AnnElyse Scarlett Gains
Overview
Experience
Representative Matters
Oasis Petroleum Inc. — Representing Oasis Petroleum Inc. and its affiliates in prepackaged Chapter 11 cases filed in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas to restructure approximately $2.3 billion in debt obligations. Oasis is a Houston, Texas based company that operates in the upstream and midstream oil and gas sectors. Oasis also operates a midstream business segment and holds a majority interest non-debtor subsidiary Oasis Midstream Partners LP, which is a publicly traded master limited partnership. The Chapter 11 plan equitizes more than $1.8 billion of unsecured debt and provides for committed DIP to exit financing.
Groupe Dynamite — Representing Groupe Dynamite, a Canadian fashion retailer specializing in women’s apparel and accessories in its Chapter 15 proceedings in Delaware to recognize proceedings commenced in Canada under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Groupe Dynamite intends to use the insolvency process to redefine its retail operations to a new COVID-19 friendly model.
Bruin E&P Partners, LLC — Representing Bruin E&P Partners, LLC and its subsidiaries in connection with their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Bruin is an exploration and production company headquartered in Houston, Texas, with assets in the Williston Basin in North Dakota. Through their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases, Bruin will eliminate over $840 million in funded debt obligations. Bruin filed its cases with a restructuring support agreement signed by 100% of its prepetition revolving lenders and over 67% of its senior noteholders that included a $230 million DIP commitment and an exit revolver with $230 million in aggregate commitments.
Ultra Petroleum Corp. — Representing Ultra Petroleum Corp. and its affiliates in their comprehensive deleveraging and balance-sheet restructuring, accomplished through prepackaged Chapter 11 cases filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas and a parallel Canadian recognition proceeding filed in the Supreme Court of Yukon in 2020. Ultra is one of the largest oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in Wyoming.
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. — Representing Pier 1 Imports, Inc. and its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Pier 1 is a publicly-traded omnichannel retailer specializing in home furnishings and décor with 923 stores in the United States and Canada.
Seabras 1 USA, LLC — Representing Seabras 1 USA, LLC and Seabras 1 Bermuda Ltd. in their Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Seabras owns the first transoceanic submarine fiber optic cable system directly connecting the commercial and financial centers of North America and South America. Through this system, Seabras sells international broadband capacity between the U.S. and Brazil and leases fiber routes in New York to telecommunications companies, internet and cloud service providers, financial institutions, and other large enterprises.
NRG REMA LLC — Representing NRG REMA LLC and its direct subsidiaries in Chapter 11 cases filed in the Southern District of Texas that are jointly administered with the GenOn Chapter 11 cases. REMA is a wholesale power generation company headquartered in Dallas, Texas that owns or operates 15 power plants throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The REMA cases were filed with a prepackaged plan of reorganization that will consensually restructure three leveraged lease structures.
iHeartMedia, Inc. — Represented iHeartMedia, Inc. and certain subsidiaries, one of the world’s leading global multi-platform media, entertainment, and data companies, in their Chapter 11 restructuring. iHeart is the largest radio broadcaster in the United States and specializes in radio, digital, outdoor, mobile, social, live events, on-demand entertainment and information services for local and national communities. The Company had consolidated debts of over $20 billion and the Chapter 11 cases, which are the largest of 2018 based on outstanding debt, restructured over $16 billion of that debt. In connection with its restructuring, iHeart reached an agreement with holders of more than $11 billion of its debt and its financial sponsors, reflecting widespread support across the capital structure, regarding a comprehensive balance sheet restructuring that reduced iHeartMedia’s debt by more than $10 billion.
Lehman Brothers U.K. Holdings (Delaware) Inc. (“LUK”) and Lehman Pass-Through Securities Inc. (“LPTSI”) — Representing Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. as purchasers in LUK and LPTSI’s voluntary Chapter 11 cases currently pending in the Southern District of New York.
