Agway

Representation of the creditors’ committee in the chapter 11 case of Agway, Inc., one of the largest agricultural cooperatives in the United States, in the Northern District of New York. For many years, Agway marketed and sold to its grower members so-called “money market certificates” that were in fact subordinated debentures that Agway did not have the ability to repay. Agway permitted early purchasers of these instruments to redeem them, using the proceeds of subsequent sales of the same instruments, until the financial house of cards collapsed. As counsel to the committee, the firm pursued claims against the officers and directors and outside auditors, and worked with the debtor’s crisis management team on asset liquidations that eventually yielded in excess of 65 cents on the dollar to the certificate holders.