Bankruptcy Practice Collects Both Restructuring Deal of the Year Awards

Hunton & Williams LLP’s bankruptcy practice was twice recognized during the 15th Annual M&A Advisor Awards ceremony, collecting awards in both Restructuring of the Year categories, one for representations valued over $100 million and one for under $100 million.

The Restructuring Deal of the Year (over $100 million) was given in recognition of the bankruptcy practice group’s representation of The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of O.W. Bunker Holding North America, Inc. and affiliates in the District of Connecticut. Before abruptly filing for bankruptcy after the discovery of a massive internal fraud, O.W. Bunker was one the largest international traders of bunker fuel, with operations in 29 countries. Working closely with debtors’ counsel over the course of 13 months, Hunton was able to negotiate a complex Chapter 11 plan that elicited the full cooperation of the company’s secured creditor and resolved multiple conflicts between bankruptcy and maritime principles and proceedings, resulting in substantial distributions to unsecured creditors. The legal team was led by Peter S. Partee Sr. and Michael P. Richman, and included Andrew Kamensky and Robert A. Rich.

The Restructuring Deal of the Year (under $100 million) was awarded for the practice group's representation of Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. (HDL) and affiliates in their Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases filed in the US Bankruptcy Court in Richmond. Hunton put HDL, a Richmond-based blood testing laboratory, into Chapter 11 bankruptcy to save the business following news of a Department of Justice investigation that saw its revenues drop precipitously. The Hunton team’s ingenuity ultimately helped to engineer HDL’s sale to True Health and preserve over 450 jobs. The bankruptcy team representing HDL was led by Tyler P. Brown and Jason W. Harbour, with Henry P. “Toby” Long III, Shannon E. Daily and Justin F. Paget each playing key roles in the matter. T. Justin “Jay” Moore III, Sean P. Ducharme and numerous other Hunton lawyers were also involved in the representation.