{"id":"court_ctb_547_0","court":"CTB","case_no":"22-50073","doc_number":547,"sub_number":0,"doc_type":"ORDER","filed_date":"2022-07-13","title":"UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT BRIDGEPORT DIVISION In Re \\* Case No. 22-50073 (JAM) \\* HO WAN KW","summary_zh":null,"summary_en":null,"body_en":"Case 22-50073 Doc 547 Filed 07/13/22 Entered 07/13/22 15:21:36 Page 1 of 21\n\nUNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT BRIDGEPORT DIVISION In Re \\* Case No. 22-50073 (JAM) \\* HO WAN KWOK, \\* Bridgeport, Connecticut \\* July 8, 2022 Debtor. \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* TRANSCRIPT OF APPLICATION FOR ORDER APPROVING APPOINTMENT OF CHAPTER 11 TRUSTEE BEFORE THE HONORABLE JULIE A. MANNING UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE APPEARANCES: For the Debtor: WILLIAM R. BALDIGA, ESQ. Brown Rudnick, LLP Seven Times Square New York, NY 10036 For the Creditor, Pacific PETER FRIEDMAN, ESQ. Alliance Asia Opportunity STUART M. SARNOFF, ESQ. Fund L.P.: O'Melveny & Myers LLP Times Square Tower 7 Times Square New York, NY 10036 PATRICK BIRNEY, ESQ. Robinson & Cole 28 Trumbull Street Hartford, CT 06103 Proceedings recorded by electronic sound recording, transcript produced by transcription service. **Fiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc. 4 Research Drive, Suite 402 Shelton, Connecticut 06484 (203)929-9992**\n\nAPPEARANCES Cont'd: For the Creditors Committee: IRVE GOLDMAN, ESQ. Pullman & Comley 850 Main Street Bridgeport, CT 06601 For the Creditor, Rui Ma: KRISTEN MAYHEW, ESQ. McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter 225 Liberty Street 36th Floor New York, NY 10281 For the U.S. Trustee: HOLLEY L. CLAIBORN, ESQ. Office of the United States Trustee The Giaimo Federal Building 150 Court Street, Room 302 New Haven, CT 06510 For HK International Funds STEPHEN R. KINDSETH, ESQ. Investments (USA) Limited, Zeisler & Zeisler LLC: 10 Middle Street, 15th FL. Bridgeport, CT 06604 For the Creditor, JAY MARSHALL WOLMAN, ESQ. Logan Cheng: Randazza Legal Group, PLLC 100 Pearl Street, 14th Floor Hartford, CT 06103\n\n|    | 3                                                            |\n|----|--------------------------------------------------------------|\n| 1  | (Proceedings commenced at 10:02 a.m.)                        |\n| 2  | THE CLERK:<br>Case No. 22-50073, Ho Wan Kwok.                |\n| 3  | THE COURT:<br>Okay.<br>Good morning.<br>If we could have     |\n| 4  | appearances for the record, please, starting with the        |\n| 5  | debtor's counsel.                                            |\n| 6  | MR. BALDIGA:<br>Good morning, Your Honor.<br>William         |\n| 7  | Baldiga, Brown Rudnick, for the debtor.                      |\n| 8  | THE COURT:<br>Good morning.                                  |\n| 9  | Counsel for PAX, please.                                     |\n| 10 | MR. FRIEDMAN:<br>Good morning, Your Honor.<br>Peter          |\n| 11 | Friedman, from O'Melveny & Meyers, on behalf of Pacific      |\n| 12 | Alliance Group.<br>I see Mr. Sarnoff and Mr. Birney, of the  |\n| 13 | Robinson & Cole firm as well this morning, on behalf of PAX. |\n| 14 | THE COURT:<br>Good morning.                                  |\n| 15 | Counsel for the creditors committee?                         |\n| 16 | MR. GOLDMAN:<br>Good morning, Your Honor.<br>Irve            |\n| 17 | Goldman, Pullman & Comley, representing the creditors        |\n| 18 | committee.                                                   |\n| 19 | THE COURT:<br>Good morning.                                  |\n| 20 | Counsel for Rui Ma?                                          |\n| 21 | MS. MAYHEW:<br>Good morning, Your Honor.<br>Kristen          |\n| 22 | Mayhew, McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter, on behalf of   |\n| 23 | creditors Rui Ma, Zheng Wu and Weican Meng.                  |\n| 24 | THE COURT:<br>Good morning.                                  |\n| 25 | The Office of the United States Trustee?                     |\n|    |                                                              |\n\n MS. CLAIBORN: Good morning, Your Honor. Holley Claiborn for the U.S. Trustee. And also with me this morning is the Chapter 11 trustee candidate, Attorney Luc Despins. THE COURT: Good morning. Good morning to both of you. MR. DESPINS: Good morning, Your Honor. THE COURT: Okay. I also see counsel for HK International. MR. KINDSETH: Yes, Your Honor. Good morning. Stephen Kindseth, Zeisler & Zeisler, for HK International Funds Investments. THE COURT: Good morning. And Attorney Wolman? I see you today -- MR. WOLMAN: Good morning, Your Honor. THE COURT: -- so I didn't forget to say hello. But I often -- for some times the screen cuts you off for some reason, but I see you this morning. So go right ahead. MR. WOLMAN: Thank you, Your Honor. Good morning. This is Jay Wolman, of Randazza Legal Group, for creditor Logan Cheng. THE COURT: Good morning. So I think that's everyone that has -- everyone that I see, anyway, has noted their appearance. Is that correct?