On April 11 through 13, 2012, Saint Vincents Catholic Medical Centers of New York, et al. in the Saint Vincents Catholic Medical Centers of New York Bankruptcy, commenced Chapter 5 preferential transfer recovery litigation with the filing of 250 complaints in the Southern District of New York.
Overview of the Claims: A total of $44,330,247.17 in preference claims have been filed. The largest claim is $4,629,825.93 and the smallest is $12,916. Less than 5 percent of the defendants account for more than 50 percent of the dollar value of the claims. Appproximately 70 percent of the total number of defendants (176 of 250), account for 17.5 percent ($7.7 million) of the preference claims.
Debtor and Bankruptcy Case Overview
Lead Bankruptcy Case Name (Case Number): Saint Vincents Catholic Medical Centers of New York (10-11963)
Bankruptcy Court District (Division): Southern District of New York (Manhattan)
Petition Date: April 14, 2010
Associated Debtors: 555 6th Avenue Apartment Operating Corporation; Bishop Francis J. Mugavero Center for Geriatric Care, Inc.; Chait Housing Development Corporation; Fort Place Housing Corporation; Pax Christi Hospice, Inc.; Sisters of Charity Health Care System Nursing Home, Inc. d/b/a St. Elizabeth Ann's Health Care & Rehabilitation Center; St. Jerome's Health Services Corporation d/b/a Holy Family Home; SVCMC Professional Registry, Inc.
Debtors' Industry Group: General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (SIC: 8062)
Debtors' Business: Operation of acute care hospital network in New York City
Primary Industry Groupings of Defendants: providers of medical equipment (SIC: 5047); IT/software vendors (SIC:7370) and hospital infrastructure support services (SIC: 8099)
Adversary Proceedings Overview
Plaintiff: Saint Vincents Catholic Medical Centers of New York, et al.
Number of Proceedings: 250
When Filed: April 11 through April 13, 2012
Adversary Proceeding Judge: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Cecilia G. Morris
Plaintiff's Counsel: Togut, Segal & Segal LLP (New York, NY) attorneys Frank A. Oswald, Brian F. Moore and David M. Smith
Avoidance Period: The complaint identifies the preference period as "the ninety (90) days before the Petition Date, that is between January 14, 2010 and April 14, 2010".
The Complaints: The complaints seek to thread a fine line. While details of both payments and invoices are pleaded, there is no matching each payment (detailed on Exhibit 1) and the invoice (detail on Exhibit 2). The linking of payment and antecedent debt is what takes so much time and effort by those seeking to pursue mass avoidable transfer recovery actions. This debtor provides the detail without providing the links between payment and invoice. It will be interesting to see if any defendants choose to file a 12(b)(6) motion on this ground.
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