Phillip J. Shefferly, Retired Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, joins JAMS in Detroit following 18 years of distinguished service to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, including over a decade as chief judge. As a judge on one of the heaviest bankruptcy court dockets in the country, Judge Shefferly conducted hundreds of bench trials and motion hearings in consumer and commercial cases that required prompt and thorough oral and written decisions. He presided over many large chapter 11 cases in a wide range of industries, including automotive, manufacturing, single asset and other real property, retail, professional services, hospitality, nursing home and health care.
Before taking the bench, Judge Shefferly was in private practice for 24 years, where he focused on business reorganizations and chapter 11 matters, including representations of business debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, landlords, shareholders and other parties in interest in bankruptcy proceedings. He has extensive trial and litigation experience in both federal and state courts representing parties in commercial litigation, as well as in purchase, sale, financing and other business transactions.
A nationally recognized authority on bankruptcy law, Judge Shefferly is known for his fair and even-tempered manner when dealing with parties in distressed situations. He is adept at working with clients to find opportunities for settlement, believing mediated solutions offer the best opportunity for creative problem solving.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- Bankruptcy
- Business/Commercial
- Real Property
Representative Matters
Selected Prior Mediations
During his time on the bench, Judge Shefferly also served as a mediator for cases assigned to other federal court judges, including the following representative matters:
- Fraudulent transfer litigation involving a leveraged buyout
- Homeowners’ objections to water shutoffs by city
- Breakup of law firm and disposition of assets and claims among shareholders
- Resolution of secured claims, unsecured claims and professional fees to enable confirmation of chapter 11 plan by a debtor engaged in manufacturing in the automotive and defense industries
- Resolution of secured claims and related sanctions litigation involving the attorneys for the secured lender and the debtor
- Resolution of business and individual tax claims with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- Liquidation of large building contractor and competing claims against the contractor and its principals
- Disposition of multiple real estate entities and claims involving fraudulent transfers, financing documents and personal guaranties
- Treatment of interest on secured claims under confirmed plan in large fully solvent chapter 11 case
Selected Reported Decisions
Judge Shefferly has authored hundreds of written decisions. The following is a representative sample:
- K & D Industrial Services Holding Co., 602 B.R. 16 (successor liability issues in a free and clear § 363 sale in chapter 11)
- In re Cheerview Enterprises, Inc., 586 B.R. 881 (denial of chapter 11 plan based on infeasibility of projections of future operations)
- Wells v. Salmo, 556 B.R. 826 (avoidance of fraudulent transfer of grocery store)
- Nagel Precision v. RnD Engineering, 546 B.R. 738 (determination of nondischargeable debt and damage calculations involving claims for misappropriation of trade secrets, interference with business relations and fraud)
- Kohut v. Lewiston, 532 B.R. 36 (determining property held by spendthrift trust to be included in bankruptcy estate)
- Kohut v. Wayne County Treasurer, 528 B.R. 387 (denial of county’s request to dismiss fraudulent transfer claim based on defense of sovereign immunity)
- In re Tristar Fire Protection, Inc., 466 B.R. 392 (estimating claim for unfair labor practices for purposes of confirmation of chapter 11 plan)
- Simon v. Gerdau, 444 B.R. 347 (ordinary course defenses to preference action)
- In re Griswold Building, LLC, 420 B.R 666 (denial of confirmation of chapter 11 plan in a single asset real estate case)
- In re American Camshaft, 410 B.R. 765 (discussion and application of standards for substantive consolidation of multiple business entities)
- Morganroth v. Stollman, 404 B.R. 244 (determination of nondischargeable debt involving claims for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and willful and malicious injury)
- In re Plastech Engineered Products, 394 B.R. 147 (allowance and treatment of § 503(b)(9) claims in chapter 11)
- In re Plastech Engineered Products, 382 B.R. 90 (denial of stay relief to obtain tooling from a debtor in an automotive chapter 11 case)
- In re Schmiel, 362 B.R. 802 (determination of when a mortgage is recorded where a register of deeds fails to comply with state law)
- In re Particka, 355 B.R. 616 (treatment of secured claims in chapter 13 case where debtor surrenders the collateral)
