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InterNet Bankruptcy Library - News for July 3, 1997







Bankruptcy News For July 3, 1997




        
  1. Winstead Sechrest & Minick Gets
            Unprecedented $275,000 Bonus From Bankruptcy Judge






Winstead Sechrest & Minick Gets
Unprecedented $275,000 Bonus From Bankruptcy Judge



DALLAS, July 3, 1997 - A U.S. bankruptcy judge awarded Dallas'
Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C., an extra $275,000 in legal
fees because of the firm's exceptional results in the recently
concluded Chapter 11 case of I.C.H.
Corporation.



"The results achieved by (Winstead) ... qualify as rare
and exceptional," said Judge Robert McGuire, chief
bankruptcy judge of the Northern District of Texas, according to
the transcript of the court proceeding. "I cannot recall any
other Chapter 11 case where I have awarded a fee
enhancement."



The June 20 order granting Winstead's fee enhancement cites
the firm's "uniquely outstanding" results.



"The results in the case ... were far from routine and
helped create a value-added estate far beyond the initial
expectations of any of the parties in interest," the judge
wrote. "The major creditors in this case were the
noteholders who are (now) expected to receive a dividend of 96
percent of their allowed claims, amounting to approximately $350
million."



I.C.H. Corporation, formerly known as Southwestern Life
Corporation, filed for Chapter 11 in 1995, with liabilities in
excess of $400 million. The Dallas-based insurance holding
company had more than 1,200 public bondholders and 50,000
shareholders. When it filed under Chapter 11, I.C.H. faced more
than $100 million in combined sinking fund payments and interest
commitments on the company's bond debt.



Through the bankruptcy process, I.C.H. sold five of its
primary insurance subsidiaries, negotiated favorable settlements
with the IRS and another major creditor, and confirmed a
reorganization plan with its unsecured creditors and equity
security holders. As a result, the creditors and the shareholders
of I.C.H. received a much greater return than had been expected
when the case was filed.



I.C.H. was represented by Winstead bankruptcy practice head
Daniel Stewart, Josiah Daniel III, and C. Mark Brannum. The
Creditors Committee turned to Michael Rosenthal and I. Richard
Levy of the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. The
Equity Committee looked to Peter Wolfson and John Bicks of Pryor
Cashman, Sherman & Flynn.



In awarding the $275,000 fee enhancement, Judge McGuire
singled out Stewart's "skill and persistence."



"...Mr. Stewart was the glue that kept the parties coming
back to the negotiating table," the judge said.



SOURCE Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C. /CONTACT: Daniel
Stewart of Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C., 214-745-5307; or
Amy Hunt of Androvett Legal Media, 214-956-0100, for Winstead
Sechrest & Minick/