McKool Smith represents Litigation Trust for the bankrupt kitchenware company Instant Brands in a lawsuit accusing the company's former private equity owner Cornell Capital and its founder Henry Cornell of making the company insolvent and misleading lenders to secure $345 million in dividends.
The McKool Smith team includes Principals Kyle Lonergan, Josh Newcomer and James Smith.
The case is Alan D. Halperin v. Cornell Capital LLC et. al., case number 4:24-ap-3232 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Media coverage can be found below:
- “PE Firm Cornell Sued Over $345 Million Instant Brands Dividend” Bloomberg News (November 13, 2024)
- “Instant Brands Trust Says Cornell Capital 'Plundered' Company” Bloomberg Law (November 13, 2024)
- “Instant Brands Equity Owner Accused Of Lying To Lenders” Law360 Bankruptcy Authority (November 13, 2024)
- “Trustee Says Cornell Capital ‘Plundered’ Bankrupt Instant Brands” WSJ Pro Private Equity (November 14, 2024)
- “$400M Case: Trustee Claims Instant Pot-Maker Defrauded Lenders” Texas Lawyer (November 14, 2024)
- “AMERICAS DISTRESS DAILY: PetroQuest Energy Files for Chapter 11” Bloomberg Law (November 14, 2024)
- “Instant Brands Trustee Sues Former Sponsor Cornell” The Deal (November 15, 2024)
- “How Instant Brands Went From Victim to Accused, According to Bankruptcy Trustee” The Texas Lawbook (November 17, 2024)
- “Lies, Greed and Exploding Crockpots: How PE Firm Cornell Capital’s Purchase of Instant Brands Went Very Wrong” Fortune (November 19, 2024)
- “New Lawsuit Accuses Private Equity Company of Plundering Assets of Instant Brands” The Spoon (November 19, 2024)