Debtor Representations

Mirant Energy (Debtor’s Conflict Counsel-Chapter 11)
Represented one of the largest bankruptcies ever filed in Texas resulting in full recovery for creditors.

Mirant Bowline, LLC; Mirant Hudson Valley Gas Corp.; Mirant New York, Inc.
Confirmed a plan of reorganization for the debtors with assets in excess of $200 million and a number of outstanding tax and environmental issues. The plan of reorganization provided the same treatment to creditors of the three emerging entities as to similarly situated creditors, and all creditor claims were satisfied.

Kerwin Ste.vens
Representing Kerwin Ste.phens in his pending Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.  Prior to filing bankruptcy, an adverse judgment had been entered against Mr. Ste.phens in connection with an oil & gas deal.  After a decade of litigation and appeals, the claims of two remaining plaintiffs had yet to be established by final judgment. The Firm’s attorneys assisted Mr. Ste.phens in initiating a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case and then removed the state court litigation to bankruptcy court. In the removed litigation, the Firm’s attorneys filed briefs contending that the jury verdict did not support claims against Mr. Ste.phens under any legal theory.  Thereafter, the Bankruptcy Court entered a “take nothing” judgment against plaintiffs and in favor of Mr. Ste.phens.  Claimants appealed the take-nothing judgment to the District Court.  The District Court initially reversed the Bankruptcy Court order.  VHH filed a motion to reconsider with the District Court, which is pending.  In the bankruptcy case, the Firm is assisting Mr. Ste.phens in formulating a Plan of Reorganization that is expected to pay allowed creditor claims in full.

Matrix Warranty Solutions, Inc., Matrix Financial Services, LLC, Everything Breaks, Inc., et al.
Representing Matrix Warranty and Matrix Financial (“Matrix”) in two separate Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. The Matrix companies provided thousands of consumers with aftermarket service plans for vehicles, electronics, and home appliances. Prior to filing bankruptcy, the Matrix entities were involved in protracted class action litigation in West Virginia.  In the bankruptcy case, the Firm represented principals of the Debtors in connection with a global settlement between the Debtor estates and Matrix affiliates.  Pursuant to the settlement, the Trustees and Debtor estates released all claims and causes of action against the Matrix affiliates in exchange for a cash payment.  Following approval of the settlements in both Matrix bankruptcy cases, the class action plaintiffs filed new pleadings to include claims against the Matrix affiliates in the West Virginia litigation.  On behalf of the Debtors and Matrix settlement parties, the Firm initiated litigation in the bankruptcy court to enforce the automatic stay and to determine that the new claims in the West Virginia litigation were released by the bankruptcy estates.  After a hearing on this matter, the Bankruptcy Judge entered an order finding that plaintiffs had wilfully violated the automatic stay and took the remaining requests under advisement.

Jack County Hospital District d/b/a Faith Community Health System
Represented the hospital district as debtor’s counsel in its Chapter 9 bankruptcy case, allowing the district to take full advantage of pandemic-related financial relief, including. Paycheck Protection Program loans that allowed for desperately needed funding during the most challenging period of the pandemic. Ultimately, the district confirmed a Plan of Adjustment providing for a restructuring of roughly $92 million in debt, thereby allowing the district’s facilities to continue delivering healthcare services to an underserved region.

Flexible Funding, Ltd. Liability Co. and Instapay Flexible, LLC
Flexible and Instapay were privately-held, asset-based lending and factoring companies focused on the transportation and staffing industries. After two successful competitive auctions, the portfolio assets were sold for more than $85 million, allowing for two asset sales within the first seven weeks of the bankruptcy cases, preserving the portfolio value of the assets and enabling the retirement of all senior secured debt and the efficient liquidation of remaining assets to maximize distribution to creditors.

Heartland Automotive Holdings, Inc.
Represented the largest Jiffy Lube franchisor in the U.S. with approximately $396 million in debt by confirming a Chapter 11 plan with 100% recovery to creditors.

Lion Star Nacogdoches Hospital, LLC (Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital)
Represented the hospital in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, successfully obtaining approval of debtor-in-possession financing and other critical “first-day” matters on an emergency basis, as well as the sale to the local Hospital District, enabling the facility to continue serving the healthcare needs of the community.

Duncan Burch, Inc. (“DBI”)
Represented DBI as Chapter 11 Debtor’s counsel in disputing a $3.9 million state tax liability. The case addressed the issue of whether a taxpayer must first pay a disputed tax before requesting a judicial review of that assessed tax, a so-called “pay-to-play” requirement. Without realistic options, DBI initiated bankruptcy to stop the Comptroller’s collection attempts and brought jurisdictional challenges so that the disputed tax claim could be decided in bankruptcy Court. DBI settled the tax claim for $75,000 and Chapter 11 case was dismissed.

