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ADELPHIA COMMUNICATIONS CORP
|
8-K
May 4, 5:14 PM ET
ADELPHIA COMMUNICATIONS CORP 8-K
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Contents
131
I. INTRODUCTION
A. CONFIRMATION AND VOTING UPDATE
B. BAR DATE
C. SUMMARY OF THE SALE TRANSACTION
D. THE RESOLUTION PROCESS
E. PLAN SUPPORT AGREEMENT
F. ACC NOTEHOLDER LETTER
II. THE RIGAS MANAGED ENTITIES
A. FIRST DAY ORDERS
B. EVENTS LEADING TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHAPTER 11 CASES OF THE RME DEBTORS
1. The Rigas Criminal Action
2. Forfeiture of Entities and Assets Formerly Owned by the Rigas Family
3. ACC’s Lawsuit Against the Rigas Family
4. Forfeiture Process
5. Notice of Forfeiture Action
6. Resolution of Forfeiture Petitions
7. Execution of Pledges and Guarantees In Connection with the Co-Borrowing Facilities
8. The DIP Facility
III. MODIFICATIONS TO THE PLAN OF REORGANIZATION
A. GENERAL
1. Deemed Value of TWC Class A Common Stock
2. New Debtor Groups and Classes of Claims
a. The New Debtor Groups
(1) The Ft. Myers Subsidiary Debtor Group
(2) The Adelphia GP Holdings Debtor Group
b. New Classes
3. Trade Claims and General Unsecured Claims
4. Bank Claims
5. Olympus Parent Debtor Group
6. Post-petition Interest on Claims
7. Rejecting Debtor Groups
8. Contingent Value Vehicle
9. Change in Value and Currency; Shift of Recovery from Cash to TWC Class A Common Stock
10. Other Changes
B. THE INTER-CREDITOR DISPUTE HOLDBACK AND THE POTENTIAL SETTLEMENTS
1. Inter-Creditor Dispute Holdback
2. Potential Settlements
a. The Potential Arahova Settlement
b. The Potential FrontierVision Holdco Settlement
c. The Potential Olympus Parent Settlement
d. Voting for Classes of Claims Affected by the Potential Settlements
(1) Class ARA-Notes
(2) Class FVHC-Notes
(3) Class OLYParent-Notes
(4) Classes ACC-SnrNotes, ACC-Trade and ACC-Uns
A. PLAN OF REORGANIZATION
1. Distributable Value
2. Estimated Recoveries
3. Ranges of Potential Recoveries For Classes Likely to be Affected by the Inter-Creditor Dispute
a. Potential Recovery Ranges on the Effective Date Assuming No Sale of MCE Systems
b. Potential Recovery Ranges on the Effective Date Assuming Sale of MCE Systems
c. Potential Total Recovery Ranges
A. INTRODUCTION
B. METHODOLOGY
C. ESTIMATED EQUITY VALUE OF PRO FORMA TWC
a. this Order (without the exhibits annexed hereto);
b. the Confirmation Hearing Notice; and
c. either
(i) a ballot and/or a master ballot, as appropriate, together with a return envelope and a CD-ROM containing the Disclosure Statement (with the Plan and other exhibits annexed thereto), or
(ii) a Notice of Non-Voting Status, as applicable;
by December 5, 2005 (the “Solicitation Commencement Date”) (with such distribution to be completed within five (5) business days of the Solicitation Commencement Date) to (1) all persons or entities identified in the Debtors’ schedules of liabilities filed pursuant to section 521 of the Bankruptcy Code and Bankruptcy Rule 1007 (as amended or modified prior to the Record Date, the “Schedules”) as holding liquidated, noncontingent, and undisputed claims, in an amount greater than zero dollars, excluding scheduled claims that have been (a) superseded by a timely filed proof of claim, (b) disallowed and/or expunged, or (c) paid in full; (2) all parties having filed timely proofs of claim as reflected on the official claims register maintained by the Balloting Agent, as of the close of business on the Record Date, and whose claims have not been disallowed or expunged prior to the Solicitation Commencement Date; and (3) the registered holders of the Debtors’ debt and equity securities as of the Record Date; provided, however, except with respect to transfers of the Debtors’ publicly held debt securities, that the assignee of a transferred and assigned claim (whether a filed or scheduled claim) shall be entitled to receive such Solicitation Package if the transfer and assignment has been noted on the Court’s docket
and is effective pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 3001(e) as of the close of business on the Record Date; and it is further
1. By order, entered on November 23, 2005 (the “DS Order”), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) approved the Debtors’ Fourth Amended Disclosure Statement Pursuant to Section 1125 of the Bankruptcy Code, dated November 21, 2005 (the “Disclosure Statement”), filed by Adelphia Communications Corporation and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries identified below, as debtors and debtors in possession, and authorized such debtors to solicit votes to accept or reject the Debtors’ Fourth Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization Under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, dated November 21, 2005 (the “November Plan”), annexed as Exhibit A to the Disclosure Statement. A list of the debtors in the above-captioned cases (the “Debtors”) is annexed hereto.
