To the Extent That...

Welcome to episode 2 of Gameday, a four-part series presented a four-part series presented by the ABA Business Law Section about the landmark House v NCAA class action settlement, and how litigation has shaped and continues to shape Future of Law and College Athletics. Join host Fritz Metzinger for a deep dive into the House settlement's terms and a deep dive of the helter-skelter first year of the House era, as the settlement's new revenue sharing and third-party NIL rules went into effect—and promptly stoked controversy.

Host Gary J. Ross talks with Brian Huber, a fund partner in the Boston office of Gunderson Dettmer, about the end of a venture capital fund. Gary and Brian discuss fund terms and extensions, communicating with LPs, and options for dealing with illiquid portfolio companies when the fund’s time is up. They explore the choices managers face during the wind-down process, including whether to sell or distribute remaining investments or move them into a continuation vehicle. Gary and Brian also discuss the distinction between dissolution, winding up and termination. Brian closes with some practical considerations for sequencing closing steps.

In this episode of Bad Boys of Bankruptcy, host Judge Gunn talks with North Carolina attorney John C. Bircher, III, who served as a Chapter 7 trustee in the bankruptcy case of Gregory Sipe. Mr. Sipe filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in the Eastern District of North Carolina in 2010, and listed on his schedules “several” collectible guitars that Mr. Sipe attested were worth a total of $50,000, but that were currently pawned and would require $40,000 to redeem from the pawn shop, so Mr. Sipe scheduled their value as $10,000. John describes the efforts he and some creditor’s attorneys went through to uncover the truth about the debtor’s guitar collection, which would up containing in excess of 360 guitars, which John liquidated for the benefit of the estate, netting nearly $900,000 at auction. One guitar, a Gibson Jimmy Page #7 signed guitar, sold for $22,000. John tells the story about driving to the debtor’s home in Chesapeake, Virginia in a truck with his auctioneer to find out the true scope of the debtor’s guitar collection, which ultimately required the auctioneer to send up two more trucks and two enclosed 24 foot trailers to seize the nearly 400 guitars which were stored in the debtor’s two-car garage, which had been converted to a climate-controlled storage facility. The debtor’s extensive collection included numerous autographed and exclusive guitars, including a custom-made Gibson Les Paul that the debtor had made which contained numerous ticket stubs to the concerts the debtor had previously attended embedded under transparent acrylic finishing on the body of the guitar and mother of pearl inlays on the fretboard. John’s efforts in liquidating the guitars allowed him to make a 43% distribution to unsecured creditors in the case. The debtor was later indicted for five counts of bankruptcy fraud, and ultimately pled guilty to a single count of falsifying records in bankruptcy. He was sentenced to 3 years of probation, 200 hours of community service, and restitution for $5,900.

In this live-recorded episode of Bad Boys of Bankruptcy, Judge Elizabeth Gunn sits down in Boise, Idaho with longtime Chapter 7 trustee Ford Elsaesser to unpack one of the most unusual and high-profile cases of his career. The debtor, Richard Butler, was not just any Chapter 7 filer, he was the leader of the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist organization operating under the guise of a church. After a $2 million civil judgment stemming from violent acts by his followers, Butler turned to bankruptcy in a last-ditch effort to protect his 20-acre compound in northern Idaho. What followed was anything but routine. From coordinating discreet courthouse security amid concerns of extremist retaliation, to intercepting prison-sent donations and handling threatening hate mail, the case quickly became a test of both legal creativity and personal resolve. At the center of it all was the estate itself: a compound filled with Nazi regalia, propaganda, and intellectual property tied to the organization. Rather than allow these materials to reenter circulation, the trustee worked with creditors and third parties to structure a groundbreaking sale, one that not only satisfied administrative expenses and delivered recovery to victims, but ensured that the symbols of hate were permanently destroyed. This episode is a powerful example of how the Bankruptcy Code can be used not just to resolve debts, but to dismantle harmful enterprises and create a lasting positive impact.