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Distressed Real Estate Litigation and Restructuring

Ice Miller’s Distressed Real Estate Litigation and Restructuring Team includes skilled practitioners and seasoned litigators who provide strategic, creative, and cost-effective solutions for clients dealing with distressed or underperforming properties or non-performing loans.

Our attorneys handle real estate foreclosure, litigation, workouts, insolvency matters, distressed investing and sales and related tax issues arising from troubled properties, including office space, industrial, multifamily, retail, hospitality and resort properties and undeveloped land. Our clients include distressed investors, lenders, borrowers, developers, project managers, mechanics’ lien holders, owners, sellers, operators, purchasers, commercial banks, investment banks, REITs, REMICs, hedge funds, private equity funds, special purpose entities, developers and construction companies.

We develop innovative solutions to the most complicated issues facing distressed real estate. Our attorneys are drawn from across our offices and practices, including real estate, litigation, restructuring and insolvency, corporate, environmental law and tax.
 
Lending and Foreclosures

Our attorneys have significant experience in representing both lenders and borrowers on defaulted mortgage loans, in mortgage foreclosure proceedings, deeds in lieu of foreclosure or exercising a power of sale in connection with term and construction loans.

We also represent investors in strategic acquisitions of distressed mortgage debt, involving the negotiation of loan restructurings with the borrower, either before or after the acquisition of the debt and financing the purchase of the debt through secured loans.
 
Loan Workouts and Restructuring

Ice Miller’s attorneys handle complex out-of-court workouts and financial restructurings, including the restructuring of large revolving asset-based loans, real estate term loans and defaulted bond issuances.

We have significant experience representing lenders and owners in loan workouts involving retail properties from malls to single-store locations, office space, condominium and cooperative properties and hotel properties, among many others. These representations include pre-litigation strategy and file review, preparation and negotiation of default notices, forbearance agreements, workout agreements and standstill agreements. In addition, we have prepared and negotiated deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure and other consensual foreclosure agreements.
 
Bankruptcy

Our attorneys represent clients in bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings, including debtors, creditors, trustees in chapter 11 cases, creditors’ committees and their chairpersons, DIP lenders, bank groups, franchisors, secured and unsecured creditors, indenture trustees and chapter 11 trustees.

Our bankruptcy lawyers are experienced distressed real estate litigators and strategic thinkers—having successfully represented distressed debt buyers in contested competing plans, cramdown plan confirmation hearings, stay relief motions and related matters in order to maximize the investors’ return or obtain ultimate title to the asset.
 
Distressed Investing, Sales and “DIG”

Distressed real estate projects present challenges, including sellers’ inability or will to provide customary due diligence documents, representations and warranties and post-closing indemnities. Our attorneys are experienced in counseling both purchasers and sellers in such situations and dealing with complex ownership structures and third-party liens and claims. We offer creative and unique solutions to protect owners from or settle mechanics’ liens and other third-party claims to allow the transactions to proceed. We also represent clients in the purchase of properties that have gone through or are in foreclosure or a bankruptcy proceeding.

With such a wealth of experience in distressed investing, Ice Miller launched its Distressed Investment Group (“DIG”) to identify and facilitate distressed investment opportunities and assist clients through creative and strategic acquisitions and investments in bankruptcies, in-court restructurings, out-of-court restructurings, and other insolvency-related transactions.
 
Stressed Out! Industry Leaders on the 2021 State of the Market

The COVID-19 world has thrust profound challenges upon the real estate market. The retail market struggled through the 2008 recession and was resuscitated on the backs of experiential shopping and programming. COVID-19 shutdowns and reduced demand has caused a cascade of chapter 11 retail bankruptcies and store closures expected to hit landlords and then the credit industry. In other industries such as hospitality, demand decline hit hard and fast and continues to persist. The residential markets have witnessed unprecedented governmental intervention with eviction moratoriums and similar prohibitions. With all these stressors, where are we and where are we going? Ice Miller's Phillip Coover and Louis T. DeLucia, along with market leaders in distressed real estate, discussed these issues and more on Thursday, January 7, 2021 at 11 a.m. CST. A copy of the webinar recording is available here.

Litigation

Ice Miller’s litigators have substantial experience in all types of creditors’ rights, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), construction, real estate and other commercial litigation, including landlord-tenant matters, seizures of collateral, attachments, injunctions, mechanics’ liens, garnishments and levies. Our litigators work seamlessly with our insolvency practitioners and real estate lawyers on all facets of any litigation. In addition, we regularly handle and defend major institutions, borrowers and other parties in loan-related litigation, lien priority disputes and enforcement of judgments, along with litigation involving piercing the corporate veil, fraudulent conveyance, receivership and other similar claims and litigation.
 

Professionals

Name Position Phone Email
Jay Augustyn Partner 312-726-7317
Jason Berne Partner 312-726-2586
John David Burke Office Managing Partner 312-726-8148
John Cannizzaro Partner 614-462-1070
Phillip Coover Partner 312-726-6270
Tyson A. Crist Partner 614-462-2243
Louis T. DeLucia Partner 212-835-6312
Ryanne Bush Dent Office Managing Partner 630-955-6123
Matt Ehinger Partner 317-236-2183
Alyson M. Fiedler Partner 212-835-6315
Christina Laun Fugate Partner 317-236-2374
Samuel Gardner Partner 317-236-2234
Joanne I. Goldhand Partner 614-462-1107
Jane Neuhauser Herndon Partner 317-236-2437
Jeff Hokanson Partner 317-236-2236
Tyler J. Kalachnik Partner 317-236-2116
Heather L. Maly Partner 312-726-8107
Jason A. McNiel Partner 317-236-2300
Laurie Miller Partner 630-955-6398
Drew J. Miroff Partner 317-236-2267
David Nie Partner 317-236-2377
Amir Ovcina Partner 312-726-2564
Michael M. Roth Partner 630-955-6594
Eric L. Singer Partner 630-955-5826
Taryn E. Stone Partner 317-236-5872
George S. Weems Partner 630-955-4296
Daniel M. Anderson Senior Counsel 614-462-5013
J.C. Brown Of Counsel 312-726-6264
Philip C. Genetos Senior Counsel 317-236-2307
Heather K. Olinger Senior Counsel 317-221-2960
Michael Ott Of Counsel 312-726-7103
Daniel R. Swetnam Senior Counsel 614-462-2225
Nathaniel M. Uhl Senior Counsel 317-236-2383
Joseph Guenther Associate 614-462-1063
Simone Park Associate 212-835-6302
Michael D. Pisano Associate 630-955-4294
John Acquaviva Paralegal 212-835-6324
Wendy Joris Paralegal 317-236-2171
Marita Clarke Practice Group Director 317-236-5847
Laurie Mittenthal Practice Group Director 202-807-4011
Kim Stapleton Sales Manager 312-726-8106
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