Case Doc 2394 Filed 10/06/15 Entered 10/06/15 13:20:04 Desc Main Document Page 1 of 6

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1 Document Page 1 of 6 IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION IN RE: ) Chapter 11 )` Case No (ABG) CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT ) Jointly Administered OPERATING COMPANY, INC., et al., ) ) Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar Debtors. ) NOTICE OF MOTION TO: See attached Certificate of Service Please take notice that on Wednesday, October 21, 2015, at 1:30 p.m., I shall appear before the Honorable Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar, or any other Judge sitting in his stead, in the Courtroom designated for Caesars Omnibus hearings, Courtroom 2525, at 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604, and shall then and there present the attached Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay, at which time you may appear if you see fit. Pursuant to the Amended Case Management Procedures Order [DKT 1165], the deadline for filing an Objection to this Motion is October 14, 2015, by 4:00 p.m. Please note that the relief requested therein may be granted without a hearing if no objection is timely filed. Date: October 6, 2015 By: s/ Paul M Weltlich Movant s Counsel Paul M. Weltlich ( ) Joshua N. Karmel ( ) Law Office of Paul M. Weltlich The Karmel Law Firm 221 N. LaSalle Street, Suite N. LaSalle Street, Suite 2900 Chicago, IL Chicago, IL (312) (312)

2 Document Page 2 of 6 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, the undersigned, an attorney, hereby certify that I have served this Notice of Motion and the attached Motion upon all parties via the Court s electronic filing system, and via U.S. Mail, first class postage prepaid, on October 6, 2015, to the following individuals: Office of the United States Trustee For the Northern District of Illinois Attn: Denise DeLaurent 219 North Dearborn St., Suite 873 Chicago, IL Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., Inc. Attn: General Counsel 1 Caesars Palace Drive Las Vegas, NV James H.M. Sprayregen, Esq. David R. Seligman, Esq. Kirkland & Ellis LLP 300 North LaSalle Street Chicago, IL Paul M. Basta, Esq. Kirkland & Ellis LLP 601 Lexington Avenue New York, NY Raven A. Winters, Esq. Littler Mendelson, P.C. 321 North Clark St., Suite 1000 Chicago, IL s/ Paul M. Weltlich - 2 -

3 Document Page 3 of 6 IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION IN RE: ) Chapter 11 )` Case No (ABG) CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT ) Jointly Administered OPERATING COMPANY, INC., et al., ) ) Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar Debtors. ) CLAIMANT TINA PATTERSON S MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM THE AUTOMATIC STAY Claimant Tina Patterson ( Patterson ), by and through her undersigned attorney, and pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 362(d), hereby moves this Honorable Court for an Order granting relief from the automatic stay in the above referenced matter. In support of her Motion, Patterson states as follows: 1. This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 157 and Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C and This matter constitutes a core proceeding pursuant t0 28 U.S.C. 157(b)(2). 2. On January 15, 2015, (the Petition Date ), Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. and several of its subsidiaries, including Harrah s Illinois Corporation, (individually, Harrah s and collectively, the Debtors ), filed a voluntary Petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Northern District of Illinois. The cases of the Debtors and their affiliates have been consolidated for procedural purposes and are being jointly administered. 3. On June 3, 2014, prior to the Petition Date, Patterson filed her Complaint against Harrah s, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, as Case No. 14 C 4082, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of her - 3 -

4 Document Page 4 of 6 civil rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq. (the Lawsuit ). 4. The filing of Debtors Voluntary Petition effectively stayed prosecution of the Lawsuit against Harrah s. 5. During the initial discovery procedures made pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1), Harrah s stated that it did not maintain an applicable insurance policy related to Patterson s claims as set forth in the Complaint. 6. On or about March 17, 2015, Debtors filed their Schedule of Assets and Liabilities for Harrah s [Dkt 752] which included a schedule disclosing the existence of an insurance policy issued by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, as Policy No , and described as Employment Practices Liability coverage (the Insurance Policy ). 7. On March 19, 2015, Patterson, through her undersigned counsel, asked Harrah s counsel to produce a copy of the Insurance Policy to determine its applicability to Patterson s Lawsuit. 8. Harrah s counsel refused to produce a copy of the Insurance Policy to Patterson s counsel, claiming that it was completely irrelevant because of a multimillion dollar deductible. 9. On March 20, 2015, Patterson s counsel made a request to Debtors counsel for a copy of the Insurance Policy. 10. On May 5, 2015, Patterson filed her unliquidated Proof of Claim in this matter, related to her pending Lawsuit

