Bankruptcy & Restructuring Partner Madlyn Primoff Discusses Patriot Coal Ruling with Reuters

Reuters GoldSheets reports that a judge has recently ruled to move the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of St. Louis-based company Patriot Coal from New York, where the case was originally filed in July, to the company’s home state of Missouri. Patriot admitted to having formed two New York-based subsidiaries solely to establish venue in the state and have access to the New York courts' knowledge of complex bankruptcy and financing issues.

According to Kaye Scholer Bankruptcy & Restructuring Partner Madlyn Primoff, "The court seemed troubled by the company appearing to manufacture facts to fit the statute, as opposed to applying the statute to the facts as they existed - in other words, the hand the company had been dealt," However, she also notes that "at the same time, Patriot was successful in getting its case initially filed in New York and obtaining court approval of a complex debtor-in-possession loan to facilitate the Chapter 11 case."