U.S. Trustee appoints Maizel as Metropolitan Mortgage examiner

By Jeff Pines

Washington, April 16 - The U.S. trustee for the Eastern District of Washington appointed Samuel Maizel as Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Corp.'s examiner, according to an April 15 filing with the court.

Maizell will investigate:

* Whether Metropolitan Mortgage and Summit Securities' directors and management are independent and can be relied on to bring legal action against "appropriate parties" and propose a plan of reorganization that is in the interests of creditors;

* Whether a trustee should be appointed for either or both of Metropolitan Mortgage and Summit Securities;

* Commercial loans of Metropolitan Mortgage and Summit Securities originated, acquired, disposed of, pending or in default from fiscal 2000 to present;

*Sales of assets valued at more than $250,000 to any third party from fiscal 2000 to present;

*Any other areas of concern or issues that warrant investigation.

Metropolitan Mortgage invests in receivables and other investments and also sells annuities through its largest subsidiary, Western United Life Assurance Co.

Maizel is a bankruptcy attorney with Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl Young, Jones & Weintraub of Los Angeles. He chairs the American Bar Association's Business Bankruptcy Committee's Committee on Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases and co-chairs the American Bankruptcy Institute's Health Care Insolvency Committee.

Maizel has also been a speaker at American Bar Association, American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Health Lawyers Association and National Association of Bankrutpcy Trustees programs.

Before joining his firm in 1997, he was a civil trial attorney for the U.S. Justice Department where he litigated cases in bankruptcy courts as well as district courts and the Court of Federal Claims.

Maizel's appointment is subject to court approval.

Metropolitan Mortgage and Summit filed for Chapter 11 on Feb. 4. The case number is 04-00757.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.