News & Events

On October 6, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued two opinions affirming judgments in favor of a unit of Evercore Partners Inc. that provided restructuring advice to High Voltage Engineering Corp in connection with its prepackaged plan of reorganization in 2004. After the company emerged from bankruptcy, it terminated Evercore's services. Six months later, it filed for bankruptcy again.  In the second bankruptcy, a lawsuit was filed against all advisors in the first bankruptcy, alleging that they acted wrongfully in allowing the company to emerge from bankruptcy the first time and seeking over $50 million in damages. In a separate proceeding, the company sought to claw back all fees paid to those advisors. Evercore and the other defendants won judgment on all counts in both proceedings at the trial level, and in 2007 the U.S. District Court affirmed those judgments. The First Circuit affirmed on the basis of in pari delicto in the damages case, and on res judicata in the fee challenge. Mark Thompson and Elisha Graff of the Firm's bankruptcy practice handled this matter from inception for Evercore.