Bankruptcy Department Obtains $7.1 Million Payment For Client

Weinstock & Scavo litigation partner Marvin Pastel and associate Rebecca Pascarell obtained a $7.1 million payment on behalf of their client Belfor USA Group, Inc. despite the judgment creditor being in bankruptcy.  Belfor USA is the world’s largest disaster restoration company.  Following the 2004 hurricanes that ravaged Florida, Belfor performed more than a billion dollars worth of restoration work reviving Florida’s damaged properties. 

As part of that work, Belfor performed restoration work to eight hotels owned by Bray & Gillespie along the Daytona Beach shoreline.  The project lasted eight months and the total invoice was just under $20 million.  Bray & Gillespie refused to pay $6.6 million claiming that Belfor’s work was defective and the invoices contained numerous errors. 

In an attempt to substantiate its claim, Bray & Gillespie took over 20 depositions in seven states and spent more than two million dollars  on legal and expert fees compared to Weinstock & Scavo’s fees of under $500,000.  Nevertheless, following a two week trial last spring, the Judge found no deficiencies in Belfor’s construction work and made only minor changes to Belfor’s invoices. 

Following the judgment, the 80 Bray & Gillespie entities filed bankruptcy, including the ones that were subject to the judgment.  Weinstock & Scavo’s bankruptcy department aggressively pursued the claim in the bankruptcy arena, challenging Bray & Gillespie’s right to appeal the trial court judgment, an appeal which could have delayed collection efforts for several years.   Weinstock & Scavo further positioned the debt on collateral that was not required for Bray & Gillespie’s reorganization efforts.  The last obstacle was overcoming other claims on the property and quickly getting the case to a point where the property could be parceled from the rest of the plan.  The property has recently appraised for $7.1 million. 

Weinstock & Scavo was able to deliver the favorable results at significant cost savings by adhering to its commitment: dynamic, strategic, decisive® legal representation. Our attorneys achieved this by efficiently managing the client’s legal resources, focusing on the key issues and presenting the case without redundancy and avoiding the opposition’s pitfalls. 

To view the full press release, click here.