Deborah D. Williamson

Receivership

In re Heartland Group Ventures, LLC, Case No. 4-21CV-1310-0-BP, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division
Appointed to serve as Receiver in an action brought by the SEC against Heartland Group Ventures and a number of related entities in connection with five fraudulent, unregistered oil and gas offerings.

Litigation

TXCO Resources Inc. v Peregrine Petroleum, LLC, Adversary Case No. 09-05125-rbk, Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division
Trial counsel to post confirmation TXCO Resources, Inc., a publicly traded exploration and production (E&P) company in successful prosecution of trade secret misappropriation claims against Peregrine Petroleum, LLC.  Following a 41-day trial, the Court awarded judgment in favor of RTXCO (Reorganized through Chapter 11) on its claims for misappropriation of trade secrets and entered a multimillion dollar damage award.

In re The Heritage Organization, Case No. 04-35574, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division
Dykema is special litigation counsel to the chapter 11 trustee, Dennis Faulkner, in this adversary proceeding. The trustee retained us to prosecute avoidance actions, fraud actions and various D&O actions against the former officers and professionals who worked for The Heritage Organization. In January 2009, Deborah was co-counsel in a two-week trial which ultimately resulted in a Judgment in favor of the Trustee for $61 million. Faulkner v. Kornman (In re Heritage Org. L.L.C.), 413 B.R. 438 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2009)

Bankruptcy and Restructuring — Energy

In re TXCO Resources Inc., Case No. 09-51807, Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division
Lead counsel to an exploration and production company who were Debtors in jointly administered chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Dykema began to assist TXCO’s management in negotiations with their lenders beginning in March 2009. Once a commitment for post-petition financing was obtained in an amount sufficient to avoid the need for immediate liquidation, Chapter 11 was filed on May 17, 2009. Dykema played an instrumental role throughout the bankruptcy case, including obtaining approval of the $32,000,000 in debtor-in-possession financing over numerous objections, putting in place a sale process, introducing potential purchasers, and ultimately negotiating the terms of a sale for approximately $310,000,000 of significantly all of the assets of debtors, which provided for the payment in full of the creditors’ claims with interest and a multi-million dollar return to equity.

In re Flying J Inc., et al., Case No. 08-13384 (MFW), District of Delaware
Counsel to a member of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.

In re Aloha Airlines, Inc., Case No. 08-00337, District of Hawaii, Honolulu Division
We represented a multi-national maintenance, repair and overhaul company in connection with its claims against Aloha Airlines.

Bankruptcy and Restructuring — Healthcare

In re Lion Star Nacogdoches Hospital, LLC, Case No. 23-43535-mxm11, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division
We represent a hospital district in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of the lessee/operator of a hospital owned by the District.

In re Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital, Inc., dba Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas, Case No. 05-41513, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division
We represented MBIA Insurance Corporation (“MBIA”) in connection with the default, foreclosure and chapter 7 bankruptcy of the last osteopathic hospital in the state of Texas. MBIA was the insurer of over $70,000,000 in unsecured bond obligations. This case involved issues related to the bankruptcy of a not-for-profit corporation and related for-profit affiliates, some of whom were co-debtors. Other issues included potential liability of former officers, directors and advisors to the not-for-profit corporations and analysis of potential claims, and defense of a third party claim brought against MBIA ultimately resulting in a dismissal of the claims against MBIA.

Bankruptcy and Restructuring — Retail

In re Hardwood P-G, Inc., Custom Forest Products, Ltd., and Customer Forest Transportation, Inc., Case No. 06-50057, Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division
The Firm was counsel to the secured lender.

In re Living.com, Inc and Shaw Furniture Galleries, Inc., Case No. 00-12522-cag, Western District of Texas, Austin Division 
The Firm was counsel to a Chapter 11 trustee of an Austin-based e-commerce company.

Representation of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy estate in sale and licensing of intellectual property assets.

Creditors’ Committee counsel in the Austin bankruptcy case of the parent company of multi-national restaurant chains.

