Brett S. Theisen

Brett has significant experience in debtor and creditor relations, complex corporate reorganizations, liquidations, and litigation related to bankruptcy and insolvency matters. He offers clients—including debtors-in-possession, trustees, fiduciaries, committees of unsecured creditors, secured creditors, lenders, indenture trustees, insurers, asset buyers, landlords, and trade creditors—a practical, results-focused, and business-oriented approach.

His litigation experience spans a wide array of issues in both federal and state courts, such as director and officer liability, lender liability, Ponzi scheme cases, complex fraudulent transfer and preference lawsuits, alter ego and veil-piercing, shareholder disputes, fraud, negligence, breaches of fiduciary duty and related claims, as well as general commercial and contract disputes.

Before beginning his legal career, Brett worked as an analyst in the equities trading division at a prominent international investment bank. Additionally, he spent time at a Manhattan-based national sports agency, where he helped recruit new clients, conducted due diligence for contract negotiations, and arranged marketing and endorsement deals for current clients.

Recent Representative Matters

Debtors

• New England Motor Freight
• The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (special litigation counsel)
• United Gilsonite Laboratories
• Birdsall Services Group
• Chieftain Sand and Proppant, LLC
• Multinational solar manufacturer (out of court counseling)
• International NGO (out of court counseling)
• Multinational renewable energy manufacturer (out of court counseling)
• Family office principal (out of court workout, liabilities >$20 billion)

Official Committees

• America’s Gardening Resources, Inc. (Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors)
• CTN Holdings, Inc. (Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors)
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (special counsel to Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors)
• Quanergy Systems, Inc. (Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors)
• CTE 1 LLC (Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors)
• Port Elizabeth Terminal & Warehouse Corp. (Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors)
• Trump Entertainment Resorts (Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors)

Trustees and Liquidating Trusts

• CTN Holdings, Inc.
• DBSI Inc.
  • Representation of the Chapter 11 trustee and the post-confirmation liquidating trustee in more than 150 jointly-administered Chapter 11 cases filed in the District of Delaware arising out of a complex real estate and securities-based Ponzi scheme.
  • Representation of the post-confirmation litigation trustee in dozens of lawsuits ranging from avoidance actions to civil RICO actions in the bankruptcy and district courts in Delaware, Idaho, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Quanergy Systems Inc.
• Pennysaver
• NSC Wholesale
• RadioShack

Secured Creditors/ DIP Lenders

• Careismatic Brands
• WeWork, Inc.
• miR Scientific LLC

Indenture Trustees and Loan Agents

• Powin LLC (administrative and collateral agent)
• BlockFi Inc. (indenture trustee)
• Aceto (indenture trustee)

Other Significant Parties-In-Interest

• CCA Construction Inc. ($1.6+ billion judgment creditor)
• Del Monte Foods Inc. (asset purchaser)
• CareerBuilder+Monster (bidder)
• BowFlex (asset purchaser)
• Sam Ash Music (asset purchaser)
• Pharmapacks LLC (former officers and equity holders)
• The Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y. (insurer)
• FTX Trading Ltd. (foreign directors and officers)
• The Rockport Company, LLC (chair of the creditors’ committee)
• Takeoff Technologies (largest unsecured creditor)
• Old Carco LLC fka Chrysler (asset purchaser)
• miR Scientific LLC (asset purchaser)
• LRM Packaging, Inc. (asset purchaser)
• Family office (asset purchaser)

Insolvency-Related Litigation

• NewAge Beverage (directors and officers)
• Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities
• Irish Bank Resolution Corp.
• The Budd Company
• G-I Holdings
• Durr Mechanical Construction
• Revel AC, Inc.
• Representation of private equity firms and individual partners, directors and officers inactions for fraud, negligence, and breaches of fiduciary duty related to insolvency of portfolio companies.
• Representation of fraudulent transfer and preference defendants in assignment for the benefit of creditors proceedings.
• Representation of creditors in non-dischargeability actions.

Commercial Foreclosures and Article 9 Proceedings

• Representation of lenders and borrowers in foreclosure and replevin actions

Liquor Licensing

• Representation of public and private clients, including hotel groups, manufacturers, and municipalities, with regard to liquor licensing matters and related regulatory issues.

Reported Decisions

Goldsmith v. Zazzali, 2019 U.S. Dist. 118490 (D. Idaho July 2, 2019)

Zazzali v. Goldsmith (In re DBSI Inc.), 593 B.R. 795 (Bankr. D. Idaho 2018)

In re DBSI Inc., James R. Zazzali as Trustee for the DBSI Estate Litigation Trust v. United States of America

, (9th Cir. 2017)

McKillen v. Wallace (In re Irish Bank Resolution Corp. Ltd.), 2019 WL 4740249 (D. Del. Sept. 27, 2019)

In re: G-I Holdings, Inc. f/k/a GAF Corporation, et al., 580 B.R. 388 (Bankr. D.N.J. 2018)

In re: G-I Holdings, Inc. f/k/a GAF Corporation, et al., 568 B.R. 731 (Bankr. D.N.J. 2017)

Goldsmith v. Zazzali

In re DBSI Inc., James R. Zazzali as Trustee for the DBSI Estate Litigation Trust v. United States of America

Professional Affiliations

• American Bankruptcy Institute
• Turnaround Management Association
• Dartmouth Lawyers Association
• The Federalist Society

Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business

• Bankruptcy/Restructuring

New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars

• Creditor Debtor Rights

New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars

• Creditor Debtor Rights

American Bankruptcy Institute 40 Under Forty

Recipient, Turnaround Awards “Restructuring of the Year,” The M&A Advisor, 2020

Please see Honor and Award Methodology. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.