2. By order, entered on April 28, 2006 (the “Supplemental Disclosure Order”), the Court approved a supplement to the Disclosure Statement (the “DS Supplement”), and authorized the Debtors to solicit votes to accept or reject the Debtors’ Modified Fourth Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization Under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, dated April 28, 2006 (as may be further amended and/or modified, the “Plan”), annexed as Exhibit Q to the DS Supplement. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein have the meanings ascribed to them in the DS Supplement or the Plan, as applicable.
3. Copies of the Supplemental Disclosure Order, the DS Supplement, the Plan, the Disclosure Statement and the DS Order are attached hereto via CD-ROM. Copies of the Supplemental Disclosure Order, the DS Supplement, the Plan, the Disclosure Statement and the DS Order may also be obtained by visiting the Debtors’ website at www.adelphia.com, or by contacting the Debtors’ solicitation agent, D.F. King & Co., Inc., by telephone at (800) 967-7858, or by accessing the Court’s Electronic Case Filing System which can be found at www.nysb.uscourts.gov, the official website for the Court.
4. The Supplemental Disclosure Order establishes 4:00 p.m. (prevailing New York Time) on June 5, 2006 (the “Voting Deadline”) as the deadline for the submission of ballots to accept or reject the Plan. In the case of securities held through an intermediary, your instructions must be received by your intermediary by 4:00 p.m. (prevailing New York Time) on May 31, 2006 or such other date as specified by your intermediary (the “Intermediary Voting Deadline”), so that master ballots can be prepared and received by the Voting Deadline.
5. The Supplemental Disclosure Order establishes May 1, 2006 as the record date for determining which holders of Claims and Equity Interests in the Classes set forth on Exhibit B to the Supplemental Disclosure Order are entitled to vote on the Plan by the Voting Deadline.
6. Holders of Claims or Equity Interests entitled to vote on the Plan will receive ballots for casting such votes. Failure to follow the instructions set forth in a ballot may disqualify that ballot and the vote represented thereby.
7. Section 12.10 of the Plan provides, generally, for an injunction against the commencement or prosecution by any Person of any Claims (except Assumed Sale Liabilities), Causes of Action or liabilities released in Sections 12.08 and 12.09 of the Plan. Parties are referred to these sections of the Plan for a complete understanding of their terms.
8. A hearing will commence before the Honorable Robert E. Gerber, United States Bankruptcy Judge, in Room 621 of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Alexander Hamilton Custom House, One Bowling Green, New York, New York 10004-1408, on May 15, 2006, at 9:45 a.m. (prevailing New York Time) or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard (the “Confirmation Hearing I”) to consider certain issues in connection with confirmation of the Plan. Section I.A of the DS Supplement identifies the issues to be considered at Confirmation Hearing I.
9. A hearing will commence before the Honorable Robert E. Gerber, United States Bankruptcy Judge, in Room 621 of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Alexander Hamilton Custom House, One Bowling Green, New York, New York 10004-1408, on June 20, 2006, at 9:45 a.m. (prevailing New York Time) or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard (the “Confirmation Hearing II,” and, together with Confirmation Hearing I, the “Confirmation Hearing”) to consider additional issues not addressed in Confirmation Hearing I. Section I.A of the DS Supplement identifies the issues to be considered at Confirmation Hearing II.
10. The Confirmation Hearing may be continued from time to time by the Court or the Debtors without further notice other than the announcement by the Debtors of the adjourned date(s) at or before the Confirmation Hearing or any continued hearing, and the Plan may be modified, if necessary, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1127, prior to, during, or as a result of the Confirmation Hearing, without further notice to interested parties.
