Nicholas A Koffroth

Practice Areas

Nick focuses his practice on complex bankruptcy cases and financial restructuring matters. His bankruptcy experience includes work in the commercial real estate, health care, commercial lending and entertainment sectors.

Bankruptcy:

Nick has broad-based experience in nearly all facets of bankruptcy and insolvency matters. His bankruptcy practice includes: Chapter 11 plan restructuring and related litigation, Section 363 sales, Valuation disputes, Single-asset real estate cases, Debtor-In-Possession (DIP) financing, Adversary proceedings, Bankruptcy appeals, Claim disputes.

Nick represents a broad range of bankruptcy stakeholders. He has represented debtors in matters ranging from the second largest hospital bankruptcy case in U.S. history to Subchapter V cases. Nick has represented official committees of creditors in health care bankruptcy cases, official committees of equity security holders in post-confirmation litigation and an ad hoc committee in negotiations related to confirmation of a real estate Ponzi-scheme case. He also represents a wide range of other bankruptcy stakeholders, including secured and unsecured creditors, landlords, tenants, franchisors, franchisees, directors and officers.

Nick has represented businesses and individuals in a wide range of industries, including commercial real estate, health care, entertainment, apparel, hospitality, sports and technology.

Litigation & Appellate Matters

Nick aggressively litigates high-stakes matters in bankruptcy, federal and state courts, including post-confirmation equity holder disputes, state and federal agency challenges to bankruptcy sales, and breach of contract matters with potential damages in excess of $100 million. He handles pre-trial practice, motions practice, fact and expert discovery, witness preparation, appellate practice, and counsels clients regarding litigation strategy, settlement and future liability.

Nick has drafted briefs in appeals before various U.S. District Courts and Bankruptcy Appellate Panels, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lenders & Loan Servicers

Nick also works extensively with lenders and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) servicers regarding real property-secured loan litigation. His CMBS experience spans state, federal and appellate courts in matters including guarantor litigation, lender liability litigation, borrower liability litigation (including state law fraud and breach of contract claims), intercreditor disputes and foreclosure actions. Nick also represents lenders in the entertainment space and has obtained favorable rulings for prints and advertising lenders in connection with bankruptcy sales.

Thought Leadership

Nick is actively involved in local and national bankruptcy organizations. In addition to writing nationally published articles, Nick is a regular contributor to the firm's "In Solvency" blog, which covers current bankruptcy and financial restructuring issues.

Career

Prior to joining Fox, Nicholas was a senior managing associate in the Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Group of an international law firm, based in its Los Angeles office. Before that, he was an associate in the Los Angeles office of a national law firm.

Nick began his legal career as a law clerk in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. During his time with the Bankruptcy Court, Nick clerked for the Honorable Sandra R. Klein, the Honorable Thomas B. Donovan, the Honorable Neil W. Bason, the Honorable Victoria Kaufman and the Honorable Sheri A. Bluebond.

Professional Memberships

American Bankruptcy Institute, Advisory Board, Southwest Bankruptcy Conference; Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum; Beverly Hills Bar Association, Bankruptcy Section, Chair, Executive Committee (2018-2019); American Bar Association,

Business Bankruptcy Committee, Vice Chair of the Content and Publications Subcommittee; California Bankruptcy Forum Conference, Young Insolvency Professionals Co-Chair; Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum (2019 - 2021).

Personal

Loyola Law School (J.D., 2012) | University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., 2008)

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Bar Admissions: California, District of Columbia, Nevada, New York

Work Highlights

Represented Verity Health System of California, Inc., and 16 related entities, including six acute care operating hospitals, in their chapter 11 cases — the second largest hospital bankruptcy case in American history with more than $1.4 billion of debt. During the cases, the court approved the sale of Verity’s hospitals and senior living facility, and confirmed the joint plan of liquidation, which resolved complex litigation and created a liquidating trust for the benefit of creditors. The sale of Verity’s nonprofit assets raised unique issues related to the transfer of health care assets in bankruptcy, including the scope of the powers of the Attorney General and the transfer of medical provider agreements, which led to groundbreaking decisions. During the cases, Verity also collaborated with the attorneys for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to reopen St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles, and to set aside beds at Seton Medical Center in the Bay Area to treat COVID-19 patients.

Represented the trustee and the trustee board in the post-confirmation, jointly administered cases of ICPW Liquidation Corp. (formerly In re Ironclad Performance Wear Corp, et al.) in post-confirmation litigation and related distribution matters.

Drafted petition for certiorari, granted in part by the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Village at Lakeridge, LLC, 138 S. Ct. 960, 2018 WL 1143822 (Mar. 5, 2018) and related merits briefing.

Represented prints and advertising lenders Endgame Releasing Company, LLC and Endgame Releasing Funding, LLC in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases filed by Los Angeles-based film production and distribution company Open Road Films, LLC, and certain debtor affiliates, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Represented a global watch company as a Chapter 11 debtor, completing a 363 sale of the company’s assets in less than two months after the commencement of bankruptcy, and obtaining court approval of the company’s Chapter 11 plan in under four months.

Represented numerous actors, producers, directors and writers as counterparties to contracts in The Weinstein Company Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Represented talent clients in the Relativity Media Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Represented asset purchasers and potential purchasers in conducting diligence and submitting bids in connection with bankruptcy asset sales.

Represented some of the nation's largest special servicers of CMBS assets on all aspects of commercial real estate loan workouts, bankruptcies, foreclosure and receivership litigation.