In re Watkins

210 B.R. 394 (1997)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

In re Watkins

United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia
210 B.R. 394 (1997)

Facts

Tionne Watkins, Lisa Lopes, and Rozonda Thomas (debtors), were members of the successful pop group TLC. In 1991, Watkins and Lopes entered into an agreement with Pebbitone, Inc. (creditor). Pebbitone then entered into an agreement with LaFace Records (creditor) granting exclusive rights to distribute and promote TLC’s recordings. Watkins, Lopes, and Thomas then signed an inducement letter with LaFace, guarantying their personal obligation to deliver seven albums. Watkins, Lopes, and Thomas eventually became dissatisfied with the terms of the agreements with Pebbitone and LaFace. Thus, Watkins, Lopes, and Thomas hired an attorney, Stephen Barnes, to renegotiate their contracts. The negotiations reached an impasse, but LaFace extended personal loans to all three members of TLC to help ease their respective financial problems. Soon thereafter, counsel for Pebbitone and LaFace learned that Watkins, Lopes, and Thomas were planning on filing bankruptcy petitions that would seek to reject their contracts. Eventually, Watkins, Lopes, and Thomas each filed individual Chapter 11 cases in federal court, stating that they found it difficult to meet their financial obligations such as car payments, credit card payments, house payments, and other debts. All three TLC members moved for the court to reject their contractual obligations to Pebbitone and LaFace. Pebbitone and LaFace filed a motion to dismiss or abstain, arguing that the Chapter 11 petitions were not filed in good faith. To support their assertion of a lack of good faith, Pebbitone and LaFace claimed that the members of TLC did not face serious creditor pressure, misled the court as to their true assets, overstated their liabilities to appear insolvent, failed to adjust their extravagant lifestyles, and that their true motive was to avoid their legitimate contractual obligations.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Cotton, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership