Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC, LLCScarinci Hollenbeck, LLC, LLC

Biography

John D. Giampolo is a partner in the firm’s New York City and Red Bank offices, where he focuses his practice on bankruptcy, restructuring, and related litigation. With more than 19 years of experience, Mr. Giampolo represents debtors, secured lenders, creditor committees, private equity funds, hedge funds, landlords, tenants, and other parties in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 proceedings, as well as in the complex commercial litigation and transactions that arise from financial distress.

Mr. Giampolo’s practice spans middle-market matters and some of the most prominent bankruptcies in recent memory. He has represented parties in proceedings involving Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the SIPA liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, WeWork, Regal Cinemas, Party City, L’Occitane, SVB Financial Group, Sports Authority, Relativity Media, and Mervyn’s, among others. His work covers the full lifecycle of distressed situations, including Chapter 11 reorganizations, Chapter 7 liquidations, claim objections, pre-bankruptcy counseling, workouts, receiverships, assignments for the benefit of creditors, and insolvency proceedings under the Securities Investor Protection Act.

Beyond core bankruptcy matters, Mr. Giampolo advises clients on distressed assets and special situations investment strategies, including loan-to-own structures, distressed debt restructurings, distressed real estate acquisitions, debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, claims trading, and Section 363 sales. He regularly prosecutes and defends Ponzi scheme litigation, avoidance actions, and other clawback proceedings, and handles related litigation outside of bankruptcy involving foreclosure, commercial fraud, securities, unfair competition, and employment law in federal and state courts in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and in arbitration.

Mr. Giampolo also serves as outside general counsel to companies across a range of industries, advising on day-to-day legal matters, business strategy, and pre-litigation counseling. His employment law experience includes negotiating executive compensation and non-compete agreements and litigating employment disputes.

Prior to joining Scarinci Hollenbeck, Mr. Giampolo was a partner at a New York-based national boutique focused on bankruptcy and related litigation, and previously chaired and co-chaired bankruptcy and restructuring practices at other firms in New York. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the UJA Federation of New York’s Next Generation Bankruptcy and Reorganization Group. He has also served his community as a member of the Zoning Board and the Finance Advisory Committee for Holmdel, New Jersey.

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Representative Matters

1. High-Profile Bankruptcy Proceedings

United States — Federal Bankruptcy Courts
  • Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Represented Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LBHI) in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of LBHI and its affiliated debtors in the Southern District of New York, prosecuting hundreds of millions of dollars in indemnification claims against counterparties that sold or delivered defective residential mortgage loans, and handling various post-confirmation disputes.
  • Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (Greenwich Sentry) Served as Debtors’ counsel for Greenwich Sentry LP and Greenwich Sentry Partners LP, Fairfield Greenwich Group hedge funds that invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Madoff Ponzi, in their Chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of New York. Confirmed contested Chapter 11 plans and related settlements that resolved over $200 million in claims asserted by the Madoff trustee and allowed the Greenwich Sentry Debtors’ multi-million-dollar customer claims against the Madoff liquidation.
  • Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (MAXAM) Represented MAXAM Absolute Return Fund, L.P., a hedge fund that invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Madoff Ponzi, in connection with the Madoff trustee’s adversary proceeding seeking to recover allegedly fraudulent transfers, and in a global settlement that allowed MAXAM a $276 million customer claim against the Madoff liquidation.
  • 217 Canner Associates, LLC (Greenwich Sentry Liquidating Trusts) Represented 217 Canner Associates, LLC, as trustee for the liquidating trusts created for the Greenwich Sentry bankruptcy estates, in successfully disallowing over $50 million in disputed claims, prosecuting dozens of avoidance actions and recovering millions of dollars for the trust, and distributing over $28 million to holders of allowed claims and interests.
  • Relativity Media LLC Represented parties in interest in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Relativity Media LLC, a film studio and related entertainment companies, in the Southern District of New York, in connection with disputes arising from executory contracts.
  • Scout Media, Inc. Represented creditors in disputes pending in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Scout Media, Inc., digital sports media companies, in the Southern District of New York.
Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC, LLC

2. Landlord, Lender and Creditor Representations

National Scope — Bankruptcy and Related Litigation
  • Sports Authority Holdings, Inc. Represented creditors and a landlord in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Sports Authority Holdings, Inc. in the District of Delaware, including disputes arising from executory contracts and unexpired leases, and the landlord’s successful purchase and termination of its lease and recovery of its leased premises from the debtors.
  • Mervyn’s Represented the agent debtor-in-possession lender in connection with the $465 million DIP financing facility and related disputes in the 2008 Chapter 11 bankruptcy of retail department store chain Mervyn’s in the District of Delaware.
  • Hartmarx Corporation Represented the agent DIP lender in connection with the $160 million DIP financing facility, Section 363 sale of assets, and related disputes in the 2009 Chapter 11 bankruptcy of high-end apparel maker Hartmarx Corporation in the Northern District of Illinois.
  • Ritz Camera Centers, Inc. Represented the agent DIP lender in connection with the DIP financing facility, Section 363 sale of assets, and related disputes in the 2009 Chapter 11 bankruptcy of specialty camera retailer Ritz Camera Centers, Inc. in the District of Delaware.
  • Congoleum Corporation Represented the agent DIP lender in negotiating and documenting numerous amendments to the DIP financing facility in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of asbestos-plagued flooring manufacturer Congoleum Corporation in the District of New Jersey.
  • New Century Transportation, Inc. Represented the agent senior secured lender in connection with the post-petition financing facility in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation of New Century Transportation, Inc., one of the country’s largest truckload service providers.
Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC, LLC

3. Real Estate, Workouts and Distressed Debt

New Jersey, New York and Multi-Jurisdiction Proceedings
  • Central Bergen Properties Represented New Jersey real estate developer Central Bergen Properties and affiliates as borrower in a receivership involving a multi-jurisdiction dispute in New Jersey federal district court, bankruptcy court, and state court arising from a $30 million securitized commercial mortgage loan, and successfully closed a global settlement and recapitalization of the borrower’s debt facility.
  • Zais Investment Grade Limited VII Represented Zais Investment Grade Limited VII, a Cayman Islands collateralized-debt obligation issuer, in its involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of New Jersey.
  • Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP Former Partner Defense Represented a former partner of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in motions to dismiss that successfully dismissed a breach of contract lawsuit filed by the firm’s landlord in New York state court seeking over $200 million in unpaid rent against hundreds of former partners, and in a successful global settlement of the dispute.
Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC, LLC

4. Avoidance Actions and Ponzi Scheme Litigation

Federal Bankruptcy Courts — Multiple Jurisdictions
  • Employee-Services.net Ponzi Scheme Litigation Represented numerous defendants in avoidance actions brought by the Chapter 7 trustee of Employee-Services.net, Inc. and eePayrollServices, LLC, a fraudulent payroll processing service Ponzi scheme, in the Western District of North Carolina, and successfully closed a global settlement of all avoidance actions.
  • Metaldyne, Saint Vincents Catholic Medical Centers, and Trump Entertainment Resorts Represented avoidance action defendants in the Chapter 11 bankruptcies of Metaldyne and Saint Vincents Catholic Medical Centers in the Southern District of New York, and in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. in the District of Delaware.

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