Curtis A. Hehn, Principal
Bankruptcy Attorney
| Email: | chehn@offitkurman.com |
| Office Phone: | 302.351.0903 |
| Cell Phone: | 302.757.3491 |
| Fax: | 302.351.0915 |
| Mailing Address: | 1201 North Orange St. Suite 7257 Wilmington, DE 19801 |
| Download vCard: | vCard |
Practice Areas
PRACTICE FOCUS
Curtis Hehn is a bankruptcy attorney and principal at Offit Kurman in the Firm’s Wilmington office. Mr. Hehn represents corporate debtors, official committees of unsecured creditors, ad hoc committees of bondholders, lenders, and individual creditors in all aspects of chapter 11 bankruptcy practice and litigation. Mr. Hehn has significant experience preparing chapter 11 bankruptcy cases for filing, all aspects of first day motion practice, motion practice during the bankruptcy, discovery, drafting plans and disclosure statements, plan confirmation, valuation disputes in contested confirmation hearings, contested bankruptcy litigation practice, all aspects of litigation under chapter 5 of the Bankruptcy Code, and bankruptcy appeals.
Mr. Hehn has also represents liquidating trustees, liquidating agents, and responsible persons in all aspects of post-confirmation litigation and governance, chapter 11 trustees, and chapter 7 debtors. Mr. Hehn’s representation of chapter 11 debtors and committees spans multiple industries, including: retail; manufacturing and distribution; restaurants; subprime mortgage; mass tort / asbestos; technology and telecom; and media and entertainment
EDUCATION
- Clerkship, United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey,
Camden Vicinage, Hon. Gloria M. Burns, U.S.B.J., 1997 - 1999 - J.D., Rutgers University, School of Law – Camden, 1996
- B.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1993
BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS
- Delaware
- United States District Court, District of Delaware
POINTS OF DISTINCTION
Delaware Co-Counsel to Caribe Media, Inc., winner of the 2012 Turnaround Atlas Award from Global M&A Network for “Media & Entertainment Turnaround of the Year.”
Delaware Co-Counsel to Real Mex Restaurants, 2013 M&A Advisor Turnaround Awards: finalist, distressed M&A deal of the year over $100m; finalist, consumer services.
ACTIVITIES
Mr. Hehn is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Delaware State Bar Association.
PREVIOUS WORK
Prior to joining Offit Kurman, Mr. Hehn was a partner with a national bankruptcy boutique that represented debtors and committees throughout the country.
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
Mr. Hehn’s representation of chapter 11 debtors and committees spans multiple industries, including: retail; manufacturing and distribution; restaurants; subprime mortgage; mass tort / asbestos; technology and telecom; and media and entertainment. Representative cases worked on by Mr. Hehn include:
Transportation:
Premier Trailer Leasing, Inc., Case No. 11-12676 (BLS)/ Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor was a semi-truck trailer rental and leasing business with a fleet of approximately 11,170 trailers. Case was filed as a “prepackaged” chapter 11 case, and was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court in 99 days, after a contested valuation hearing between the debtor and its second lien creditor.
Aspen Executive Air, LLC, Case No. 07-11341 (MFW) / Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor was a luxury jet travel service provider for upscale clientele. During the bankruptcy, the debtor sold substantially all of its assets as a going concern, and confirmed a plan of liquidation.
Retail:
EZ Lube, LLC., 08-13256 (CSS) / Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor was the largest, independent quick-lube operator in California, and one of the largest privately owned companies of its type in the United States. (Prior to its bankruptcy filing, the company had 78 locations in Southern California, and 4 in Arizona.) In less than one year after filing, the debtor’s chapter 11 plan was confirmed, and approximately $94.5 million of claims were converted into various units of reorganized EZ Lube.
G&G Retail, Inc. 06-10152 (RDD) / Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor was a national retailer specializing in the sale of young women and girls’ clothing. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, the debtor had stores and outlets leased throughout 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and a distribution center in New Jersey. Shortly after filing, the debtor sold substantially all of its assets as a going concern, and less than one year thereafter, confirmed a plan of liquidation that provided approximately 50% on the dollar to general unsecured creditors.
Wherehouse Entertainment, Inc., Case No. 03-10224 (PJW) / Committee Counsel. The debtor was one of the largest retailers of prerecorded music in the United States in its second chapter 11 case. Substantially all of the debtor’s assets were acquired by Trans World Entertainment in a bankruptcy court-approved sale.
Manufacturing and Distribution:
Point Blank Solutions, Inc., Case No. 10-11255 (PJW) / Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor was a leading manufacturers and provider of bullet, fragmentation, and stab-resistant apparel and related ballistic accessories, used domestically and internationally by military, law enforcement and corrections personnel, and government agencies. Substantially all of the debtor’s assets were sold during the case.
Champion Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 09-14019 (KG) / Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor was a leading manufacturer of modular homes. The debtor sold substantially all of its assets as a going concern during the bankruptcy, and confirmed a plan of liquidation.
DHP Holdings II Corporation, Case No. 08-13422 (MFW) / Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor had domestic and international operations for the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of heating and related commercial products, including vent-free heating appliances, outdoor heaters, lawn and garden electrical products, and consumer fastening systems. All of the debtor’s assets were liquidated during the case.
