Case Doc 4583 Filed 08/03/16 Entered 08/03/16 15:18:08 Desc Main Document Page 1 of 7

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1 Document Page 1 of 7 In re: CAESAR S ENTERTAINMENT OPERATING COMPANY, et al., Debtors. UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION Chapter 11 NOTICE OF MOTION Case No (ABG Jointly Administered Honorable A. Benjamin Goldgar Hearing: August 17, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. (CST Objections by: August 10, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (CST PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on August 3, 2016, Kwee Chai, by counsel, filed the Motion of Kwee Chai for Relief from the Automatic Stay (the Motion with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the hearing on the Motion will be held on August 17, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. (prevailing Central Time before the Honorable A. Benjamin Goldgar or any other judge who may be sitting in his place and stead, in Courtroom 2525 in the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois PLEASE TAKE NOTICE FURTHER that any objection or response to the Motion must be in writing, filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 219 South Dearborn, Chicago, Illinois on or before August 10, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (prevailing Central Time (the Response Deadline, and served so as to be received by undersigned counsel for Kwee Chai by no later than the Response Deadline.

2 Document Page 2 of 7 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE FURTHER THAT IF YOU FAIL TO RESPOND TO THE MOTION, THE COURT MAY GRANT THE RELIEF REQUESTED THEREIN WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE OR HEARING. Dated: August 3, 2016 GOLDSTEIN & MCCLINTOCK LLLP By: Sean P. Williams Sean P. Williams, Esq. GOLDSTEIN & MCCLINTOCK LLLP 208 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 1750 Chicago, Illinois Telephone: ( Facsimile: ( seanw@restructuringshop.com Counsel for Kwee Chai CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Sean P. Williams, the undersigned attorney, hereby certify that on August 3, 2016, I caused a copy of the Notice of Motion and Motion of Kwee Chai for Relief from the Automatic Stay to be filed via the Court s ECF system and served upon all parties that have registered to receive ECF notice in these bankruptcy cases. /s/ Sean P. Williams 2

3 Document Page 3 of 7 In re: CAESAR S ENTERTAINMENT OPERATING COMPANY, et al., Debtors. UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION Chapter 11 Case No (ABG Jointly Administered Honorable A. Benjamin Goldgar Hearing: August 17, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. (CST Objections by: August 10, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. (CST MOTION OF KWEE CHAI FOR RELIEF FROM THE AUTOMATIC STAY Kwee Chai ( Chai, hereby moves (the Motion this Court for an order granting relief from the automatic stay to permit her to bring suit against the Debtors on account of a personal injury that she sustained and to enforce any judgment that obtained therein against insurance coverage and/or the liability insurer. In support of the Motion, Chai respectfully states as follows: BACKGROUND 1. On September 24, 2014, Chai was a business invitee to Caesar s Atlantic City Hotel and Casino located on the 2100 block of Pacific Avenue between S. Arkansas Avenue and S. Missouri Avenue, Atlantic City, New Jersey (the Property. The property was owned by debtor Boardwalk Regency Corporation ( Boardwalk Regency and operated, managed, possessed, and/or controlled by nondebtors Caesars Atlantic City, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, and/or debtor Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. ( CEOC. Chai tripped and fell on a raised curb on the property and sustained a fracture of her left femur. 2. On January 15, 2015, Boardwalk Regency, CEOC, and approximately 180 related entities (collectively, the Debtors filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of title

4 Document Page 4 of 7 11 of the United States Code (the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois (the Court. 3. Chai has not yet commenced an action against Boardwalk Regency or CEOC and is estopped from doing so, given the pendency of these chapter 11 cases and the automatic stay. Chai believes that she has claims against Boardwalk Regency, CEOC, and potentially other Debtors and intends to bring suit (a Lawsuit against them if this request is granted in order to liquidate her claim. RELIEF REQUESTED 4. By this Motion, Chai requests relief from the automatic stay for the limited purpose of liquidating her claim against the Debtors. BASIS FOR RELIEF 5. Section 362(d(1 of the Bankruptcy Code provides that: (d On request of a party in interest and after notice and a hearing, the court shall grant relief from the stay provided under subsection (a of this section, such as by terminating, annulling, modifying or conditioning such stay - (1 for cause, including the lack of adequate protection of an interest in property of such party in interest. 6. The Bankruptcy Code does not define cause for the purposes of Section 362(d(1. Cause is therefore a discretionary matter to be determined on a case by case basis. In re Benalcazar, 283 B.R. 514, (Bankr. N.D. Ill The Seventh Circuit balances the costs and benefits of continuing the stay when litigation is pending in another forum, identifying three factors: (1 the potential prejudice to the debtor or the bankruptcy estate from allowing the non-bankruptcy litigation to continue; (2 the relative hardship to the debtor and to the party seeking relief; and (3 the movant s probability of prevailing on the merits in the litigation. In re Fernstrom Storage & Van Co., 938 F.2d 731, 735 2

