Apr. 21, 2016
Debra I. Grassgreen
See more on Debra I. GrassgreenPachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP | San Francisco
Grassgreen is advising the creditors committee in the chapter 11 bankruptcy of Rdio Inc., a digital music streaming service. The company had more than $190 million in secured debt and nearly $30 million of unsecured debt at the time of the filing. Rdio sold many of its assets to Pandora Media Inc. at the end of last year. In re Rdio Inc., 15-31430 (Bankr. N.D. Cal., filed Nov. 16, 2015)
"Among the creditors were some of the largest music labels in the world," Grassgreen said. "There were a number of concerns that they had with the sale...We worked through those on a cooperative basis along with counsel for the company."
Other aspects of the case are still ongoing.
Grassgreen was also lead counsel to Ultura Inc., formerly known as APTwater, in its chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Ultura specialized in treating wastewater. In re Ultura Inc., 14-bk-12382 (Bankr. D. Del., filed Oct. 20, 2014)
"We sold the business in an expedited time," Grassgreen said. "This was cutting edge technology and it was able to continue."
Grassgreen and her team were able to close the case successfully, but there were challenges along the way.
"There were some complex issues that involved a number of overseas entities," Grassgreen said. "We had to coordinate with counsel in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. It had a number of cross-border implications."
Grassgreen's advocacy for her clients continues outside of the courtroom and other official bankruptcy proceedings. She participates in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law or UNCITRAL, an organization that specializes in commercial law reform. One of the organization's goals is to develop a uniform international insolvency law.
Grassgreen said that companies could benefit for the work that UNCITRAL is doing.
"The UN working group on cross border insolvency is working to assist countries in equipping their insolvency laws with a modern legal framework," Grassgreen explained.
- Melanie Brisbon
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