Representative Experience
- Representation of secured creditors in troubled loan workouts and bankruptcy matters, including matters involving automobile dealerships, aviation ventures, marinas, hospitality enterprises, trucking and transportation companies, private schools, manufacturing facilities, coal processing facilities, contractors and real estate developers
- Representation of creditors in bankruptcy matters, including asset purchase, relief from stay, preference, cash collateral, fraudulent conveyance, claim objection, equitable subordination, and other bankruptcy litigation, as well as in the confirmation process
- Representation of shareholders and members in corporate and limited liability company ownership disputes and litigation
- Representation of plaintiffs and defendants in non-competition litigation, including business conspiracy and tortious interference claims
- Representation of financial institutions in lender liability litigation
- Representation of secured creditors in commercial foreclosures and real estate litigation, as well as title insurance companies and insureds in claim litigation
- Representation of beneficiaries and fiduciaries in estate and trust litigation
- Representation of financial institutions in commercial collection litigation, including attachments, detinue actions, injunctions and secured party collateral disposition matters
- Representation of parties in Uniform Commercial Code disputes
- Representation of lenders, contractors and property owners in mechanic's lien litigation
- Representation of contractors, owners and lenders in construction disputes
Work History
- Law Clerk to Judge Blackwell N. Shelley, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1985 - 1986
- Melchionna, Day, Ammar & Black, Shareholder, 1994 - 2007
Education
- Washington and Lee University, B.A., 1982
- Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, 1983
- University of Richmond, J.D., 1985
Admissions
- Virginia State Bar
- United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia
- United States Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia
- United States Courts of Appeals for the Third and Fourth Circuits
- United States Supreme Court
Awards and Distinctions
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Business Litigation, Banking and Finance, Financial Services Regulation, and Banking
- Named in Virginia Business Magazine's "Legal Elite" for Bankruptcy law
- Published in Virginia SuperLawyers magazine for Banking Law and Bankruptcy and Creditor's Rights
Affiliations
- Virginia State Bar, Board of Governors, Litigation Section, 1998 - 2005, Chair, 2003 - 2004
- Virginia State Bar, Eighth District Disciplinary Committee, 2000 - 2006, Chair, 2004 - 2005
- Virginia State Bar, Disciplinary Board, 2007 - Present
- Virginia Bar Association, Bankruptcy Section, Chair, 2004 - 2006
- American Bankruptcy Institute, Member
- Roanoke Bar Association, Member
Representative Cases
- In Re Park, 436 B.R. 811 (Bankr. W.D. Va 2010)
- Scott v. Branch Banking and Trust Company, 588 F. Supp.2d 667 (W.D.Va 2008) aff'd 332 Fed. Appx. 112 (4th Cir. 2009)
- Parkih v. Family Care Center, Inc., 273 Va. 284, 641 S.E.2d 98 (2007)
- In Re Weber, 118 B.R. 441 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 1990)
Other
- Co-author: "Bankcards Revenge: A Critique of the 1984 Consumer Credit Amendments to the Bankruptcy Code," 19 University of Richmond Law Review 845, 1985
- Alumni Admission Program Chair, Washington and Lee University, Roanoke, Virginia