Peter S. Partee, Sr.

Peter’s bankruptcy practice focuses primarily on representation of corporate debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, indenture and securitization trustees, lessors, and other parties in interest in Chapter 11 bankruptcies.

His transactional practice focuses on workouts and providing insolvency-related structuring advice and legal opinions for complex transactions.

Peter is admitted to practice in the U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern District of New York, the District of Connecticut, Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia and the District of New Mexico, the U.S. District Court for District of Colorado, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Fourth Circuits.

Relevant Experience

  • Lead restructuring counsel for MFA Financial, Inc., a publicly traded mREIT, in connection with the negotiation of multiple voluntary forbearances with the company’s repurchase agreement counterparties and successful reinstatement or refinancing of the related repurchase agreements.
  • Lead restructuring counsel for AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc., a publicly trade mREIT, in connection with the negotiation of multiple voluntary forbearances with the company’s repurchase agreement counterparties and successful reinstatement or refinancing of the related repurchase agreements.
  • Lead bankruptcy counsel to lead lender in connection with $1.5 billion debtor-in-possession mortgage warehouse facility provided to Stearns Lending, LLC in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
  • Lead restructuring counsel to Empire Generating Co, LLC, owner of a 635MW combined-cycle merchant power plant, in connection with its pre-negotiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, which successfully restructured over $353 million of secured debt.
  • Lead counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of O.W. Bunker Holding North America Inc. in the District of Connecticut
  • Lead counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Simplexity, LLC in the District of Delaware.
  • Lead restructuring counsel to Syncora Guarantee Inc. in connection with its acquisition of American Roads LLC and its subsidiaries in prepackaged chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of New York.
  • Lead restructuring counsel for Raser Technologies, Inc. and its affiliates in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Confirmed reorganizing Chapter 11 plan in 120 days.
  • Lead restructuring counsel to Luminent Mortgage, a publicly traded mortgage investment company, in connection with its pre-negotiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the District of Maryland.
  • Lead restructuring counsel to Ciena Capital LLC and its affiliates, at one time the third largest SBA lender, in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the SDNY.
  • Lead restructuring counsel to US Energy Systems, Inc., a publicly traded energy company, in connection with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the SDNY.
  • Lead restructuring counsel to Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization, LLC, a privately owned sub-prime mortgage investor and servicer. Out-of-court restructuring involving over 40 major institutions as counterparties and $4.2 billion in debt completed in less than six months. Also entailed sale of Litton Loan Servicing to Goldman Sachs.
  • Lead counsel representing numerous owner participant/lessors in multiple airline Chapter 11 bankruptcies including Delta, Northwest, Frontier, Atlas Air and others.
  • Lead restructuring counsel to US Energy Biogas in connection with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the SDNY, which resolved burdensome “makewhole” provision that effectively precluded refinancing. Confirmed Chapter 11 plan that resulted in full payment of all creditors and retention of equity by publicly traded parent.
  • Represented publicly traded parent of First NLC Financial, a sub-prime mortgage originator, in connection with out-of-court recapitalization and Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the SDFla.
  • Recently represented government sponsored enterprise in connection with the transfer of servicing rights for over $23.5 billion of manufactured housing loans in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Conseco Finance Corp.
  • Representing major bank in connection with workout of bank group debt and potential foreclosure on merchant power plant.
  • Regularly represent corporate trust department of a national bank in its capacity as master servicer, securitization trustee and custodian in connection with Chapter 11 bankruptcies of mortgage loan originators and seller/servicers; successfully negotiated transfers of servicing rights for billions of dollars of mortgage loans in such bankruptcies.
  • Regularly represent asset purchasers in pre-packaged and pre-negotiated Chapter 11 bankruptcies of middle-market companies.
  • Regularly represent major utility in connection with Chapter 11 bankruptcy issues, including most recently the resolution of complex sale/lease-back transactions and related issues in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of National Steel.
  • Represented Chapter 11 trustee in connection with successful sale of servicing rights and residual REMIC and other securities in Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Homegold, Inc., a sub-prime mortgage originator and seller/servicer.
  • As debtor's counsel, successfully litigated multiple contested cash collateral hearings and sold assets of large sub-prime “buy here/pay here” automobile finance company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy to non-bankrupt affiliate of debtor as a means of paying off "stripped down" secured debt owed to FINOVA.
  • Serve as a “preferred provider” of legal services to Fortune 100 financial company as secured creditor in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in Mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States. In that capacity, recently obtained confirmation of pre-negotiated Chapter 11 plan of publicly traded telecommunications company.
  • Representing major energy trader in connection with resolution of long-term coal supply contracts in Chapter 11 bankruptcy of coal corporation.
  • Represented first-tier monoline insurance company in connection with transfer of servicing rights for over $500 million of mortgage loans in Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Contifinancial, a sub-prime mortgage loan originator and seller/servicer.
  • Recently served as special bankruptcy securitization counsel in Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Oakwood Homes Corporation, a vertically integrated manufacturer, retailer and financer of manufactured housing.
  • As debtor’s counsel, successfully confirmed Chapter 11 plans in bankruptcies of public and private companies in various industries, including real estate, and textile industries.
  • Regularly provide insolvency-related transactional structuring advice for asset securitization transactions, leveraged lease deals, and other complex transactions.
  • Regularly issue legal opinions to all nationally recognized statistical credit rating agencies on bankruptcy, FDIC, and insolvency issues, such as substantive consolidation, true sale/true lease, FIRREA, preference and security interest.
  • Represented major fast food franchisor in multiple franchisee Chapter 11 bankruptcies for purposes of obtaining relief from the automatic stay to terminate franchise agreements and/or assigning franchise agreements to new franchisee.

Memberships

  • Member, Business and Litigation Sections, American Bar Association
  • Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
  • Member, The Association of the Bar of the City of New York
  • Member, New York State Bar Association
  • Associate Member, Virginia State Bar

Awards & Recognition

  • Selected as a Super Lawyer for Bankruptcy Law, The New York Times Magazine, 2014-2023
  • Lead Lawyer, Restructuring Deal of the Year for the Chapter 11 of O.W. Bunker Debtors, The International M&A Advisor Awards, 2017
  • Recipient of 15th Annual M&A Advisor Award for The Restructuring Deal of the Year (over $100 million) for serving as lead counsel for The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of O.W. Bunker Holding North America Inc. in the District of Connecticut
  • Recipient of the M&A Advisor’s 11th Annual Turnaround Award for The Energy Deal of the Year (over $500 million) for serving as lead counsel for The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of O.W. Bunker Holding North America Inc. in the District of Connecticut
  • Recipient of the M&A Advisor’s 11th Annual Turnaround Award for The Restructuring Deal of the Year (over $500 million) for serving as lead counsel for The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of O.W. Bunker Holding North America Inc. in the District of Connecticut
  • Selected for inclusion as a “Best Lawyer,” Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, The Best Lawyers in America, 2005-2024
  • Selected as a “Super Lawyer,” Bankruptcy: Business Law, New York Super Lawyers, 2014-2016. 
  • Received the Turnaround Management Association’s “Transaction of the Year—Small Company” award for the successful chapter 11 reorganization of Raser Technologies, Inc. and 19 of its subsidiaries in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, 2012
  • AV® Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

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