birmingham, Boston, Miami, Tampa and Washington, D.C. In addition, our team includes two Fellows in the American College of Bankruptcy. Our lawyers' recognition also extends globally, with two partners named as members of the International Insolvency Institute.

Comprehensive Counseling

Because of our wide spectrum of clients, we are experienced in all aspects of bankruptcy practice, including:

representing debtors in and out of court
protecting the interests of senior lenders
asset sales and acquisitions, whether through a 363 sale, under a plan or out of court
advising boards regarding their duties and litigating fiduciary duty issues for both board members and estate representatives
representing unsecured creditor and bondholder committees
cram-down litigation
proceedings related to the assumption and rejection of unexpired leases and executory contracts
litigation of avoidance actions
debtor-in-possession financing
valuation proceedings
automatic stay litigation
bankruptcy appeals

Transactions Involving Insolvent Entities

We have significant experience in the purchase or sale of financially distressed businesses, and in advising directors, officers and shareholders in connection with transactions involving an insolvent entity. We are equally at home accomplishing a client's goals through negotiation, litigation or a transactional approach. Our lawyers are skilled in both the transactional and litigation aspects of bankruptcy.

Guidance on International Insolvency Matters

Our group enjoys a breadth of experience in foreign bankruptcy proceedings in Canada, Europe, Asia, South America and the Caribbean Islands. This international exposure has led to a proficiency in bankruptcy proceedings both in and ancillary to foreign proceedings, and recognition as one of the top cross-border bankruptcy practices in the world.

Experienced and Responsive Guidance

Outstanding client service is the bedrock of our bankruptcy practice. We take pride in our attorneys' depth and breadth of understanding the ins-and-outs of bankruptcy law. Whether in the boardroom or the courtroom, our bankruptcy attorneys have the experience and commitment to responsiveness to assure that a matter is efficiently handled by a capable team of professionals.

Representative Experience

Debtor Cases

Represented Ector County Energy Center LLC, an ERCOT energy provider impacted by Winter Storm Uri, as the debtor in Chapter 11 proceedings that distributed the proceeds of a market-high per-megawatt price transaction resulting from a highly competitive 363 sale process through a confirmed Chapter 11 plan that invoked more than $600 million in negotiated claim caps to yield a 100 percent dividend to non-insider creditors.
Represented U.S. subsidiary of Italian aircraft manufacturer as debtor in Chapter 11 proceedings resulting in debtor's agreement with major creditors to auction off substantially all of its parts and inventory assets, successfully confirming the Chapter 11 plan.
In re Reed and Barton Corporation. District of Massachusetts. Represented iconic silver manufacturer with a nearly 200-year operating history as a debtor in Chapter 11 proceedings. The case involved a sale of substantially all assets to a strategic buyer at a price that was nearly five times the amount of the secured debt.
In re IdleAire Technologies Inc. District of Delaware. Represented Chapter 11 debtor in reorganization proceedings involving a 150-location operation that provided fuel use reduction and greenhouse gas reduction technology to the long haul trucking industry. The case involved a §363 sale of substantially all asset to institutional holders of over $400 million in secured bond debt.
In re Far & Wide Travel Corporation et al. Southern District of Florida. Represented eight related Chapter 11 debtors engaged in the international tour industry. The restructuring was effected through a series of 15 §363 sales of various divisions of the company to strategic buyers located in four different countries.
In re Netbank Inc. Middle District of Florida. Represented the debtor in a Chapter 11 case of the parent holding company of one of the first-ever internet banks.
In re New Seabury Company L.P. District of Massachusetts. Represented Chapter 11 debtor in a case involving a 2,000-acre resort community on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Secured Lender Cases

In re Stein Mart Inc. Middle District of Florida. Represented private finance company as term loan lender of approximately $37 million to discount retailer Stein Mart in a Chapter 11 liquidating case. The loan was secured by most of Stein Mart's assets and Holland & Knight was engaged to protect lender's lien rights. Stein Mart is a national brand name discount retailer of designer clothing and home décor with 281 stores and 9,000 employees at the time of the bankruptcy filing.
In re Excel Maritime LLC et al. Southern District of New York. Represented syndicated bank group of 14 institutions and the agent in connection with a $1.1 billion financing secured by 40 vessels provided to an international dry bulk shipping company in Chapter 11 proceedings.
In re Fontainebleau Las Vegas Inc. Southern District of Florida. Represented lender in one of five bilateral loans to a Chapter 11 debtor, each of which was intended to finance a separate phase of a luxury hotel on the famed "strip" that failed during construction.
In re The Cliffs Club & Hospitality Group Inc. et al. District of South Carolina. Represented senior lender in the Chapter 11 case of a golf resort residential community in which senior debt was converted to club and associated property and development rights ownership under a negotiated and confirmed plan of reorganization.
In re Bill Heard Enterprises Inc. et al. Northern District of Alabama. Represented lender in $55 million floor plan financing to three of the debtors' GM dealerships.
In re Skybus Airlines Inc. District of Delaware. Represented aircraft lessor with respect to 17 aircraft under purchase contract from Airbus and prospectively leased to the debtor.
In re Planet Fitness/Boston et al. District of Massachusetts. Represented lender to six Planet Fitness franchises and its parent company.
In re Bray & Gillespie et al. Middle District of Florida. Represented a real estate investment trust (REIT) that had lent more than $33 million to several borrowers who were consolidated in a bankruptcy case with more than 70 debtors and more than $600 million in debt as a result of three hurricanes and the depressed real property market in Florida. Plan was confirmed.

Creditors' Committee Cases

In re Satcon Technologies Inc. District of Delaware. Represented official committee of unsecured creditors in a Chapter 11 case involving a designer, manufacturer and installer of solar energy technology with locations across three continents.
In re Plymouth Rubber Company. District of Massachusetts. Represented the official committee of unsecured creditors in a case involving a manufacturer of rubber products used in the automotive industry.
In re Century Electronics. District of Massachusetts. Represented the official committee of unsecured creditors in a case involving a subcontract manufacturer of electronic communication equipment for some of the largest distributors in the country. Successfully confirmed a creditor's committee propounded plan of reorganization.
In re Metrobility. District of New Hampshire. Represented the official committee of unsecured creditors in a case involving a debtor that designed, sold and installed data compression technology systems.

Asset Acquisitions

In re Chem/Rx Inc. District of Delaware. Represented PharMerica Corporation in connection with its $100 million acquisition through a §363 sale of substantially all assets of the third-largest private pharmacy services company in the United States.
In re Farmland Foods Inc. District of Missouri. Represented Smithfield Foods in connection with its $400 million acquisition of the protein assets of Farmland Foods.
In re WCI Communities Inc. District of Delaware. Represented two hotel developer/operators in their acquisitions of hotel properties in §363 sales.

Bankruptcy Estate Fiduciary Cases

In re J.M. Products Inc. District of Arkansas. Represent the Chapter 11 trustee in a liquidating Chapter 11 case.
In re Sandy Bay LLC et al. District of Massachusetts. Acted as and represented the examiner in connection with eight related single asset real estate cases involving allegations of fraud by management.