“Whereas, mediation may provide an opportunity to consensually resolve the Mediation Issues . . . It Is Therefore, Ordered” that “Representatives of the following parties and their counsel are directed to attend the Mediation in person: (i) the Debtors, (ii) the Committee, . . . [etc.] . . . “
Stuart M. Bernstein, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge (In re SunEdison, Doc. 2795, Case No. 16-10992, S.D.N.Y., 04/18/17).
SunEdison has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a year (since April 21, 2016). One of the major issues in the case involves preference, fraudulent transfer and related avoidance claims against a group of businesses with insider-type connections to SunEdison.
The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the SunEdison case explains the avoidance claims and issues like this (in Doc. 2666):
“It is undisputed that recoveries on account of the Avoidance Actions inure to the benefit of – and may be one of only a very few sources of recovery for – unsecured creditors.”
The avoidance claims are based on this information: “while Debtors were insolvent,” the insider-type entities received valuable assets from SunEdison, consisting of “completed energy projects, services and payments worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars, for which the Debtors did not receive reasonably equivalent value in exchange.” [Emphasis added.]
SunEdison proposes to resolve the avoidance claims by a settlement with its insider-type businesses and allocating $16.1 million from the settlement funds to unsecured creditors. The Committee objects to this “mere $16.1 million” amount, contending that, (i) additional discovery is needed to fully evaluate the settlement, and (ii) the Committee should be allowed to pursue such claims, rather than allowing SunEdison to dictate the terms of a settlement with its insiders.
Last week, Judge Bernstein orders this set of disputes into mediation.
–Time will tell how this mandated mediation plays out: can it provide a rescue?
–The stakes are high: back on March 7, 2017, during a hearing in open Court, the Judge says, “if there isn’t some resolution of the allocation issue by whatever the deadline is, it may be that’s the end of the case.”
It will be interesting to see whether the mediator, the parties and their counsel are up to the rescue challenge.
MEDIATBANKRY 
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