Practices

At Meland Budwick, P.A., we take an interdisciplinary approach to the law. We pride ourselves on our flexible, creative method of problem solving and on our firm culture that highly prioritizes responsiveness to our clients’ needs.

Receiverships and Assignments

During the course of business or real estate litigation, such as an alleged financial fraud or a mortgage foreclosure case, a court may appoint a receiver to take control of a debtor’s assets in order to manage and preserve the assets’ value until the litigation is concluded. A receiver may abandon property and liquidate all or part of a debtor’s assets, depending on the authority granted by the court. We have experience with all aspects of a receivership case. Indeed, three of our partners have been appointed by state and federal courts as receivers. Whether serving as the court-appointed receiver, or as attorneys for the receiver, we know how to manage large and complex cases and understand how to maximize value for creditors.

We also have a broad range of knowledge and experience handling assignments for the benefit of creditors, commonly known as ABC cases. An ABC case is an insolvency proceeding governed by state law rather than federal bankruptcy law. While a bankruptcy may be an option for some financially distressed companies, others may opt for an ABC as an alternative method to liquidate all or part of its assets. In an ABC, all or part of the debtor’s assets are assigned to an assignee appointed by the state court, whose duties and responsibilities to a debtor’s creditors are equivalent to those of a trustee to the beneficiaries of a trust. An ABC offers a level of flexibility that bankruptcy does not and can be a cost effective option, depending on the goals of the distressed company. Meland Budwick, P.A. has extensive knowledge and experience managing this state court supervised liquidation process.

Receiverships and Assignments Representative Matters

 

  • Represented a Florida District Court-appointed receiver in a Federal Trade Commission action against bad actors involved in a bogus health insurance scheme, which included deceptive practices that harmed consumers across the country. Assisting the Receiver, the Firm took control of, and evaluated the business operations, determined they should be shut down and did so, and gathered assets for the benefit of creditors. The receivership was transferred to a Texas District Court, where the Firm, assisting the Receiver, worked with a Texas receiver over affiliated entities and eventually terminated the receivership with a distribution made to priority creditors.
  • Represented largest victim in Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Scott Rothstein and Rothstein Rosenfeldt & Adler, P.A. law firm in Fort Lauderdale.
  • A Florida District Court appointed MB partner Peter Russin as Receiver over entities located in Wisconsin and Florida. The action was brought by the Federal Trade Commission and alleged that the bad actors operated a scam that lured consumers with promises of affordable health insurance but actually provided nearly valueless “medical discount” cards. The Firm is representing and assisting the Receiver in taking control of the receivership entities, investigating their operations and shutting certain of them down while allowing others to operate, and gathering assets for eventual distribution for the benefit of creditors.
  • Represented the receiver in Federal Trade Commission v. Boost Software, Inc, et. al including executing on TRO issued by federal district court as well as subsequent investigation of alleged financial fraud and FTC violations.
  • Represented the Assignee in ABC of Star Styled Dancing Supplies.
  • Represented Assignee in ABC of Moll Systems Corporation
  • A Florida State Court appointed Mark Meland as Receiver over entities controlled by Claudio Osorio, including Innovida Holdings, Inc. The firm represented Mr. Meland in his efforts as Receiver.
  • A Florida State Court Mark Meland as Receiver over property owned by real estate developer Thomas Kramer, located on exclusive Star Island, Miami Beach, Florida. The firm represented Mr. Meland in his efforts as Receiver.
  • Represented D. Whittelsey, Inc., d/b/a Whittelsey Wood Products, Inc., as Assignor in an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors filed in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.
  • Represented Philp J. von Kahle as Assignee in the Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors of Auto 7, Inc., filed in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for Broward County, Florida. Represented Assignee in connection with efforts to stabilize and operate the company,  market and sell assets and review claims and causes of action in efforts to obtain a recovery for creditors.
  • Represented a secured creditor in a receivership in Broward County and obtained a very favorable result for the client.
  • Represented John Arrastia, as FTC Receiver in the U.S. District Court for the S.D. Florida.   This court-ordered receivership took control over Florida and Texas-based entities that had perpetrated a telemarketing scheme preying on vulnerable consumers, including the unemployed and uninsured.   The Firm represented Mr. Arrastia as he coordinated with the Texas receiver and law enforcement to (among other things) secure the physical and electronic books and records, terminate the fraudulent operations and gather (and eventually distribute) assets for the benefit of creditors.