Pandemic Darlings The pandemic economy, in original documents
Home Source documents Third Supplemental Declaration Of

Third Supplemental Declaration Of

Summary

The third supplemental declaration of Spencer A. Winters, a partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, in support of the debtors' application to retain Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Kirkland & Ellis International LLP as attorneys, filed January 14, 2025 as Doc 929 in In re Vyaire Medical, Inc., et al., Case No. 24-11217 (BLS), in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. It recites the June 9, 2024 petition date, the retention application at Docket No. 236, the Retention Order entered August 5, 2024 at Docket No. 350, and two earlier supplemental declarations. It states that one counterparty that considered participating in the debtors' sale process represented more than one percent of the firm's fee receipts for the twelve-month period ending November 30, 2024, and affirms that the firm is a disinterested person under section 101(14) of the Bankruptcy Code.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

                   Case 24-11217-BLS            Doc 929        Filed 01/14/25        Page 1 of 16




                         IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
                              FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE

                                                           )
    In re:                                                 )   Chapter 11
                                                           )
    VYAIRE MEDICAL, INC., et al.,1                         )   Case No. 24-11217 (BLS)
                                                           )
                             Debtors.                      )   (Jointly Administered)
                                                           )

                   THIRD SUPPLEMENTAL DECLARATION OF
             SPENCER A. WINTERS IN SUPPORT OF THE APPLICATION
            OF DEBTORS FOR ENTRY OF AN ORDER AUTHORIZING THE
          RETENTION AND EMPLOYMENT OF KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP AND
         KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP AS ATTORNEYS FOR THE
        DEBTORS AND DEBTORS IN POSSESSION EFFECTIVE AS OF JUNE 9, 2024

             I, Spencer A. Winters, being duly sworn, state the following under penalty of perjury:

             1.     I am the president of Spencer A. Winters, P.C., a partner of the law firm of Kirkland

& Ellis LLP, located at 333 West Wolf Point Plaza, Chicago, Illinois 60654, and a partner of

Kirkland & Ellis International, LLP (together with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, “Kirkland”).2 I am one

of the lead attorneys from Kirkland working on the above-captioned chapter 11 cases. I am a

member in good standing of the Bar of the State of Illinois, and I have been admitted to practice

in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.                     There are no disciplinary

proceedings pending against me.

             2.     On June 9, 2024, (the “Petition Date”), Vyaire Medical, Inc. and certain of its

subsidiaries (collectively, the “Debtors”) filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of

title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”). On July 9, 2024, the Debtors filed an



1
      The last four digits of Debtor Vyaire Medical, Inc.’s federal tax identification number are 6495. A complete list
      of each of the Debtors in these chapter 11 cases and each such Debtor’s federal tax identification number may be
      obtained on the website of the Debtors’ claims and noticing agent at https://omniagentsolutions.com/Vyaire. The
      location of Debtor Vyaire Medical, Inc.’s principal place of business and the Debtors’ service address in these
      chapter 11 cases is 26125 North Riverwoods Boulevard, Mettawa, Illinois, USA 60045.
2
      Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning as set forth in the Application or
      Prior Declarations (as defined herein), as applicable.
             Case 24-11217-BLS         Doc 929      Filed 01/14/25    Page 2 of 16




application to employ and retain Kirkland as counsel for the Debtors [Docket No. 236]

(the “Application”) pursuant to sections 327(a) and 330 of the Bankruptcy Code, rules 2014(a) and

2016 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (the “Bankruptcy Rules”), and rules 2014-1

and 2016-1 of the Local Rules of Bankruptcy Practice and Procedure of the United States

Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Local Rules”).