11. Holders of unimpaired claims under the Plan are not entitled to vote on the Plan and, therefore, will receive a notice of non-voting status rather than a ballot. In addition, certain claims identified in the DS Order and the Supplemental Disclosure Order, including, without limitation, claims that are the subject of an objection, are not entitled to vote on the Plan and, therefore, will not receive a ballot. If you are notified that you are not entitled to vote on the
Plan but believe that you should be entitled to vote on the Plan pursuant to DS Order and the Supplemental Disclosure Order, you must serve on the parties identified in paragraph 13 below, and file with the Court, a motion (a “Rule 3018(a) Motion”) for an order pursuant to Rule 3018(a) of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (the “Bankruptcy Rules”) seeking temporary allowance of such claim in a stated amount or in a different class for purposes of voting to accept or reject the Plan. Except as set forth below, all Rule 3018(a) Motions must be filed on or before the tenth (10th) day after the date of service of an objection, if any, to your claim. In accordance with Bankruptcy Rule 3018, as to any creditor filing a Rule 3018(a) Motion, such creditor’s ballot will not be counted unless temporarily allowed by the Court for voting purposes, after notice and a hearing. Rule 3018(a) Motions that are not timely filed and served in the manner set forth above may not be considered.
12. Notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding paragraph, with respect to any claim (an “RME Claim”) filed against those Debtors that filed petitions for relief on March 31, 2006 (the “RME Debtors”) the Debtors may object to any such claim (an “RME Claim Objection”), for voting purposes only, through and including the Voting Deadline. If an RME Claim Objection is pending as of the Voting Deadline, any votes submitted on account of the RME Claim that is the subject of such RME Claim Objection will be disallowed for voting purposes (except to the extent set forth in any such objection) unless the holder of such RME Claim makes a Rule 3018(a) Motion at least three (3) Business Days prior to the commencement of Confirmation Hearing II. The Court will consider any outstanding Rule 3018(a) Motions as part of Confirmation Hearing II.
13. Objections by (a) holders of Claims against and Equity Interests in the RME Debtors (solely in their capacity as such, the “RME Stakeholders”), if any, to the Plan and/or Hearing I Issues and (b) any party in interest to the Hearing II issues (collectively, the “New Objections”) must be filed not later than 4:00 p.m. (prevailing New York Time) on June 1, 2006 (the “RME/Hearing II Objection Deadline”). Such New Objections must: (i) be made in writing; (ii) state with particularity the legal and factual ground therefor, and, if practicable, a proposed modification to the Plan that would resolve such objection; (iii) conform to the Bankruptcy Rules and the Local Rules of the Court; (iv) be filed with the Bankruptcy Court electronically in accordance with General Order M-182 (General Order M-182 and the User’s Manual for the Electronic Case Filing System can be found at www.nysb.uscourts.gov, the official website for the Bankruptcy Court), by registered users of the Bankruptcy Court’s case filing system and, by all other parties in interest, on a 3.5 inch disk, preferably in Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word or any other Windows-based word processing format (with a hard-copy delivered directly to Chambers); and (v) be served upon (i) Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, attorneys for the Debtors, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, Attn: Marc Abrams, Esq. and Paul V. Shalhoub, Esq.; (ii) Adelphia Communications Corporation, 5619 DTC Parkway, 8th Floor, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, Attn: Brad Sonnenberg, Esq.; (iii) counsel to Time Warner and Comcast, (1) Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019-6064, Attn: Alan W. Kornberg, Esq. and Jeffrey Saferstein, Esq., and (2) Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, 1735 Market Street, 51st Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103-7599, Attn: William Slaughter, Esq. and Richard S. Perelman, Esq.; (iv) counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP, 1633 Broadway, New York, New York 10019, Attn: David M. Friedman, Esq. and Adam L. Shiff, Esq.; (v) counsel to the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders,
1. This Order supersedes and replaces the First Confirmation Discovery Order.
2. The Confirmation Hearing shall be bifurcated into two hearings as set forth in this Order. Unless adjourned by the Court on motion of an Objector (as defined below) for good cause shown or by the Debtors, the first hearing (“Hearing I”) shall begin on May 15, 2006 and the second hearing (“Hearing II” and together with Hearing I, the “Confirmation Hearings”) shall begin on June 20, 2006.
