Quigley U.S. Trustee asks court to grant 'inevitable' case dismissal

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Dec. 22 - The Region 2 U.S. Trustee has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to dismiss Quigley Co. Inc.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, according to a Wednesday court filing.

U.S. Trustee Tracy Hope Davis said there has been no change in the company's operations or circumstances since the court denied confirmation of Quigley's fourth plan.

In addition, the U.S. Trustee said negotiations between an informal creditors committee and parent company Pfizer Inc. have been unsuccessful "despite the passage of several months."

"The debtor is not a viable entity and, as the operating report for the month of November 2010 makes clear, the debtor still continues to operate at a loss - not just a loss for the month of November, but an overall loss in the sum of over $55 million since the case was filed over six years ago," Davis said in the motion.

"The harm in delaying the inevitable dismissal of this case is to the individuals who have filed asbestos claims against the debtor and Pfizer."

As previously reported, Quigley's fourth amended and restated plan was denied confirmation in September by judge Stuart M. Bernstein, who agreed with a tort victims group argument that Quigley's case was actually designed to benefit parent Pfizer Inc.

Bernstein said in his ruling that "Pfizer wrongfully manipulated the voting process to assure confirmation of the Quigley plan, and thereby gain the benefit of the channeling injunction for itself and the other Pfizer protected parties."

"In a nutshell, Pfizer bought enough votes to assure that any plan would be accepted," the judge ruled.

Bernstein also said the accepting votes cast on behalf of settling claimants were procured in bad faith.

A hearing on the case dismissal motion is scheduled for Jan. 13.

Quigley, a unit of Pfizer Inc., filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 3, 2004. Its Chapter 11 case number is 04-15739.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.