On November 13th, the Boston Bar Association hosted Uncharted Territory: Challenges Facing Retail, Hospitality Sectors and their Landlords. Here are five takeaways from the webinar.
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Vanessa Moody
Commercial leasing, corporate bankruptcies and restructuring matters are the focus of Vanessa Moody's diverse practice. Vanessa represents clients in connection with retail and restaurant leasing matters, and drafts and negotiates complex commercial leases, including ground leases and ancillary documents such as reciprocal easement agreements and condominium documents.
Vanessa also represents debtors, creditors' committees, trustees, tenants and landlords, lenders and other creditors in connection with bankruptcy cases, including bankruptcy-related litigation, and in out-of-court workouts. Vanessa's practice has also involved the representation of lenders in leveraged buy-outs, secured financings and other debt transactions.
- Counsel to Partners HealthCare System, Inc., as tenant and developer, in the negotiation of a complex commercial ground lease for the development of its corporate campus in the Assembly Row District of Somerville, Massachusetts, which transaction also included the negotiation of certain easement rights appurtenant to the client’s use and development of the property, and related reciprocal easement agreements and condominium documents.
- Represents landlords in the negotiation of commercial leases with national retailers and restaurants, including anchor tenants, in lifestyle, outlet and major urban mixed-use projects throughout the United States.
- Represents real estate developers in connection with long-term ground leases to tenants.
- Debtor-in-possession counsel to Betsey Johnson LLC in the sale and disposition of its assets in Chapter 11 proceedings before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
- Debtor-in-possession counsel to Magic Brands and Fuddruckers, the owners, operators and franchisors of over 200 fast casual restaurants in the United States and Canada, in their Chapter 11 proceedings in the District of Delaware.
- Counsel to landlords in numerous national retail and restaurant Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, including Borders, Friendly’s, City Sports, Coldwater Creek and Linens ‘n Things.
- Counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors and, subsequently, the liquidating trustee in the Chapter 11 case of Diomed, Inc.
- Special real estate counsel to Hoop Retail (prior owner of the Disney Stores), as tenant, in connection with its Chapter 11 case.
- Counsel to the lender in the successful sale of distressed debt to a real estate developer.
- Counsel to Bank of America, as Administrative Agent, in its $800 million syndicated financing to a leading public environmental services and waste management company.
- Counsel to various secured lenders and administrative agents in connection with secured credit facilities and leveraged buy-outs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced big-name brands to pursue unique strategies to secure fiscal relief. Even prior to the pandemic’s outbreak, certain retailers experienced financial difficulties and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Since the early days of the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S., it has been a recurring theme to turn on the news and see that yet another big-name retailer is rumored to be on the brink of filing, or has already filed, for bankruptcy.