3. The issues to be addressed at the Confirmation Hearings shall be as follows:
(a) Hearing I Issues:
(i) Hearing I Issues (collectively, the “Hearing I Issues”) shall consist of any or all of the following:
(ii) Notwithstanding the designation of any confirmation issue as a Hearing I Issue pursuant to the preceding paragraph 3(a)(i), the Debtors shall have the right, up to (and including at) the Hearing I Pre-Confirmation Status Conference described in paragraph 28 of this Order, to defer any Hearing I Issue to Hearing II on notice to all parties in the Confirmation Service List (as defined below). On or prior to April 25, 2006, the Debtors shall notify all parties in the Confirmation Service List of the Debtors views, as of that point in time, as to whether any Hearing I issue(s) will be deferred to Hearing II.
(b) Hearing II Issues: Hearing II Issues shall consist of:
4. By March 24, 2006 for the Debtors and by March 27, 2006 for each Objector, as defined in paragraph 9, below, as applicable, each party shall file and serve a list of all fact witness(es), except rebuttal witnesses, whose testimony such party anticipates presenting at Hearing I (each such list, a “Hearing I Fact Witness List”), together with a brief statement of the subject(s) that each listed witness is expected to testify to at Hearing I. By May 19, 2006 for the Debtors and by May 22, 2006 for each Objector, as applicable, each party shall file and serve a list of all fact witness(es), except rebuttal witnesses, whose testimony such party anticipates presenting at Hearing II (each such list, a “Hearing II Fact Witness List”), together with a brief statement of the subject(s) that each listed witness is expected to testify to at Hearing II.
5. By April 28, 2006, the Debtors and each Objector shall file and serve a list identifying all expert witness(es) whose testimony such party anticipates presenting at Hearing I (each such list, a “Hearing I Expert Witness List,” and collectively with all Hearing I Fact Witness Lists, the “Hearing I Witness Lists”) together with the disclosure required with respect
to any such witness by Bankruptcy Rule 26 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(b). By June 5, 2006, the Debtors and each Objector shall file and serve a list identifying all expert witness(es) whose testimony such party anticipates presenting at Hearing II (each such list, a “Hearing II Expert Witness List,” and collectively with all Hearing II Fact Witness Lists, the “Hearing II Witness Lists”) together with the disclosure required with respect to any such witness by Bankruptcy Rule 26 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(b).
6. The Debtors and each Objector shall file and serve a list identifying any Hearing I rebuttal experts by May 8, 2006, together with the disclosures required with respect to any such witnesses by Bankruptcy Rule 26 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(b). The Debtors and each Objector shall file and serve a list identifying any Hearing II rebuttal experts by June 12, 2006, together with the disclosures required with respect to any such witnesses by Bankruptcy Rule 26 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(b). The Debtors and Objectors (a) will not be required to present the testimony of any person listed on their respective Hearing I and Hearing II Witness Lists during Hearing I and Hearing II, respectively, and (b) unless the Court orders otherwise for good cause shown, will be precluded from presenting during Hearing I or Hearing II the testimony of any person who is not identified in such party’s Hearing I or Hearing II Witness Lists, respectively; provided however, that on May 12, 2006 and June 16, 2006 (for Hearing I and Hearing II, respectively), the Debtors and Objectors shall file and serve a list identifying all witnesses such parties intend to call to testify (each a “Final Witness List”) at the Confirmation Hearings. The Final Witness Lists may be amended to remove a witness at any time, but cannot without cause shown be amended to add additional witnesses after May 12, 2006 or June 16, 2006, respectively. Notwithstanding the foregoing, fact witnesses whose testimony will be presented solely for rebuttal need not be identified in the Hearing I or Hearing II Witness Lists,
but shall be identified in each respective Final Witness List, unless the Court orders otherwise for good cause shown.
