On Friday, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation closed Florida Community Bank , headquartered in Immokalee, Florida and the FDIC was named receiver. As receiver, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Premier American Bank, National Association, headquartered in Miami, Florida, to assume all of the deposits of Florida Community Bank.
On January 22nd, Affiliated Media, Inc. (the "Debtor" or "Affiliated"), filed a chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. According to documents filed with the Bankruptcy Court, the Debtor's operations include daily and weekly newspapers, "niche publications," internet websites, four radio stations and a television station in Alaska. Affiliated's bankruptcy follows a drop in revenue from $1.3 billion in 2007 to $1.06 billion in 2009.
On Friday, the Washington Department of Financial Institutions closed American Marine Bank, headquartered in Bainbridge Island, Washington, and the FDIC was named receiver.
On Friday, the OCC closed First National Bank of Georgia , headquartered in Carrollton, Georgia, and the FDIC was named receiver.
On Friday, the California Department of Financial Institutions closed First Regional Bank, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and the FDIC was named receiver.
On Friday, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed Community Bank and Trust, headquartered in Cornelia, Georgia, and the FDIC was named receiver.
Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell routinely represents creditors in bankruptcy proceedings in order to protect their contractual and legal interests and rights to payment. The following is a list of some recent larger U.S. bankruptcy filings in various industries. To the extent you are a creditor to any of these debtors, or other entities which may have filed for bankruptcy protection, you as a creditor are entitled to certain protections under the Bankruptcy Code.
CONSTRUCTION CASTINGS
On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Commerce closed 1st American State Bank of Minnesota, headquartered in Hancock, Minnesota, and the FDIC was named receiver.
On January 25, Judge Peck of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered a declaratory judgment in favor of Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc. (LBSF) in a case examining a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) transaction and concerning the effect of event of default provisions on the payment priorities of LBSF as swap counterparty under certain swap agreements and the holders of certain credit-linked synthetic portfolio notes. The payment waterfalls (Priority Provisions) of most CDO transactions give priority to swap counterparties over noteholders.
Although 2010 is still young, the bankruptcy courts have been busy interpreting Rule 2019 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure as it applies to ad hoc groups of creditors in bankruptcy cases. A ruling issued on February 4, 2010, in In re Philadelphia Newspapers, LL, Case No. 09- 11204 (Bankr. E.D.Pa.) found Rule 2019 does not apply to ad hoc groups. The score is now tied at three to three.