Nicole Cipriano
Overview
Experience
Representative Matters
Rite Aid Corporation — Representation of Rite Aid Corporation (“Rite Aid”) and 119 of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Rite Aid entered its Chapter 11 cases with $3.45 billion in debtor-in possession financing. Following months of negotiations including court-ordered mediation with all of Rite Aid’s key stakeholders, as well as several bet-the-company disputes and obtaining an additional $75 million in debtor-in-possession financing later in the cases, Rite Aid was able to delever its balance sheet by approximately $2 billion through a recapitalization transaction with its senior secured noteholders and resolve more than $2.5 billion in pending and threatened litigation. Rite Aid emerged from Chapter 11 on August 30, 2024 with $2.975 billion in committed exit financing, a new go-forward supply contract with McKesson (Rite Aid’s largest vendor and the provider of 98% of Rite Aid’s just-in-time prescriptions), settlement agreements or controlled substance injunctive terms with the Department of Justice and 15 states in which Rite Aid conducts business, and a leaner, more efficient real estate footprint.
SunPower Corporation — Representation of SunPower Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries (“SunPower”) in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. SunPower is a leading provider of residential solar energy solutions throughout North America, having fitted over half a million homes with its solar energy systems. At the time of the Chapter 11 filing, the SunPower enterprise had over $2 billion of total indebtedness. Prior to filing its Chapter 11 cases, SunPower entered into a stalking horse purchase agreement that contemplates a going-concern sale of its key businesses.
McDermott International, Ltd. — Representation of three subsidiaries of McDermott International, Ltd in their multinational cross-border restructuring.The first-of-its-kind restructuring involved three jurisdictions, England (UK Restructuring Plan), the Netherlands (Dutch WHOA), and the U.S. (Chapter 15 recognition proceedings), and resulted in the amendment and extension of $2.6 billion of secured debt and the equitization of over $1 billion in litigation claims.
West Marine, Inc. — Representation of West Marine, Inc. and its affiliates, the nation’s leading omnichannel provider in the marine aftermarket, in multiple transactions, including a comprehensive out-of-court restructuring of its existing capital structure supported by 100 percent of the Company’s existing lenders and its equity sponsor. The comprehensive transaction delevered the Company’s funded indebtedness by more than $500 million, provided the Company access to $125 million of new money term loan financing, and left trade claims unimpaired.
David’s Bridal, LLC — Representation of David’s Bridal, LLC and certain of its affiliates, the nation’s largest provider of wedding gowns and other special occasion apparel with nearly 300 stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, in its Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. At the time of filing, David’s Bridal operated approximately 300 stores in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. and commenced its Chapter 11 cases with approximately $260 million of funded debt. During the Chapter 11 cases, following an extensive marketing process, the Company sold its operations as a going concern, saving more than 7,000 jobs and continuing operations at approximately 200 stores.
HONX, Inc. — Representation of HONX, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hess Corporation, in its successful Chapter 11 case filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. HONX and its corporate predecessors had for decades been subject to thousands of asbestos-related personal injury claims in connection with HONX’s former ownership and operation of an oil refinery on St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. HONX filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in April 2022 with the goal of fully and finally resolving all asbestos-related personal injury claims that were or could be asserted against HONX and Hess in one forum, using section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code. HONX confirmed its plan utilizing a section 524(g) channeling injunction in less than two years at a confirmation hearing jointly presided over by Judge Alfred H. Bennett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and Judge Marvin P. Isgur of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Pursuant to the plan, HONX established a settlement trust, funded with up to $190 million from Hess, to satisfy all valid current and future asbestos claims, which resulted in prompt and fair compensation for claimants and finality from current and potential future asbestos tort litigation for HONX and Hess.
Clerk & Government Experience
Judicial ExternHonorable Judge Louis A. ScarcellaUnited States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York2021
Judicial InternHonorable Chief Judge Cecelia G. MorrisUnited States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York2020
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Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2023New York
Courts
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Education
- Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra UniversityJ.D.magna cum laude2022
Benjamin Weintraub and Alan N. Resnick Bankruptcy Law Award
Gina Maria Escarce Memorial Scholarship
Third-Year Scholastic Achievement Award
Senior Articles Editor, Hofstra Law Review
- Binghamton University, State University of New YorkB.A., Philosophy, Politics and Law & Italiansumma cum laude2019Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society