\n\n (No audible response.) THE COURT: Okay. So we'll proceed with this hearing this morning on the United States Trustee's motion -- application for the order approving the United States Trustee's appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee. Attorney Claiborn, you -- please proceed. MS. CLAIBORN: Thank you, Your Honor. Good morning. Before the Court this morning is the United States Trustee's application for an order approving the appointment of Mr. Despins as the Chapter 11 trustee. Mr. Despins has a significant Chapter 11 history practice in his firm and in his past. He's been a member of the bar for over 30 years. And the U.S. Trustee has attached to the application a declaration of disinterestedness, which sets forth his connections and his contacts with various parties in this case, and with creditors and with the debtor. And based upon that the U.S. Trustee's requested the Court approve the application this morning. I do, however, want to bring to the Court's attention that this morning we learned there are some additional disclosures that need to be made and will be made by Attorney Despins as to connections with entities that are connected to, we believe, PAX. And Mr. Despins can put a finer point on that and\n\n address the Court and explain. And, again, that will be followed by a supplemental disclosure that will be filed with the Court as soon as possible in the hope that that is within a matter of just a day or two. So, with that, Your Honor, if I could ask Mr. Despins to address the Court about the supplemental disclosures that are not yet before the Court in writing? THE COURT: Yes, please. Go right ahead. MR. DESPINS: Good morning, Your Honor. As I stated in paragraph 11 of my declaration, I said that to the extent we learned of new connections that were not known to us at the time I submitted the declaration, we would update our disclosure statement and I will do that in writing. But I wanted to make sure today that I mentioned to the Court that we discovered last night that we have in the past represented entities that have -- that are -- have the acronym PAG in them, P-A-G. Unbeknownst to our conflict system, PAG means Pacific Asia Group. And those entities -- and, again, as I said, these are representations that were completed, but these entities are unrelated to the Kwok matter in any way. However, PAX is probably managed by a similar or a PAG entity of some kind. We're trying to figure out exactly which one.\n\n But it doesn't change anything from our point of view in a sense that we still believe we're disinterested, we can be adverse to PAX, not that we are seeking that, but we're -- we can be adverse to PAX. And, therefore, it doesn't change the declaration. But given that these P-A-G entities are somehow related to PAX, I wanted to bring that to the attention of the Court early on this morning. And I did, by the way, not only with the U.S. Trustee, but I mentioned this to Mr. Friedman, you know, around 8:45 this morning. THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. And when you say we, you're speaking of the firm of Paul Hastings? MR. DESPINS: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. But personally, I've never had any representation of PAG. I didn't even know it existed frankly until last night. THE COURT: Understood. Understood, obviously, with the firm having offices in different areas of the world. That's why I was asking when you said we, you mean Paul Hastings, not you individually? MR. DESPINS: That's correct, Your Honor. THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. I see a gentleman. Mr. Bassett, are you a counsel in this case? I don't recognize you and I'm sorry if I should, but I don't.\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.