Posts Tagged ‘Bankruptcy Attorneys’

Obama’s New Housing Plan Doesn’t Address Bankruptcy Law

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Although President Obama’s new housing plan may be “loaded with incentives for homeowners, mortgage servicers, lenders and banks” to modify the loans that are leading so many Orange County residents to foreclosure and bankruptcy, what the plan does not do is address the so-called “cramdown” proposal — that Bankruptcy judges be allowed to modify home loans. This change in bankruptcy law would be a boon for the clients of Orange County bankruptcy attorneys; it would help many Chapter 7 bankruptcy clients keep their Orange County homes. This is not only an issue for homes in lower income Orange County areas like Santa Ana, but also in areas like Irvine and Newport Beach, where homes with outrageously high mortgage payments have been forcing even high income earners into seeking a bankruptcy attorney or leading to foreclosure. The best that can be said about this housing plan, at least with regard to bankruptcy law, is that it does not “rule out” the possibility that a future bill might tackle this issue.

Orange County has been waiting for such a bill for a long time and it looks like the wait shall continue…

For More Information about the New Housing Plan, click here

Orange County Based Oil Change Company Files Bankruptcy

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

The bankruptcy attorneys for Orange County’s EZ Lube have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on its behalf.

From the Orange County Register online:

“Santa Ana-based EZ Lube — a chain of 82 largely SoCal oil-change shops — says it has filed for bankruptcy protection and has plans to sell its assets. The company says the financial dealings should have no impact on its stores or customers.

EZ Lube’s court papers blamed its financial woes on rising gas prices that cut driving and need for oil changes, high debt levels and negative publicity from a state and Orange County probe into EZ Lube’s sales procedures.

According to bankruptcy court papers, EZ Lube — which employs 1,000 people — lost $44 million in 2007 and was down another $8 milion in 2008’s first nine months. Sales were off 10% to $66 million in 2008’s first 10 months.

EZ Lube, which entered bankruptcy Dec. 9, may auction its assets off in March. It already has a big by a group that includes its current lenders.

Says CEO Marc Graham in a statement on EZ Lube’s Web page: ‘Completing the sale through the Chapter 11 process will allow us to significantly reduce our debt and undertake an orderly transition of ownership. Throughout the sale process, servicing our customers and providing valuable preventative maintenance services is our priority.’”

It is unclear if any of the EZ Lube’s in Orange County will be closed, or if they will all remain open during the reorganization process. EZ Lube has many locations in Orange County, including: Costa Mesa, Laguna Woods, Tustin, Orange, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Huntington Beach, Dana Point, Fullerton, San Clemente, and Yorba Linda.

To find the nearest EZ Lube near you, click here

Recession to Take Especially Big Toll on Orange County

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Although the economic crisis is hitting California as hard as the rest of the country, it is hitting certain counties in California even harder, according to UCLA economists. Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Orange County, and a few other areas will feel the effects of the recession more than the rest of the state.

From the OC Register:

“’The Inland Empire, Orange County, the East Bay and the Central Valley will be hit the hardest as the recession provides a double whammy with a generalized downturn in demand and a postponement of a recovery in residential construction,’says the UCLA quarterly economic forecast.

Orange County unemployment soared to 6 percent in October, a high not seen since July 1994 during the aerospace and construction recession of the mid-1990s.

Economist Jerry Nickelsberg blames the collapse of Orange County’s mortgage and home finance industry for creating an additional strain on the local economy now.

‘It created a big hole in Orange County employment,’says Nickelsberg. He believes it will take several years to absorb those lost jobs.”

According to the forecast, the next year will only get worse for Orange County residents, as unemployment will continue to rise. This, in turn, will lead to less consumer spending and more consumer and business bankruptcies. Bankruptcy attorneys in Orange County, from Irvine to Santa Ana to Rancho Santa Margarita, are reporting high volumes of new bankruptcy clients seeking to file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. As far as business in California goes, bankruptcy attorneys are among the select few that are seeing an increase in clients from this crisis.

