Posts Tagged ‘liquidation’

Bankruptcy Judge Approves GM’s Chapter 11 Plan

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

From the North County Times online:

“A bankruptcy judge has ruled that General Motors Corp. can sell the bulk of its assets to a new company, potentially clearing the way for the automaker to quickly emerge from bankruptcy protection.

U.S. Judge Robert Gerber said in his 95-page ruling late Sunday that the sale was in the best interests of both GM and its creditors, who he said would otherwise get nothing.

‘As nobody can seriously dispute, the only alternative to an immediate sale is liquidation —- a disastrous result for GM’s creditors, its employees, the suppliers who depend on GM for their own existence, and the communities in which GM operates,’ Gerber wrote in his ruling.

An appeal is expected. A Chicago law firm representing people who have sued GM in several auto accident cases filed paperwork Monday saying it would appeal to U.S. District Court in New York. The deadline to appeal is noon Thursday, after which point Gerber’s order takes effect and the sale is free to close.

Attorneys for some of GM’s bondholders, unions, consumer groups and individuals with lawsuits against the company have said their needs have been pushed aside in favor of the interests of GM and the government.”

For More Information, click here

Orange County Couple Lists Debt of $345 Million in Bankruptcy

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

Whoever the Orange County bankruptcy attorney was for Mr. and Mrs. John Gantes, he or she had a lot of paperwork to go through, and lots of debt for which to account.

From the Orange County Register online:

“The preliminary numbers are in for the personal bankruptcy of John Gantes, who controls the Breckenridge Group and some 200 affiliates. He and his wife, Linda Bridgford Gantes (of the Bridgford Foods clan), filed papers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana Tuesday listing assets of $2,697,466.81 against $345,313,071.99 in liabilities. The vast majority of the liabilities are unsecured.

Gantes filed separate Chapter 11 reorganization petitions for 25 of his businesses in November and December. He followed up with a personal Chapter 7 liquidation petition for himself and his wife. The personal case appears to be designed to cancel about $200 million in personal guarantees that Gantes signed on behalf of his businesses.

Major creditors include Farmers & Merchants Bank, which holds a $22 million third mortgage on the Gantes’ home in Laguna Niguel; the petition says the house really is worth $2,653,188.

Farmers & Merchants spokesman Evan Pondel said Thursday afternoon that the loan is secured by several commercial properties as well as the home. He would not say how many commercial properties secure the mortgage or how much they are worth.”

While the commercial properties securing the loan might be from Rancho Santa Margarita, Irvine, San Juan Capistrano, or even Tustin, this is one expensive Orange County home — leading to a big, fat, Orange County bankruptcy.