Luis M. Lluberas

Luis has extensive experience representing key stakeholders in connection with all aspects of financial restructuring matters in a myriad of industry sectors, including agriculture, commercial real estate, commercial services, consumer discretionary, energy, healthcare, government contracting, manufacturing, retail, technology and transportation. Luis routinely represents financial institutions, in both lender and agent capacities, in syndicated credit facilities and other secured lending transactions. He has also represented strategic investors, receivers and corporate debtors. His out-of-court experience includes creditor compositions, lender workouts, liability management transactions, debt-to-equity swaps and secured party sales. His in-court experience includes large corporate chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the acquisition of assets out of bankruptcy proceedings, receiverships and foreclosure actions.

As a compliment to his vibrant financial restructuring practice, Luis regularly represents lenders and administrative agents in non-distressed lending transactions, including in preparing intercreditor agreements for first lien / second lien, senior / subdebt, and unitranche financing structures.

Representative Experience

Bankruptcy Representations

• Administrative agent for prepetition senior secured credit facility, and administrative agent for postpetition senior secured debtor-in-possession credit facility, in the chapter 11 cases of Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (d/b/a VPX) - the maker of Bang energy drinks - and certain affiliates, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida
• Group of Farm Credit lending institutions holding significant positions in the three prepetition credit facilities extended to MVK FarmCo LLC and its eight affiliated debtors that, as of the filing of their chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, were collectively the largest producer of stone fruit in North America selling products under the Prima® Wawona brand
• Priority revolving agent for prepetition senior secured credit facility in the chapter 11 cases of Benefytt Technologies, Inc., a health insurance technology company, and certain affiliates in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
• Administrative agent for prepetition senior secured credit facility in the chapter 11 cases of 1069 Restaurant Group LLC and certain affiliates, which at one time were the largest franchisee group for restaurants operating the Golden Corral brand, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida
• Administrative agent for prepetition senior secured credit facility, and administrative agent for postpetition senior secured debtor-in-possession credit facility, in the family and casual dining chapter 11 cases of Perkins & Marie Callender’s, LLC, and certain affiliates, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
• Several financial institutions in the historic bankruptcy proceedings for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico filed pursuant to Title III of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (“PROMESA”)
• Lessor in the air transportation chapter 11 cases of PHI, Inc., and certain affiliates, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas
• Senior secured lender in the agriculture chapter 11 case of First Fruits Holdings, LLC in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• Lessor in the maritime transportation chapter 11 cases of Tidewater Inc., and certain affiliates, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

• State court-appointed receiver excused from turnover requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 543 in the food processing and distribution chapter 11 case of Bost Distributing Co. in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Representation honored by Turnaround Management Association as the "Turnaround of the Year: Small Company" for 2015
• Senior secured lender in the commercial construction chapter 11 case of TWC, Inc. in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina
• Corporate client in obtaining, and then successfully defending through appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, an order from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina that a $1.6 million sanctions award issued in its favor against its former employee was not a dischargeable debt. Health Corp. v. Scott (In re Scott), 2011 Bankr. LEXIS 504 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. Feb. 17, 2011), aff'd, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124940 (E.D.N.C. Aug. 23, 2013), aff'd, 564 Fed. Appx. 698 (4th Cir. 2014) (per curiam), cert. denied, 2014 U.S. LEXIS 7480 (Nov. 10, 2014)
• Indenture trustee for loan participants that extended over $150 million in leveraged lease equipment financing in the manufacturing chapter 11 case of Qimonda Richmond, LLC in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
• Senior secured lender in two single asset real estate chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of BCAC, LLC relating to a residential apartment complex in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of North Carolina

• Administrative agent for a prepetition senior secured credit facility in the commercial real estate chapter 11 cases of Mercedes Homes, Inc., and certain affiliates, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida
• Creditors defending preference and fraudulent transfer actions in bankruptcy cases throughout the United States

Restructuring and Workout Representations

• Administrative agent for senior secured credit facility provided to cargo airline Western Global Airlines LLC and its affiliates, which credit facility was sold to an affiliate thereof immediately prior to the commencement of their chapter 11 cases

• Administrative agent for senior secured credit facility extended to a leading provider of professional services and specialized technology solutions for the U.S. government and commercial clients with an international footprint
• Administrative agent for senior secured credit facility provided to quick-service restaurant operator and franchisor Taco Bueno Restaurants, Inc., which credit facility was sold to an affiliate of Sun Holdings, Inc. immediately prior to the commencement of prepackaged chapter 11 cases
• Senior secured lender in the workout of nine asset-based credit facilities totaling approximately $25 million extended to affiliated entities in the building products industry focused on the distribution of countertop and tile products throughout the United States
• Administrative agent for senior secured credit facility provided to a food processing and distribution company with a national distribution profile servicing major U.S. retailers and food service companies
• Lender party to an approximately $30 million senior secured credit facility extended to a family of companies in the agriculture industry whose three dairy farm operations were separately sold through an orderly, out-of-court process
• Senior secured lender in connection with its sale pursuant to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code of substantially all of the assets of a manufacturer of high-strength textiles
• Senior secured lender in connection with its sale pursuant to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code of substantially all of the assets of Benchmark Brands, Inc., a direct-to-consumer retailer, to The Walking Company, Inc.
• Senior secured lender in connection with the workout of an approximately $25 million loan to a U.S.-based media production company with an international footprint
• Administrative agent for senior secured credit facility extended to a company in the tax debt resolution industry
• Lender party to a senior secured credit facility extended to a power generating station
• Senior secured lender and its affiliates in connection with the workout of over $50 million of loans extended to a maritime transportation company
• Administrative agent for a senior secured credit facility in connection with the orderly liquidation of Next Generation Vending LLC, a regional food vending company, which included the disposition of substantially all of the company’s assets pursuant to 11 simultaneously-conducted sales pursuant to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code
• Administrative agent for a senior secured credit facility to a consumer products company distributing household products nationwide
• Administrative agent for a senior secured credit facility in connection with a debt-for-equity restructuring of a company in the building products industry
• Senior secured lender in connection with the wind-down and liquidation of a retail furniture company, which included the coordination of going out of business sales, mitigation of merchant processing exposure and various transactions involving deeds in lieu of foreclosure
• Senior secured lender in restructure of over $30 million in loans extended to several affiliated real estate developers
• Senior secured lender in connection with restructure of $2 million loan guaranteed by the United States Small Business Administration extended to a company in the hospitality industry