\n\n MR. BASSETT: Your Honor, I'm with Paul Hastings. THE COURT: Okay. MR. BASSETT: I would be serving as counsel to Mr. Despins in his capacity as trustee. THE COURT: Okay. Well, Mr. Despins, I don't think you need to file an appearance because you're the Chapter 11 trustee. If Mr. Bassett and/or your firm is going to be proposed to be counsel to you, acting as the Chapter 11 trustee, as you know, you'll have to file an application. And Mr. Bassett and any other members of Paul Hastings will have to file notices of appearance and/or pro hac motions, depending upon whether they're admitted to the District Court of Connecticut. And you'll take care of that. MR. DESPINS: Yes. THE COURT: So that's why I didn't recognize Mr. Bassett. You haven't been involved in any of the other hearings. So that's -- I'm glad at least that it was -- that I was correct that I hadn't seen you before. But in any event, with regard to the United States Trustee's application to -- for an order approving the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee, does any party wish to be heard? MR. FRIEDMAN: Your Honor, it's Peter Friedman\n\n from O'Melveny. We don't have an issue directly with Mr. Despins. We just -- Mr. Despins just mentioned he disclosed at 8:45 this morning that his firm had had some involvement with the parent of our client, which I think is actually -- the correct terminology for that is Pacific Alliance Group, which is slightly different than our fund, Pacific Asia Opportunity Fund, but we do obviously need to consult with our client as to the nature of the relationship. I don't -- I'm not saying that there is an issue. It is midnight or 10 p.m. in Hong Kong already, which is where our client is located. And to the extent that our client needs to look at any files -- I don't know if that's doable over the weekend -- but I think that might be a Paul Hastings issue as opposed to a trustee issue. But this is a, you know, a late-breaking development. And I guess that I can't say it's a concern, but I do think it's important to mention to the Court in this context that, you know, it's just something that we'll have to look at in the context of a retention of Paul Hastings. And, you know, Your Honor, I think, just as I said at every hearing we will be constructive. We will work closely with Mr. Despins, who I have encountered over the years in other Chapter 11 cases.\n\n I have high respect for Mr. Despins. He was counsel to the creditors committee in Puerto Rico where I represented the debtor. So I've been adverse to him and on the same side of the (indiscernible) over the last five years.\n\n You know, we are concerned about expense. We will do everything we can. And we hope everything can be done by Mr. Despins and Paul Hastings to -- you know, especially in light of the circumstances of this debtor having a very limited available -- readily available fund. We really hope that there will be, you know, as much cost efficiency as possible given the size of the estate at current.\n\n And, you know, with those comments, we look forward to hopefully a successful trustee appointment.\n\n And if there are issues relating to past retention or employment of Paul Hastings by our client, we will obviously have to address those in the future.\n\n THE COURT: Okay. Thank you, Attorney Friedman. Does anyone else wish to be heard?\n\n MR. GOLDMAN: Your Honor, Irve Goldman for the committee.\n\n This is the first time I'm hearing about this additional disclosure. I would have the same caveat as Mr. Friedman and would hope that he would share his diligence with the committee so we can take a closer look and evaluate\n\n this additional connection. We're not looking to upset this appointment, but just with the same ideas Mr. Friedman articulated, we'd just want to consider it further. THE COURT: Well, do you agree that it's an issue with regard -- as Attorney Friedman said -- that it would be an issue with regard to the retention of Paul Hastings as counsel versus Mr. Despins as Chapter 11 trustee? MR. GOLDMAN: Yes, I do. He's made it clear that he had no connection, wasn't even aware of the existence of this entity. So with that, I agree it's an retention issue. THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. Does anyone else wish to be heard? MR. BALDIGA: Yes, Your Honor. William Baldiga, Brown Rudnick, for the debtor. THE COURT: Go right ahead. MR. BALDIGA: We have the same qualification concern. We share Brown Rudnick's great respect for Paul Hastings, and Mr. Despins more specifically, but we will need to understand the new disclosures exactly given that PAG is the business behind the fund which is PAX. And PAX is obviously the largest creditor by far of the estate. So I think we all need to understand that. THE COURT: Do you, Mr. Baldiga, agree with what\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.