Guo Wengui / Miles Guo — bankruptcy case · ORDER · ECF #1221

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT BRIDGEPORT DIVISION In Re \* Case No. 22-50073 (JAM) \* HO WAN KWOK and GENEVER \* HOLDINGS CORPORATION, \* Bridgeport, Connecticut \* December 2, 2022 Debtor. \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* TRANSCRIPT OF MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER BEFORE THE HONORABLE JULIE A. MANNING UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE APPEARANCES: For the Debtor: STEPHEN KINDSETH, ESQ. Zeisler and Zeisler 10 Middle Street, 15th Floor Bridgeport, CT 06604 For the Plaintiff: ANNECCA SMITH, ESQ. Alliance Asia Opportunity Robinson & Cole Fund L.P.: 28 Trumbull Street Hartford, CT 06103 STUART SARNOFF, ESQ. O'Melveny & Myers LLP Times Square Tower 7 Times Square New York, NY 10036 Chapter 11 Trustee: LUC A. DESPINS, ESQ. Paul Hastings LLP 200 Park Avenue New York, NY 10166 For the Chapter 11 NANCY KINSELLA, ESQ. Trustee: Neubert Pepe & Monteith, PC 195 Church Street New Haven, CT 06510 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**

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Ho Wan Kwok - December 2, 2022 2 (Proceedings commenced at 10:06 a.m.) THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: Case no. 22-50073 Ho Wan Kwok and Genever Holdings Corporation and Genever Holdings, LLC. THE COURT: Good morning. If we could have appearances for the record, starting with the Chapter 11 Trustee, please. MR. DESPINS: Good morning, Your Honor. Luc Despins, Chapter 11 Trustee. THE COURT: Counsel for PAX? MR. SARNOFF: Good morning, Your Honor. Stuart Sarnoff, O'Melveny and Myers, for creditor, PAX. MS. KINSELLA: Good morning, Your Honor. Nancy Kinsella on behalf on the Chapter 11 Trustee. THE COURT: Good morning. MS. SMITH: Good morning, Your Honor. Annecca Smith, Robinson and Cole, also on behalf of creditor, PAX. THE COURT: Good morning. MR. KINDSETH: Good morning, Your Honor. Stephen Kindseth for the debtor, Ho Wan Kwok. Attorney Romney apologizes for not being here. He got the booster shot yesterday and had a pretty severe reaction to it today, unfortunately, and so he's not able to be present at this time. THE COURT: Okay. I'm sorry to hear that. Thank

Ho Wan Kwok - December 2, 2022 3 you. Attorney Hellman? Oh, you're not appearing in the main case, sorry. You're right. You were right to sit down. Thank you. Sorry. Okay. On the calendar in the Kwok case this morning is a continued hearing on a motion for protective order. And Attorney Kindseth, I understand that Attorney Romney is not going to be here today, given what you've just stated, which is unfortunate for him, obviously. But I do believe you were here in court the other day when I spoke with Attorney Romney and the Chapter 11 Trustee and counsel about the protective order. MR. KINDSETH: Of course. THE COURT: So where do things stand as of this morning with regard to the protective order. MR. KINDSETH: After discussing the matter -- in presenting the issues to Mr. Kwok, Mr. Kwok is not inclined to consent to the trustee and the trustee's counsel obtaining a copy of the asylum application. THE COURT: So he objects, as opposed to not inclined. He objects. MR. KINDSETH: I apologize. THE COURT: That's okay. No, I just want to make the record clear. MR. KINDSETH: So he stands by the objection -- Case 22-50073 Doc 1221 Filed 12/11/22 Entered 12/11/22 13:08:59 Page 3 of 7

