Gerard Catalanello is chair of Alston & Bird's Financial Restructuring & Reorganization Group. He focuses his practice on bankruptcy and creditors’ rights law. He represents lenders, funds, financial institutions, liquidation trusts, equity holders, debtors, indenture trustees and acquirers of assets of troubled companies in formal bankruptcy proceedings as well as in out-of-court workouts.

Gerard has served as counsel to official committees of unsecured creditors in a wide variety of Chapter 11 cases and has represented several institutions in negotiating and selling millions of dollars of claims in major Chapter 11 cases. He has represented liquidation and creditor trusts in analyzing and prosecuting Chapter 5 causes of actions, including fraudulent conveyance and preferences claims under confirmed Chapter 11 plans of liquidation.

Representative Experience

• Represented Credit Suisse as administrative agent and lead lender in connection with a $1.9 billion DIP loan to chapter 11 debtor Walter Investment Management Corp. (“Ditech Financial”).
• Represents a lead lender in the Chapter 11 case of National Events of America, Inc., one of the largest independent ticket brokerage businesses, in connection with a DIP loan used to fund a massive fraud investigation into the company’s pre-bankruptcy business affairs and transactions.
• Represents Wilmington Trust, as indenture trustee, in connection with the Chapter 11 case of the bank holding company Stonebridge Financial Corp.
• Represented a plan sponsor group in the negotiation and prosecution of a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization of the New York City Opera Inc. (NYCO) through trial, leading to NYCO’s successful emergence from bankruptcy.
• Represented the GFGI Liquidation Trust created under the Chapter 11 plan of liquidation of Guaranty Holdings Inc. in connection with the Trust’s pursuit and settlement of claims arising from the collapse of the bank holding company that resulted in a distribution to creditors of approximately $300 million.
• Represented a private equity fund in connection with the prosecution and settlement of objections to the Chapter 11 plan of reorganization of Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc., the largest U.S. tanker operator.
• Counsel to a special servicer in connection with the foreclosure and sale of a 1,000,000 plus square foot shopping mall in Pennsylvania, and related state court appellate litigation.
• Counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors in the Orleans Homebuilders Inc. Chapter 11 proceedings involving one of the largest and oldest residential builders in the Northeast.
• Represented Sleepy’s LLC in its winning bid to acquire 100 percent of the membership interests in Mattress Discounters Group LLC, an 80-store mattress chain in Virginia.
• Represented Sleepy’s LLC in connection with its DIP loan to, and acquisition of, Chapter 11 debtor 1-800 Mattress as part of a contested section 363 sale process.
• Counsel to Taberna Capital Management, a CDO manager, as a member of the official committee of unsecured creditors in the Tarragon Corporation Chapter 11 proceedings involving a publicly traded residential real estate developer with assets of approximately $1 billion.
• Counsel to Taberna Capital Management, a CDO manager, as a member of the official committee of unsecured creditors in the General Growth Properties Inc. Chapter 11 proceedings involving one of the largest mall owners and operators in the U.S.
• Counsel to the secured lender in a multimillion-dollar contested confirmation hearing concerning a retail shopping center in upstate New York.
• Special counsel to Chemtura Corporation, one of the largest publicly traded specialty chemical companies in the U.S. with a market valuation of over $2 billion, in its Chapter 11 proceedings, leading to the confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization that resulted in creditors receiving 100% on account of their claims.
• Counsel to Devon Mobile Communications LP, an owner and operator of PCS licenses throughout the Northeast, in the sale of substantially all of its assets (licenses and telcom infrastructure) to major telecommunications companies under a Chapter 11 plan of liquidation.
• Counsel to the former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Chapter 11 debtor Personal Communications Devices, LLC in connection with the litigation and settlement of claims and counterclaims in excess of $150 million.
• Counsel to certain members of the Rigas family, founders of Adelphia Communications Corp., in their defense of claims and actions totalling more than $3 billion brought by the Adelphia bankruptcy estate, including the negotiation of a tripartite agreement among the Rigas family, the Department of Justice and the Adelphia bankruptcy estate for the establishment of a $750 million fund.
• Counsel to ICC Industries, Inc. in the Chapter 11 restructuring of Pharmaceutical Formulations, Inc., a publicly traded subsidiary that manufactured and distributed over-the-counter generic pharmaceuticals.

Professional & Community Engagement

· American Bar Association

· New York State Bar Association

Accolades

• The Best Lawyers in America© 2019, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law

Education

• Fordham University (LL.M., 1996)
• Touro College (J.D., 1992)
• Adelphi University (B.A., 1989)

Admitted to Practice

• New York | New Jersey

Related Services

• Financial Restructuring & Reorganization | Bankruptcy Litigation | Bankruptcy Transactions | Distressed Debt & Claims Trading | Retail