WYNIT Bankruptcy Notices

WYNIT Distribution LLC, WD Navarre Holdings, LLC, WD Navarre Digital Services, LLC, WYNIT Holdings, Inc., WD Navarre Canada, ULC, WD Navarre Distribution, LLC and WD Encore Software, LLC filed chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. At the time these chapter 11 cases were filed, these companies provided the Bankruptcy Court with a list of approximately 18,000 individuals and entities the companies believe may have been their creditors. In compliance with federal statutes and rules, the Bankruptcy Court sent notice of the commencement of these bankruptcy cases to those 18,000 individuals and entities on the list provided by the debtor companies.

If you believe you received these of these notices in error you can learn how to remove yourself from the creditor list here.

Nauni Manty Awarded Certificate of Appreciation by Federal Bureau of Investigation

Nauni Manty Receiving award from Special Agent Ted Miller - FBI Minneapolis

On April 21, 2016 Nauni Manty was awarded a certificate of appreciation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in recognition of her work on the Woodburry Jewelers case. During her time as the Chapter 7 Trustee for Woodbury Jewelers she went above and beyond to gathered evidence that was crucial for the FBI’s case against Dan Rohricht for concealing bankruptcy assets. For more information about the case and the outstanding work Nauni did to earn this award you can read more on the Star Tribune’s website here. 

Manty & Associates Attorneys recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine

We are proud to announce Nauni Manty, Jacqueline Williams and Mychal Bruggeman have been recognized by the Super Lawyers Magazine. 

Nauni Manty was once again recognized on the Super Lawyer list. For the second year in a row she is also on the list for the Top 50 Women Attorneys in Minnesota, and the Top 100 Attorneys in Minnesota. To read her full bio click here. 

Jackie Williams and Mychal Bruggeman have both been selected for the Minnesota Rising Stars list.  Mychal has received this honor the last four years and Jackie has received this honor the last two years. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive this honor. To read Jackie’s full bio click here, or Mychal’s click here. 

Please join us in congratulating Nauni, Jackie, and Mychal for their achievements.

Manty & Associates Attorneys to Speak at the 2014 Bankruptcy Institute

Two members of Manty & Associates, P.A., Nauni Manty and, Mychal Bruggeman have been chosen to speak at the Bankruptcy Institute on Oct. 23. The Bankruptcy Institute is a large state-wide annual conference about bankruptcy.

At the conference, national authorities and Minnesota experts will share their knowledge and experience with the latest developments and hot topics in bankruptcy law. There will be 16 breakout sessions, presentations, Q&A sessions and discussions. Both Manty and Bruggeman will be speaking in breakout sessions.

From 2:30-3:30 p.m. on Oct. 23, Manty will be discussing Chapter 7 Bankruptcies. She will join Stephen Behm, John Hedback and Sarah Wencil. The panel will discuss filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and properly drafting the bankruptcy petition and schedules. They will also talk about preparing clients for the 341 meeting, dealing with United States Trustee requests for information, negotiating reaffirmation agreements with secured creditors and more. For More information about Nauni click Here.

Bruggeman will be discussing fraudulent transfers from 1:15-2:15 p.m. Oct. 23. Along with Stephen Mertz and Geroge Singer, Bruggeman will delve into the current issues and recent developments in fraudulent transfer law, including defending claims for actual and constructive fraud, statute of limitations issues for claims arising under the Minnesota Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act and attempts to limit statutory exceptions to a trustee’s ability to avoid fraudulent transfers. For more information about Mychal click here. 

The 2014 Bankruptcy Institute will take place Thursday, Oct. 23 through Friday, Oct. 24. It will be held at the Minnesota CLE Conference Center, located on the third floor of the City Center in Minneapolis Minnesota.  For more information about the upcoming conference, visit http://www.minncle.org/seminardetail.aspx?ID=103501501.

Manty & Associates Sponsors Turn Around Management Association's 8th Annual MidAmerica Conference

Manty & Associates is proud to announce its sponsorship of the Turn Around Management Association’s (TMA) eighth annual MidAmerica Regional Conference (MARC). This year, the law firm is one of the gold sponsors for the conference, which takes place September 11th and 12th in downtown Minneapolis.

MARC offers corporate renewal professionals from the TMA Chicago/Midwest, Ohio, Detroit/Grand Rapids, Missouri and Minnesota chapters a chance to get together for two days of educational sessions and networking. This year’s theme is “Creating Value for Corporate Renewal.” M&A is privileged to be a sponsor of this strong lineup of exceptionally informative panelists, which are sure to spark thoughtful and interesting discussions.

Manty & Associates is a client-focused law firm located in Minneapolis, MN. Last year, the firm was presented with the Upper Midwest Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association's "2013 Transaction of the Year" award. It received the award for its work in connection with the successful sale of Fifty Below Sales and Marketing, Duluth, Minnesota.

MARC 2014 will be held at the Loews Minneapolis Hotel (formerly the Graves Hotel) in downtown Minneapolis from September 11 through12. For more information or to register for the event, visit www.tmachicagomidwest.org.

Attorneys at Manty & Associates Honored by Super Lawyers Magazine

We are proud to announce that three attorneys from Manty & Associates, P.A. have been recognized by the Super Lawyers Magazine. Attorneys Nauni Manty, Jacqueline Williams and Mychal Bruggeman.

Nauni Manty was once again recognized on the Super Lawyer list.  This year she is also on the list for the Top 50 Women Attorneys in Minnesota.  Manty has a range of knowledge in debtor-creditor law and is skilled in Business, Banking and commercial Law, among other practice areas. To read her full bio click here. 