GenOn Energy, Inc. ― Representing GenOn Energy, Inc. and certain of its affiliates in connection with their prearranged Chapter 11 cases filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. GenOn is a wholesale power generation company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, with a focus on operations in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States—primarily operating in Pennsylvania and Maryland—and in California. Through the Chapter 11 cases, GenOn will restructure approximately $2.5 billion in funded indebtedness.
Breitburn Energy Partners LP — Representing an ad hoc second lien committee in the Chapter 11 cases of Breitburn Energy Partners LP, an independent oil and gas master limited partnership focused on the acquisition, exploitation, development and production of oil and gas properties in the United States.
Millennium Health — Represented the founder of Millennium Health, LLC and majority equity owner of Millennium Lab Holdings II, LLC, one of the nation’s largest drug-testing laboratories, in Millennium’s prepackaged chapter 11 cases. The voluntary chapter 11 cases, filed in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, were supported by the Department of Justice, other equity holders, and over 93% of its prepetition lenders. After a heavily contested confirmation hearing and appeal of the Bankruptcy Court order confirming the plan, the bankruptcy court held, on remand, that it had the constitutional authority to grant third-party releases notwithstanding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Stern v. Marshall. This decision was subsequently upheld by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Intelsat ― Represented a steering and an ad hoc committees of noteholders of Intelsat, one of the world’s largest and industry-leading satellite services business, including with respect to potential debt exchanges in connection with the proposed merger with OneWeb as well as various debt restructurings of over $1 billion of notes.
Optim Energy — Represented Blackstone Energy in connection with the Chapter 11 cases of Optim Energy.
Aspect Software Inc. — Represented Aspect Software Inc., a leading provider of software and technology solutions for customer care centers worldwide, in its prearranged restructuring, in which Aspect filed and emerged from Chapter 11 in 75 days, and which achieved significant reduction of funded debt, a fully negotiated new first lien facility, and an infusion of $60 million of new capital to enable growth.
Sabine Oil & Gas Corporation — Represented Texas-based Sabine Oil & Gas and its subsidiaries, an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with approximately $2.6 billion in outstanding funded debt obligations, in their Chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of New York. After more than a year of litigation (in the context of multiple motions for derivative standing and confirmation of Sabine’s Chapter 11 plan) Sabine confirmed a plan of reorganization that significantly reduced its funded debt obligations and secured the financial commitments necessary to fund the restructuring and go-forward business needs. In addition, Sabine successfully obtained the bankruptcy court approval needed to reject certain onerous midstream gas gathering agreements and better position the business for post-emergence success. In 2017, the Turnaround Management Association recognized the successful restructuring of Sabine Oil & Gas Corporation with its “Large Company Transaction of the Year Award.”
Nextel International — Represented a group of bondholders in the Chapter 11 cases of Nextel International, a leading telecommunications provider in Central and South America.
Clerk & Government Experience
Law ClerkHonorable Peter J. Walsh, Bankruptcy JudgeUnited States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
InternHonorable Susan Pierson SonderbyUnited States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois
InternHonorable Jeff BohmUnited States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
Pro Bono
More
Thought Leadership
Publications
Contributing Editor of the Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law & Practice
Seminars
Distressed Dealmaking: Chapter 11 and Out-of-Court Restructuring, University Of Pennsylvania Law School/Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Fall 2016, Fall 2017)
Recognition
Kirkland & Ellis LLP Pro Bono Service Award, 2014 and 2015, and 2016
Memberships & Affiliations
American Bankruptcy Institute
International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation
Board Member (treasurer) — Military Spouse JD Network
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2018District of Columbia
- 2014New York
Courts
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Education
- University of Illinois College of LawJ.D.magna cum laude2013
Associate Editor, Journal of Law, Technology & Policy
Lincoln Scholar
Harno Scholar
- Indiana UniversityB.S.with Honors and High Distinction2010
NCAA Division 1 Women’s Rowing Team
Hutton Honors College
School of Public and Environmental Affairs Honors College