Restaurants:
Real Mex Restaurants, Inc., Case No. 11-13122 (BLS) / Debtor’s Delaware Co-Counsel. The debtors were the largest full-service Mexican casual dining restaurant chain operator in the United States in terms of numbers of restaurants. Debtor Real Mex operated 178 restaurants in 12 states, and franchised or licensed 30 restaurants in 10 states and 2 foreign countries (Japan and Turkey), including El Torito, Chevys, and Acapulco. Substantially all of the debtors’ assets were sold as a going concern.
Claim Jumper Restaurants, LLC, Case No. 10-12819 (KG) / Debtor’s Delaware Co-Counsel. The debtor was a restaurant chain inspired by California’s Gold Rush. The debtor operated 45 restaurants in 8 states, offering American cuisine with a modern twist. Substantially all of the debtors’ assets were sold as a going concern, and a chapter 11 plan of liquidation was approved by the Court.
Buffets Holdings, Inc., Case No. 08-10141(MFW) / Committee’s Delaware Co-Counsel. The debtor was the nation’s largest steak-buffet chain and the second largest restaurant company in the family-dining segment of the restaurant industry, operating under the names Old Country Buffet, Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, Ryan’s and Firemountain. Prior to filing, the debtor had 615 company-owned steak-buffet restaurants, eleven Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steakhouse restaurants, and 16 franchised locations collectively operating in 42 states, and employed over 36,000 employees.
Mass Tort Bankruptcies:
Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Inc., Case No. 09-13560 (CSS) / Committee Counsel. The Committee obtained a $77 million judgment with respect to the ownership of assets placed in a pooled investment account, which ultimately led to the settlement of the case, and confirmation of a plan of reorganization.
ACandS, Inc., Case No. 02-12687 (JKF) / Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor was an insulation construction company facing mass tort liability from its asbestos abatement work. During the case, the debtor settled with its primary insurer for $449 million. The district court affirmed the debtor’s chapter 11 plan and Bankruptcy Code section 524(g) injunction in 2008.
Combustion Engineering, Inc., Case No. 03-10495 (JKF) / Debtor’s Delaware Co-Counsel. The debtor was a boiler manufacturer in a case involving asbestos, with respect to which a section 524(g) injunction was obtained on behalf of the liquidating trust.
Subprime Mortgage:
Mortgage Lenders Network USA, Inc., Case No. 07-10146 (PJW) / Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor was a Connecticut-based subprime mortgage loan originator and servicer in its chapter 11 case. Prior to its filing, the debtor originated approximately $18 billion of subprime mortgage loans annually, and serviced approximately $17 billion of such loans. A liquidating chapter 11 plan was confirmed.
Aegis Mortgage Corporation, Case No. 07-11119 (BLS) / Debtor’s Counsel. Prior to the commencement of their chapter 11 cases, the debtors had lending operations in 49 states and offices in 24 states, generated approximately $800 million in monthly loan originations, and serviced approximately $3.6 billion in mortgage loans. Prior to the chapter 11 filing, Aegis originated wholesale Alt A and subprime loans as well as retail loans made directly to consumers. A liquidating chapter 11 plan was confirmed.
Technology and Telecom:
ProtoStar Ltd., Case No. 09-12659 (MFW) / Debtor’s Delaware Co-Counsel. The debtor was a satellite company which had launched and maintained two satellites before filing. Extensive involvement in bankruptcy litigation in general, including claim litigation with a French satellite launch company.
NetEffect, Inc., Case No. 08-12008 (KJC) / Debtor’s Counsel. The debtor was a fabless semiconductor company that created, designed, developed, marketed and sold a variety of high speed communications solutions, including Ethernet adapters and related drivers, libraries, semiconductors and software. Substantially all of the debtors’ assets were sold as a going concern during the bankruptcy, and a chapter 11 plan of liquidation was confirmed.
Cable and Wireless USA, Inc., Case No. 03-13711 (CGC) / Debtor’s Delaware Co-Counsel. At the time of their filing, the debtor was the second largest hosting services provider in the United States, and one of the largest carriers of internet traffic, focusing on blue chip Fortune 100 companies. The confirmation of the debtor’s plan resolved claims in excess of $6.8 billion.
Media and Entertainment:
Local Insight Media Holdings, Inc., Case No. 10-13677 (KG), and Caribe Media, Inc. Case No. 11-11387 (KG) / Debtor’s Delaware Co-Counsel. The debtors owned the publication rights for certain print and internet Yellow Pages directories. The balance-sheet restructuring gave senior secured creditors stock in the reorganized entity and general unsecured creditors passed through the reorganization unimpaired. Caribe Media won the 2012 Turnaround Atlas Award from Global M&A Network for “Media & Entertainment Turnaround of the Year.”
Lender Representations:
Lee Enterprises, Incorporated, Case No. 11-13918 (KG). Delaware Co-Counsel to initial backstop lenders and consenting lenders under support agreement.
VeraSun Energy Corporation, Case No. 08-12606 (BLS). Represented Farm Credit Bank of Texas in the debtor’s bankruptcy.
Radnor Holding Corporation, Case No. 06-10894 (PJW). Delaware co-counsel to postpetition secured lenders.
American Business Financial Services, Inc., Case No. 05-10203 (MFW). Delaware co-counsel to.
Chapter 7 Cases:
38 Studios, LLC, Case No. 12-11743 (MFW) / Debtor’s Counsel
CRE Holly Hill GP, LLC, Case No. 11-11236 (BLS) / Debtor’s Counsel
Holly Hill Associates, Ltd., 11-11237 (BLS) / Debtor’s Counsel
Bake-Line Group LLC, Case No. 04-10104 (MFW) / Debtor’s Counsel
