郭文贵破产案 · TRANSCRIPT · ECF #3227

1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT BRIDGEPORT DIVISION IN RE: . Chapter 11 . Case No. 22-50073 (JAM) HO WAN KWOK, et al., . . (Jointly Administered) . . Courtroom 123 . Brien McMahon Federal Building Debtors. . 915 Lafayette Boulevard . Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604 . . Tuesday, May 28, 2024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12:00 p.m. TRANSCRIPT OF HEARING BEFORE THE HONORABLE JULIE A. MANNING UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE APPEARANCES: For the Chapter 11 Trustee: Patrick R. Linsey, Esquire NEUBERT PEPE & MONTEITH, P.C. 195 Church Street 13th Floor New Haven, Connecticut 06510 -and- Nicholas A. Bassett, Esquire PAUL HASTINGS, LLP 2050 M Street NW Washington, DC 20036 Audio Operator: Electronically recorded Transcription Company: Reliable The Nemours Building 1007 N. Orange Street, Suite 110 Wilmington, Delaware 19801 Telephone: (302)654-8080 Email: gmatthews@reliable-co.com Proceedings recorded by electronic sound recording, transcript produced by transcription service. Case 22-50073 Doc 3227 Filed 05/31/24 Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40 Page 1 of 14

| | Case 22-50073<br>Doc 3227<br>Filed 05/31/24 | Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40<br>Page 2 of 14 | | | | | |----------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--|--|--|--| | | | 2 | | | | | | 1 | APPEARANCES (CONTINUED): | | | | | | | 2 | For the Chapter 11 | | | | | | | 3 | Trustee: | Luc A. Despins, Esquire<br>PAUL HASTINGS, LLP | | | | | | 4 | | 200 Park Avenue<br>New York, New York 10166 | | | | | | 5 | For the U.S. Trustee: | Holley L. Claiborn, Esquire | | | | | | 6 | | OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRUSTEE<br>The Giaimo Federal Building<br>150 Court Street, Room 302 | | | | | | 7 | | New Haven, Connecticut 06510 | | | | | | 8 | For Pacific Alliance<br>Asia Opportunity Fund: | Annecca H. Smith, Esquire | | | | | | 9 | | ROBINSON & COLE, LLP<br>270 Trumbull Street | | | | | | 10 | | Hartford, Connecticut 06103 | | | | | | 11 | | -and- | | | | | | 12 | | Stuart M. Sarnoff, Esquire<br>O'MELVENY & MYERS, LLP | | | | | | 13 | | 1301 Avenue of the Americas<br>Suite 1730 | | | | | | 14 | | New York, New York 10019 | | | | | | 15 | | | | | | | | 16 | | | | | | | | 17 | | | | | | | | 18 | | | | | | | | 19 | | | | | | | | 20 | | | | | | | | 21 | | | | | | | | 22 | | | | | | | | 23<br>24 | | | | | | | | 25 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 INDEX MOTIONS: PAGE Matter No. 3177 Motion for Order Regarding Transfer of Ownership of Ducati Motorcycle (Upon Consent) Filed by Patrick R. Linsey on behalf of Luc A. Despins, Chapter 11 Trustee 8 Court's Ruling: 12 Matter No. 3178 Application of Chapter 11 Trustee for Entry of Order, Pursuant to Bankruptcy Code Sections 327, 328, and 330, Bankruptcy Rules 2014 and 2016, and Local Bankruptcy Rules 2014-1 and 2016-1, Expanding Retention and Employment of Harney Westwood and Riegels LP to Also Serve as Cayman Islands Counsel to Chapter 11 Trustee Filed by Luc A. Despins on behalf of Luc A. Despins, Chapter 11 Trustee 5 Court's Ruling: 7 Transcriptionist's Certificate 14 Case 22-50073 Doc 3227 Filed 05/31/24 Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40 Page 3 of 14

