On August 20, 2019, the Receiver submitted to the Court a proposed settlement with First National Bank of Clarksdale (“FNBC”). In exchange for the Receivership Estate’s release of claims, FNBC agrees to make a cash payment of $4,000,000 to the Receivership Estate. FNBC also agrees to give the Receivership Estate a 60-day “tender period” within which it may satisfy Oxford Springs’s debt to FNBC, currently $4,552,113, by making a lump sum payment of $4,000,000 to FNBC.
The proposed settlement’s value to the Receivership Estate far exceeds $4,000,000, as it
will result in the Receivership Estate’s owning a 100% interest in Oxford Springs and retaining all the proceeds from the future sale of Oxford Springs’s property. This is also the first proposed settlement with a party who was not a recruiter for Madison Timber. The Receiver appreciates FNBC’s cooperation in reaching a resolution that results in a substantial benefit to the Receivership Estate.
The proposed order approving settlement includes a channeling injunction, sometimes
called a “bar order,” which would bar any person from separately asserting claims against FNBC arising out of FNBC’s banking relationship with Adams or Madison Timber and any role that FNBC may be alleged to have had in the Madison Timber Ponzi scheme. Those claims instead would be “channeled” through the Receivership Estate.
Victims of the Madison Timber Ponzi scheme, as the ultimate beneficiaries of the Receivership Estate, have a substantial interest in the Receivership Estate’s claims against FNBC and their proposed resolution. The Court, mindful of this fact, agrees with the Receiver that interested parties should have an opportunity to be heard before the proposed settlement is approved.
The Court has entered an Order Setting Hearing, providing that:
1. The Court shall hold a public hearing on the proposed settlement with FNBC on September 25, 2019 at 1:30 P.M. in Courtroom 5B.
2. Anyone who wishes may submit a written comment, for or against the proposed settlement, at least five days prior to the public hearing. Written comments may be submitted either to the Court or to the Receiver:
If to the Court:
Judge Carlton Reeves Chambers
501 East Court Street, Suite 5.500
Jackson, Mississippi 39201
If to the Receiver:
Alysson Mills, Receiver
Fishman Haygood, LLP
201 St. Charles Avenue Suite 4600
New Orleans, Louisiana 70170
amills@fishmanhaygood.com
3. For more information, contact the Receiver directly or:
click here for Order Setting Hearing on Proposed Settlement with FNBC
click here for Receiver’s Motion to Approve Proposed Settlement with FNBC
click here for Proposed Settlement Agreement with FNBC
click here for Proposed Order Approving Settlement with FNBC