Represented Avenue Sports Fund, an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group, respecting its lead equity investment in Men in Blazers, the preeminent soccer-focused media platform and podcast producer in the United States.
Represented Avenue Sports Fund in its partnership with Bright Path Sports Partners in connection with their investment in Gamechanger 20 Ltd, the owner of Ipswich Town Football Club. Ipswich Town competes in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Avenue Capital will have representation on the Ipswich Town Board of Directors and will provide strategic input in addition to the equity capital and lending facility.
Herrick represented Flat Footed LLC, an investment management firm, in a successful proxy campaign to block a merger between two distressed REITs. Following a months-long public proxy campaign by Flat Footed opposing the proposed merger between Diversified Healthcare Trust and Office Properties Income Trust, the two companies announced their termination of the merger agreement.
Represented a group of creditors who had their existing debt subordinated to other creditors via an improper amendment to a credit agreement that occurred to facilitate an “uptier” transaction. We represented this client group in both the bankruptcy and a related adversary proceeding that we commenced. A plan of reorganization was approved by the bankruptcy court with terms favorable to our clients. This matter is particularly notable because it involves novel legal issues associated with the timely and growing trend of creditors challenging “uptier” transactions more broadly.
Represented Avenue Sports Fund in its investment in Cosm, a leading immersive technology, media, and entertainment company. The funding will drive long-term growth of Cosm's "shared reality" venues as well as its technology and media business units.
Represented Avenue Sports Fund, an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group, respecting its equity investment in College Sports Tomorrow, a group of prominent investors and leaders in the sports industry, seeking to establish a single, national college football league.
Represented Avenue Sports Fund, an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group, respecting its equity investment in the North Carolina Courage, a women’s professional soccer club competing in the NWSL.
Herrick defended a managing general agent in a major breach of contract dispute with an insurance carrier seeking several hundred millions of dollars in damages. This case was high-stakes and complex, involving extensive document discovery, witness depositions, two motions to dismiss, several discovery disputes, numerous experts and an appeal of one motion to dismiss decision. Following intensive fact depositions, the parties reached a settlement on favorable terms for our client.
Represented Avenue Sports Fund, an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group, respecting its equity investment in Mercury13, a multi-club ownership group focused on women’s football clubs in Europe and South America, which currently owns FC Como Women of Italy’s top-tier Serie A Femminile.
Successfully defended an international manufacturer against a complex, multi-million-dollar breach of contract claim brought by a U.S. trading company involving the sale of petrochemicals, including an award of attorneys’ fees, expenses and costs. The representation included a seven-day trial involving multiple fact and expert witnesses.
Herrick regularly represents NFP, a national insurance brokerage and consulting firm, in connection with a pre-litigation disputes and litigation.
Co-counsel to group of minority lenders challenging non-pro rata “uptier” transaction entered into between borrower, majority lenders and equity sponsor. The litigation involved a timely topic that has garnered significant attention in the market, i.e., whether a private roll-up debt exchange qualifies as an “open market” purchase exempt from the credit agreement’s general requirement that all distributions be made pro rata. After we successfully opposed defendants’ motion to dismiss, allowing the minority lenders’ primary claims to proceed to discovery, the parties entered into a settlement, resulting in an outcome favorable to our clients.
Serving as Co-Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, on behalf of Debtors’ estates, in lawsuit asserting fraudulent transfer, breach of fiduciary duty, and related claims in connection with prepetition transactions totaling billions of dollars.
Serving as (i) Special Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors charged with investigating potential estate claims and causes of action relating to a 363 sale of intercompany company notes and certain credit default swap transactions, and (ii) Special Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in high profile litigation on behalf of debtors’ estates, seeking to recover billions of dollars of claims arising from several prepetition transfers. (In re Sears Holdings Corporation, et al. (S.D.N.Y.)
Represented Avenue Sports Fund, an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group, respecting its equity investment in a sports media company focused on sports-related entertainment and lifestyle content.
Represented Avenue Sports Fund as lead investor in the acquisition of the U.S. team in the global sailing league SailGP. The team acquisition was the largest in SailGP history, and, according to Sports Business Journal, constituted a record valuation for a SailGP team.
“The investment by the Avenue Sports Fund in the U.S. SailGP Team is a perfect fit for our strategy of supporting emerging sports and leagues to capitalize on the globalization of sports and related areas of potential rapid growth,” said Marc Lasry, Avenue Capital Group Chairman and CEO.
Represented Avenue Sports Fund, an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group, respecting its equity investment in an owner and operator of pickleball facilities.
Represented Avenue Sports Fund, an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group, respecting its investment in Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a consortium of sports franchise owners and investors, in support of SSG’s $3 billion investment in PGA Tour Enterprises, a new commercial venture between the PGA Tour, SSG and PGA Tour players.
Represented Milwaukee Bucks co-owner, Marc Lasry, in the sale of his 25 percent stake in the team to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam. According to ESPN, the transaction struck at a $3.5 billion valuation was the second highest valuation ever paid for an NBA team and the third highest valuation for any American professional sports team. It was a tremendously successful conclusion to Mr. Lasry’s tenure as an owner and steward of the championship Bucks.
Representing mezzanine lender in connection with defaults under the mezzanine financing for a luxury hotel in New York City, including advising the lender on a potential UCC foreclosure of the hotel or a potential sale of the lender’s mezzanine loan to a third party.
Filed amicus briefs on behalf of a group of bankruptcy law professors concerning debtor LTL Management LLC ("LTL"), an entity created by Johnson & Johnson to hold its talc liabilities to cancer victims exposed to talc in J&J’s products. The professors filed these briefs in support of a motion to dismiss LTL’s chapter 11 case, both before the Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey, and the appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. In January 2023, the Third Circuit reversed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision and dismissed the LTL Chapter 11 case. (D.N.J. and 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals 2022-2023).
Representing minority LLC member in derivative action against majority LLC members serving on board and their affiliated lender funds asserting claims for breaches of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting such breaches.
Representing indenture trustee for convertible noteholders in connection with Debtors’ bankruptcy cases.
Representing reorganized debtor in contractual dispute regarding terms of loan to debtor’s liquidating trust and opposing liquidating trustee’s motion to re-open chapter 11 cases.
Represented the largest ad hoc group of defendants-appellees in a matter that has been litigated for over a decade involving fraudulent conveyance claims arising from a $2 billion leveraged recapitalization. The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of all claims In re: Boston Generating, LLC. In so doing, the Second Circuit ruled that the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbor provision for securities contracts payments, 11 U.S.C. § 546(e), applied to the leveraged buyout and pre-empted the plaintiff-appellant-trustee’s state-law fraudulent conveyance claims, which attempted to claw back approximately $708 million from the defendants-appellees.
Represented a fund in connection with a dispute over treatment of claims in a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization of subsidiary debtors.
Counsel to Reorganized SunEdison, Inc. concerning indemnity claims asserted by the syndication agent and lead arranger for a pre-petition second lien loan facility.
