Amini LLC has obtained a significant outcome in its pro bono representation of Imhotep H’Shaka, a prisoner in the New York State prison system. After nearly a quarter-century in solitary confinement, he has finally been returned to general population within a maximum-security prison. During the vast majority of his 24-year-plus stint in solitary, he spent 23 hours per day alone in a 9 by 11-foot cell. When he was allowed out of his cell for outdoor recreation and exercise, he did so alone in an outdoor “pen” designed to hold only a single prisoner. Now, for the first time since early 1996, he can eat meals with other prisoners in the prison cafeteria rather than alone in his cell and participate in numerous other group activities, including greater access to his family and counsel.
Go to articleRead more...Amini LLC just received a very significant decision from U.S Bankruptcy Judge Stuart M. Bernstein in a case we tried last summer against Lynn Tilton, chief executive officer and sole principal of Patriarch Partners, LLC and its affiliated entities, a holding company managing 75 companies: almost $42 million against her personally and a judgment of almost $40 million against Patriarch Partners Administrative Services, LLC, plus attorneys fees.
Go to articleRead more...While the Payroll Protection Program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) has captured the headlines these past few days, this amendment to the 2019 Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) that went into effect on February 19, 2020, should not be overlooked by small businesses. For the next year, small businesses with $7.5 million or less in debt can qualify for streamlined and less costly restructuring provisions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. For small business owners, what is most appealing is that they can do so with the ability to preserve their ownership interests even over the objection of creditors, in exchange for roughly three years projected disposable income (net profit). For many debtors that will be looking to rebuild their business in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, projected disposable income over a three-year period may be a fraction of current, outstanding debt. These new provisions could not come soon enough.
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