Thomas P. Sarb

• Mr. Sarb represented the world's leading manufacturer of jukeboxes, which had accumulated over $100 million in debt, and also had union, pension, retiree benefit, and environmental issues. Working with company management, lenders, investment bankers, and other constituencies, Mr. Sarb structured a Chapter 11 sale followed by a plan of liquidation that resulted in a sale of the company's business on a going-concern basis within 75 days after the bankruptcy filing and at a price significantly higher than that offered by the initial "stalking horse" purchaser.
• He represented the out-of-court creditors' committee in negotiations with the debtor and lenders in a matter that involved hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate loans and investments in commercial real estate located in California.
• He represented a large national equipment lessor on a multi-million dollar equipment lease, uncovering a significant equipment leasing fraud involving approximately $100 million in equipment leases. Mr. Sarb was able to obtain the immediate appointment of a receiver and, subsequently, represented the receiver as special counsel in expanding the receivership to include the principals and affiliated entities involved in the fraudulent enterprise.
• He represented a large regional bank in obtaining a receivership of the shareholder interests that controlled a group of telecommunications companies whose asset secured loans of approximately $75 million, facilitating the sales of those companies.
• He represented approximately 40 landlords in the Chapter 11 reorganization of a national retailer.
  He represented a large financial institution in the liquidation of an auto parts manufacturer. The case involved significant negotiation of resourcing, liquidation, and accommodation agreements with the original equipment manufacturers to preserve collateral value.
• When a nationally known catalog retailer filed for bankruptcy reorganization, Mr. Sarb represented its outside distributor/fulfillment center in negotiating a purchaser's assumption and assignment of the distribution agreement. This assured the distributor of continued business with the purchaser and insulation from six-figure bankruptcy preference claims relating to pre-petition payments received from the retailer.  
• When a chemical company operating at one of the most polluted sites in Michigan filed Chapter 11, extensive litigation developed between injured parties, the debtor, and its insurers. Mr. Sarb acted as lead counsel for the insurers in implementing an innovative resolution that channeled all claims against the insurers to a settlement fund and enjoined all claimants from pursuing the insurance companies under a bankruptcy court-approved settlement.
• When a local manufacturer of long standing could no longer cope with a substantial number of product liability claims involving equipment it had manufactured as many as fifty years ago, Mr. Sarb represented the company in successfully reorganizing in bankruptcy court and establishing a dispute resolution procedure and an expedited process for settling those claims, which limited their impact on the ongoing corporate entity.

Professional Affiliations, Activities and Honors
Mr. Sarb is involved in several professional associations, including the American Bankruptcy Institute, the State Bar of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association, where he served for many years on the Western District of Michigan Bankruptcy Steering Committee and was editor of the Association's Bankruptcy Law Newsletter.

Mr. Sarb has been listed since 1995 in The Best Lawyers in America® for bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights laws. He was named a Michigan "Super Lawyer" in 2006.

Articles and Presentations
Mr. Sarb is a frequent speaker on corporate reorganizations and workouts and has presented programs for clients as well as the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the National Business Institute, the Federal Bar Association, and the National Association of Credit Management.