Liquidating Trustee and Creditors’ Committee counsel in AgriBioTech, Inc., Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case No. 00-10533, District of Nevada, a Las Vegas bankruptcy case of an international developer and distributor of turf and forage seeds.

Debtor’s counsel for Avado Brands, Inc. in the Dallas case of two multi-state restaurant chains.

Debtor’s counsel for a multi-state pharmacy franchisee in a pre-packaged bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy and Restructuring — Cross Border

In re SANJEL (USA) Inc., et al., Case No. 16-50778-CAG-15, filed for bankruptcy Western District of Texas, Midland Division, and CCAA in Calgary, Canada
We represented the foreign representative of five U.S. based oilfield service companies.

Investor Oversight Board (“IOB”) for I.G. Services, Ltd. (“IGS”) and IWG Services, Ltd. (“IWG”) filed for bankruptcy Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division and in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands
We represented the post-confirmation Investment Oversight Board (“IOB”) which consisted of Mexican investors. We advised the IOB with regard to the pursuit of claims and causes of action.

Bankruptcy and Restructuring — Real Estate

In re Villaje Del Rio, Ltd., Case No. 06-50797, Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division
The Firm represented Colina Del Rio, LP in connection with its role as an assignee of a non-recourse note secured by an uncompleted, multi-million dollar, mixed-use development property. Issues involved liability of assignee for alleged claims and causes of action asserted against the original holder of the note in connection with construction of property, including the ability to offset, prohibit or limit rights of secured creditor’s credit bid and opposition to attempts by the secured lender to foreclose the property. Representation included defending an appeal to the Fifth Circuit on an issue of first impression. Villaje Del Rio, Ltd. v. Colina Del Rio, LP (In re Villaje Del Rio, Ltd.), 283 Fed.Appx. 263 (5th Cir. June 25, 2008).

In re Joseph D. Milanowski, Case No. 07-13162, District of Nevada
We were lead counsel in the representation of the Chapter 11 Trustee, Ford Elsaesser. Mr. Milanowski was a principal in three entities which brokered commercial mortgages and/or acquired commercial properties around the United States. Contingent and liquidated liabilities exceeded $300,000,000.

In re American Rice Inc., Case No. 98-21254-C-11, Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division
We were Creditors’ Committee counsel in bankruptcy case of an international distributor of rice.

Bankruptcy and Restructuring — Asset Acquisition

Zhone Technologies, Inc.
Successful representation of Zhone Technologies, Inc. as U.S. counsel in its acquisition of assets from DZS Inc. through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas. With a total transaction value exceeding $30 million, this high-profile, cross-border deal involved complex coordination across jurisdictions—including assets and subsidiaries located in the United States, Canada, Australia, India, Korea, and beyond.

Dee Howard Aircraft
Our client, a Singapore-based aviation maintenance company, acquired leasehold interests and assets out of a bankruptcy estate. We assisted our clients in the initial bid proposal, negotiation through auction and closing of this transaction. We also guided our client through the complex regulatory and national-security related requirements.

Acquisition of Assets from Financially Distressed National Retailer of Computer Equipment and Software
We assisted our client, an international telecommunications/media company, in its acquisition of certain assets from a financially distressed national retailer of computer equipment and software used in its computer services division. We worked closely with company counsel to evaluate insolvency risk and structure the transaction to reduce the risk to our client.

Fairchild Aircraft, Case No. 02-52353-LMC, Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division
Lead counsel for the buyers in the acquisition of the various assets, including a commuter aircraft manufacturer and airline maintenance, repair and overhaul facility. 

In re Physicians Specialty Hospital of El Paso East, LP, Case No. 07-30633, Western District of Texas, El Paso Division

Bankruptcy and Restructuring — Plan Mediator

Plan Mediator for Cordillera, a golf resort and development in Colorado.

Mediator in U.S. Realm Powder River, LLC f/k/a Moriah Powder River, LLC, Case No. 19-20699, District of Wyoming, a natural gas development in Utah.