4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (Proceedings commenced at 12:00 p.m.) THE CLERK: Case Number 22-50073, Ho Wan Kwok. THE COURT: Okay. Good afternoon. It is 12:00 p.m. and we have one matter on the calendar at 12:00 p.m. and I would ask for appearances. Attorney Claiborn is in the courtroom, so I'll take the trustee and parties that are appearing remotely first and then -- Attorney Claiborn was here for other hearings, so she just stayed to attend this hearing in person. So, Trustee Despins, if you would start with your appearance, please? MR. DESPINS: Yes, Your Honor. Good afternoon, Your Honor. Luc Despins, Chapter 11 Trustee. THE COURT: Good afternoon. MR. BASSETT: Good afternoon, Your Honor. Nick Bassett from Paul Hastings, counsel to the Chapter 11 Trustee. THE COURT: Good afternoon. MR. LINSEY: Good afternoon, Your Honor. Patrick Linsey, Connecticut counsel for the trustee. THE COURT: Good afternoon. MS. SMITH: Good afternoon, Your Honor. Case 22-50073 Doc 3227 Filed 05/31/24 Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40 Page 4 of 14

5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Annecca Smith, Connecticut counsel for the largest creditor, PAX. THE COURT: Good afternoon. MS. CLAIBORN: And good afternoon. Holley Claiborn for the U.S. Trustee. THE COURT: Good afternoon. So in looking at the calendar for today in the case, I did note that there were no objections filed to the matters on the calendar and, obviously, in an attempt to keep costs down when appropriate, I thought it made sense to hold this hearing remotely, so we are doing that today. Do any of you believe anyone else will be joining this hearing? MR. DESPINS: Not to our knowledge, Your Honor. THE COURT: Okay. All right. Then the matters on the calendar, I don't know how you would like to proceed with which matter first, but Trustee Despins or Attorney Bassett, whomever, go right ahead. MR. DESPINS: We can start with the expansion of the retention of Harney. So, with your permission, Your Honor, I would start with that. That motion is at Docket 3178. And it's really a simple motion. Harney is already our British Virgin Islands counsel. There's a need Case 22-50073 Doc 3227 Filed 05/31/24 Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40 Page 5 of 14

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 to -- for advice regarding Cayman Islands, in fact, some of the Hamilton, Himalaya entities are incorporated in the Caymans and therefore, we need to be able to tap into the same firm, but a different office, and we would view this, the retention of Harney's in the case with limited to British Virgin Islands, so, therefore, we filed this motion to expand it. So it's not more complicated than that. It's just expanding the retention so that we can use their Cayman Islands lawyers as needed, Your Honor. THE COURT: Understood. I have reviewed the application and I understand why you are seeking to expand the retention and employment of counsel. Attorney, do you wish to be heard on the application? MS. CLAIBORN: Your Honor, just to note that I filed a statement of no objection, which is at ECF 3195. THE COURT: Thank you. Does anyone else wish to be heard on the application to expand the scope of the services for the counsel in the British Virgin Islands? (No verbal response) THE COURT: All right. Attorney -- I'm sorry -- Trustee Despins, I'm looking at the proposed order and, you know, I think it's fine. There's no need to make any changes

7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 to it. Sometimes I do make changes to the orders, but in this situation, I don't think it's necessary. Attorney Claiborn, you didn't have any changes to the order, did you? MS. CLAIBORN: No, Your Honor. THE COURT: Okay. I'm just looking at it again. (Pause.) THE COURT: So, as I noted, I did review the application. I understand the reason why the trustee is seeking an order granting the application to expand the services. No one has filed any written objections to the application. The United States Trustee has filed a statement of no objection and there is no one participating in this hearing today that is objecting to the application. For all those reasons, the application is granted and the proposed order can enter. MR. DESPINS: Thank you, Your Honor. And for the record, I would note that Mr. Sarnoff from O'Melveny just joined us. MR. SARNOFF: I'm sorry, Your Honor. My camera was giving me difficulty. Forgive me. THE COURT: That's fine. Good afternoon, Attorney Sarnoff. MR. DESPINS: And, Your Honor, the next matter will be handled by Mr. Bassett. Case 22-50073 Doc 3227 Filed 05/31/24 Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40 Page 7 of 14

THE COURT: Thank you.

