Opinion
Case No. 07-10860-WIL, Case No. 07-10862-WIL, Case No. 07-10863-WIL, Case No. 07-10864-WIL, Case No. 07-10867-WIL, Case No. 07-10868-WIL, Jointly Administered Under Case No. 07-10860-WIL.
March 5, 2008
/s/ Brent C. Strickland, Brent C. Strickland, Bar No. 22704, Whiteford, Taylor Preston L.L.P., Baltimore, MD, Counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.
/s/John P. Markovs, John P. Markovs, Bar No. 07599, Associate County Attorney, Division of Finance and Procurement, Office of the County Attorney, Rockville, MD, Counsel for Montgomery County, Maryland. /s/ Alan M. Grochal, Alan M. Grochal, Bar No. 01447, Tydings Rosenberg LLP, Baltimore, MD, Counsel for Debtors.
/s/ Frederick W. H. Carter, Frederick W. H. Carter, Bar No. 26167, Venable LLP, Washington, DC, Counsel for Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority.
STIPULATION AND CONSENT ORDER REGARDING DEBTORS' MOTION FOR SUBSTANTIVE CONSOLIDATION OF BANKRUPTCY ESTATES
Barwood, Inc. and its above-captioned affiliated debtors (the "Debtors"), the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the "Committee"), appointed in the Debtors' bankruptcy cases, Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority ("WMATA"), and Montgomery County, Maryland (the "County") hereby stipulate and agree as follows:
WHEREAS, on January 29, 2007 (the "Petition Date"), the Debtors each filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. Pursuant to §§ 1107 and 1108 of the Bankruptcy Code, the Debtors continue in the possession of their properties and the management of their businesses as debtors-in-possession.
WHEREAS, on February 16, 2007, the Office of the United States Trustee appointed the Committee to represent the interests of unsecured creditors in the Debtors' cases.
WHEREAS, on December 7, 2007, the Debtors filed their Joint Plan of Reorganization [docket no. 257] (the "Plan") and their related proposed Disclosure Statement [docket no. 256] (the "Disclosure Statement").
WHEREAS, on February 21, 2008, the Court entered an Order Conditionally Approving Proposed Disclosure Statement Subject to Reservation of Rights to Object to the Disclosure Statement in Favor of Montgomery County, Maryland, The Columbia Bank, Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority, and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors [docket no. 314] (the "Disclosure Statement Order").
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Disclosure Statement Order, the Court conditionally approved the Disclosure Statement as to all parties-in-interest except the County, The Columbia Bank (the "Bank"), WMATA, and the Committee, which parties have the right to object to the amended Disclosure Statement to be filed by the Debtors (the "Amended Disclosure Statement").
WHEREAS, the Disclosure Statement Order requires that within one hundred twenty (120) days of the Court's entry of the Disclosure Statement Order, unless extended by agreement of the Debtors, the County, the Bank, WMATA, and the Committee, the Debtors shall file the Amended Disclosure Statement with the Court and that objections to the Amended Disclosure Statement, if any, shall be filed by the County, the Bank, WMATA, and/or the Committee within ten (10) days after the filing of the Amended Disclosure Statement. WHEREAS, on February 20, 2008, the Debtors filed a Motion for Substantive Consolidation of Bankruptcy Estates [docket no. 313] (the "Consolidation Motion").
WHEREAS, the deadline for parties to file an objection to the Consolidation Motion is currently March 8, 2008.
WHEREAS, the Debtors, the County, WMATA, and the Committee agree that the issue of whether the Debtors' estates should be substantively consolidated is an issue that should be decided contemporaneously with confirmation of the Debtors' Plan.
NOW THEREFORE, upon the consent of the Debtors, the County, WMATA, and the Committee, and the Court having considered the stipulations outlined herein, it is by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland,
ORDERED, that the County's, WMATA's, and the Committee's deadline to file an objection to the Consolidation Motion shall be fourteen (14) days prior to any hearing on the confirmation of the Debtors' Plan.