[This paper originally presented at the Manitoba Bar Association Mid-Winter Conference, January, 2003. It was updated and revised for the 2011 Pitblado Lectures and again updated in June, 2022.]
In large, complex bankruptcy cases:
- The mediator must have a plan;
- Otherwise, the mediator is going to get run over;
- These are tough cases with very experienced lawyers who often have significant resources to put into the fight; and
- The mediator has to be just as resourceful, just as strong, just as ready to engage as the lawyers.
That’s the view expressed by Judge Gerald Rosen (Chief Judicial Mediator in City of Detroit bankruptcy) [fn.1] in a May 2021 interview on the mediation process in the Detroit bankruptcy [fn. 2].
Overview
How are private practice mediators compensated in a bankruptcy case—procedurally?
We have a new court order providing guidance on how such procedures can work.
The new guidance is from Sears Holding Corp. v. Lampert (In re Sears Holdings Corp.), Adv. Pro. No. 19-08250, SDNY Bankruptcy Court.
Mediation Order
“Trillions of dollars”: That’s the amount of civil penalty claims a group of 40 States are asserting against Johnson & Johnson for consumer protection law violations. [Fn. 1]
Such civil penalty claims:
In 2021, several significant judicial decisions were rendered across Canada relevant to commercial lenders, businesses and restructuring professionals. This comprehensive report summarizes the key facts and core issues of importance in each case and provides status updates on the cases reported on in our February 2021 bulletin, Key Developments in Canadian Insolvency Case Law in 2020.
“The trustee shall . . . appear and be heard at . . . any hearing that concerns . . . the value of property . . . confirmation of a plan . . . sale of property.” § 1183(b)(3) (emphasis added).
In every Subchapter V case, the trustee has a statutory duty to “appear and be heard” on certain issues. Often, a trustee can satisfy such duty, on many issues, by participating in a hearing and expressing a verbal opinion on the matter that’s before the Bankruptcy Court.
Business people value their reputations because they take pride in their good names, and “not for some nebulous financial gain.” They:
Click here to watch the video.
Hon. Gerald E. Rosen (Ret.) serves as mediator, arbitrator and neutral evaluator in high-level business cases for the JAMS office in Detroit.
In March 2019, Liquidators were appointed to The Australian Sawmilling Company Pty Ltd (TASCO) by way of a creditors’ voluntary winding up. TASCO owned a large lot of contaminated land – there were stockpiles of construction and demolition waste resulting from a former licensee conducting a materials recycling business.