Katten Muchin, Latham work on Fresh & Easy bankruptcy

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Inc. filed for Chapter 11 September 30, 2013, on the heels of the supermarket's agreement to be acquired by The Yucaipa Cos LLC. The Daily Journal spoke with many of the attorneys involved in the multifaceted case, including Ivan M. Gold who represented a number of the landlords who negotiated lease termination agreements prior to the bankruptcy filing. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing in Delaware allows Yucaipa to make a clean purchase of the stores it wishes to buy and protects Fresh & Easy in the event it isn't able to lease the stores Yucaipa doesn't buy. Yucaipa has said it will buy approximately 150 of Fresh & Easy's nearly 200 stores. “It is very common in the current environment to use bankruptcy as a vehicle to sell substantial assets, in particular when you have a real estate-centric company,” Gold said.