Overview
Washington, DC (July 6, 2022) – International law firm McDermott Will & Emery represented Gulf Coast Health Care, LLC (Gulf Coast) and its affiliates (collectively with Gulf Coast, the Debtors) in its chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, which culminated in confirmation of their chapter 11 plan on June 27, 2022. Acting as Debtors’ counsel in these heavily contested chapter 11 cases pending before the Honorable Judge Karen Owens in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the Court), McDermott achieved this significant success for its client, former operators of 28 skilled nursing facilities in the southeastern United States.
The Debtors filed for chapter 11 on October 14, 2021, with the goal of transferring the operations of all of their skilled nursing facilities to new operators and winding down Gulf Coast’s operations. Shortly following the chapter 11 filing, the Debtors obtained court approval of a management and operations transfer agreement with their largest landlord to transition 24 of the Debtors’ skilled nursing facilities to a new manager, as well as two operations transfer agreements with their other landlord to transition the operations of their remaining four facilities.
The Debtors engaged in hard-fought negotiations with the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors throughout the chapter 11 cases. The Debtors also faced plan confirmation opposition with objections from several tort plaintiffs as well as the United States and the Office of the United States Trustee for the District of Delaware.
Following a multi-day evidentiary hearing on confirmation of the Plan, on June 27, 2022, the Court confirmed the Debtors’ plan of liquidation. Following emergence, three trusts will be formed to assist with the claims reconciliation and distribution processes and wind up Gulf Coast’s affairs: a liquidating trust, a litigation claimants trust and a general unsecured claims trust.
The McDermott restructuring team was led by Daniel Simon, David Hurst and Emily Keil and included Natalie Rowles, Daniel Thomson, Jake Jumbeck, Brandon White, Darren Yang, and Cathy Greer. Timothy Hoeffner, Jason Gerstein, and Katharine Suominen provided litigation support and corporate/finance support was provided by Riley Orloff and Nathan Barnett; and transactional tax support was provided by Gary Karch and Michael Wilder.
About McDermott
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. With more than 20 locations on three continents, our team works seamlessly across practices, industries and geographies to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,200 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
