|
Receivers' Huddle Series: Bar Orders post Purdue Pharma
Tuesday, June 10 | 2:00 - 3:30 PM ET (11:00 AM - 12:30 PM PT)
Experienced Receivers and class counsel discuss the effect of Bar Orders in Federal Equity Receiverships in light of the Supreme Court ruling in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 603 U.S. 204 (2024). In Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., the Supreme Court held specifically that the Bankruptcy Code does not authorize a bankruptcy court to grant a release and injunction that extinguishes direct claims against nondebtor third parties (i.e. “bar orders”) without the claimants’ consent. The Panel will discuss what this might mean outside the bankruptcy context and inside Federal Equity Receiverships in the future, including the various court rulings since Purdue Pharma and what they might mean for the future of bar orders. NAFER Members: FREE Non-Member Attendees: $50 Presented by:About Our Speakers
Melanie Damian
Damian | Valori | Culmo
Miami, FL
Melanie Damian represents public and private companies and individuals in a variety of complex business and securities litigation. She regularly serves as court-appointed Federal Equity Receiver, Special Monitor, and distribution Agent, and also serves as Receiver and Monitor in state court matters. Ms. Damian also serves as counsel to Receivers serving in both state and federal court. She counsels companies on corporate governance matters and serves as counsel to special litigation committees performing internal investigations in response to shareholder derivative demands. She also represents officers and directors in corporate and securities litigation matters, and various partners or members in closely held “business divorce” matters. Ms. Damian is a Past Chair of the Business Law Section of The Florida Bar, Immediate Past President of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Florida Chapter, currently services as cochair of the ABA Business Law Section Business Bar Coordination Committee and the Receivership subcommittee. Ms. Damian is active in child advocacy and is a founder of the non-profit Educate Tomorrow. Ms. Damian currently serves as Chair of the Board of the SEED School of Miami. Ms. Damian received numerous awards for her service.
Kevin Duff
Rachlis Duff & Peel, LLC
Chicago, IL Kevin Duff is a commercial litigator who also serves as a federal equity receiver and counsel to receivers. He is a Past President of NAFER and has served on NAFER’s Board of Directors since 2013. He has significant experience in litigation involving Ponzi schemes and other cases involving fraud or related torts, including pursuing a spectrum of remedies to recover money and other assets from defendants and third-parties. Kevin has represented clients in securities, finance and banking, real estate, commercial transactions, professional malpractice, fraudulent transfer, and many other complex litigation matters for over 30 years. Kevin and his firm, Rachlis Duff & Peel, are frequently retained by other receivers to serve as legal advisors and litigation counsel. Ted Fates
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
San Diego, CA Allen Matkins partner Ted Fates has extensive experience in handling all aspects of equity receiverships initiated by federal regulatory agencies and pursuing litigation against professionals, financial institutions, and recipients of profits from fraudulent schemes. His clients include equity receivers appointed for various securities trading and investment firms, real estate and healthcare industry lenders, internet-based investment programs, and Ponzi schemes. Collectively, these entities raised more than $2.5 billion from their participants. In equity receiverships, Ted’s work often involves selling unique and complex assets—from movie rights, intellectual property, and luxury real estate, yachts, and cars to non-traditional manufacturing facilities and business operations. Where equity receiverships involve victims of fraud, Ted has handled cases involving tens of thousands of claims, establishing an orderly, efficient process for validating claims and resolving claim disputes, as well as obtaining court approval of distribution plans tailored to the unique equities of the case. Jeff Schneider
Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman LLP
Miami, FL Jeff is an accomplished trial lawyer whose practice focuses on high-stakes business litigation, receiverships, and class action litigation, particularly in connection with receiverships. Jeff is one of the Firm’s founding partners, and has been the Firm’s Managing Partner since its inception fifteen years ago. Jeff also Chairs the Firm’s Receivership Practice Group. Jeff has been trying complex, high-risk, eight-and-nine-figure cases in federal and state trial courts, and in arbitration proceedings, for over thirty years. Jeff has worked on some of the largest fraud cases in history, either as lead trial counsel, as receiver, or as counsel to the receiver. Jeff has also served as receiver in actions brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Office of the Attorney General. Jeff has been appointed by District Court judges in the Northern District of Alabama, the Northern District of Illinois and the Southern District of Florida, and by state court judges in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Throughout the course of his career, Jeff has helped to recover well over $400 million for defrauded victims, including a $104 million recovery in the Mutual Benefits fraud, a $150 million recovery and a $32 million recovery in the Jay Peak fraud, a $54 million recovery in the Woodbridge fraud, a $32 million dollar recovery in the DLI fraud, and multiple other eight-figure recoveries. Jeff is known for his creative and passionate approach to litigation, and is considered an expert on Ponzi schemes and fraud cases. Jeff has been recognized by virtually every publication and peer-review organization that exists, including Chambers USA and The Best Lawyers in America, and has twice received the Daily Business Review’s “Most Effective Lawyer” award (having been nominated four times). As noted in Chambers USA, Jeff’s peers call him “a shrewd tactician” and praise him for his “creativity,” his “organization,” and his ability “to analyze, distill, and set forth complex issues in a simple, understandable way.” In 2024, Jeff was one of three lawyers in Miami-Dade County nominated for “Attorney of the Year” by the Daily Business Review. Jeff is a frequent lecturer in the areas of receivership litigation and commercial litigation and arbitration.
|
Print Page