5 Document Page 5 of 7 (7th Cir As the Seventh Circuit has explained, [t]he automatic stay may be modified when equitable considerations weigh heavily in favor of the creditor and the debtor bears some responsibility for creating the problem. In re Wrobel, 197 B.R. 289, 296 (Bankr. N.D. Ill (citing Fernstrom, 938 F.2d at 735 (7th Cir To the extent the relevant Debtors have sufficient insurance coverage, Chai will only be proceeding against the Debtors insurance policies. This would not prejudice, cause any hardship, or even involve the Debtors or the Debtors bankruptcy estates, as the Debtors neither have an equity interest in, nor access to, such insurance proceeds. See, e.g., In re Fernstrom Storage & Van Co., 100 B.R. 1017, (Bankr. N.D. Ill ( Where it is undisputed that insurance coverage is substantial, an action to recover insurance proceeds may not cause great prejudice to the estate. 9. The Debtors have not yet confirmed that the relevant Debtors have sufficient insurance coverage. In the event that the Debtors do not have such coverage, Chai s claims satisfy all three Fernstrom factors. The Debtors will Not be Prejudiced if the Automatic Stay is Lifted. 10. According to the Debtors Disclosure Statement for the Debtors Second Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization pursuant to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code [Docket No. 4220], there is over $300 million in unsecured claims against the Debtors. Chai s claim (worth $175,000.00, at most would not affect the administration of these cases and would not prejudice the Debtors in any way. 11. Further, it is highly unlikely that the employees necessary for any litigation related to the Lawsuit would not be heavily involved in the Debtors bankruptcy cases and that such litigation would not be a distraction for the Debtors. 3

6 Document Page 6 of 7 The Relative Hardship to Chai if the Automatic Stay is not Lifted Significantly Outweighs any Harm to the Debtors. 12. The harm to Chai if the automatic stay is not lifted cannot be overstated. Not only is she entitled to have her day in court and to pursue all claims against the Debtors, there are significant issues that could arise if the automatic stay remains in place. For example, critical evidence and witnesses could be lost and the passage of time may be critical in this case. See, e.g., In re Bock Laundry Mach. Co., 37 B.R. 564, 567 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 1984 ( Personal injury litigation can consume a considerable length of time before a final award is made. Requiring the Movants to forego prosecution of their claims until such time as the stay is no longer in effect will effectively deny them an opportunity to be heard Moreover, if the stay is not modified to allow for the liquidation of Chai s claims, those claims would still have to be resolved during this case pursuant to a claims estimation proceeding. There would also be an added logistical burden to Chai if forced to litigate in Chicago, because parties, party representatives, attorneys, witnesses and documents are located in Flushing, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Atlantic City, New Jersey. As noted above, the relative hardship to the Debtors is comparatively smaller. Chai Has a High Likelihood of Prevailing on the Merits. 14. Finally, the third Fernstrom factor involves the likelihood of success on the merits. In a case involving a preliminary injunction, one court has noted that demonstrating likelihood of success on the merits is not to prove that it is certain to prevail at trial. It will ordinarily be enough that the plaintiff has raised questions going to the merits so serious, substantial, difficult and doubtful as to make them a fair ground for litigation and thus for more deliberate investigation. In re Rare, LLC, 298 B.R. 762, 769 (Bankr. D. Colo (internal quotations omitted. 4

7 Document Page 7 of In this case, Chai sustained injuries at the Property, which required surgery (a left hip replacement. The proximate cause of those injuries was debtors failure to repair or warn against a dangerous condition of property. Thus, Chai has met her burden and demonstrated that there are factual issues that must be litigated through a Lawsuit. CONCLUSION 16. For the foregoing reasons, Kwee Chai requests that this Court grant her relief from the automatic stay to commence the Lawsuit against the relevant Debtors. WHEREFORE, Kwee Chai respectfully requests that this Court (a lift the automatic stay for cause to allow Chai to commence the Lawsuit; (b direct that relief from the automatic stay be effective immediately upon entry of an order granting this motion and that the 14 day stay provided in Bankruptcy Rule 4001(a(3 not apply; and (c grant such further relief as may be equitable and just. Dated: August 3, 2016 Respectfully submitted, GOLDSTEIN & MCCLINTOCK LLLP By: /s/ Sean P. Williams Sean P. Williams, Esq. GOLDSTEIN & MCCLINTOCK LLLP 208 South LaSalle Street, Suite 1750 Chicago, Illinois Telephone: ( Facsimile: ( seanw@restructuringshop.com Counsel for Kwee Chai 5

8 Case Doc Filed 08/03/16 Entered 08/03/16 15:18:08 Desc Statement Accompanying Relief From Stay Page 1 of 1 REQUIRED STATEMENT TO ACCOMPANY MOTIONS FOR RELIEF FROM STAY All Cases: Debtor(s Case No. Chapter All Cases: Moving Creditor Date Case Filed Nature of Relief Sought: ~ Lift Stay ~ Annul Stay ~ Other (describe Chapter 13: Date of Confirmation Hearing or Date Plan Confirmed Chapter 7: ~ No-Asset Report Filed on ~ No-Asset Report not Filed, Date of Creditors Meeting 1. Collateral a. ~ Home b. ~ Car Year, Make, and Model c. ~ Other (describe 2. Balance Owed as of Petition Date $ Total of all other Liens against Collateral $ 3. In chapter 13 cases, if a post-petition default is asserted in the motion, attach a payment history listing the amounts and dates of all payments received from the debtor(s post-petition. 4. Estimated Value of Collateral (must be supplied in all cases $ 5. Default a. ~ Pre-Petition Default Number of months Amount $ b. ~ Post-Petition Default i. ~ On direct payments to the moving creditor Number of months Amount $ ii. ~ On payments to the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Number of months Amount $ 6. Other Allegations a. ~ Lack of Adequate Protection 362(d(1 i. ~ No insurance ii. ~ Taxes unpaid Amount $ iii. ~ Rapidly depreciating asset iv. ~ Other (describe b. ~ No Equity and not Necessary for an Effective Reorganization 362(d(2 c. ~ Other Cause 362(d(1 i. ~ Bad Faith (describe ii. ~ Multiple Filings iii. ~ Other (describe d. Debtor s Statement of Intention regarding the Collateral i. ~ Reaffirm ii ~ Redeem iii. ~ Surrender iv. ~ No Statement of Intention Filed Date: (Rev. 12 /21/09 Counsel for Movant

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