For More Information: click here

Kohl’s Moves into Former Mervyns Stores in Orange County

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

From OC Register online:

Kohl’s to Move into 3 OC Mervyns

Kohls says it is taking over the shuttered Mervyns stores in Fullerton, Huntington Beach (9811 Adams St.) and Tustin. This move is part of a joint bid to take over 46 Meryvns leases. Mervyns, which is in bankruptcy, is closing all 149 stores in three states

In case you’re interested, here are the other California stores that Kohl’s will move into:

Capitola, College Grove, Downey, Eureka, Greenback, Lodi, Merced, Millbrae, Mira Mesa, Monrovia, Napa, Northridge, Point West, Rancho Cordova, Redondo Beach, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Rafael, Southland Mall, Sun Valley, Ukiah, Upland, Westchester and Whittier.”

Orange County residents can expect more such changes to come, as the economic crisis continues to show its ill effects. And as bankruptcy attorneys from Irvine to Santa Ana to San Clemente are reporting, it’s not only the businesses that are filing bankruptcy; consumer bankruptcies are continuing to rise as well.

Top Ten Orange County Cities with the Most Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Bankruptcy Attorneys in Orange County, pay attention. The top ten Orange County cities with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings for the month of November, 2008 are: Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Mission Viejo, Orange, and Santa Ana.

Other Orange County cities that also had a high number of Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings, especially considering their relative population, include Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, and Tustin.

Cash Decreases, Creativity Increases.

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

In an economy such as ours, where many Orange County residents and businesses are doing all they can to avoid bankruptcy, and in many cases need the help of bankruptcy attorneys, creative solutions to save cash are needed. For even if a bankruptcy attorney is to be hired, there still has to be some cash around to pay for those bankruptcy services. Enter: bartering.

The practice of bartering has increased these past few months, according to Mike Ames, founder of Trade American Card, a barter club based in Orange County. Barter, or reciprocal trade, allows people to trade goods or services for other people’s products or services. “If you need to save cash, bartering is best”, says Bob Meyer, founder and publisher of the Mission Viejo trade publication “Barter News”.

Trade American Card hosted its 38th Barter Expo this past Sunday in Anaheim. They were expecting more than 1,000 people and 150 exhibitors selling the products they usually barter. “The potential deals are almost limitless”, said Paul Herrera, owner of Herrera Advertising and Marketing in Garden Grove.

Nevertheless, Mayer notes that trade exchanges are not exempt of risks. “See where you can spend your trade dollars”. “[When doing barter,] the chance you take is that the small business will still be in business later”.

For many professionals and stores located in Irvine, Tustin, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Newport Beach and other Orange County cities, bartering could be a good option to get the most out of their bucks, possibly avoid bankruptcy, or at least save some cash to be able to pay for a bankruptcy attorney.

For More Information, Click Here

Fifteen SunCal-Lehman Brothers Developments in Bankruptcy

Friday, November 14th, 2008

The number of Sun-Cal Cos. Developments that have faced bankruptcy petitions increased by three this week, bringing to 15 the total of Irvine-based, SunCal-Lehman Brother projects in California that are under U.S. Bankruptcy Court supervision.

The total of SunCal voluntary and involuntary petitions submitted by attorneys reached 15 after the filing of the Northlake development in Castaic and its Oak Valley and Heartland projects in Beaumont, along with a petition against the SunCal Marblehead development in San Clemente.

The involuntary petitions take place when one of the parties, in this case Lehman Brothers, who financially backed up the projects, does not consent to a voluntary bankruptcy filing. Thus, involuntary bankruptcy is the only way SunCal can get their projects into bankruptcy court, in order to get additional financing.

Officials of SunCal also disclosed that involuntary bankruptcy petitions are to be expected within days on the other five developments controlled by Lehman. David Soyka, SunCal company spokesman, said that Lehman has cut off critical funding for their developments since the investment bank had its lawyers submit their petition for bankruptcy in September.

Soyka said that SunCal has lined up a partner willing to provide $75 million. But SunCal’s proposed bankruptcy lender is requiring priority over Lehman’s liens before providing the financing.

Some of the SunCal Cos. Developments filed for bankruptcy are located in the cities of San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente in Orange County. Others are located in Riverside County, in the cities of Yucaipa, Modesto, Rubidoux and Beaumont.

Read a related article at the OC Register.