1

2 3 4 MR. BASSETT: Again, good afternoon, Your Honor. Nick Bassett from Paul Hastings, on behalf of the Chapter 11 Trustee.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Your Honor, the next and last item on the agenda for today is the motion the trustee filed at ECF 3177 in the main case on consent, seeking the entry of an order, declaring that a Ducati motorcycle, located at Mahwah mansion is property of the estate and directing that action be taken to have title to that motorcycle transferred to the trustee on behalf of the estate.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Your Honor, just by way of brief background, as all set forth in the motion, the current registered title owner of the motorcycle is Mr. Scott Barnett, whom the Court knows as the debtor's bodyguard, who has been the discussion of other issues in this Chapter 11 case. The trustee came to learn that a Ducati that had been seen, that the trustee and others had seen at the Mahwah mansion, that, in fact, based on current New York State records is titled in the name of Mr. Barnett.

21 22 23 24 25 We approached Mr. Barnett's counsel. The response that we received was Mr. Barnett had no idea that the motorcycle was, in fact, titled in his name. He said that somebody must have put it into his name, because he did not even -- he was not even aware of it being titled in his name.

1 2 3 4 He has no objection to the motorcycle being transferred to the Chapter 11 estate and he agreed to take whatever steps reasonably necessary to have title transferred to the trustee.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 So we, again, conferred with Mr. Barnett's counsel, then filed this motion upon his consent. We served both, the motion and the notice of the hearing on all parties to the Chapter 11 case via ECF. There have been no other objections to the motion -- no objections at all to the motion. And, Your Honor, on that basis, we would ask the motion be granted. Obviously, I'm happy to answer any questions the Court may have.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 MR. DESPINS: Just one thing I want to add is that you will recall that at one point in the Mahwah adversary proceeding, you requested that we prepare a list of all the items on the property and give that to Taurus and for Taurus to respond to whether they believed they owned it or not. And as far as the motorcycles are concerned, they declined ownership. They say that they don't own it so, therefore, that's another relevant piece (indiscernible) which is that where the motorcycle is located, the owner -- the alleged owner takes the position that they don't own the motorcycle, so that's (indiscernible).

24 25 THE COURT: And they did that -- that hasn't been filed on the docket. I'm not saying it should have been, I'm

10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 just asking: That has not been filed on the docket, has it? MR. DESPINS: Yes, it was in the Mahwah adversary proceeding -- THE COURT: Okay. MR. DESPINS: -- there was a chart with -- I don't know if it was a check mark beside each item, but it was clearly laid out and the motorcycle was listed there as they said they didn't own it. MR. BASSETT: And that's -- Your Honor, that's actually mentioned in our brief -- THE COURT: That's my -- I'm sorry, go ahead, Attorney Bassett. MR. BASSETT: Sorry, Your Honor. I was just going to note that that report that the trustee is referring to is mentioned in our motion. It was filed in the, as the trustee had said, in the Mahwah adversary proceeding on October 31st, 2023, and it's at Docket 78 in that adversary proceeding. THE COURT: All right. Thank you. That's where I got confused myself, not that you confused me, but I was thinking about it being docketed in the main case, but that doesn't make sense; it would have been docketed in the adversary, which is where you did docket it, so I understand that counsel for Taurus Fund has agreed in writing that Taurus Fund has no ownership interest in the Case 22-50073 Doc 3227 Filed 05/31/24 Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40 Page 10 of 14

11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 motorcycle, that is the subject of this motion, this consentto motion. So, what does Mr. Barnett have to do, just sign over title? MR. BASSETT: That is a fair question, Your Honor. The order, the proposed order states that Mr. Barnett will execute any documentation and take any other action, as reasonably necessary, to have title transferred to the estate. We're looking into the precise mechanics of that, but, obviously, it will involve a transfer of title document that likely has to be filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles, but we will work through those mechanics to make sure that happens. THE COURT: Understood. I was just curious if, you know, there's any -- there will be. You'll have to figure out the state law that governs that issue and act accordingly. But your proposed order does provide, or does anticipate that something is going to happen. That Mr. Barnett is going to cooperate and execute any documentation or take any other action that's necessary to have the title transferred to the estate. So I was just curious, but that's fine. You'll take care of it. THE COURT: Does anyone else wish to be heard regarding the motion on consent for the transfer of ownership of the motorcycle to the estate? Case 22-50073 Doc 3227 Filed 05/31/24 Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40 Page 11 of 14