Non-Distressed Representations

• Senior secured lender in connection with a $11 million credit facility extended to a leading designer and manufacturer of food safety sensor technologies
• Lender for a $35 million bilateral, unsecured revolving credit facility provided to an historic golf and country club in Georgia
• Administrative agent and lead arranger for a $40 million senior secured credit facility extended to a wholesale metals distributor
• Senior secured lender in connection with a bilateral credit facility extended to a specialty finance company
• Developer in connection with the redevelopment of the historic Brooklyn neighborhood located in Charlotte’s Second Ward, which included the negotiation and documentation of a master redevelopment agreement between the developer and Mecklenburg County
• Developer in connection with a credit tenant lease bond transaction the proceeds of which were used in the development of a medical office building located in Charleston, South Carolina

Notable

• Chambers USA - North Carolina, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, 2024
• Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2021-2025; Commercial Litigation, 2021-2024; Banking and Finance Law, 2023-2025
• Business North Carolina Legal Elite, Bankruptcy, 2022-2023
• North Carolina Super Lawyers "Rising Star", Bankruptcy, 2014-2024
• Business North Carolina Legal Elite "Young Guns," 2021
• Honoree, "40 Under 40, " American Bankruptcy Institute, 2021 Class
• Honoree, "40 Under 40,” Charlotte Business Journal, 2018
• Honoree, "Turnaround of the Year: Small Company - Bost Distributing Co.," Turnaround Management Association, 2015
• Class 36, Leadership Charlotte
• Member, Moore & Van Allen Diversity Committee 
• Member, Board of Trustees, Charlotte Country Day School
• Member, Board of Directors, Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation
• Former Member of Board of Directors, Leadership Charlotte, 2018-2023
• Former Member of Board of Directors, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Carolinas Chapter, 2014-2019

News

Insights

Affiliations

• American Bankruptcy Institute
• American Bar Association
• North Carolina Bar Association
• Turnaround Management Association

Publications

• Author, “Uncovering Hidden Liens: Overview & Best Practices to Ensure Senior Priority Lien Status”, Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute (49^th Annual Seminar), March 2023

• Co-Author, “Assessing Distressed Acquisition Opportunities”, Turnaround Management Association’s Journal of Corporate Renewal, January/February 2020
• Co-Author, "Henson Leaves Lingering Risks for Purchasers of Defaulted Consumer Loans," Westlaw Journal Bank & Lender Liability, August 7, 2017
• Co-Author, "Regaining Profitability: Five Key Steps to a Successful Turnaround," ABF Journal, September/October 2016
• Co-Author, "Spotlight on Puerto Rico's Evolving Municipal Landscape," Law360, March 4, 2015

Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, “How to ‘Successfully’ Workout Out a Financial Distress Situation,” The Restaurant Finance Monitor’s annual Restaurant Finance & Development Conference (RFDC) (Las Vegas, NV), November 2024

• Panelist, “What’s Happening in DIP Financing?”, American Bankruptcy Institute Annual Spring Meeting (Washington, D.C.), April 2024

• Moderator/Panelist, “But I Thought I Was In First! – Uncovering Hidden Liens,” Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute (49^th Annual Seminar) (Atlanta, Georgia), March 2023

• Panelist, “Lender on Lender Disputes,” Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute (49^th Annual Seminar) (Atlanta, Georgia), March 2023

• Moderator, “Can I Pay for this Restructuring with Points: Distressed Debt in the Travel and Hospitality Industry,” American Bankruptcy Institute Caribbean Insolvency Symposium (Key Largo, Florida), February 2022

• Panelist, Western North Carolina Bankruptcy Seminar, "Lessons Learned in Recent Restaurant and Retail Bankruptcies," May 2021
• Panelist, “Chapter 11: Practical Skills and Case Law Update,” American Bankruptcy Institute Caribbean Insolvency Symposium (San Juan, Puerto Rico), February 2020
• Panelist, "Chapter 11 Financing: Roll-Ups, Roll-Overs and Creeping Roll-Overs," American Bankruptcy Institute Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop, July 2019
• Panelist, "Puerto Rico’s Bankruptcy Proceedings and Legal Landscape," Mecklenburg County Bar Continuing Legal Education, April 2019
• Panelist, "Hands off My Collateral: The Impact of Bankruptcy on a Wide Range of Financing Structures," 44^th Annual Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute, March 2018
• Panelist, "Unitranche Credit Facilities, Agreements Among Lenders, and Related Bankruptcy Considerations," American Bankruptcy Institute Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop, July 2017
• Panelist, "Crazy: A Receivership Case Study," Turnaround Management Association Southeast Conference, May 2016