Greg Hays of Atlanta-based Hays Financial Consulting published an article in the Fall 2012 issue of Receivership News, a publication of the California Receivers Forum. The subject and scope of the article, entitled “Avoiding a Nightmare,” is described in the introduction:
A properly structured receivership can provide a cost-effective, efficient, and flexible vehicle to protect and maximize the assets of a financially distressed or otherwise troubled entity and to allow stakeholders to minimize losses and maximize recovery. As receiverships have become more popular in recent years due to the potential benefits, property managers, accountants, and other parties have increasingly sought to obtain receivership skills in order to acquire new business opportunities. Inexperienced receivers, however, often encounter difficulty in navigating the vague rules and regulations governing receiverships, which can cause various adverse consequences for lenders, creditors, and even the receiver. Such consequences may be magnified in instances where property in receivership is subject to a subsequent bankruptcy case and the receiver is caught between the two proceedings.
This article will discuss selected practices to attempt to avoid adverse consequences in a receivership and the associated liability and loss of value. First, this article will examine an example of a nightmare receivership superseded by a bankruptcy case in which creditors incurred additional fees and expenses, and the receiver was subject to a finding of contempt and conflicting instructions in the different proceedings. Next, best practices will be recommended for: 1) the preliminary stage of a receivership; 2) the operation of the receivership; and 3) a receivership encountering a subsequently filed bankruptcy case.
The article is available in .pdf format by clicking here.