On April 18, 2011, John S Pereira, as Chapter 7 Trustee for each named Debtor in the Waterford Wedgwood USA Inc. Bankruptcy, commenced Chapter 5 preferential transfer recovery litigation with the filing of 10 complaints in the Southern District of New York.
Adversary Proceedings Overview
Lead Bankruptcy Case Name (Case Number): Waterford Wedgwood USA Inc. (09-12512)
Bankruptcy Court District (Division): Southern District of New York
Petition Date: April 23, 2009
Associated Cases: 09-12559 WW Inc.; 09-12562 Waterford Wedgwood Finance, Inc.; 09-12570 Wedgwood USA, Inc.; 09-12574 Waterford Wedgwood Partners; 09-12577 Waterford Wedgwood Holdings, Inc.; 09-12598 Waterford Graphics, Inc.; 09-12602 Waterford Wedgwood Direct Marketing, Inc.; 09-12611 FCI Properties, Inc.; 09-12614 Kilbarry Inc.; 09-12618 Waterford Crystal, Inc.
Plaintiff: John S Pereira, as Chapter 7 Trustee
Number of Proceedings: 91
When Filed: Starting April 18, 2011 with 10 Additional Complaints filed on July 19, 2011
Adversary Proceeding Judge: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane
Plaintiff's Counsel: Troutman Sanders LLP (New York, New York), Lead Attorney John S. Kinzey
Avoidance Period: The complaint identifies the preference period as "the ninety day period preceding [the Debtor's] bankruptcy filing."
The Complaints
The complaints are only two count complaints - Section 547 Preferences and Section 502(d) and (j) Disallowance of Claims. Additionally, within the body of the Section 547 Count is a purported claim under Section 550: "By reason of the foregoing, the Trustee is also entitled to an order and judgment under § 550 of the Bankruptcy Code allowing the Trustee to recover, inter alia, the amount of the Preferential Payments."
The complaints fail the pleading standards of Bell atl. Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal. In particular, there is an absence of any identification of the antecedent debt against which the transfers were made.
Related Materials:
- CADDJ APScans Report of Complaints, Answers, Dismissals, Defaults and Judgments in the Waterford Wedgwood USA Inc. Bankruptcy Preferential Transfer Recovery Adversary Proceedings
- To see a current APScans report of substantive filings made in the last 7 days, click this link.
- Sample Complaint in the Waterford Wedgwood USA Inc. Bankruptcy Adversary Proceedings