\n\n -- the question I just asked Attorney Goldman? Then is your concern more with regard to Paul Hastings being retained as counsel and not with Mr. Despins serving as the Chapter 11 trustee? Or do you have a concern even with Mr. Despins serving as the Chapter 11 trustee? MR. BALDIGA: I don't know yet. I think -- I'm not sure we're going to have -- going to have any concerns. But to the extent we do, I think it's premature to assess what those would be exactly until we see the disclosure and have an opportunity to talk to the client about that. THE COURT: And that's fine, because the bankruptcy code has provisions with regard to if someone thought that the trustee as appointed should no longer serve as the trustee. So I don't -- I do not see an impediment to the appointment of Mr. Despins as the Chapter 11 trustee today unless someone wants to persuade me otherwise. MR. BALDIGA: We just haven't seen anything, so we -- it's hard to do a persuasive argument, Your Honor, with just finding out about this during the course of the hearing. THE COURT: I understand. I do understand what you're saying. But I'm talking about right now, today, the only thing before the Court is the appointment of Mr. Despins as the Chapter 11 trustee.\n\n And no one has put forth any reason at this point as to why that should not occur. And if it occurs and then you find some reason, then you have remedies under the bankruptcy code to address those reasons.\n\n We're not going to wait any longer for the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee. I mean, the decision was issued on June 15th. It's July 8th.\n\n My understanding -- and maybe that's why Attorney Kindseth is here today -- is that the yacht is in Bridgeport Steelpointe Harbor. So the Lady May is here. It arrived on the 6th at night is my understanding. So there's plenty for Mr. Despins to do as soon as an order enters. And I don't see any reason for delay.\n\n So unless someone has some other concern or argument that they want to advance about Mr. Despins being the Chapter 11 trustee, then I'm going to grant the United States Trustee's application and enter an order approving the appointment of Mr. Despins as the Chapter 11 trustee in this case.\n\n So I'm giving everyone one last opportunity to tell me why I should not do that.\n\n MR. BALDIGA: Your Honor, William Baldiga again. We have nothing further to add other than what I already said.\n\nTHE COURT: Okay. Thank you.\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.\n\nCase 22-50073 Doc 547 Filed 07/13/22 Entered 07/13/22 15:21:36 Page 14 of 21\n\n MR. BALDIGA: And that's just we don't have the disclosure to make a final decision on that. THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. Anyone else wish to be heard? (No audible response.) THE COURT: All right. Then, Mr. Despins, I know you will continue to review the issues that you've already discussed on the record and that you've already set forth in your affidavit. Whenever you have an opportunity in the next -- you know, soon to make further disclosures, please do. But as of now, as of 10:19 a.m., on July 8th, the Court is ordering that the application of the U.S. Trustee is granted and that you're appointed as the -- you will be serving as the Chapter 11 trustee in this case. And I appreciate your willingness to do so. As I noted for the record, and, Attorney Kindseth, you should correct me if I'm wrong, but one of the -- I don't know what you've looked at, if anything, Mr. Despins, yet, but one of the issues in this case that's now almost five months old, but not quite, was the debtor's pledge of a -- of this yacht, the Lady May, to a plan, which of course is not on track at the moment. But there was also an agreement that the Lady May would be brought back into the navigable waters of Connecticut.\n\n And my understanding is that occurred on July -- I suppose I could go outside and go look quite frankly. It's not that far away -- on July 6th. And that is -- that was an issue of contention among the parties, both before this Chapter 11 case was filed and after the Chapter 11 case was filed. So there seems to me, in addition to the yacht, the Lady May, other issues that there are plenty of things that you could become -- that you could become involved in fairly quickly, if not immediately, in this matter. MR. DESPINS: Yes, Your Honor. We are aware of the situation. In fact, we have already contacted counsel that were parties to the stipulation, docket number 299, that Your Honor entered a while ago, and I've asked them to consent to the trustee having the same rights as PAX and the official committee under that stipulation. We received some response that request but notfrom everyone, so we expect to obviously -- to us it's a no brainer that that needs to happen. But we expect to be back in front of the Court to modify the stipulation to ensure that the trustee has exactly the same rights as PAX or the official committee. Thank you, Your Honor. THE COURT: Thank you. MR. FRIEDMAN: Your Honor, on the record -- it's\n\nCase 22-50073 Doc 547 Filed 07/13/22 Entered 07/13/22 15:21:36 Page 16 of 21\n\n Peter Friedman on behalf of PAX -- THE COURT: Yes. MR. FRIEDMAN: -- we consent to that. We consent to that request. THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. And I would note that there are, Mr. Despins, other provisions of that stipulation that I believe anyway, but I don't have it in front of me, and you're all the lawyers so you will figure it out, but that still need to be -- there still needs to be compliance with other provisions in that stipulation once the boat was returned to the navigable waters. So there are other issues that still need to be addressed in that stipulation now that the yacht is back in the navigable waters of Connecticut. So in any event, to let you all know, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, I have to attend required meetings. But if there is a need for a hearing, I could -- I could have one at some point during any of those three days at some time, but I will be remote, as will you. But once we get over this hurdle of the next few days, then, you know, our hearings are going to be in person for the most part. This is a case where we need to make sure that we're all on the same page. And while I truly agree that remote hearings serve\n\n a very valuable purpose and can be very helpful, given what has occurred in this case, we're going to be coming together in person. Okay? So, I mean, there may be a situation if we're having a five-minute discussion that we could turn to remote, but I would like everyone to understand that we are going to be here in person. Okay? MR. DESPINS: Yes, Your Honor. THE COURT: All right. Is there anything further we should address today? Attorney Claiborn, your order approving appointment of Chapter 11 trustee that was attached to the application, I actually -- I would like to change it to an order granting the appointment and that's what I'm going to do. Otherwise, the proposed order is fine with me. Are there any other changes that anyone else wanted to make to the order, Attorney Claiborn, that you're aware of? MS. CLAIBORN: No, Your Honor. THE COURT: Anyone else wish to be heard on the proposed order that Attorney -- Oh, the only thing, Attorney Claiborn, that -- the amount of the bond, that may have to change during the course of this case I would assume. MS. CLAIBORN: It is a fluid issue, Your Honor.\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.\n\n THE COURT: Okay. MS. CLAIBORN: And that is just a starting point for the cash that we know that will be coming to Mr. Despins hopefully in short order from the debtor. But it will have to be adjusted upward in the event that there is money that comes to the estate that Mr. Despins is responsible for. THE COURT: Great. I just -- I mean, your order does say that, but I wanted to be clear on that, that I would anticipate that there would have to be a change in the amount of the bond during the case. Okay? MS. CLAIBORN: Yes, Your Honor. MR. KINDSETH: Your Honor, would you like an update on the Lady May? THE COURT: Sure. MR. KINDSETH: Thank you very much. So as Your Honor noted, the Lady May returned to Connecticut, specifically to Bridgeport, on July 6th. In the week prior -- a week or two prior -- I reached out to counsel for the creditors committee and counsel for PAX, concerning the inspection that they are entitled to conduct. Just to remind Your Honor, the other elements of the stipulation are that the captain and the yacht management company are served with this court's order, they signed a declaration attesting to certain items that are set\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.\n\n forth in the stipulation, and that this court provides for repair reserves to fund the remaining repairs to the Lady May. All the repairs were done except for the -- to my knowledge -- the replacement of the sea inlet valves. We're in the process of obtaining two estimates for the cost of that, which would guide us with respect to proposing a repair reserve. We are also in touch, as I said, with counsel for PAX and the creditors committee to coordinate their inspection. So hopefully their inspection will take place next week. We're hoping that we can have a joint proposed motion approving the repair reserve. Once the repair reserve is put in place, I can then file the certification that each of the elements of the stipulation that my client is obligated to perform has been performed. The various other parties would then have 15 days from the filing of that certification to object. I spoke to the then proposed trustee, the now trustee, Mr. Despins, this morning and expressed tentatively my client's