CURRENT UPDATE:
February 1, 2013
Per the November 19, 2012 update shown below, the Trustee filed a motion for, and obtained, entry of a Final Decree from the Bankruptcy Court closing the bankruptcy case on December 27, 2012.
November 19, 2012
On or
about June 28, 2011, the Liquidating Trustee issued a final distribution to all
allowed WGVSC claimants and these payments were mailed to the last known
address for each such claimant. Updated addresses were solicited and received
by the Liquidating Trustee via telephone, U.S. mail, e-mail and through this
website for the six (6) years prior to this distribution.
Each final distribution check
stated on its face that the payment was "void after 90 days" from the
date of issuance. Accordingly, more than 90 days after June 28, 2011, the
Liquidating Trustee closed the account on which the final distribution checks
were drawn to effectively issue a stop payment on all outstanding checks as of
that date.
The Liquidating Trustee waited
more than five (5) months to allow any affected claimants to come forward to
advise that he/she did not receive the final distribution check, or they did
receive the payment but lost it, or received it but failed to negotiate the
check timely.
On December 4, 2011, the
Liquidating Trustee officially closed the process by which claimants entitled
to a final distribution could advise that they failed to receive or timely
negotiate their payment. Pursuant to the
terms of applicable orders of the Bankruptcy Court and the Warranty Gold, Ltd.
Trust Agreement, the funds on hand related to claimants who did not timely
negotiate their initial distribution check were deemed to be unclaimed and were
allocated for redistribution. On December 14, 2011, a supplemental distribution
was made to those claimants who did timely negotiate their initial distribution
check; however, after this supplemental distribution, there were again checks
that were returned by the Post Office or otherwise not timely cashed.
Pursuant to the terms of the agreements
reached in this case and the orders entered by the Bankruptcy Court, all claims
related to these unclaimed distribution checks were automatically voided when
such distribution checks were not timely cashed. However, in an effort to
find as many people as possible, on August 16, 2012, the Liquidating Trustee
filed a motion with the
Bankruptcy Court to authorize a “catch up” distribution to any claimant who did
not timely cash a prior distribution check, but for whom the Liquidating
Trustee now has updated address information.
This Court’s
approval of the Liquidating Trustee’s “catch up” distribution also authorized
the Liquidating Trustee to conduct a search of the U. S. Postal Service Address
Change Database for every claimant who did not timely cash their initial
distribution in an attempt to find a current mailing address for each claimant.This
process yielded 1,633 new possible addresses.For each of these 1,633 new possible addresses, the Liquidating Trustee sent
a postcard with a request that the claimant verify whether the address was
indeed current before the deadline of October 15, 2012. Approximately half
of the claimants to whom postcards were mailed timely confirmed their current
address before the deadline and were subsequently issued a final “catch up”
distribution on November 19, 2012.
The total amount of
"catch up" claims exceeded the total amount of available funds on
hand in the Liquidating Trust, so each “catch up” claimant had received a
pro-rata distribution equaling 53.5% of the prior distribution(s) the claimants
were entitled to, but failed to receive and/or cash.
Please see this complete listing (sorted by
contract number) of the claimants receiving a “catch up” distribution that were
issued on November 19, 2012. The checks contain the following language:
"Pursuant to
U.S. Bankruptcy Court order, this check is issued as final payment in full and
complete satisfaction of your claim against Warranty Gold, Ltd.
This distribution was made possible because a prior payment issued to you, and
claimants like you, was not timely cashed. This payment represents a
pro-rated, proportional payout of all the remaining funds and assets in the
Liquidation Trust established to provide a recovery to warranty holders like
you. All claimants who did not timely cash a prior distribution check,
but provided the Trustee with a current address before the October 15, 2012
deadline, are participating in this "catch up" distribution at the
same rate, being 53.5% of the prior distribution payment(s) you were entitled
to, but failed to receive/cash. This is the final payment you will
receive on account of your Warranty Gold claim. For more information
about how your particular claim was calculated and other case matters, please
refer to www.warrantygold.com."
BEFORE
DECEMBER 31, 2012, THE LIQUIDATING TRUSTEE WILL BE FILING A MOTION WITH THE
BANKRUPTCY COURT TO CLOSE THE BANKRUPTCY CASE, AND AFTER THE 90 DAYS AVAILABLE
FOR CHECKS TO CLEAR ON THE “CATCH UP” DISTRIBUTION, THE LIQUIDATING TRUST WILL TERMINATE.
Any questions should be directed to the
Liquidating Trustee at gmilligan@warrantynews.com
September 12, 2012
On September 10, 2012, the Liquidating Trustee received
Bankruptcy Court approval of the motion described in the August 16, 2012 update shown
below. This approval allows, for a limited additional period of time, the
issuance of "catch up" payments as more fully described in the
motion. Based upon this approval by the Bankruptcy Court and other equitable
considerations, the Liquidating Trustee has established October 15, 2012 as
the last day for any VSC Holder to participate in the approved "catch up"
distribution process. For any VSC Holder
who did not properly receive or timely cash either of the two prior distribution
payments issued by the Liquidating Trustee, the failure to notify the Liquidating
Trustee of your contract number and current mailing address on or before October 15, 2012 will
forever bar such claimant from participating in a distribution from the
Warranty Gold bankruptcy estate.
August
16, 2012
After distributions were made to beneficiaries
on or about July 1, 2011 and December 14, 2011, there were a number of payments
which were not timely cashed by VSC Holders.In order to administer these unclaimed funds, the Liquidating Trustee
filed this motion with the Bankruptcy Court on August 16, 2012.A hearing on this motion is currently
scheduled for September 10, 2012 at 1:30 pm.
Further information will be post to this website
after the scheduled hearing. VSC Holders should continue to monitor this website
for additional details.
December
20, 2011
On
or about July 1, 2011, the Liquidating Trustee issued a final distribution to
all allowed WGVSC claimants and these payments were mailed to the last known
address for each such claimant. Updated
addresses were solicited and received by the Liquidating Trustee via telephone,
U.S. mail, e-mail and through this website for the past six (6) years.
Each
final distribution check stated on its face that the payment was "void after 90 days" from the date of
issuance. Accordingly, more than 90 days
after July 1, 2011, the Liquidating Trustee closed the account on which the
final distribution checks were drawn to effectively issue a stop payment on all
outstanding checks as of that date.
The
Liquidating Trustee has since waited another 60 days to allow any affected claimants
to come forward to advise that he/she did not receive the final distribution
check, or they did receive the payment