| 1 | (No verbal response) | | | | | |----|---------------------------------------------------------------|--|--|--|--| | 2 | THE COURT:<br>Okay.<br>I would note for the record | | | | | | 3 | that the motion was filed and served.<br>No one has filed any | | | | | | 4 | written objection to the motion.<br>All the parties that | | | | | | 5 | electronically receive pleadings, not only received the | | | | | | 6 | motion, but the notice of the hearing.<br>There's no one | | | | | | 7 | participating in this hearing that is objecting to it, to the | | | | | | 8 | relief sought in the motion, so for all those reasons, the | | | | | | 9 | motion for the consent order regarding the transfer of the | | | | | | 10 | ownership of the Ducati motorcycle to the estate, ECF 3177 is | | | | | | 11 | granted and the proposed order will enter. | | | | | | 12 | MR. DESPINS:<br>Thank you, Your Honor. | | | | | | 13 | THE COURT:<br>Is there any other business we need to | | | | | | 14 | address in the case today?<br>I know there are some hearings | | | | | | 15 | coming up in the next few weeks.<br>Is there anything else? | | | | | | 16 | MR. DESPINS:<br>Not at this time. | | | | | | 17 | THE COURT:<br>Okay. | | | | | | 18 | MR. DESPINS:<br>Not at this time, Your Honor, thank | | | | | | 19 | you. | | | | | | 20 | THE COURT:<br>All right.<br>Well, then, thank you all | | | | | | 21 | and we will see you in a few weeks. | | | | | | 22 | COUNSEL:<br>Thank you, Your Honor.<br>The. | | | | | | 23 | THE COURT:<br>All right.<br>Thank you, all. | | | | | | 24 | That concludes today's hearings, so court is | | | | | | 25 | adjourned. | | | | | | | | | | | |

| Case 22-50073 | Doc 3227 | Filed 05/31/24 | Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40 | Page 13 of 14 | |---------------|----------|----------------|---------------------------------------|---------------| | | | | | 13 | | 1 | | THE CLERK: | All rise.<br>Court is adjourned. | | | 2 | | | (Proceedings concluded at 12:13 p.m.) | | | 3 | | | | | | 4 | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | 6 | | | | | | 7 | | | | | | 8 | | | | | | 9 | | | | | | 10 | | | | | | 11 | | | | | | 12 | | | | | | 13 | | | | | | 14 | | | | | | 15 | | | | | | 16 | | | | | | 17 | | | | | | 18 | | | | | | 19 | | | | | | 20 | | | | | | 21 | | | | | | 22 | | | | | | 23 | | | | | | 24 | | | | | | 25 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

| Case 22-50073 | | Doc 3227 | Filed 05/31/24 | Entered 05/31/24 10:54:40 | | Page 14 of 14 | | | |---------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|--|---------------|--|--| | | | | | | | 14 | | | | 1 | | | | CERTIFICATION | | | | | | 2 | I certify that the foregoing is a correct | | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | transcript from the electronic sound recording of the | | | | | | 4 | | | | proceedings in the above-entitled matter to the best of my | | | | | | 5 | | | knowledge and ability. | | | | | | | 6 | | | | | | | | | | 7 | | | /s/ William J. Garling | | | May 30, 2024 | | | | 8 | | | William J. Garling, CET-543 | | | | | | | 9 | | | Certified Court Transcriptionist | | | | | | | 10 | | For Reliable | | | | | | | | 11 | | | | | | | | | | 12 | | | | | | | | | | 13 | | | | | | | | | | 14 | | | | | | | | | | 15 | | | | | | | | | | 16 | | | | | | | | | | 17 | | | | | | | | | | 18 | | | | | | | | | | 19 | | | | | | | | | | 20 | | | | | | | | | | 21<br>22 | | | | | | | | | | 23 | | | | | | | | | | 24 | | | | | | | | | | 25 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |