Moore & Van Allen, PLLC

Co-head of Financial Restructuring

Steve is co-head of the Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring group. He represents banks and other creditors in workouts and bankruptcies. Also certified as a mediator, Steve brings a practical, problem-solving approach to workouts and recognizes that in most situations a practical and cooperative solution is better for his creditor clients than a collection action or a liquidation.

Steve’s practice encompasses both syndicated credit facilities and bilateral loans and leases. With clients that are national, regional and local, his work is as likely to involve a restructure of a publicly traded defense contractor’s syndicated credit facility as it is the cooperative liquidation or winddown of a regional hog producer or franchisee’s restaurant chain.  Workout matters regularly involve forbearance agreements, amendments, wind-downs and debt restructuring agreements. Chapter 11 matters regularly involve debtor-in-possession financings and cash collateral use, section 363 sales and negotiated and/or contested reorganization plans.  Steve’s workout matters also often involve intercreditor issues with third parties, including payment subordination, lien subordination, and surety-related rights and he frequently advises clients about how to structure loans that involve particularly thorny or complex issues.

In his free time, he coaches a high school mock trial team at Covenant Day School in Matthews, NC.

Representative Experience

• Agriculture. Represented real estate lender owed approximately $40MM by pistachio and almond farming operation in California. Matter involved overlapping state court receiverships and a cooperative multi-lateral sale process against the backdrop of multiple lender foreclosure actions.
• Bourbon Distillery. Represented lender owed approximately $40MM by bourbon distillery in Kentucky. Matter resulted in cooperative receivership proceeding under Kentucky law.
• Consumer Products. Represented administrative agent under $275MM credit facility to Amazon aggregator of health supplements / vitamins. Matter involved challenging governance dynamics on both company and lender side but resulted in eventual consensual exit transaction.
• Defense Contractor. Represented administrative agent under $1200MM credit facility to defense contractor. Matter involved competing views about significant EBITDA addbacks and financial covenant compliance.
• Coffee Importer. Represented bank client owed approximately $50MM by a coffee importer borrower which filed an assignment for the benefit of creditors in Florida. The matter involved significant intercreditor disputes over the proceeds of collateral due to fraudulent borrowing practices and an eventual legal action against the company’s audit firm.
• Floorplan Lending. Represented administrative agent for bank group in connection with $40MM floorplan lending facility to auto dealership. Matter resulted in repossession of over 2000 cars immediately prior to chapter 7 filing.
• Flight School Services. Represented administrative agent for bank group owed over $250MM in connection with syndicated loans to flight school. Matter involved adding additional aircraft collateral in the multiple jurisdictions, including the US and UK.