Competition Continues For General Growth Properties

Post from the Wall Street Journal regarding the General Growth bankruptcy:

“The takeover battle for mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. reached a boiling point Wednesday as General Growth unveiled a deal with Canadian property investor Brookfield Asset Management Inc. even as Australian mall owner Westfield Group considered entering the fray.

Westfield, which owns 119 malls in the U.S., Australia and Britain, signed a nondisclosure agreement this week to begin discussions with General Growth about a possible offer, people familiar with the matter said.

Westfield has $8 billion of borrowing capacity on hand, and is thus far acting alone, these people said.

As Westfield deliberated, General Growth laid out a plan …”

General Growth Properties owns Galleria at Tyler in Riverside, Moreno Valley Mall, and Redlands Mall in the Inland area. A bankruptcy judge will consider all  options for the hearing set for March 3.

Follow news about General Growth Properties at the Curtis Law Group Bankruptcy Blog.

General Growth restructures $9.7 billion in debt

General Growth, a Chicago based company, owns Tyler Galleria Mall of Riverside, Redlands Mall and the Moreno Valley Mall. General Growth has submitted their plan for Chapter 11 in hopes that 92 of their properties will not see a bankruptcy by the end of this year. A segment of the Associated Press article posted on SFGate is below:

“General Growth Properties Inc. said Wednesday lenders have agreed to restructure about $9.7 billion in debt under a plan that will allow 92 of its properties to emerge from bankruptcy protection by the end of the year. The nation’s second-largest mall operator will pay off loans that cover regional shopping centers, offices, community centers and related subsidiaries. The plan will allow the real estate investment trust to retain ownership of the properties, including the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu and the Harborplace & The Gallery in Baltimore.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings for Inland Empire, October 2009

From the Curtis Law Group Blog:

“Chapter 7 bankruptcies filed by residents of Riverside County and San Bernardino County are filed in the Riverside Bankruptcy Courthouse.  Data from that court points to the following ten cities as having the highest number of Chapter 7 bankruptcies for residents of those counties for October 2009:

Corona, Fontana, Hemet, Hesperia, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, and San Bernardino.”

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings, September 2009

Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in the Riverside County Bankruptcy Courthouse for September, according to research done by a leading bankruptcy law firm,  continue to trend upward in 2009.

The cities with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcies in Riverside County and San Bernardino County for September did not change from the top-ten in August:

Corona, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Victorville.

Bankruptcy attorneys in the Inland Empire are also noticing a high number of filings from bankruptcy debtors residing in Chino, Chino Hills, Hemet, Hesperia, and Lake Elsinore.

Chapter 7 Bankrutpcy Filings For August 2009

Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in the Riverside County Bankruptcy Courthouse for August 2009 reveal that the top ten cities in Riverside and San Bernardino County with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcies were:

Corona, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Victorville.

Bankruptcy attorneys from Riverside and San Bernardino County are also witnessing a high number of filings from debtors residing in Chino, Chino Hills, Hemet, and Hesperia.

Bankruptcy For Riverside Golf Club Closes Down Establishment Beloved By Locals

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy has led a beloved local Golf Club in Riverside to close it’s doors.

From the Press-Enterprise, online:

“The Riverside Golf Club closed for good Wednesday, still owing the city more than $300,000 and holding thousands more belonging to a couple who had poured their life savings into a wedding they had planned there for Saturday.

The closure of the club, at least a half-century old, also sent other patrons scrambling to find alternate links to play and conference rooms to meet in.

Howsmith Corporation, which leases the property from Riverside Public Utilities, has been in arrears since November 2006 and owes $334,000, said City Councilman Mike Gardner, whose Ward 1 includes the club. “I’m surprised,” he said. “I had no idea this was coming.”

Howsmith filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 14, according to the bankruptcy document. A Web site lists Jacklyn Smith as the president of the Riverside company founded in 1979. No one answered at the phone number listed at the same address as the Riverside Golf Club.

Wednesday, John Lee Brown and Dimitra Kelly stood outside the locked gates of the parking lot of the shuttered clubhouse and banquet hall at 1011 N. Orange St.

They’d invited 100 guests to their wedding Saturday.

“This is a tragedy,” said Kelly, 40, who said they’d sunk $8,000 into the kaput celebration. “We had our rehearsal dinner there last Friday. They just faxed me the seating arrangement yesterday.”

