Kit Weitnauer has represented parties in interest in major Chapter 11 cases, including Taylor Bean & Whitaker, Spectrum Brands, Lehman Brothers, IndyMac Bancorp and Enron. He is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy.
In 2006, he was the plaintiff’s trial counsel in a five-week jury trial in Oregon (with co-counsel from Oregon) that resulted in a jury verdict that (i) found that over $965 million in transfers were made with the actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud his client and (ii) awarded $350 million in punitive damages to his client. According to The National Law Journal, this was the largest verdict of 2006.
He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America reference book and profiled in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the field of Bankruptcy/Restructuring. He is the author of The Bankruptcy Court’s Watchdog: The Appointment, Role and Power of Examiners Today, published in 2011; the co-author of Business Valuation and Bankruptcy, published in 2009; and a co-author of Problem Loan Strategies. He is a contributing editor of two bankruptcy treatises, Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice and the Bankruptcy Litigation Manual, as well as the monthly American Bankruptcy Institute Journal. He is a frequent speaker on bankruptcy topics.
- Represents Wells Fargo, N.A., as Master Servicer of 12 Trusts holding $3.9 billion in assets, in the Taylor, Bean and Whitaker Corp. bankruptcy.
- Lead trial counsel to the Official Committee of Equity Security
Holders in the contested plan confirmation hearing in the Spectrum Brands Chapter 11 case.
- Represented a special committee of a board of directors with respect to restructuring matters.
- Represented two shareholders/creditors in a holding company bankruptcy filed in Delaware.
- Represents various clients with various issues (swaps, swap terminations, structured finance deals, among others) in connection with the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcies.
- Plaintiffs’ trial counsel (together with Oregon co-counsel) in a complex fraudulent transfer case, which resulted in a December 2006 jury verdict that (i) approximately $1 billion in assets had been transferred with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud the plaintiffs and (ii) awarded the plaintiffs $350 million in punitive damages.
- Counsel for the debtor in possession in the cases of: Galey & Lord, Inc. (Section 363 sale concluded in three months); Sports Court, Inc. and American Athletic, Inc. (Section 363 sales of two related companies concluded in two months); KinderCare Learning Centers, Inc. (pre-arranged plan for $600 million in debt confirmed within several months after filing); and Cajun Electric Power Cooperative ($5 billion restructuring with the REA).
- Special counsel to First American Healthcare (honored as the “Turnaround of the Year” by the Atlanta chapter of the Turnaround Management Association).
- Represented secured creditors and creditors’ committees.
- Represented the Examiner in both the Enron and the Southmark bankruptcy cases. In the Enron Examination he was the author of “Legal Standards” contained in the Examiner’s reports and also served as the reporter for the “Role of Enron’s Attorneys” and was one of the two reporters for the “Role of JPMorganChase.”
-
September 12, 2011
In The Press
-
July 5, 2011
In The Press
-
March 18, 2011
In The Press
-
August 30, 2010
In The Press
-
June 11, 2010
In The Press
-
June 12, 2009
In The Press
-
January 21, 2009
In The Press
-
October 1, 2008
In The Press
-
July 11, 2008
In The Press
-
17 September 2007
In The Press
-
15 June 2007
In The Press
-
19 March 2007
In The Press
-
Summer 2010
Publications
-
"Valuation Questions Raised by the TOUSA Case," American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, March 2010.
March 2010
-
Business Valuation and Bankruptcy, John Wiley & Sons, November 2009.
November 2009
-
"Fifth Circuit Requires Plans to 'State Clearly' the Intent to Bring Common-law Claims," American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, March 2009.
March 2009
-
"Current Approaches to Substantive Consolidation: Owens Corning Revisited," Norton's Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law, February 2009.
February 2009
-
"Sales Transaction 'Free And Clear of Liens' Is Not Immune From Appellate Scrutiny Despite A 'Closing,' and Junior Lienholder's Rights Are Preserved," ABI Asset Sales Newsletter, October 2008.
October 2008
-
"Commercial Damages and Valuations After Daubert, AIRA Journal, August/September 2008.
August/September 2008
-
"Form Defeats Substance; Substance Not Allowed to Fight," American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, March 2008.
March 2008
-
"Eleventh Circuit Muddles Valuation Rules," American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, October 2007.
October 2007
-
"Third Circuit Restricts Substantive Consolidation in Owens Corning," American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, October 2005.
October 2005
-
“Armstrong World Industries Rules that the Absolute Priority Rule is, Indeed, Absolute for Purposes of the Fair and Equitable Test,” American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, May 2005.
May 2005
-
“Should an Examiner Prosecute Claims: A Response to Proposed Changes to the Role of Examiner Contained in the Second Report of Sabre,” American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, March 2005.
March 2005
-
“First Government Contracts, then Patents, and Now Software: the ‘Hypothetical Test’ Makes it Harder to Reorganize,” American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, November 2004.
November 2004
-
“Substantive Consolidation of Non-debtors: Another Perspective,” American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, May 2004.
May 2004
Past Events
-
January 19, 2012
Seminar
-
November 17, 2011
Seminar
-
March 16, 2011
Seminar
-
October 7, 2010
Seminar
-
April 22-24, 2010
Seminar
-
March 31, 2010
Seminar
-
March 4, 2010
Seminar
-
January 28, 2010
Seminar
-
January 21, 2010
Seminar
-
October 23-24, 2009
Seminar
- American Bar Association: Chair, Subcommittee on Bankruptcy Committees (2011 - present); Chair, Subcommittee on Abuses of the Bankruptcy System (2009 – 2010)
- Turnaround Management Association: Atlanta Chapter, Member of the Board of Directors (2010 -present)American Bankruptcy Institute: Associate Editor, ABI Journal (2011 - present)