5 Document Page 5 of On July 7, 2015, Patterson s counsel finally received a copy of the Insurance Policy from Debtors counsel and determined that it is applicable to Patterson s claims as set forth in the Lawsuit. Furthermore, the Insurance Policy has a provision that would provide coverage despite a large deductible, in the event of Debtors bankruptcy. 12. Therefore, Patterson hereby seeks relief from the automatic stay to allow her to pursue the Lawsuit against any and all insurance companies, as may be appropriate, pursuant to the Insurance Policy and any other applicable insurance coverage. 13. Section 362(d) of the Bankruptcy Code require a bankruptcy judge to grant a request for relief from an automatic stay for cause. 11 U.S.C. 362(d)(1). 14. Illinois Courts have adopted a three factor test to determine whether relief from an automatic stay is appropriate. Those three factors ask whether: a) Any great prejudice to either the bankrupt estate or the debtor will result from continuation of the civil suit; b) the hardship to the [non-bankrupt party] by maintenance of the stay considerably outweighs the hardship of the debtor, and c) the creditor has a probability of prevailing on the merits. In re: Fernstrom Storage & Van Co., 938 F.2d 731, 735 (7 th Cir. 1991), quoting, In re Pro Football Weekly, 60 B.R. 824, 826 (N.D.Ill.1986). 15. Here, good cause exists to allow Patterson to proceed with her lawsuit against Debtors insurance company as her Motion satisfies all three of the Fernstrom Storage factors: There will be no prejudice to the Debtors or the bankruptcy estate as Patterson only seeks to proceed with her lawsuit against Debtors insurance company to the extent that a deductible is inapplicable; there will be no hardship to the Debtor by - 5 -

6 Document Page 6 of 6 allowing Patterson to proceed with the Lawsuit, yet there will be great prejudice to Patterson if the Lawsuit continues to be delayed due to the stay; and Patterson has a strong probability of prevailing on her claims as set forth in the Lawsuit. WHEREFORE, Claimant Tina Patterson, respectfully requests that this Court enter an Order as follows: a) Granting Patterson relief from the automatic stay provisions in this proceeding in order to allow her to permit her to litigate her claims set forth in the Lawsuit against Debtors insurance company and to enforce any expected judgment against that insurance company; and b) Granting any such other relief as this Court deems just and appropriate. Date: October 6, 2015 By: s/ Paul M Weltlich Movant s Counsel Paul M. Weltlich ( ) Law Office of Paul M. Weltlich 221 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 2900 Chicago, IL (312) Joshua N. Karmel ( ) The Karmel Law Firm 221 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 2900 Chicago, IL (312)

7 Case Doc Filed 10/06/15 Entered 10/06/15 13:20:04 Desc Proposed Order Page 1 of 1 IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION IN RE: ) Chapter 11 )` Case No (ABG) CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT ) Jointly Administered OPERATING COMPANY, INC., et al., ) ) Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar Debtors. ) ORDER FOR RELIEF FROM THE AUTOMATIC STAY This cause coming to be heard before this Court on Claimant Tina Patterson s Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay, the parties being informed in the premises, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the automatic stay in this proceeding is lifted as to Claimant Tina Patterson s pending lawsuit captioned, Tina Patterson v. Harrah s Illinois Corporation, Case No. 14 C 4082, in the Northern District of Illinois, to permit Tina Patterson to pursue her claims against Debtors insurance company. ENTER: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul M. Weltlich ( ) Joshua N. Karmel ( ) Law Office of Paul M. Weltlich The Karmel Law Firm 221 N. LaSalle Street, Suite N. LaSalle Street, Suite 2900 Chicago, IL Chicago, IL (312) (312)

8 Case Doc Filed 10/06/15 Entered 10/06/15 13:20:04 Desc Statement Accompanying Relief From Stay Page 1 of 1 REQUIRED STATEMENT TO ACCOMPANY MOTIONS FOR RELIEF FROM STAY All Cases: Debtor(s) CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT OPERATING Case No Chapter 11 All Cases: Moving Creditor TINA PATTERSON Date Case Filed 01/15/2015 Nature of Relief Sought: ~ Lift Stay ~ Annul Stay ~ Other (describe) Chapter 13: Date of Confirmation Hearing or Date Plan Confirmed Chapter 7: ~ No-Asset Report Filed on ~ No-Asset Report not Filed, Date of Creditors Meeting 1. Collateral a. ~ Home b. ~ Car Year, Make, and Model c. ~ Other (describe) Pending Complaint in N.D. IL 2. Balance Owed as of Petition Date $ TBD Total of all other Liens against Collateral $ 3. In chapter 13 cases, if a post-petition default is asserted in the motion, attach a payment history listing the amounts and dates of all payments received from the debtor(s) post-petition. 4. Estimated Value of Collateral (must be supplied in all cases) $ TBD at trial 5. Default a. ~ Pre-Petition Default Number of months Amount $ b. ~ Post-Petition Default i. ~ On direct payments to the moving creditor Number of months Amount $ ii. ~ On payments to the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Number of months Amount $ 6. Other Allegations a. ~ Lack of Adequate Protection 362(d)(1) i. ~ No insurance ii. ~ Taxes unpaid Amount $ iii. ~ Rapidly depreciating asset iv. ~ Other (describe) b. ~ No Equity and not Necessary for an Effective Reorganization 362(d)(2) c. ~ Other Cause 362(d)(1) i. ~ Bad Faith (describe) ii. ~ Multiple Filings iii. ~ Other (describe) Litigation in Employment claim d. Debtor s Statement of Intention regarding the Collateral i. ~ Reaffirm ii ~ Redeem iii. ~ Surrender iv. ~ No Statement of Intention Filed Date: 10/06/15 s/ Paul M Weltlich Counsel for Movant (Rev. 12 /21/09)