Valken is Done

[Axel]

Frickin epic. Please do it. I want to buy a case of hibiscus-print "Commando Dots" from an MCB member. Hell I will come work for free on the weekends for a bit if you're close enough

[Cunha]

Most people in their 20s find it unbelievable that anyone paintballs at all. I have met people enthusiastic about the larp'er aspect of it but in a fun way not milsim weird way.

Its really far from the public youth of today and its a kids game.

[Axel]

Back to our roots, then: old men tripping around and breaking hips in the woods, not being seen for days

[the_matrix_guy]

Holy cow, why have I been ignoring this thread? Now that the 341 meeting has happened, what's the next steps in this process?

In most cases, the creditors get shafted. Even if stuff is liquidated to pay the creditors— they get pennies on the dollar.

[MrBarraclough]

Holy cow, why have I been ignoring this thread? Now that the 341 meeting has happened, what's the next steps in this process?

With the understanding that procedures may vary slightly between districts, and what I say is based on what we do in the district where I work, which is not the district where Valken's case is located: If there are any amendments to be made to the schedules, the 341 meeting is usually adjourned (continued) to a new date for the amended schedules to be filed and reviewed. There typically is not further examination of the debtor's principal unless specifically requested, such as in cases where the requested amendments may require further questions to be answered. Once there is no further examination to be conducted and all amendments are satisfactory to the trustee, then the 341 meeting is concluded. The trustee will either file an initial report of meeting held and concluded, or in cases where the trustee does not expect to administer any assets, will go ahead and file a Report of No Distribution.

If some creditors or other parties in interest have further questions or document requests for the debtor that are either outside the scope of the 341 examination or that come up after the 341 is concluded, they can file a Rule 2004 notice, which is essentially a notice of deposition, and seek to have the debtor or its principal produce documents and/or answer further questions under oath. These are done at the requesting creditor's expense, are not public, and tend to be contentious. When they occur, they usually signal that some party is gearing up to file an adversary proceeding, which is a lawsuit that is filed as a kind of adjunct to the main bankruptcy case.

Once the trustee is done collecting information from the debtor, he'll determine whether there are any assets to administer and then start taking steps to secure, inventory, and liquidate them. There's not really a set roadmap for how this plays out, as each case is unique. If the trustee intends to administer assets, what you'll typically see in the court record are things like notices of proposed sale, applications to employ professionals (lawyers, realtors, auctioneers, accountants), and a Notice of Assets which will trigger the start of a 90 day deadline for creditors to file proofs of claim if they haven't already. Valken's case being a conversion, there will already be a bunch of claims filed with the court. In my district, at least, in conversion cases we still file a new Notice of Assets and set a new claims bar date, though existing claims are valid and do not need to be re-filed.

[Axel]

Those are certainly words and no doubt they hold profound meaning for smarter people than I

[Trbo323]

Ok, question, explain the role of the trustee in this, like they are making a lot of decisions but, how do I phrase this, what decisions fall under the trustee and what kind of decisions don't?

And who assigned the trustee? Where did they come from?

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[MrBarraclough]

Ok, question, explain the role of the trustee in this, like they are making a lot of decisions but, how do I phrase this, what decisions fall under the trustee and what kind of decisions don't?

And who assigned the trustee? Where did they come from?

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The trustee is a court-appointed official who has control over something called the "bankruptcy estate," which is comprised of all of the assets of the debtor, including its intangible assets such its right to collect on accounts receivable and to file lawsuits to enforce any claims it may have against other parties. The closest analogue that most people would be familiar with are the executors of deceased persons' estates. The trustee in this case effectively owns Valken, in terms of level of control. He has the right to complete access to Valken's books and records and is the one who makes any decisions about what Valken does at this point. Fun fact: in corporate cases, the bankruptcy trustee can even waive attorney-client privilege on behalf of the company and order the company's lawyers to turn over any records to himself or to third parties. This doesn't apply in individual cases, for obvious reasons, only with corporate debtors. Trustees for corporate debtors can even order the company's lawyers to turn their files over to the US Attorney if they suspect any wrongdoing. But I digress.

While the trustee has near-total control versus the company's executive team, board, and shareholders, he is ultimately a court functionary whose major decisions are all subject to judicial approval. Any sales or other dispositions of company assets (other than sales of inventory in the ordinary course of business) require at minimum the filing of a notice with the court and a period in which interested parties can raise objections and trigger a hearing, or often require the filing of a motion and a hearing before the court in order to gain approval. As I have often explained to parties in my own cases, I cannot buy a postage stamp without a court order authorizing me to do so. All estate assets and funds must be meticulously accounted for. The trustee will maintain one or more dedicated bank accounts for the bankruptcy estate and these are subject to audit. The trustee's job in a Chapter 7 case is to liquidate the assets of the bankruptcy estate for the benefit of creditors generally. But he is not an advocate for any one creditor. And in fact part of the trustee's job is to review all creditor claims and to challenge those which appear to be incorrect, invalid, or insufficiently documented. The trustee is a kind of middle party who serves to keep both the debtor and the creditors honest.

The trustee is assigned by the judge in the case, but the judge is usually picking from a limited pool of qualified trustees for the district known as the Chapter 7 trustee panel. In the District of New Jersey (and in most other federal judicial districts), that panel is maintained by the United States Trustee for that district. The UST is an official in the Department of Justice. There is a weird exception in a handful of districts. The US Trustee Program does not exist in the federal judicial districts covering Alabama and North Carolina. In those districts, and only in those districts, the UST functions are handled by the offices of the US Bankruptcy Administrator, with one BA in charge of each district. The BA system exists under USAOC, the US Administrative Office of Courts, and is a judicial branch agency, not executive branch. I happen to work in a BA district and therefore answer to the BA's office, though I am leaving the active trustee panel at the end of this calendar year. In all districts, the trustees themselves are not actually federal employees but rather attorneys, accountants, or other qualified professionals in private practice. We are judicially appointed and enjoy a certain type of qualified immunity for our work, but our status is more like federal contractors. We receive a small fee for each case administered (paid out of the filing fee) and in cases with assets, we receive a commission based on the amounts that we recover and distribute to creditors and other parties, according to a graduated scale found in 11 U.S.C. §326.

It is also worth noting that when a Chapter 11 case is filed, the debtor initially acts as its own trustee, known as a Debtor in Possession (DIP), under the supervision of the UST (or BA where applicable). But if the creditors distrust the debtor's management team they can ask the court to appoint a trustee under §1104. And upon conversion of a Chapter 11 to a Chapter 7, a trustee will be appointed if one hasn't been already.

[Jsc5150]

I think it’s noteworthy that ANSgear just got a shipment of 3 grades of Valken paint.