Creditor Committee Representations

Zynex, Inc.
Chosen to represent the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors for Zynex, Inc., a medical technology company specializing in the manufacture and sale of non-invasive medical devices for pain management and rehabilitation with over $66.7 mm in debt. The unsecured creditors committee includes (i) U.S. Bank Trust Company, N.A., (ii) Savant Labs, Inc., (iii) Allstate Insurance Company, and (iv) Dr. Raelynn Maloney. The outcome of the case was covered in Law360.

BTC USA Holdings Management, et al. (“Radio Station Debtors”)
Representing five (5) Radio Station Debtors in the Chapter 15 bankruptcy cases of Local First Media Group Inc., et al. pending in Texarkana, Texas.  The radio assets include several operating radio stations in Alaska and Texas.  The Chapter 15 cases were initiated to recognize a Canadian receivership proceeding as a foreign main proceeding and to provide a domestic mechanism to sell the radio station assets as a going concern. In the bankruptcy case, the Firm represents a principal of the Radio Station Debtors in connection with the proposed purchase of the radio assets in the bankruptcy case free and clear of liens.

Victory Medical Center Mid-Cities, LP, et al
Served as co-counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Victory Medical Center case which involved a parent company and four specialized surgical hospitals in Texas. The debtors filed bankruptcy to facilitate an expeditious sale of their assets. As counsel for the Committee, the firm’s attorneys assisted in the sale of two hospitals, the wind-down and closure of two others, and the negotiation of a consensual plan of reorganization. Following plan confirmation, firm attorneys were retained as counsel to the Liquidating Trustee, overseeing post-confirmation estate administration, claims resolution, and asset recoveries for the benefit of creditors. The estates were successfully administered through final distributions.

Domistyle Official Unsecured Creditors’ Committee
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Domistyle, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of high-end scented candles, home décor and home fragrance products. This work included the negotiation of a Plan Support Agreement with the debtor and principal lender to ensure that the committee’s constituent creditors would be provided with favorable treatment. The committee ultimately served as co-proponent of a Joint Plan of Liquidation which incorporated the negotiated terms of the Plan Support Agreement.

The Bombay Company, et al (Local Counsel for Unsecured Creditors Committee)
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of The Bombay Company, Inc., et al., one of the largest retail bankruptcy cases ever filed in Texas. The committee and debtors confirmed a joint plan of liquidation that resulted in payment of a significant dividend to unsecured creditors.

Pan American General Hospital, L.L.C. (Official Unsecured Creditors Committee)
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in this Chapter 11 case in El Paso, Texas. The unsecured creditors became beneficiaries of and received distributions from a litigation trust established to pursue various claims and causes of action post-confirmation.

Creditor Representations

Regional Professional Building, L.P.
Represented several creditors, including Regional Professional Building, L.P. (Regional), in the Ste.ward Health Care System LLC, et al. Chapter 11 cases pending in the Southern District of Texas.  Regional, as landlord, leased approximately 86,704 square feet of medical office space to the Ste.ward Debtor operating the hospital in Port Arthur, Texas.  The Firm’s attorneys assisted Regional in ongoing sale proceedings in the bankruptcy cases to ensure that Regional’s significant administrative claim and prepetition claims would be properly treated as a condition to the sale and potential assignment of the lease to a new buyer.  The Firm’s attorneys also represented an interested bidder in connection with the sale of the Port Arthur hospital. The outcome of the case was featured in The Examiner and The Wall Street Journal.

Vitro SAB
Served as co-counsel for an ad hoc group of bondholders with claims exceeding $700 million. Assisted the bondholders in preventing Vitro from enforcing its Mexican concurso plan in the United States, allowing important subsidiary guaranties to be preserved and enforceable domestically. On appeal, assisted the bondholders in obtaining a favorable decision that is expected to have a significant impact on international commercial transactions as well as on future cross-border financing and restructurings.

Jet Works Air Center Management / PlainsCapital Bank
Represented the senior lender, PlainsCapital Bank, in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Jet Works, which operated a full-service aircraft maintenance and repair facility at the Denton, Texas airport. The client held pre-petition secured claims of approximately $10 million and served as Jet Work’s DIP lender for Chapter 11 operations. The firm’s attorneys assisted the debtor with the sale of substantially all its assets through a competitive bid process, maximizing the return for its lender client.

Trustee Representations

Leather Center, Inc.
Members of the firm represented the trustee in this Chapter 7 liquidation of the largest leather furniture manufacturing company in the U.S.

Admissions 

• Texas
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas

Clerkships/Judicial Internships

• Briefing attorney for the Hon. Leif M. Clark, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Board Certifications

• Business Bankruptcy Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Education

• University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 1988).  
• University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs (M.P.A., 1988).
• University of Texas (B.B.A., 1982).
  • With Honors

• BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America Guide, “Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/ Insolvency and Reorganization Law,” 2024-2025.
• Lawdragon 500, Leading Global Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers, “Bankruptcy Litigation, Reorganization & Workouts,” 2020, 2022-2025.