Page 61 - BusinessWest August 17, 2020

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the par- ties listed, or the court, for more information concern- ing the individual claims.
HAMPSHIRE DISTRICT COURT
East Coast Builders Group, LLC v. Kent Pecoy & Sons Construction Inc. d/b/a Pecoy Cos. and Stur- bridge Development, LLC
Allegation: Breach of contract: $27,500
Filed: 7/20/20
East Coast Builders Group, LLC v. Kent Pecoy &
Sons Construction Inc. d/b/a Pecoy Cos. and Stur- bridge Development, LLC
Allegation: Breach of contract: $24,349
Filed: 7/21/20
Bankruptcy
Continued from page 55
By the Numbers
But the wave will almost certainly involve corpo- rate bankruptcies as well, said those we spoke with, noting that many businesses have struggled to merely survive the past five months. And with the state already pumping the brakes on its reopening plan as reported cases increase, and ever more uncertainty about the future, survival is becoming more of a question mark for many businesses.
That’s especially true within the restaurant sector, said those we spoke with, noting that, while many have been able to reopen, their revenues are still a fraction of what they were pre-COVID. And with fall and then winter coming — meaning far fewer oppor- tunities to serve outdoors — some in this sector are wondering if, and for how long, they can hang on.
“I’ve been contacted by a number of restaurants, in particular, over the past few months,” said Katz, adding that there have been inquiries from those in other sectors as well. “Some of these have managed to hold on, some have closed some locations while keeping others open ... but the number of people I’ve talked to just today tells me that the dam is just tee- tering, and I think there’s going to be unprecedented times in the bankruptcy field.”
This speculation leads him back to the new fast- pass small-business bankruptcy process, and ques- tions about just how many businesses may try to take
HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Francesca Torsiello, Cassandra Torsiello, and Kim- berly Torsiello v. Trustees of Hampshire College, Five College Consortium Inc., Kevin Fournier, Ray- mond Labarre, Dianna Williams, Eva Rueschmann, and Byron McCrae
Allegation: Breach of contract, breach of civil rights: 871,000
Filed: 5/4/20
Easthampton Precision Manufacturing Inc. v. Sam- son Manufacturing Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract: $68,300.20
Filed: 5/8/20
Susan Lee Hanley, personal representative of the estate of Triona Hanley v. Athena Health Care Asso- ciates Inc. d/b/a Highview of Northampton; Mal- colm Dean; Gina Ianacone, RN; Jane/John Doe 1; Jane/John Doe 2; Lara D’Benedetto, LPN; Margaret Russo, MD; and Jane/John Doe 3
Allegation: Medical malpractice, wrongful death: $1,000,000
Filed: 6/5/20
advantage of this emerging option, and whether they can be successful with such bids.
“I think a lot of businesses will try doing this because you have a 90-day maximum to get in and get out — that’s how fast this Chapter 11 is going to go,” he explained. “And the whole thing is predicated upon the fact that you only have to propose a plan that provides more to the creditors than they would receive in a liquidation, with no voting.
“Under the current Chapter 11 process, there’s
a whole voting process, where you have to get two- thirds of the dollar amount and a majority of the number of creditors to vote in favor of it,” he went on. “But with this process, there’s no voting — it’s a much more streamlined process, and it’s far less expensive.”
With the new ceiling of $7.5 million, many more businesses are now eligible to take this route. But that same 90-day in-and-out period, while attractive in one respect, is daunting when it comes to actually putting a reorganization plan in place.
“I’ve talked with a number of people about it because people are still trying to figure how it works — there isn’t a lot of legal guidance or precedence,” said Cress. “But having to put a plan together in 90 days is going to be very difficult for many small busi- nesses. If you don’t have any profits or any cash and you’re living hand to mouth, it really places an undue burden on you to figure it all out and get creditor sign-off in 90 days.”
Katz agreed. “Most traditional Chapter 11 cases are multi-year, and reorganization is based in pro-
Jane Doe and John Doe v. Smith College, et al Allegation: Willful negligence; willful infliction of pain, suffering, and emotional distress; fraud, mis- take, duress, and undue influence; breach of con- tract and warranty: $15,000,000
Filed: 6/10/20
Court Dockets
Western Builders Inc. v. Russell Street Hospitality, LLC and Gator Pearson, LLC
Allegation: Breach of contract: $416,983.35
Filed: 6/20/20
East Coast Builders Group, LLC v. Kent Pecoy & Sons Construction Inc. d/b/a Pecoy Cos., et al Allegation: Breach of contract, unjust enrichment: $50,548
Filed: 7/21/20
jections,” he told BusinessWest. “How do you project when this COVID situation is going to change? If you’re a restaurant, how can you project when people are going to come back to your restaurant and you can go back to something approaching capacity?”
The Bottom Line Is the Bottom Line
Those lawyers we spoke with all expressed a desire not to sound like an alarmist.
But as they talked about what they’re seeing, read- ing, and hearing on the phone calls they’ve already taken, they admit it’s difficult not to take that tone.
“For many businesses, it’s a matter of survival at this point,” said Cress, noting that survival is becom- ing more difficult in some sectors with each passing month. “It’s becoming apparent that the recovery is not going to happen as quickly as some had originally hoped, and the effect is going to be much deeper and longer-lasting than people are even letting on.”
And one seemingly unavoidable consequence of all this is bankruptcies, on both the corporate and consumer sides of the ledger.
As Weiss said, the wave hasn’t crashed ashore yet, but if you look — and you don’t have to look hard — you can see it building. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
what’s on the horizon than answers. “It’s been a difficult time for every-
body,” he told BusinessWest. “However, we’ve put a lot of thought and effort into working through this and moving forward in a disciplined and measured manner.”
With that, he spoke for all the utili- ties that have been working to keep the power on — tropical storms and all — during a crisis that is testing them in every way and on every level. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
Utilities
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While some utilities had control- room personnel quarantine and stay in what amounts to a bubble, he noted, Eversource, which has several smaller control rooms, has been able to spread out its people so there are fewer indi- viduals in a given control room, while some of these facilities were set aside as ‘sterile environments’ that employ- ees not infected with the virus could be moved to in order to keep the system running properly.
Meanwhile, like banks, utilities have had to close their doors to their main
offices, which have traditionally seen large amounts of traffic involving cus- tomers paying their bills or conduct- ing other business. This business has now shifted online in many cases, said Lavelle, and for some customers, it’s been a big change.
“Being shut down has really impact- ed how we conduct business,” he explained. “We’ve had online services for some time, so a lot of it has been training customers how to pay online or sign up for a new account online; we’ve seen an uptick of more than 200% in online transactions.
“It’s been pretty seamless,” he went on. “There’s been a little bit of hand holding with some customers, but other than that, it’s gone quite well.”
Watt’s Next
Drawing one more analogy to Isaias — and all the other storms his utility has confronted over the years — Con- trino said that, when it came to the pandemic, Westfield G&E prepared for the worst.
And this is the mindset that will continue as the crisis plays itself out, with certainly more questions about
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