Announcement of Confirmation of Jaguar Distribution Corp.’s Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation

Danning, Gill, Israel & Krasnoff, LLP (“Danning Gill”), is proud to have represented Jaguar Distribution Corp. (“Jaguar”) in its chapter 11 case, in which Jaguar successfully sold substantially all of its assets and confirmed a chapter 11 plan of liquidation.  Jaguar’s plan went effective on July 15, 2022.

Jaguar distributed independent and international films and television programs to airlines and cruise ship companies.  As an early innovator in the field, Jaguar succeeded in bringing independent and international films to domestic and foreign airline audiences.  For a variety of reasons, including the increased availability of streaming and download services such as Netflix and Amazon, and the proliferation of “minimum guarantees” that distribution companies often pay for the right to distribute films and television shows, Jaguar experienced a significant decline in revenues.

Jaguar retained Danning Gill as insolvency counsel in early 2019.  Around the same time, Jaguar also retained James Wong of Armory Consulting Company as Chief Restructuring Officer.  Danning Gill and Mr. Wong worked together to explore Jaguar’s options, including reorganization or liquidation under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Danning Gill filed Jaguar’s chapter 11 petition on July 31, 2020.  A few days later, Danning Gill filed Jaguar’s motion for approval of sale procedures in connection with a proposed sale of substantially all of Jaguar’s assets to Ricochet Digital Media, LLC (“Ricochet”).  In October 2020, after an auction, the Bankruptcy Court approved Jaguar’s sale of substantially all of its assets to Ricochet for $30,000 plus a percentage of receivables and future revenues collected by Ricochet.  The sale closed on November 2, 2020.

In February 2022, Danning Gill filed Jaguar’s chapter 11 plan of liquidation.  Under the plan, which was confirmed in June 2022, Jaguar’s remaining assets were assigned to a liquidating trust to be administered for the benefit of Jaguar’s creditors.  Jaguar’s plan went effective on July 15, 2022.  A few weeks later, the trustee of the liquidating trust filed three lawsuits to try to generate additional funds to pay holders of allowed claims.

Jaguar’s case is In re Jaguar Distribution Corp.  It was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Case No. 1:20-bk-11358-MB, and assigned to the Honorable Martin Barash.  Zev Shechtman, John Tedford and Aaron de Leest of Danning Gill served as Jaguar’s general bankruptcy counsel.  James Wong of Armory Consulting Co. served as Jaguar’s Chief Restructuring Officer.  The official committee of unsecured creditors was represented by Victor Sahn and Steve Burnell of SulmeyerKupetz, now of Greenspoon Marder, LLP.  The trustee of the liquidating trust established by Jaguar’s plan is Elissa Miller of Greenspoon Marder, LLP.

Danning Gill Represents Chapter 11 Trustee
in California Oil and Gas Bankruptcy & Sale

LOS ANGELES – Danning, Gill, Israel & Krasnoff, LLP represented  Michael A. McConnell, the Chapter 11 trustee (the “Trustee”) for the estate of HVI Cat Canyon, Inc. (“HVI”), which owned approximately 1,000 oil wells, most of which were idle or not performing.  The $26.75 million sale of the oil and gas assets located in Santa Barbara and Kern Counties closed on October 26, 2020.  HVI is affiliated with Rincon Island Limited Partnership that went through its own bankruptcy commenced in 2016.  The Trustee also closed a second sale for oil wells located in Orange County.  The Trustee was represented throughout by Danning Gill Partner Eric P. Israel.

The HVI bankruptcy case was filed in the Southern District of New York on July 25, 2019, transferred to the Southern District of Texas, and then transferred to the Northern Division of the Central District of California.  The Bankruptcy Court directed the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee on motion by the State of California and others.  The Trustee was able to procure post-petition financing via a series of loans from the main creditor, UBS AG, and ultimately borrowed approximately $13.5 million.  With those funds, the Trustee operated the company for approximately one year.  During that time, the global price of oil crashed due to a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and the effects of the COVID pandemic on global demand for crude oil.

In order to improve marketability of the company, the Trustee converted the company into a stand-alone vehicle instead of being part of a conglomerate of affiliated entities.  As part of the process, the Trustee rejected contracts with insiders and affiliates that had provided office space, equipment rentals, back office services and even sales of its product, replacing those arrangements with insiders and affiliated entities to third party vendors at market prices.

According to Mr. Israel, “The sale was complex, requiring settlements with numerous diverse parties in interest, including over 500 mineral owners, numerous governmental regulatory agencies and several secured creditors, and the County of Santa Barbara for many millions of dollars in real property taxes owed.  Ultimately, the mineral owners agreed to waive pre-petition back royalties of about $13 million in order to procure a responsible new operator.”

UBS was represented by O’Melveny & Myers, LLP.  The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors was represented by Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl & Jones, LLP.  CR3 Partners was the Trustee’s financial analysts.

Exiting Bankruptcy

WWD

August 30, 2020

A number of retailers that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the early months of the COVID-19 crisis are now at the finish line or close. To get here, retailers sought financing while facing the risks that come with months-long store closures, then reopened stores during the ongoing pandemic and struck deals with creditors, lenders, and in some cases, buyers. 

While the proceedings so far have shown courts willing to accommodate retailers’ requests and defer to their business judgment, there are still questions of long-term survival, bankruptcy attorneys said. 

“I think there’s going to be a tendency to approve things that may be less likely to be approved in a more healthy market environment,” said Zev Shechtman, partner at Danning Gill Israel & Krasnoff LLP.

“But in order to exit from bankruptcy, companies need to have a viable business plan going forward,” he said. “The question is, where is the money coming from on a going-forward basis?” 

“Bankruptcies can be really successful for reorganizations when there is an exit, a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Shechtman of Danning Gill.  “The bankruptcy story will be mirroring the general economic story in many ways,” he said. “If there is no end in sight for the economy, bankruptcy is not a silver bullet.”

To read the full article, click here.

Government Stimulus Has Held Off Bankruptcies – For Now

Daily Journal

July 28, 2020

Danning Gill Partner John Tedford was quoted in a July 28, 2020 article in the Daily Journal about trends in bankruptcy filings in the United States and California.

According to recent U.S. Bankruptcy Court statistics, overall, bankruptcy filings are down nationally and in California, as the worst may be yet to come.

‘It’s not a big surprise, what is a surprise is we haven’t seen a boom over the last couple of months in bankruptcy filings despite all the relatively bad news, “ says Tedford, who handles bankruptcies for businesses on the debtor and creditor side. He said the court is on pace to have the same number of Chapter 11 cases filed this year as in each of the last five years.

To read the full article, click on the link below (subscription required).

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