understanding and agreement that he would be having the same rights and obligations and really a party to the stipulation. Our hope is that we would be drafting a proposed stipulated modification to the existing order simply having\n\nCase 22-50073 Doc 547 Filed 07/13/22 Entered 07/13/22 15:21:36 Page 20 of 21\n\n Mr. Despins as an additional party to the existing stipulation. And so that's the status of the Lady May. THE COURT: Thank you. The other provision that I believe you didn't -- you did not mention with regard to the stipulation was that the captain and the -- I don't remember what the other name -- whether it was a harbor master, whomever, would also be restrained, agreed to be restrained, from removing the boat from the navigable waters of Connecticut once it arrived. MR. KINDSETH: That's one of the elements of the declaration, yes. THE COURT: Okay. MR. KINDSETH: The declaration has multiple elements, one of which is that they understand they're restrained from removing the yacht from the navigable waters of Connecticut. THE COURT: I just -- I think that's an important provision to note for especially Mr. Despins who's just become involved so that he's aware of that. MR. KINDSETH: Agreed. THE COURT: Okay? All right. Anything further that we need to address today in the Kwok matter? MS. CLAIBORN: No, Your Honor. THE COURT: All right. Then the United States\n\n|    | 21                                                           |\n|----|--------------------------------------------------------------|\n| 1  | Trustee's application for an order approving the appointment |\n| 2  | of a Chapter 11 trustee is granted and the proposed order    |\n| 3  | will enter.                                                  |\n| 4  | MS. CLAIBORN:<br>Thank you, Your Honor.                      |\n| 5  | THE COURT:<br>All right.<br>Thank you, all.                  |\n| 6  | MR. DESPINS:<br>Thank you, Your Honor.                       |\n| 7  | THE COURT:<br>And that is the last matter on the             |\n| 8  | calendar this morning, so court is adjourned.                |\n| 9  | (Proceedings concluded at 10:28 a.m.)                        |\n| 10 | I, CHRISTINE FIORE, court-approved transcriber and           |\n| 11 | certified electronic reporter and transcriber, certify that  |\n| 12 | the foregoing is a correct transcript from the official      |\n| 13 | electronic sound recording of the proceedings in the above   |\n| 14 | entitled matter.                                             |\n| 15 |                                                              |\n| 16 |                                                              |\n| 17 | July 13, 2022                                                |\n| 18 | Christine Fiore, CERT                                        |\n| 19 | Transcriber                                                  |\n| 20 |                                                              |\n| 21 |                                                              |\n| 22 |                                                              |\n| 23 |                                                              |\n| 24 |                                                              |\n| 25 |                                                              |\n|    |                                                              |\n\nCase 22-50073 Doc 547 Filed 07/13/22 Entered 07/13/22 15:21:36 Page 21 of 21","body_zh":"Case 22-50073 Doc 547 Filed 07/13/22 Entered 07/13/22 15:21:36 Page 1 of 21\n\nUNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT BRIDGEPORT DIVISION（美国康涅狄格区联邦破产法院布里奇波特分院）\n关于\nHO WAN KWOK（郭文贵），\n债务人。\n案号：22-50073 (JAM)\n康涅狄格州布里奇波特\n2022年7月8日\n* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *\n在主审法官 JULIE A. MANNING（朱莉·A·曼宁）\n美国破产法官主持下\n关于批准指定第11章破产受托人之命令申请的庭审记录文本\n出庭人员：\n代表债务人：\nWILLIAM R. BALDIGA, ESQ.（威廉·R·巴尔迪加律师）\nBrown Rudnick, LLP（布朗鲁德尼克律师事务所）\nSeven Times Square\nNew York, NY 10036\n代表债权人 Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund L.P.（太平洋联盟亚洲机会基金有限合伙）：\nPETER FRIEDMAN, ESQ.（彼得·弗里德曼律师）\nSTUART M. SARNOFF, ESQ.（斯图尔特·M·萨诺夫律师）\nO'Melveny & Myers LLP（美迈斯律师事务所）\nTimes Square Tower\n7 Times Square\nNew York, NY 10036\nPATRICK BIRNEY, ESQ.（帕特里克·伯尼律师）\nRobinson & Cole（罗宾逊与科尔律师事务所）\n28 Trumbull Street\nHartford, CT 06103\n诉讼程序由电子录音记录，记录文本由转录服务机构制作。\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.（菲奥雷速记与转录服务公司）\n4 Research Drive, Suite 402\nShelton, Connecticut 06484\n(203)929-9992\n\n出庭人员（续）：\n代表债权人委员会：\nIRVE GOLDMAN, ESQ.（欧文·高德曼律师）\nPullman & Comley（普尔曼与康姆利律师事务所）\n850 Main Street\nBridgeport, CT 06601\n代表债权人 Rui Ma（马蕊）：\nKRISTEN MAYHEW, ESQ.