UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

Transcription

1 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN In re: ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICES, INC. et al, 1 Debtors. Case No TJT Chapter 11 STATUS REPORT OF JOHN MADDEN, LIQUIDATION TRUSTEE FOR THE ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICES LIQUIDATION TRUST On September 7, 2016, this Court entered an Order Granting the Liquidation Trustee s Motion for Reconsideration; Vacating the September 1, 2016 Order to Close These Jointly Administered Cases; Reopening and Reinstating These Jointly Administered Cases; Scheduling A Further Hearing On the Liquidation Trustee s Objection to Closing These Cases; And Requiring the Liquidation Trustee to File A Status Report [Docket No. 2559] (the Order ). The Order requires John Madden, the Liquidation Trustee for the Energy Conversion Liquidation Trust (the Liquidation Trustee and the Trust ) to file a brief status report no later than November 10, The Liquidation Trustee, through his undersigned counsel, hereby provides a report on the status of the Debtors estates and litigation related thereto: 1 The Debtors in the jointly administered cases are Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. and United Solar Ovonic LLC tjt Doc 2562 Filed 11/10/16 Entered 11/10/16 15:57:26 Page 1 of 5

2 I. Monetization of Certain Assets The Trustee is continuing activities focused on realizing value from certain assets which may afford a greater recovery for the Debtors estate. The Trustee has documented the Trust s 95% ownership in Ovonic Cognitive Computer, Inc. ( OCC ) and OCC s rights to over 200 patents relating to chalcogenide materials (phase-change materials), and their wide-ranging use in computers and computer-like devices pursuant to a perpetual, non-exclusive license under an agreement with Ovonyx, Inc. Efforts to engage potential buyers for the Trustee s ownership of OCC, and effectively OCC s rights to these technologies, is expected to continue into II. Recovery of Cash from Foreign Subsidiary The Trustee is pursuing the recovery of cash from one of the Debtors Mexican subsidiaries arising from tax refunds relating to various pre-petition tax years. The Trustee has been successful to date in recovering approximately $200,000 before costs and expects to recover additional funds in early Funds will be repatriated once final collections are realized and costs satisfied. III. Litigation Commenced by the Trust A. Chinese Solar Panel Manufacturer Litigation In late 2013, the Trust commenced litigation against several Chinese solar panel manufacturers and their US subsidiaries in the U.S. District Court, tjt Doc 2562 Filed 11/10/16 Entered 11/10/16 15:57:26 Page 2 of 5

3 Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, for anti-trust activities that the Trust believes were enacted to drive Debtors out of business. Case No. 2:13-cv , Energy Conversion Devices v. Trina Solar Ltd., et al. The District Court granted the defendants motion for summary disposition and dismissed the Trust s litigation. In September of 2015 the Trust filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and a ruling denying the appeal was entered in August of Case No The Trust expects to continue the appeal process before year end and extending into B. Former Directors and Officers Breach of Fiduciary Duties Litigation In early 2014, the Trust commenced litigation against Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. s Board of Directors in the Circuit Court for the County of Oakland for various breaches of fiduciary duties. Case No CB, John Madden v. Joseph Avila, et al. In March of 2015 the Circuit Court granted defendants motion for summary disposition and dismissed the Trust s claims after concluding that the claims were time-barred. In April of 2015 the Trust filed an appeal with the State of Michigan Court of Appeals. Case No Late last month, the Court of Appeals issued its ruling affirming in part, and reversing in part, the Circuit Court s ruling, and remanded the affirmed claims for further proceedings. The Trust is currently assessing its case and expects to determine whether to pursue the affirmed claims during the first quarter of tjt Doc 2562 Filed 11/10/16 Entered 11/10/16 15:57:26 Page 3 of 5

4 IV. Status of Trust Distributions Last, the Trustee reports that the Trust has made eight distributions to unsecured creditors thus far. In total, the Trust has distributed $171,811, to unsecured creditors representing a 57% recovery percentage on unsecured claims. As of the date of this filing, the Trust has $2,214,670 in cash on hand and does plan on making at least one final distribution. Dated: November 10, 2016 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Robert S. Hertzberg Robert S. Hertzberg (P30261) 4000 Town Center, Suite 1800 Southfield, Michigan Tel: (248) hertzbergr@pepperlaw.com Counsel for the Liquidation Trustee tjt Doc 2562 Filed 11/10/16 Entered 11/10/16 15:57:26 Page 4 of 5

5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on November 10, 2016, I caused the foregoing Status Report of John Madden, Liquidation Trustee for the Energy Conversion Devices Liquidation Trust to be electronically filed with the Clerk of the Court using the CM / ECF system, which will send electronic notices of the same to all counsel of record. Dated: November 10, 2016 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Robert S. Hertzberg Robert S. Hertzberg (P30261) 4000 Town Center, Suite 1800 Southfield, Michigan Tel: (248) hertzbergr@pepperlaw.com Counsel for the Liquidation Trustee tjt Doc 2562 Filed 11/10/16 Entered 11/10/16 15:57:26 Page 5 of 5