Bankruptcy Attorney Roger Friedman spoke with entertainment industry trade publication Variety on November 17 about a potential bankruptcy for the Weinstein Company. AI International Holdings, part of investor Len Blavatnik’s empire, filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court, claiming that the Weinstein Co. had defaulted on a $45 million loan. It is demanding that the studio repay the loan immediately. The Blavatnik litigation was aimed both at the Weinstein Co. and at Weinstein personally. According to the suit, Weinstein signed a personal guarantee for the $45 million loan.
Should the Weinstein Co. opt to go into bankruptcy, that would freeze the litigation against the company. But the litigation against Weinstein would continue according to the publication.
“If the corporate debtor files for bankruptcy, they want to have a non-bankrupt entity to go after,” says Friedman at Rutan & Tucker. “If they get a judgment on the guarantee, they can then execute their judgment against his personal assets.”