（克里斯汀·梅休律师）\nMcElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter（麦克尔罗伊·德意志·穆尔瓦尼与卡彭特律师事务所）\n225 Liberty Street 36th Floor\nNew York, NY 10281\n代表美国联邦破产受托人（U.S. Trustee）：\nHOLLEY L. CLAIBORN, ESQ.（霍莉·L·克莱本律师）\nOffice of the United States Trustee（美国联邦破产受托人办公室）\nThe Giaimo Federal Building\n150 Court Street, Room 302\nNew Haven, CT 06510\n代表 HK International Funds Investments (USA) Limited（香港国际基金投资（美国）有限公司），Zeisler & Zeisler LLC（泽斯勒与泽斯勒有限责任公司）：\nSTEPHEN R. KINDSETH, ESQ.（斯蒂芬·R·金德塞斯律师）\n10 Middle Street, 15th FL.\nBridgeport, CT 06604\n代表债权人 Logan Cheng（程洛根）：\nJAY MARSHALL WOLMAN, ESQ.（杰伊·马歇尔·沃尔曼律师）\nRandazza Legal Group, PLLC（兰达扎法律集团有限责任专业合伙）\n100 Pearl Street, 14th Floor\nHartford, CT 06103\n1　（庭审于上午 10:02 开始）\n2　法庭书记员：\n案号 22-50073，郭文贵案。\n3　法庭：\n好的。\n早上好。\n请记录在案的出庭律师\n4　登记出庭，\n5　首先从债务人代理律师开始。\n6　巴尔迪加律师：\n法官阁下，早上好。\n布朗鲁德尼克律师事务所的威廉·\n7　巴尔迪加，代表债务人。\n8　法庭：\n早上好。\n9　请 PAX（太平洋联盟）的代理律师发言。\n10　弗里德曼律师：\n法官阁下，早上好。\n美迈斯律师事务所的彼得·\n11　弗里德曼，代表 Pacific Alliance Group（太盟投资集团）。\n今天早上我看到\n12　罗宾逊与科尔律师事务所的萨诺夫律师和伯尼律师\n13　也在场，一同代表 PAX。\n14　法庭：\n早上好。\n15　债权人委员会的代理律师？\n16　高德曼律师：\n法官阁下，早上好。\n普尔曼与康姆利律师事务所的欧文·\n17　高德曼，代表债权人\n18　委员会。\n19　法庭：\n早上好。\n20　马蕊的代理律师？\n21　梅休律师：\n法官阁下，早上好。\n麦克尔罗伊·德意志·穆尔瓦尼与卡彭特律师事务所的克里斯汀·\n22　梅休，代表\n23　债权人马蕊、Zheng Wu（吴征）和 Weican Meng（孟维参）。\n24　法庭：\n早上好。\n25　美国联邦破产受托人办公室？\n\n克莱本律师：法官阁下，早上好。霍莉·克莱本代表美国破产受托人。今天早上与我一同出庭的还有第11章破产受托人人选，Luc Despins（吕克·德斯平斯）律师。法庭：早上好。两位早上好。德斯平斯律师：法官阁下，早上好。法庭：好的。我也看到了香港国际基金投资的代理律师。金德塞斯律师：是的，法官阁下。早上好。泽斯勒与泽斯勒律师事务所的斯蒂芬·金德塞斯，代表香港国际基金投资。法庭：早上好。沃尔曼律师？我今天看到你了——沃尔曼律师：法官阁下，早上好。法庭：——所以我没忘记打招呼。不过我经常——有时屏幕不知为何会切掉你的画面，但我今天早上看到你了。请继续。沃尔曼律师：谢谢法官阁下。早上好。我是兰达扎法律集团的杰伊·沃尔曼，代表债权人程洛根。法庭：早上好。那么我认为所有到场的人——至少我看到的所有人，都已经登记出庭了。是这样吗？\n\n（无口头回应。）法庭：好的。那么我们将继续进行今天早上的听证会，审理关于美国破产受托人动议——即批准美国破产受托人指定第11章破产受托人的命令申请。克莱本律师，请——请发言。克莱本律师：谢谢法官阁下。早上好。今天早上提交法庭审理的是美国破产受托人关于批准指定德斯平斯先生为第11章破产受托人的命令申请。德斯平斯先生在其律所及过往执业中拥有丰富的第11章破产案执业经验。他拥有律师执业资格已逾30年。美国破产受托人已在申请书后附上了一份无利害关系声明，其中列明了他与本案各方当事人、债权人以及债务人的关联和接触情况。基于此，美国破产受托人请求法庭在今天早晨批准该申请。不过，我确实希望提请法庭注意，今天早上我们获悉有一些额外的披露事项需要由德斯平斯律师作出，并将由其作出，内容涉及与据信与 PAX 相关的实体的关联。德斯平斯先生可以对此作更详尽的说明并\n\n向法庭陈述和解释。而且，同样地，随后将尽快向法庭提交一份补充披露声明，希望就在一两天之内。因此，法官阁下，鉴于此，我可以请德斯平斯先生就目前尚未以书面形式呈交法庭的补充披露向法庭作陈述吗？法庭：可以，请陈述。请直接讲。德斯平斯律师：法官阁下，早上好。正如我在声明第11段中所述，我说过，如果我们得知了在我提交声明时尚不知悉的新关联，我们将更新我们的披露声明，我也将以书面形式进行更新。但我今天想确保向法庭提及，我们昨晚发现，我们在过去曾代表过缩写带有 PAG（P-A-G）的实体。由于我们的利益冲突检索系统未能识别，PAG 代表 Pacific Asia Group（亚太集团/太盟）。而那些实体——而且，正如我所说，这些代理事项均已结束，且这些实体与郭氏案件没有任何关联。然而，PAX 可能是由某种类似的或 PAG 实体所管理的。我们正在试图弄清楚具体是哪一个。\n\n但从我们的角度来看，这并不改变任何事情，因为我们仍然认为我们是无利害关系的，我们可以与 PAX 处于对立立场，并不是说我们在寻求对立，但我们——我们可以与 PAX 处于对立立场。因此，这并不改变该项声明。但鉴于这些 P-A-G 实体在某种程度上与 PAX 相关联，我想在今天一早就提请法庭注意这一点。顺便说一下，我不仅向美国破产受托人提及了此事，而且在今天早上8点45分左右也向弗里德曼先生提及了此事。法庭：好的。谢谢。你所说的“我们”，指的是 Paul Hastings（普衡律师事务所）吗？德斯平斯律师：是的。是的。是的。是的。但就我个人而言，我从未代表过 PAG。坦白说，在昨晚之前我甚至都不知道它的存在。法庭：明白。明白，显然，由于该律所在世界各地都设有办公室。这就是为什么我问你所说的“我们”，指的是普衡律师事务所，而不是你个人？德斯平斯律师：正是如此，法官阁下。法庭：好的。谢谢。我看到一位先生。巴塞特先生，你是本案的代理律师吗？我认不出你，如果我应该认识你我很抱歉，但我确实没认出来。\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.\n\n巴塞特律师：法官阁下，我在普衡律师事务所。法庭：好的。巴塞特律师：我将作为德斯平斯先生以受托人身份履职时的代理律师。法庭：好的。嗯，德斯平斯先生，我认为你不需要提交出庭通知书，因为你是第11章破产受托人。如果巴塞特先生和/或你的律所将被提议作为你作为第11章破产受托人履职时的代理律师，如你所知，你必须提交一份申请。而巴塞特先生以及普衡律师事务所的任何其他成员将必须根据他们是否获准在康涅狄格区联邦地区法院执业，提交出庭通知书和/或临时出庭（pro hac vice）动议。你会处理好的。德斯平斯律师：是的。法庭：所以这就是为什么我没认出巴塞特先生。你之前没有参与过任何其他的听证会。所以这——我很高兴至少事实证明——我是对的，我之前确实没见过你。但不论如何，关于美国破产受托人关于——批准指定第11章破产受托人的命令申请，有任何一方希望陈述意见吗？弗里德曼律师：法官阁下，我是美迈斯律师事务所的彼得·弗里德曼\n\n。我们对德斯平斯先生本人没有直接意见。我们只是——德斯平斯先生刚才提到他在今天早上8点45分披露了他的律所曾与我们客户的母公司有某种业务往来，我认为实际上——对其正确的称谓是 Pacific Alliance Group（太盟投资集团），这与我们的基金 Pacific Asia Opportunity Fund（太平洋亚洲机会基金）略有不同，但显然我们需要就该关系的性质与我们的客户进行沟通。我不是——我并不是说存在问题。现在我们的客户所在地香港已经是午夜或晚上10点了。至于我们的客户是否需要查阅任何文件——我不知道在周末这是否可行——但我认为这可能是一个普衡律师事务所的问题，而不是受托人的问题。但这是一个，你知道的，最新的突发情况。我想我不能说这是一个担忧，但我确实认为在此背景下有必要向法庭提及，你知道，这只是我们在普衡律师事务所受聘的背景下必须予以审查的事情。而且，你知道，法官阁下，我认为正如我在每次听证会上所说的那样，我们将采取建设性的态度。我们将与德斯平斯先生密切合作，多年来我在其他第11章案件中与他有过交手。\n\n我对德斯平斯先生非常尊重。在波多黎各的案件中，他是债权人委员会的代理律师，而我代表债务人。因此在过去的五年里，我曾与他处于对立立场，也曾站在同一边（听不清）。\n\n你知道，我们对费用很关切。我们会尽我们所能。我们也希望德斯平斯先生和普衡律师事务所能尽一切努力——你知道，特别是考虑到该债务人可用的——立即可用资金非常有限的情况。我们真诚地希望，鉴于目前破产财产的规模，能够尽可能实现成本效益。\n\n而且，你知道，带着这些意见，我们期待受托人的指定能够顺利成功。\n\n如果存在涉及我们客户过去聘用或雇佣普衡律师事务所的问题，我们显然在未来必须予以处理。\n\n法庭：好的。谢谢弗里德曼律师。还有其他人想陈述意见吗？\n\n高德曼律师：法官阁下，欧文·高德曼代表委员会。\n\n这是我第一次听到关于这项额外披露的情况。我持有与弗里德曼先生相同的保留意见，并希望他能与委员会分享他的尽职调查情况，以便我们能够仔细审查并评估\n\n这项额外的关联。我们并非寻求推翻此项指定，而只是基于Friedman（弗里德曼）律师所阐述的相同考量，我们只是希望能对此作进一步考量。法庭：那么，你是否同意——正如弗里德曼律师所言——这是关于聘任Paul Hastings（普衡律师事务所）作为法律顾问的问题，而非关于Despins（德斯平斯）先生担任第11章受托人的问题？GOLDMAN（高德曼）先生：是的，我同意。他已经明确表示自己没有任何关联，甚至不知道该实体的存在。因此，基于此，我同意这是一个聘任问题。法庭：好的。谢谢。还有其他人希望发言吗？BALDIGA（鲍迪加）先生：是的，法官阁下。Brown Rudnick（布朗·鲁德尼克律师事务所）的William Baldiga（威廉·鲍迪加），代表债务人。法庭：请讲。鲍迪加先生：我们有相同的资质方面的担忧。我们与布朗·鲁德尼克律师事务所一样，对普衡律师事务所，特别是对德斯平斯先生怀有极大的敬意，但鉴于PAG（太盟投资集团）是PAX（太平洋联盟集团）该基金背后的实际运营企业，我们需要确切了解新的披露情况。而PAX显然是目前破产财产的最大债权人。所以我认为我们都需要对此有所了解。法庭：鲍迪加先生，你是否同意——\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.