Bankruptcy / Reorganization

The attorneys in the Bankruptcy/Reorganization section of Montgomery McCracken assist clients in all phases of workouts, financial restructuring and bankruptcy reorganizations.  Since the 1960s, Montgomery McCracken attorneys have been recognized leaders in this practice area.  Today, our section includes one attorney who has achieved board certification as a business bankruptcy specialist by the American Board of Certification (a designation held by fewer than 50 lawyers in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and fewer than 800 lawyers in the nation), a past chairperson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference, a mediation panelist for the District of Delaware Bankruptcy Court, and an attorney that has taught bankruptcy law at an area school. Focused on helping clients work through the maze of difficult financial situations, we provide a broad range of legal and business skills

We counsel our clients:

• in toxic tort matters, negotiating the funding and distribution for claims resolution facilities and procedures and litigating and negotiating channeling/protective injunctions;
• on behalf of both debtors and creditors, to negotiate, document and consummate in and out-of court workouts for financially troubled businesses;
• on creative methods to resolve financial exposure for the obligations of a debtor;
• in healthcare matters, utilizing the vast experience and expertise of our healthcare department, in restructuring hospitals and other healthcare organizations experiencing financial difficulty;
• in corporate, banking and commercial structurings and documentation of business and loan transactions to avoid or minimize risk if other parties to the transaction later encounter financial difficulty;
• on innovative and comprehensive pre-bankruptcy planning for clients who engage in high risk businesses or those experiencing signs of impending financial difficulty.

The Bankruptcy/Reorganization practice at Montgmery McCracken regularly enlists the specialized talents of other departments and can enlist the firm's talents in complex litigation, healthcare, real estate, tax, government enforcement/criminal law, environmental, labor law, corporate and other specialties.

Representative clients include:

• Debtors
• Owners/corporate parents/affiliates of debtors
• Creditors' committees
• Creditors
• Title insurance companies

In recent years we have achieved significant victories for our bankruptcy/reorganization clients. Section members have been involved in the following matters:

• counsel to a group of cancer plaintiffs in successfully challenging the proposed plan of reorganization in the landmark case In re Combustion Engineering, and subsequently in the negotiation and confirmation of an amended plan for Combustion Engineering and its sister company, ABB Lummus Global; 
• counsel to the official committee ofcreditors in the bankruptcy of Nutraquest, Inc., where creditors are to receive almost 100% of their claims;
• special counsel to Celotex Corporation in preparing and confirming its plan of reorganization and establishment of its asbestos claims resolution facility;
• assisting management and professional turnaround consultants/workout managers in out-of-court restructuring of hospitals and other healthcare organizations;
• representing Indenture Trustees and tranches/classes of bondholders in bankruptcy cases such as Ponderosa Fibres, Oxford First Securities and Metropolitan Hospital;
• representing and defending owners, directors, officers and affiliates (both individual and corporate) of the debtor in cases such as St. Mary Hospital, Monroe Well Service, MicroAge Computers, Gitman Brothers Shirt Company and Penn Central Transportation Company;
• representing a title company in a case involving the fraudulent purchase and sale of over two hundred properties in central Pennsylvania and a leasing company in a case involving the fraudulent subleasing of hundreds of pieces of equipment;
• assisting in creative bidding for and/or purchasing the assets of Chapter 11 debtors in cases such as Hayes Computer;
• representing creditors' committees in cases such as Bell Fuel Corporation, and New Era Philanthropy (unofficial creditors' committee);
• serving as Court-appointed Examiner for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania;
• representing individual creditors in a variety of matters, including corporations that retain the firm to represent their interests in debtor/creditor matters nationally, creditors in pre-bankruptcy litigation, creditors in claim disputes, creditors involved in allegedly preferential or fraudulent conveyances, and creditors in making claims;
• obtaining injunctions, orders protecting reclamation creditors and other immediate relief in cases such as Devon Holdings;
• as counsel for the nationwide system of independent franchisees in Nutri/System, we placed the company into bankruptcy involuntarily, obtained appointment of an Official Franchisee Committee and provided the strategy for a reorganization beneficial to the franchisees.

Our attorneys have an established reputation for forceful and effective representation with an impressive track record of success.  When you hire Montgomery McCracken, you will receive personalized and comprehensive attention and advice, bringing to bear the resources of other specialties as may be required, with a singular commitment to your needs and objectives.

For more information, please contact Natalie Ramsey, Chair,  Bankruptcy/Reorganization at 215-772-7354 or email nramsey@mmwr.com.