Jackie Williams and Mychal Bruggeman have been selected to the 2014 Minnesota Rising Stars list. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive this honor.

Williams has been with Manty & Associates since 2011; this year she has won the Rising Star award. She represents creditors in Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy cases. Her practice areas include commercial litigation, creditors’ rights and remedies, defaulted loans and workouts in addition to others. To read her full bio click here.  

Bruggeman joined the firm earlier this year and has since established himself as one of its premier team members. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in financial litigation, bankruptcy, creditors’ remedies and banking. He also received the Rising Star award in 2012 and 2013. To read his full bio click here. 

Please join us in congratulating Nauni, Jackie, and Mychal for their achievements. 

This Week Dennis O'Brien Wrote a Guest Post on Minnesota Litigator

Here is a sample of Dennis' post you can read the rest here. 

When I attended law school in the early 1970s, bankruptcy law was not even remotely on my radar. My law school, William Mitchell, did not offer a course in the subject to my knowledge. But, if it did and had I been aware of it, I certainly would have avoided a course in bankruptcy. I wanted to be a trial lawyer. I clerked for a St. Paul law firm while in law school and periodically delivered papers to the bankruptcy court clerk’s office in downtown St. Paul in connection with that, but, I had no idea what any of it was about, and whatever went on behind the clerk’s counter or in bankruptcy courtrooms. The bankruptcy process was a total mystery to me. One that I had no interest in solving.

I graduated from law school in 1974, and began my practice with a small law firm in Duluth, Minnesota. It was a general practice firm, except that bankruptcy law was totally absent from the practice. Two years later, I went solo, became a St. Louis County Juvenile Court Guardian ad Litem, and practiced probate, real estate, small corporate and family law. This was the bread and butter of the small practitioner.

Nauni Manty Successfully Operates and Sells Genisys Software, Inc as a Chapter 7 Trustee

Recently, Nauni Manty, a chapter 7 panel trustee for the District of Minnesota took control of operations for the business of Genisys Software, Inc. after the company filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case (Case no. BKY 14-40472). The debtor specialized in providing software and customer technical support for equipment rental, party rental, mountain sports rental and video rental. The debtor’s software packages handled not only the point of sale and rental aspects of businesses but also the service department, accounts receivable and purchase orders.

Although it is extremely uncommon for a chapter 7 trustee to operate the business of a chapter 7 debtor, Manty recognized that the sale of Genisys Software as an ongoing concern would realize a greater benefit than simply liquidating its personal property assets and collecting accounts receivable.  In a Chapter 7 liquidation, the business assets are liquidated and sold to the highest bidder.  However, Genisys Software had relatively little assets, which largely included software programs. Rather, the true value of Genisys Software was in its customer service contracts and its client base.

Because operating a business in a Chapter 7 is rare, the trustee , through her counsel, Manty & Associates, P.A., filed a motion with the bankruptcy court to obtain court permission to operate the business for a limited time and for the limited purpose of the sale.  The court granted the trustee’s request.  She operated the debtor’s business while soliciting potential bidders through a sealed bidding sale process that maximized the benefit for the estate and the creditors.  Manty’s strategic insight resulted in significant success for the bankruptcy estate and the creditors who will receive distributions from the April 22nd sale of the debtor to High Reach Company, LLC for $125,000. 

Mychal A. Bruggeman Joins Manty & Associates, P.A.

Manty & Associates, P.A. is pleased to announce the addition of Mychal A. Bruggeman to our growing Minneapolis office.  M&A has hired Mychal to focus on financial litigation, bankruptcy, creditors’ remedies, and banking.  Prior to M&A, Mychal was a shareholder in a larger Minneapolis commercial law firm. Mychal started his career as a trial attorney at the United States Department of Justice in 2005.  In these prior positions, Mychal received the benefit of “trial by fire” and arrives at M&A having already served as lead counsel in cases before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, the Minnesota Court of Appeals, as well as federal, state, and bankruptcy courts in Minnesota and throughout the country.  With the experience of representing banks throughout his career and bolstered by his long-term involvement in the Risk Management Association, Mychal rounds out his practice by counseling financial institutions on a wide array of matters.  Mychal was named a Rising Star by the Super Lawyers publication in 2012 and 2013. 

Mychal sees M&A as a great platform for providing exceptional client services, and we are excited to make him part of the M&A legal team.  His contact information is 612-465-0347 and Mychal@mantylaw.com.  Feel free to contact him with any pending legal needs.   You can read more about Mychal here. 

Manty & Associates Wins Appeal in Tax Exemption Case

Manty & Associates recently won a case with the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit. The firm successfully appealed the bankruptcy court’s decision permitting a debtor to exempt a property tax exemption. See Nauni Jo Manty v. Grace Montgomery Johnson (No. 13-6050),http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/14/04/136050P.pdf.

According to court documents, Trustee Nauni Manty objected to a debtor’s claimed exemption in a Minnesota state property tax refund. The debtor claimed the exemption as government assistance based on need. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota agreed with the debtor and allowed the exemption.

A bankruptcy trustee has the fiduciary obligation to protect the interests of all beneficiaries of the estate and, as such, Trustee Manty appealed the decision claiming that the refund was not government assistance based on need. The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit reversed the bankruptcy court’s decision. In doing so, the B.A.P. explained that property tax refunds cannot be government assistance based on need because, among other reasons, they are available to individuals earning over $100,000.00.

Jackie Williams led the successful appeal, collaborating with several Manty & Associate attorneys.