（菲奥雷法庭速记与转录服务公司）\n\n——我刚才问高德曼律师的问题？那么你的担忧是更多关于普衡律师事务所被聘为法律顾问，而非德斯平斯先生担任第11章受托人吗？还是说你甚至对德斯平斯先生担任第11章受托人也存有疑虑？鲍迪加先生：我现在还不知道。我想——我不确定我们是否会——是否会有任何疑虑。但就我们可能存在的疑虑而言，我认为在看到披露信息并有机会就此与客户沟通之前，确切评估这些疑虑是什么还为时过早。法庭：这没问题，因为《破产法典》中包含相关规定，以应对有人认为已指定的受托人不应继续担任受托人的情况。因此，除非有人想说服我改变主意，否则我认为今天在指定德斯平斯先生担任第11章受托人一事上不存在任何障碍。鲍迪加先生：我们只是还没有看到任何材料，所以我们——法官阁下，在仅是在听证会过程中才得知此事的情况下，很难做出有说服力的论证。法庭：我理解。我确实理解你所说的。但我指的是此时此刻，今天摆在法庭面前的唯一事项就是指定德斯平斯先生担任第11章受托人。\n\n而且目前还没有人提出任何不应发生此事的理由。如果指定发生后你发现了某些理由，那么你有权依据《破产法典》采取救济措施来应对这些理由。\n\n我们不会再为指定第11章受托人等待下去了。我是说，裁决是在6月15日作出的。现在已经是7月8日了。\n\n我的理解是——也许这就是Kindseth（金塞斯）律师今天到场的原因——该游艇目前在Bridgeport Steelpointe Harbor（布里奇波特钢点港）。因此Lady May（梅夫人号）已经在这里了。据我了解，它是于6日晚间抵达的。因此，一旦裁定生效，德斯平斯先生就有很多事情要做。我认为没有任何理由拖延。\n\n所以，除非有人对德斯平斯先生担任第11章受托人提出其他疑虑或主张，否则我将准许United States Trustee（美国联邦破产受托人）的申请，并签署一项裁定，批准指定德斯平斯先生担任本案的第11章受托人。\n\n因此，我给所有人最后一次机会，告诉我为什么我不应该这么做。\n\n鲍迪加先生：法官阁下，我是威廉·鲍迪加。除了我刚才所说的，我们没有其他要补充的了。\n\n法庭：好的。谢谢。\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.（菲奥雷法庭速记与转录服务公司）\n\n案件编号 22-50073 文件 547 提交于 07/13/22 录入于 07/13/22 15:21:36 第 14 页，共 21 页\n\n鲍迪加先生：那只是因为我们没有看到披露信息，无法对此作出最终决定。法庭：好的。谢谢。还有其他人希望发言吗？（无出声回应。）法庭：好的。那么，德斯平斯先生，我知道你将继续审查你已在记录中讨论过并已在宣誓书中所陈述的问题。每当你在接下来的——你知道的，近期有机会做出进一步披露时，请及时披露。但截至目前，截至7月8日上午10:19，法庭裁定准许美国联邦破产受托人的申请，并指定你作为——你将担任本案的第11章受托人。我非常感谢你愿意承担此职责。正如我在记录中所指出的，而且，金塞斯律师，如果我说错了你应该纠正我，但本案目前已有近五个月（但还不足五个月）的问题之一，是债务人将这艘游艇“梅夫人号”质押给一项重整计划，当然目前该计划并未按轨道推进。但当时还有一项协议，即“梅夫人号”应被带回Connecticut（康涅狄格州）的可通航水域。\n\n据我了解，那发生在7月——坦率地说，我想我完全可以走到外面去看看。离这里并不远——发生在7月6日。那是——那是双方之间存在争议的一个问题，无论是在提起本第11章破产案之前还是在提起本第11章破产案之后。因此在我看来，除了游艇“梅夫人号”之外，还有其他问题，有很多事情你可以——你可以在本案中相当迅速地，甚至立即介入。DESPINS（德斯平斯）先生：是的，法官阁下。我们了解情况。事实上，我们已经联系了作为和解协议（即法官阁下前段时间签署的案件案卷第299号文件）当事方的律师，我已请求他们同意受托人享有与PAX和官方委员会在该和解协议下相同的权利。我们收到了针对该请求的部分回复，但并非所有人都回复了，所以我们预计显然——对我们来说，这是显而易见必须要做的事情。但我们预计会再次回到法庭，以修改和解协议，确保受托人拥有与PAX或官方委员会完全相同的权利。谢谢您，法官阁下。法庭：谢谢。弗里德曼先生：法官阁下，记录在案——我是\n\n案件编号 22-50073 文件 547 提交于 07/13/22 录入于 07/13/22 15:21:36 第 16 页，共 21 页\n\n代表PAX的Peter Friedman（彼得·弗里德曼）——法庭：请讲。弗里德曼先生：——我们同意。我们同意该请求。法庭：好的。谢谢。德斯平斯先生，我还想指出的是，该和解协议中还有其他条款，不管怎样，我认为如此，但我眼前没有协议文本，你们都是律师所以你们会弄明白的，但在游艇返回可通航水域后，仍需——仍需遵守该和解协议中的其他条款。因此，既然游艇已经回到了康涅狄格州的可通航水域，该和解协议中仍有其他问题需要处理。因此无论如何，向各位说明一下，下周一、周二和周三，我必须参加规定的会议。但如果有举行听证会的需求，我可以——我可以在这三天的某个时间点安排一场听证会，但我将远程出席，各位也是远程出席。但一旦我们度过了接下来几天的这一关，那么，你们知道的，我们的听证会大部分将以现场形式进行。在这样一个案件中，我们需要确保大家都保持步调一致。虽然我完全同意远程听证会具有\n\n非常宝贵的意义且可能非常有帮助，但鉴于本案发生的情况，我们将以现场面对面的方式进行。好吗？因此，我是说，如果我们要进行五分钟的讨论，可能会转为远程形式，但我希望大家明白，我们将在这里现场开庭。好吗？德斯平斯先生：好的，法官阁下。法庭：好的。今天我们还有什么其他事项需要处理吗？Claiborn（克莱伯恩）律师，附在申请后的关于批准指定第11章受托人的命令草案，我其实——我想将其更改为准予指定的裁定，我打算这样做。除此之外，该拟议裁定对我来说没有问题。克莱伯恩律师，据你所知，是否还有其他人想对该裁定作出任何其他修改？CLAIBORN（克莱伯恩）女士：没有，法官阁下。法庭：关于克莱伯恩律师拟议的裁定，还有其他人想发言吗？——噢，唯一的一点，克莱伯恩律师，那就是——保证金的金额，我推测在案件进行过程中可能需要更改。克莱伯恩女士：这是一个处于变动中的问题，法官阁下。\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.（菲奥雷法庭速记与转录服务公司）\n\n法庭：好的。克莱伯恩女士：那只是我们已知即将由债务人（希望很快）向德斯平斯先生交付的现金的起始基准。但如果有款项进入破产财产并由德斯平斯先生负责，那么该金额将不得不向上调整。法庭：很好。我只是——我是说，你的裁定中确实是这么写的，但我希望在此明确，我预计在案件审理过程中必须对保证金的金额进行更改。好吗？克莱伯恩女士：是的，法官阁下。KINDSETH（金塞斯）先生：法官阁下，您希望了解关于“梅夫人号”的最新情况吗？法庭：当然。金塞斯先生：非常感谢。正如法官阁下所指出的，“梅夫人号”已于7月6日返回康涅狄格州，具体是布里奇波特。在之前的一周——一到两周前——我就债权人委员会和PAX有权进行的检查事宜，联系了双方的代理律师。只是向法官阁下提请注意，和解协议的其他要素包括船长和游艇管理公司已收到本法院裁定的送达，他们签署了一份确认和解协议中规定\n\nFiore Reporting and Transcription Service, Inc.（菲奥雷法庭速记与转录服务公司）\n\n的某些事项的声明，以及本法院为“梅夫人号”的后续维修提供维修储备金。据我所知，除了更换海水吸入阀之外，所有维修均已完成。我们正在获取有关该项费用的两份估价，这将为我们提议维修储备金提供参考。正如我所说，我们也在与PAX和债权人委员会的律师保持联系，以协调他们的检查。因此，希望他们的检查能在下周进行。我们希望能够提出一项批准维修储备金的联合拟议动议。一旦维修储备金落实到位，我便可以提交证明，证明我方当事人有义务履行的和解协议的各项要素均已履行。其他各方自该证明提交之日起将有15天的时间提出异议。我今天上午与当时的拟任受托人、即现在的受托人德斯平斯先生进行了交谈，初步表达了我方当事人的理解与同意，即他将享有相同的权利并承担相同的义务，真正成为和解协议的一方当事人。我们希望能够起草一份对现有裁定的拟议协议修改，仅使\n\n案件编号 22-50073 文件 547 提交于 07/13/22 录入于 07/13/22 15:21:36 第 20 页，共 21 页\n\nDespins（德斯平斯）先生作为现有约定的附加当事人。以上就是Lady May（梅号）游艇的现状。法庭：谢谢。我认为关于该约定你没有——你没有提到的另一项条款是，船长和——我不记得另一个称呼了——不管是港务长还是谁，也将受到限制，同意在船只抵达后受到限制，不得将船只移出Connecticut（康涅狄格州）的可航行水域。Kindseth（金德塞思）先生：是的，那是该声明的要素之一。法庭：好的。Kindseth先生：该声明包含多项要素，其中之一是他们明白自己受到限制，不得将该游艇移出康涅狄格州的可航行水域。法庭：我只是——我认为这是一个需要注意的重要条款，特别是对刚参与进来的Despins先生而言，以便他知晓此事。Kindseth先生：同意。法庭：好的？行。关于Kwok（郭）案，我们今天还有其他需要处理的事项吗？Claiborn（克莱伯恩）女士：没有了，法官阁下。法庭：好的。那么United States Trustee（美国破产受托人）关于批准指定Chapter 11（第11章）受托人的命令申请获准，拟议命令将予录入。\n\nClaiborn女士：谢谢您，法官阁下。\n\n法庭：好的。谢谢各位。\n\nDespins先生：谢谢您，法官阁下。\n\n法庭：这是今天上午日程上的最后一项事项，现在休庭。\n\n（庭审于上午10:28结束）\n\n我，CHRISTINE FIORE（克里斯汀·菲奥雷），法院认可的转录员以及认证的电子记录员和转录员，特此证明上述内容是根据上述标题事项中庭审官方电子录音制作的准确无误的记录文稿。\n\n2022年7月13日\nChristine Fiore, CERT\n转录员\n\nCase 22-50073 Doc 547 Filed 07/13/22 Entered 07/13/22 15:21:36 Page 21 of 21","key_entities":["Despins","Paul Hastings","Kwok","Ho Wan Kwok","Luc Despins","Je","RICO","CIPA"],"ecf_references":[],"word_count":4427,"status":"published","published_at":"2022-07-13 00:00:00","created_at":"2022-07-13","updated_at":"2026-08-23 13:56:55"}