7. No later than May 8, 2006 and June 12, 2006 for Hearing I and Hearing II, respectively, the Debtors and each Objector shall serve on all parties in the Confirmation Service List (as defined below) a list identifying all Exhibits that the party intends to introduce at the Confirmation Hearings, other than those to be used solely for impeachment or rebuttal (the “Confirmation Exhibit Lists”). For purposes of the Confirmation Hearings, the Debtors and Objectors may present the testimony of any designated fact or expert witness by direct examination, use of deposition testimony or the submission of a declaration of such person. In the event that any party intends to introduce such testimony of any witness by the submission of one or more declarations or by use of deposition testimony:
(a) all declarations and excerpts of deposition transcripts (as the case may be), except those to be used solely for impeachment, shall be filed and served no later than May 8, 2006 and June 12, 2006 for Hearing I and Hearing II, respectively (the “Written Confirmation Testimony”);
(b) all objections to any Written Confirmation Testimony or any Confirmation Exhibit List, together with any counter-designations of deposition testimony, shall be filed and served no later than May 11, 2006 and June 16, 2006 for Hearing I and Hearing II, respectively; and
(c) all declarants and deponents shall be available for cross-examination at the Confirmation Hearings.
8. For purposes of this Order, “file” or “filed” refers to the filing of a document with this Court, and “serve” or “served” refers to the service of a document, in accordance with this Court’s procedures, on a list of parties (the “Confirmation Service List”) to be prepared, filed, and served by the Debtors on or before April 24, 2006. The Confirmation
Service List shall include counsel for (i) each statutory committee, (ii) each Objector, (iii) each non-timely objector described in paragraph 10 below, (iv) the Debtors, (v) the United States Trustee, and (vi) the DIP Lenders. The Debtors shall update the Confirmation Service List on or before May 30, 2006 to incorporate any party in interest that timely files an objection (consistent with any deadline(s) that may be established for the filing of such objections) to the Proposed Amended Plan (to the extent such additional objector is not already listed in the Confirmation Service List).
9. Any party who timely filed and served an objection to confirmation of the Plan on or before the Objection Deadline (or by the objection deadline applicable to it) (each, an “Objector”(2) and collectively, the “Objectors”) shall be entitled to seek discovery of the Debtors in connection with the confirmation of the Plan (“Confirmation Discovery”) in accordance with the procedures set forth herein.
10. Any party in interest who did not timely file and serve an objection to confirmation of the Plan on or before the Objection Deadline applicable to it shall not be permitted to seek discovery of the Debtors; provided, however, that, notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this Order shall inhibit the rights, if any, of any untimely Objector to prosecute its objection during the Confirmation Hearing if the Court so permits or to attend, but not participate in, any Confirmation Depositions, as defined below.
11. Any Objector may serve on the Debtors, and the Debtors may serve on any Objector, requests for production of documents (“Hearing I Document Requests”) and requests for admission (“Hearing I Admission Requests”) in connection with the Objector’s confirmation objection.
12. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court for good cause shown or agreed to by the Debtors and the applicable requesting parties, all Hearing I Document Requests and Hearing I Admission Requests (collectively, “Hearing I Discovery Requests”) shall be served on any Debtor or Objector no later than 4:00 p.m. (prevailing New York time) on March 17, 2006 (the “Hearing I Discovery Request Cutoff”). No later than May 12, 2006 (the “Hearing II Discovery Request Cutoff”(3)), the Debtors may serve on any Objector, and any Objector may serve on the Debtors, requests for production of documents (“Hearing II Document Requests”) and requests for admission (“Hearing II Admission Requests”) related solely to any material modification made to the Plan as set forth in the Proposed Amended Plan (collectively, the “Hearing II Discovery Requests” and, together with the Hearing I Discovery Requests, the “Confirmation Discovery Requests”). Any Hearing I Discovery Request served after the Hearing I Discovery Request Cutoff, and any Hearing II Discovery Request served after the Hearing II Discovery Request Cutoff, without prior authorization by the Court or agreement by
the Debtors and the applicable requesting parties shall be a nullity and the party on whom such request is served shall have no obligation to respond to such Confirmation Discovery Request.
13. By April 17, 2006 (and, in the case of any Hearing II Discovery Requests, by May 23, 2006 (each, a “Response and Production Deadline”)), the Debtors and the Objectors shall (i) serve their respective written responses, admissions, and objections to each timely Confirmation Discovery Request, including any Confirmation Discovery Request served before the date of this Order (each, a “Pending Request”); and (ii) produce all non-objectionable and non-privileged documents responsive to such Confirmation Discovery Requests. The Debtors and the Objectors shall use their best efforts to produce documents on a rolling basis, if feasible, prior to the applicable Response and Production Deadline.