Christopher R. Barclay, a trustee for Howsmith Corporation, was on the premises Wednesday. He refused to comment and ordered a reporter to leave. Rancho Cucamonga-based Dennis Baranowski, the corporation’s attorney, could not be reached.

“It’s a shame it’s closing,” said Jerry Seinturier, 56, who remembers the golf course from the 1950s. He plays in the golf league at Bourns Inc. where he works, but learned Wednesday morning that their evening round and banquet had been canceled. The greens had withered to browns over the past two years, he said, but the price was right: $10 for walkers, $15 for riders. “I have no idea where we’ll play now,” Seinturier said.

That leaves only one other 18-hole municipal golf course in Riverside, Sky Links at Van Buren Boulevard. The other city-owned course, at Fairmount Park, is nine holes.

Ken Truelock was shocked to learn that the golf clubhouse was closed for Wednesday’s noon meeting of the Magnolia Center Exchange Club, a service group. “We had a board meeting here yesterday,” he said. “I’m disappointed.”

But Kelly and Brown, who’ve been together eight years and have four children, were crushed. They paid the $837 balance several days ago on the $3,000 owed for the rental hall and appetizers.

Plus, they’ve shelled out another $5,000 for the disc jockey, photographer, flowers, minister, decorations, wedding gown, tuxedo and bridesmaids’ jewelry.

Kelly and Brown said Barclay told them to file a claim.

“We’re depleted,” said Kelly, tears running down her cheeks. “I’m extremely upset and embarrassed. We’ve got all this out-of-state family coming.”

Bankruptcy Filed By “Erin Brockovich” Law Firm

Bankruptcy filings are never glamorous, but sometimes those involved have themselves spent time in the spotlight for prior events or accomplishments of note.  One such entity is the law firm featured in the Julia Roberts film, “Erin Brockovich.”  From the WSJ blog:

“The personal injury law firm that handled the water contamination case featured in the movie, Masry & Vitotoe, earlier this month filed for bankruptcy protection.

According to Lisa Cohen, a spokeswoman for the firm, based in Westlake Village, Calif., the filing was the unfortunate result of a squabble for funds after the death of founding partner Edward Masry in 2005 (played in the movie by Albert Finney).

According to a report in the Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review, a number of litigants had come forward alleging that Masry promised them assets and cash from the firm. His own estate and heirs also filed claims. All told, the law firm spent more than $3 million related to the claims and ensuing litigation.”

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings in Riverside & San Bernardino Counties, July 2009

Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in Riverside County and San Bernardino County for July 2009 were most numerous in the following ten Inland Empire cities:

Corona, Fontana, Hemet, Moreno Valley, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Victorville.  Hesperia also had a high number of Chapter 7 bankruptcies filed, as did Murrieta.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy, also known as “fresh start” bankruptcy by bankruptcy attorneys, helps debtors get out from under large amounts of debt by discharging most debts owed to creditors.

GM Will Survive Bankruptcy, But With $48 Billion in Debt

From Bloomberg news:

“General Motors Corp., which is preparing to sell its best assets to a streamlined new entity, will carry with it liabilities of $48.4 billion, a bankruptcy judge said.

The new GM agreed to take on those obligations to benefit creditors, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber in New York said in a ruling on July 7 that denied a quick appeal to opponents of the sale. The debt will be offset by GM’s most competitive assets, such as Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC.

Gerber previously approved the sale of most of GM’s business to a U.S. Treasury-funded buyer and said the company could complete the deal any time after today at noon. The Treasury has set a July 10 deadline for the sale.

Detroit-based GM entered bankruptcy court on June 1 reporting global liabilities of $176.4 billion as of Dec. 31. The old GM will be left with GM’s remaining obligations and unwanted assets, including contaminated factory sites, a parking lot in Flint, Michigan, and a nine-hole golf course in New Jersey.

Gerber ruled on July 7 that asbestos and accident victims couldn’t block the sale or take their opposition directly to an appeals court, bypassing the intermediate district court. He said in a written decision that if GM were forced to liquidate because an appeal blocked the sale, creditors could lose $66.6 billion in value.”

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Most Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing Cities in Inland Empire, June 2009

For bankruptcy attorneys in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, there was no shortage of Chapter 7 bankruptcies to be filed in June, 2009.  And for the second month in a row, the top ten cities in the Inland Empire with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings has remained the same.

The ten cities with the most Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in the Inland Empire for the month of June 2009 were: Corona, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Victorville. Other Inland Empire cities that also had a high number include: Hemet, Hesperia, Lake Elsinore, and Rialto.