Brown Rudnick Prevails on Behalf of Creditors in Metabolife Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Proceedings.Defunct manufacturer of ephedra-based products agrees to $56 million global settlement BOSTON -- Brown Rudnick, a premier international law firm, today announced that it has successfully reached a $56 million global settlement benefiting tort claimant creditors in connection with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Metabolife International, Inc. -- one of the nation's largest manufacturers and distributors of ephedra-based food supplements prior to the FDA's early 2004 ban of ephedra ephedra: see ephedrine. products. The firm represents the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Metabolife bankruptcy. Many of Metabolife's creditors are plaintiffs in ephedra-related personal injury tort lawsuits against Metabolife and other defendants relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc Metabolife's ephedra-based products. The memorandum of understanding A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a legal document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action and may not imply a legal commitment. executed by the relevant bankruptcy parties provides for a consensual plan of liquidation for the benefit of all of Metabolife's creditors, including a $56 million fund that will be established to satisfy the under- or non-insured ephedra tort claims against Metabolife and non-debtor defendants. In June 2005, Metabolife (currently known as MII 1. (body) MII - A consortium of Microsoft, IBM, and Intel. 2. (storage) MII - A broadcast component video tape format licensed by Panasonic. Liquidation) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the face of declining sales and increasing litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. over its flagship product A primary product of a company, which is typically why the company was founded and/or what made it well known. For example, MS-DOS, Windows and the Microsoft Office suite have been flagship products of Microsoft. CorelDRAW is a flagship product of Corel Corporation. , Metabolife 356, which contained the now FDA-banned ephedra herbal stimulant. At that time, Brown Rudnick was retained as counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Metabolife bankruptcy, which was filed in the Southern District of California. The firm created a multi-disciplinary legal team that consisted of attorneys from its Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Group and Litigation Department. This team built and implemented the architecture for a global settlement, as the firm had done in its representation of creditors in a prior ephedra supplier bankruptcy, that of Twin Laboratories. After more than a year of legal proceedings All actions that are authorized or sanctioned by law and instituted in a court or a tribunal for the acquisition of rights or the enforcement of remedies. and negotiations, Metabolife and other defendants agreed to the $56 million global settlement of over 250 tort claims, thereby providing a positive resolution for tort claimants who would have been otherwise left with the probability of little recovery from Metabolife in the wake of that company's bankruptcy. The memorandum of understanding also provides for mechanisms under which Metabolife's other creditors will be treated and receive distributions. Brown Rudnick is involved in other ephedra-related mass tort A mass tort is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few corporate defendants in state or federal court. As the name implies a mass tort includes many plaintiffs and law firms have used the mass media to reach possible plaintiffs. bankruptcies, in which the firm represents official committees. In the Chapter 15 bankruptcy of MuscleTech Research and Development Inc., a privately held Canadian manufacturer and distributor of health supplements and weight-loss products, the firm was appointed by the Canadian Court to represent the Ad Hoc Committee ad hoc committee A committee formed with the purpose of addressing a specific issue or issues, which theoretically is disbanded once its raison d'etre is finished of Muscletech Tort Claimants. Additionally, Brown Rudnick represents the court-appointed Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy case involving N.V.E., Inc., which was another major manufacturer and distributor of ephedra-based products. About Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol Brown Rudnick is a full-service, international law firm with offices in the United States and Europe. The firm's attorneys provide representation across key areas of the law: Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring, Complex Litigation, Corporate & Securities, Real Estate, Health Care, Government Law & Strategies, Energy and Intellectual Property. Combining a dedication to excellence with a commitment to superior client service, Brown Rudnick provides its clients with a breadth and depth of expertise uniquely suited to their legal needs. For more information, please visit www.brownrudnick.com. The Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest is a measure of the Firm's strong commitment to the community and serves as an umbrella entity encompassing the Firm's pro bono Short for pro bono publico [Latin, For the public good]. The designation given to the free legal work done by an attorney for indigent clients and religious, charitable, and other nonprofit entities. legal work, charitable giving, community involvement and public interest efforts. For more information, please visit www.brownrudnickcenter.com. |
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