14. All documents must be produced in compliance with Bankruptcy Rule 7034 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 34.
15. Nothing contained herein shall inhibit the rights of the Debtors or any Objector to object or respond to any Confirmation Discovery Request as permitted by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing discovery, as incorporated by the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, provided that the time for all such objections and responses is consistent with the deadlines contained herein.
16. Pursuant to this Court’s Order in Aid of Confirmation (the “Order in Aid”) entered August 4, 2005, the Debtors have established a virtual document depository (the “Merrill Database”).
(a) The Debtors shall create a folder in the Merrill Database entitled “Confirmation Discovery” and place in that folder all documents produced
by the Debtors in response to any Confirmation Discovery Request (the “Debtors’ Confirmation Production”). The Debtors shall use reasonable efforts, where practical, to segregate the Debtors’ Confirmation Production into separate subfolders addressed to discrete subject(s) and/or Confirmation Document Requests.
(b) In the event of any document production by an Objector who is, or was, a defendant (collectively, the “Prepetition Lenders”) in the action entitled Adelphia Communications Corp., et al. v. Bank of America, N.A., et al., Adv. Proc. No. 03-4942 (the “Bank Action”), to the extent any documents produced by such Prepetition Lender are subject to the existing Confidentiality Stipulation and Protective Order (the “Bank Action Confidentiality Stip”) executed by the parties to the Bank Action in connection with that adversary proceeding, the producing Prepetition Lender may produce such documents to the Debtors subject to the Bank Action Confidentiality Stip. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any such production shall meet the requirements for an Objector Confirmation Production as set forth in paragraph 16(c), below (including that such documents shall be produced on a CD ROM or DVD in a single image .tif format). Should any other Objector wish to obtain copies of such documents, the requesting Objector shall contact the producing Prepetition Lender directly to make arrangements to obtain such documents on terms acceptable to the producing Prepetition Lender.
(c) In the event of any document production by a party other than a Prepetition Lender or the Debtors in response to a Confirmation Discovery Request, the producing party shall deliver a CD ROM or DVD of the responsive documents to the requesting party and, if that is not the Debtors, also to the Debtors (each, an “Objector Confirmation Production” and, together with the Debtors’ Confirmation Production, the “Confirmation Discovery Materials”). Upon receipt of any Objector Confirmation Production, the Debtors shall, as promptly as reasonably practicable, place the responsive documents into the Merrill Database, provided however that the Debtors shall not be required to post any documents in the Merrill Database that are produced by another party and are not provided to the Debtors on a CD ROM or DVD in a single image .tif format.
17. Objectors, including non-timely objectors, who execute a confidentiality agreement reasonably acceptable to the Debtors on terms consistent with the confidentiality agreement in place in connection with the Order in Aid (or who have already done so in connection with the Order in Aid) shall be provided access to the Merrill Database, including the Confirmation Discovery Materials. To the extent any Objector makes an Objector Confirmation
Production and asserts that all or any portion of that production is confidential, the Objector shall confer with the applicable requesting parties on the terms of a mutually acceptable confidentially agreement and, if such agreement cannot be reached, shall present their dispute to the Court.
18. Notwithstanding the production of any Confirmation Discovery Material in response to a Confirmation Discovery Request, the Debtors and all Objectors shall maintain the right to object to the use or introduction of any Confirmation Discovery Materials at the Confirmation Hearing on relevance grounds or as otherwise permitted in accordance with the Federal Rules of Evidence and other applicable law.
