Hawaiian creditors A New York law firm that has dealt with creditors committees in the Chapter 11 cases of US Airways and Kmart has been chosen to represent the creditors of Hawaiian Airlines.
pick law firm
The New York outfit has
experience in airline bankruptciesBy Dave Segal
dsegal@starbulletin.com
Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen, P.C. was selected by the Hawaiian creditors committee with Honolulu firm Wagner Choi & Evers chosen to be the local counsel. Hawaii bankruptcy court requires that a mainland law firm appearing before the court needs to be affiliated with a Hawaii law firm.
Hawaiian Airlines' seven-member volunteer committee was formed to look out for the airline's unsecured creditors, which have been estimated to number more than 30,000.
Wagner Choi & Evers has represented or is currently representing creditors committees in the Chapter 11 cases of Liberty House and Crazy Shirts Inc., as well as the debtor in Aloha Tower L.P. and the trustee in Hamakua Sugar.
Brett Miller, an attorney for the New York firm, said the committee has a conference call planned Tuesday to select financial advisers and to likely pick a chairperson.
"We have worked with a number of creditors before," Miller said. "We had airline experience. I think that was one of the main reasons we were selected."
Miller said the amount of work done by the local firm in cases of this sort varies.
"We will work together with Wagner Choi & Evers' firm and divvy up the work," he said.
Members of the Hawaiian creditors committee are Richard Seltzer of the Air Line Pilots Association International, Sharon Levine of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Edward Gilmartin of the Association of Flight Attendants, John Bates of Starr Seigle Communications Inc., James Donovan III of Panda Travel, Thomas Goldberg of Pratt & Whitney, and Bradley Meinhardt of Aviation Insurance Services of Nevada.
Hawaiian Airlines