Warnock v. Archer

Farmland Industries, Inc. and its affiliates ("Farmland") filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief. Because Farmland had two large groups of unsecured creditors with competing claims, the United States Trustee used the authority conferred by 11 U.S.C. § 1102(a) to appoint two creditors committees, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors to represent trade creditors (the "Unsecured Creditors Committee"), and the Official Committee of Bondholders to represent bondholders (the "Bondholders Committee"). Each committee employed its own financial advisor, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin Financial Advisors ("Houlihan Lokey") for the Unsecured Creditors Committee, and Ernst & Young Corporate Finance ("Ernst & Young") for the Bondholders Committee. Each advisor negotiated a flat monthly fee plus a contingent or "success" fee based upon the amounts ultimately recovered by the members of the employing committee.