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| | Ho Wan Kwok - December 2, 2022<br>4 | |----|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 1 | sorry.<br>He stands by the arguments made in the motion for a | | 2 | protective order, the reply and arguments of counsel, | | 3 | Attorney Romney, in support of the position that a | | 4 | protective order should enter protecting the disclosure of | | 5 | the asylum application. | | 6 | THE COURT:<br>Okay.<br>Thank you. | | 7 | Trustee Despins? | | 8 | MR. DESPINS:<br>Thank you, Your Honor. | | 9 | Obviously, it's not a request for a protective | | 10 | order. It's so that we cannot see the application at all. | | 11 | So we've already argued it. I want to be precise. | | 12 | This is not a situation where you need to compel the debtor | | 13 | to give us the application.<br>The other side in the | | 14 | litigation already has it. | | 15 | If you're inclined to do so, you would only need | | 16 | to authorize them, the law firm of Jenner and Block, to | | 17 | share with us the court pleadings in that case, including | | 18 | the asylum application. | | 19 | So this is not a situation where you need to | | 20 | compel the debtor to do anything because it's already been | | 21 | produced to the other side. | | 22 | And, Your Honor, we've been at this -- not in this | | 23 | court but outside of court for three months.<br>This is | | 24 | probably, in mind, of course, the simplest issue in this | | 25 | case. It's not privileged.<br>It's -- we absolutely have the | | | |

Ho Wan Kwok - December 2, 2022 5 obligation to see it to decide or to engage with Jenner and Block in trying to settle this to see what is this claim worth. I can't do this blind and I would urge Your Honor to enter an order as soon as you can allowing the firm of Jenner and Block to share all court pleadings in that case, subject to two protective orders; the one in that case that we've already signed and the one in this case -- THE COURT: Does the record of this case have the protective order in the case in which Jenner and Block is involved? I'm not sure I've seen that. That's why I'm asking that question. MR. DESPINS: The answer is I don't know. THE COURT: Okay. That's fine. I'll figure it out. But I don't believe I've seen that protective order. Do you know, Mr. Kindseth, if that protective order that Trustee Despins is just speaking about that was entered in another court in which Jenner and Block is involved in that matter, has been put in the record of this Chapter 11 case? MR. KINDSETH: I do not know. THE COURT: Okay. MR. KINDSETH: But I would like to address the procedural representation of the trustee. The matter before the court is the motion for a Case 22-50073 Doc 1221 Filed 12/11/22 Entered 12/11/22 13:08:59 Page 5 of 7

Ho Wan Kwok - December 2, 2022 6 protective order that we filed seeking to protect the disclosure of the asylum application. There is no motion by the trustee asking the court to direct Jenner and Block in separate litigation to produce information to the trustee or authorize it. That's not before the court that relief has not been sought. And so I just want to be very clear, procedurally, the question is whether or not the protective order that the debtor requested may enter. THE COURT: Okay. Trustee Despins? MR. DESPINS: Your Honor, this would set up -- I mean, this is a Kwok special -- is that, obviously, we thought this issue would be resolved through this motion. And Jenner and Block is not going to produce without -- because they're afraid they're going to get sued by Mr. Kwok. They're going to produce without a court order saying we're authorized to see it. Do we really have to file a motion to compel? This is -- we're spending so much money and time on this. I think Your Honor has the authority under the code of 521 to do this either compelling the debtor to turn it over, or authorizing us. It's an asset of the estate. The lawsuit is an asset of the estate. We need to have access to all elements of that asset and the court can *sua sponte* order that. Case 22-50073 Doc 1221 Filed 12/11/22 Entered 12/11/22 13:08:59 Page 6 of 7

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Ho Wan Kwok - December 2, 2022 7 THE COURT: I'm not sure if it needs to be *sua sponte*. I think it's within -- whatever the court orders is within the preview of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure with regard to a motion for a protective order. The court can grant the motion for a protective order. The court can deny the motion for a protective order or the court can grant whatever relief it thinks appropriate in connection with the issues in the protective order. So I don't think there's a need for any further motions to be filed. The court will -- I asked the parties, which you obviously did, to have a discussion about whether there could be an agreement. There isn't. So the court will rule. And so hopefully maybe even today. So we can move on from that matter then. So now we can call the adversary proceeding, please. I, CHRISTINE FIORE, Certified Electronic Court Reporter and Transcriber, certify that the foregoing is a correct transcript from the official electronic sound recording of the proceedings in the above-entitled matter. 23 December 6, 2022 24 Christine Fiore, CERT 25 Transcriber