19. On or before 4:00 p.m. (prevailing New York time) on April 19, 2006 with respect to fact witnesses, and on or before 4:00 p.m. on April 30, 2006 with respect to expert witnesses, the Debtors and the Objectors shall exchange among themselves their respective lists (“Hearing I Deposition Witness Lists”) identifying the fact and expert witnesses whom they wish to depose in connection with Hearing I. To the extent the Debtors or any Objector wish to take any depositions related solely to Hearing II Issues, the Debtors and the Objectors shall, on or before 4:00 p.m. (prevailing New York time) on May 26, 2006 with respect to fact witnesses, and June 6, 2006 with respect to expert witnesses, exchange among themselves their respective lists (“Hearing II Deposition Witness Lists” and, together with the Hearing I Deposition Lists, the “Deposition Witness Lists”) identifying the fact and expert witnesses whom they wish to depose in connection with Hearing II. The exchange of the Deposition Witness Lists shall be in lieu of and shall be deemed to constitute Notice(s) for Depositions upon Oral Examination (“Confirmation Deposition Notices” and, together with Confirmation Discovery Requests,
“Permitted Confirmation Discovery(4)“) pursuant to Bankruptcy Rules 7030 and 9014 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 30. Nothing herein shall restrict the rights of the Debtors or the Objectors to object to a Confirmation Deposition Notice pursuant to grounds permissible under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures, the Bankruptcy Code or the Bankruptcy Rules, as applicable.
20. Promptly after the exchange of Hearing I Deposition Witness Lists, and in no event later than 10:00 a.m. (prevailing New York time) on April 21, 2006 for fact witnesses, and 10:00 a.m. (prevailing New York time) on May 1, 2006 for expert witnesses (or, in the case of Hearing II Deposition Witness Lists, by 10:00 a.m. (prevailing New York time) on May 30, 2006 for fact witnesses, and 10:00 a.m. (prevailing New York time) on June 7 for expert witnesses), the Debtors and Objectors shall meet and shall use their best efforts to reach agreement on the date, time and place at which the deposition of each person identified in the Deposition Witness Lists shall be held (“Confirmation Depositions”) and thereafter the Debtors shall notify all parties on the Confirmation Service List of the date, time and place of such depositions. Depositions of fact witnesses may commence on April 25, 2006 with respect to Hearing I witnesses, and June 2, 2006 with respect to Hearing II witnesses. Depositions of expert witnesses may commence on May 5, 2006 with respect to Hearing I experts, and June 9 with respect to Hearing II experts. Unless extended by the Court on good cause shown or by the Debtors, all Confirmation Depositions shall be complete no later than May 12, 2006 with respect to Hearing I depositions (the “Hearing I Deposition Cutoff Date”), and June 16, 2006 with respect to Hearing II depositions (the “Hearing II Deposition Cutoff Date”). Absent agreement of the parties, which agreement shall not be unreasonably withheld, or order of the Court, no
individual in respect of whom a Confirmation Deposition Notice has been served shall be required to appear for more than one seven hour deposition for each Hearing.
21. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Order, upon further order of this Court for good cause shown or agreement of the Debtors and the Objector(s) at issue, the Debtors or any Objector shall be permitted to conduct additional Confirmation Discovery, including but not limited to serving Confirmation Discovery Requests relating to any amendments or supplements to the Plan filed prior to the Confirmation Hearing.
22. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit any Objector from seeking discovery from any other Objector nor shall it prohibit the Debtors or any Objector from seeking discovery from any third party, including depositions in connection with the Confirmation Hearings (“Third Party Confirmation Discovery”) in accordance with the schedule set forth herein.
23. It shall be the obligation of the Objector who receives any documents from third parties pursuant to Third Party Confirmation Discovery requests propounded by that Objector to deliver copies of such documents to counsel for the Debtors and to notify all parties on the Confirmation Service List of the delivery of such documents to the Debtors’ counsel. The Debtors shall upload into the Merrill Database any third party documents they receive directly from third parties and any third party documents received from any Objector as promptly as reasonably practicable upon receipt from an Objector.
24. All Hearing I Third Party depositions shall be completed by the Hearing I Deposition Cutoff Date and all Hearing II Third Party depositions shall be completed by the Hearing II Deposition Cutoff Date.
25. Subject to paragraph 21 herein, pursuant to Rule 16(c)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as incorporated by Rule 7016 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, no party in interest, Objectors or otherwise, shall serve any discovery request in connection with the Confirmation Hearings that is outside the scope of Permitted Confirmation Discovery herein. In the event that a party receives a discovery request that does not qualify as Permitted Confirmation Discovery, the Court hereby grants the applicable party protection from responding to any such request pursuant to Rules 16 and 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as incorporated by Rules 7016 and 7026 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, absent further order of the Court.
26. In the event that a dispute arises concerning any request for discovery in connection with the confirmation of the Plan, the disputing parties shall inform the Court of the existence of any such dispute via telephone and the Court shall schedule a chambers conference, telephonic or in-person, as soon as reasonably practicable to resolve or rule upon any such issues involved in such dispute. Pending resolution of any such dispute, the parties to such dispute shall cooperate and provide such discovery which is not the subject of any such dispute.
27. The Debtors shall file and serve their responses to the Objectors’ Plan Objections on Hearing I Issues and Hearing II Issues on or before 9:00 a.m. (prevailing New York time) on May 8, 2006 and June 12, 2006, respectively.
28. On May 10, 2006 and June 14, 2006, the Court shall conduct a pre-Confirmation Status Conference on Hearing I Issues and Hearing II Issues, respectively, in Room 621 of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Alexander Hamilton Custom House, One Bowling Green, New York, New York 10004 at 10:00 a.m. (prevailing New York time) or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard, to (i) discuss the sequence of all trial issues, including the presentation of testimony in support and in opposition to confirmation of the Plan (provided, however, that the Debtors shall not be deemed to have conceded that any Objector has the right to be heard with respect to the sequencing of issues to be addressed at the Confirmation Hearings and provided further, however, that no Objector shall be deemed to have conceded that the Debtors may unilaterally dictate the sequencing of issues to be addressed at the Confirmation Hearings); (ii) discuss the issues of fact and law to be tried at each Hearing, (iii) establish a schedule for pre-trial motion practice, including motions in limine, (iv) discuss the number of witnesses and the estimated time for presentation of each witness’s testimony, (v) pre-admit exhibits that will be offered at each Hearing, and (vi) address such additional matters relating to the Confirmation Hearings as may be ready for consideration at that time.
29. All discovery related to the Plan (as it was filed on November 21, 2005) must be complete in accordance with the schedule set forth above with respect to Hearing I discovery deadlines. Hearing II discovery shall be limited to Hearing II Issues as defined in this
Order. To the extent not otherwise clear from the prior paragraphs of this Order, all discovery and other deadlines applicable to Hearing II shall be calculated so as to be the same number of calendar or business days (as the case may be) prior to Hearing II as the Hearing I deadlines set forth above are prior to Hearing I (adjusted, where necessary, for weekends and national holidays). For illustration purposes, and to avoid possible confusion, attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is a table depicting the respective Hearing 1 and Hearing II deadlines as set forth in this Order, assuming no adjournments.
30. By April 11, 2006, the Administrative Agents under the Debtors’ Prepetition Credit Facilities (the “Agent Banks”) shall produce to the Debtors and the Creditors’ Committee all non-privileged documents they have which are responsive to the Debtors’ and the Creditors’ Committee’s document requests, dated March 16, 2006 (the “Joint Requests”), served in connection with the Joint Objection, as narrowed by the Court on the record at a status conference held on March 30, 2006.
31. By April 11, 2006, the Debtors and the Creditors’ Committee shall produce to the Agent Banks all non-privileged documents they have which are responsive to the Joint Requests, as narrowed by the Court at the March 30, 2006 status conference.
32. Consistent with the Court’s ruling on the record at the March 30, 2006 status conference, any documents withheld on privilege grounds by the Agent Banks, the
Debtors or the Creditors’ Committee shall be logged on a privilege log. The Agent Banks, the Debtors and the Creditors’ Committee shall exchange privilege logs by April 14, 2006.
33. The Court may vary the terms of this Order as necessary, sua sponte or on motion of the Debtors or any Objector.
34. Any party propounding Permitted Confirmation Discovery may, without further order of the Court, voluntarily withdraw such discovery, or consent to modify or adjust any of the deadlines contained herein with respect to such discovery provided, however, that (i) no such modification or adjustment may be made without the consent of both the party propounding such discovery and the party(ies) who must respond to the discovery (collectively, the “Consenting Parties”); and (ii) any such modification or adjustment shall be limited to the Consenting Parties and shall not impact the deadlines applicable to any other Permitted Confirmation Discovery. Nothing in this Order shall prohibit the Debtors and any Objector from agreeing to address the Objector’s objection at the Confirmation Hearings by way of legal argument without evidentiary submissions or by presentation of stipulated facts.
35. Upon entry hereof, the Debtors shall serve a copy of this Order upon all Objectors and all parties who have filed and served a notice of appearance in accordance with Bankruptcy Rule 2002 prior to the date of service hereof.