       3.      My declaration in support of the Application (the “Original Declaration”) was

attached to the Application as Exhibit B. On July 26, 2024, I submitted the Supplemental

Declaration of Spencer A. Winters in Support of an Order Authorizing the Retention and

Employment of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Kirkland & Ellis International LLP as Attorneys for the

Debtors and Debtors in Possession Effective as of June 9, 2024 [Docket No. 326] (the “First

Supplemental Declaration”). On August 5, 2024, the Court entered the Order Authorizing the

Retention and Employment of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Kirkland & Ellis International LLP as

Attorneys for the Debtors and Debtors in Possession Effective as of June 9, 2024 [Docket No. 350]

(the “Retention Order”). On October 3, 2024 I submitted the Second Supplemental Declaration

of Spencer A. Winters in Support of the Application of Debtors for Entry of an Order Authorizing

the Retention and Employment of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

as Attorneys for the Debtors and Debtors in Possession Effective as of June 9, 2024 [Docket No.

603] (together with the Original Declaration and the First Supplemental Declaration, the “Prior
Declarations”) to provide additional information related to the disclosures made in the Application

and the Prior Declarations.

       4.      In connection with the Application and the Retention Order, I submit this Third

supplemental declaration (the “Third Supplemental Declaration”) to provide additional disclosures

in accordance with rules 2014(a) and 2016(b) of the Bankruptcy Rules and as required under the

Retention Order. Unless otherwise stated in this Third Supplemental Declaration, I have personal

knowledge of the facts set forth herein.




                                                2
                Case 24-11217-BLS               Doc 929        Filed 01/14/25         Page 3 of 16




                                             Additional Disclosures

        5.        This Third Supplemental Declaration makes certain additional disclosures. As I

stated in the Original Declaration, Kirkland has searched its electronic database of representations

for connections to parties in interest in these chapter 11 cases. Consistent with this statement,

Kirkland has continued to obtain information regarding all Potential Parties in Interest disclosed

on Schedule 1 attached to the Original Declaration (the “PPII List”).

        6.        Based on the conflicts searches conducted to date, to the best of my knowledge,

neither I, Kirkland, nor any partner, of counsel, or associate thereof, insofar as I have been able to

ascertain, has any connections with the Debtors, their creditors, or any other entities who may be

parties in interest, their respective attorneys or accountants, the Office of the United States Trustee

for the District of Delaware (the “U.S. Trustee”), any person employed by the U.S. Trustee, or any

person employed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the United

States District Court for the District of Delaware, or the United States Court of Appeals for the

Third Circuit, except as disclosed or otherwise described herein and in the Prior Declarations.

        7.        As I stated in the Prior Declarations, Kirkland has searched its electronic database

of representations for connections to parties in interest in these chapter 11 cases.

Certain connections were disclosed in the Prior Declarations. Since the filing of the Prior

Declarations, Kirkland has updated those conflicts searches and has searched additional parties in
interest in these chapter 11 cases of whom Kirkland has become aware. In addition to the entities

searched and disclosed in the Prior Declarations, Kirkland has searched its electronic database for

the entities listed on Schedule 1 attached hereto. The following is a list of the additional categories

that Kirkland has searched:3

             Schedule        Category
             1(a)            Debtors and their Non-Debtor Affiliates


3
    Kirkland’s inclusion of parties in the following schedules is solely to illustrate Kirkland’s conflict search process
    and is not an admission that any party has a valid claim against the Debtors or that any party properly belongs in
    the schedules or has a claim or legal relationship to the Debtors of the nature described in the schedules.



                                                           3
               Case 24-11217-BLS              Doc 929        Filed 01/14/25        Page 4 of 16




             1(b)            Bankruptcy Professionals
             1(c)            Claims Parties
             1(d)            Material Contract Counterparties
             1(e)            M&A Counterparties

        8.          I have included the results of Kirkland’s conflicts searches of the entities included

in the above-listed categories on Schedule 2 to this Third Supplemental Declaration.4 In addition,

Kirkland re-ran searches in its electronic database for the entities that were previously reviewed in

the Prior Declarations. The results of Kirkland’s conflicts searches from the entities that were

re-run are listed on Schedule 3. All current and prior representations of the parties identified on

Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 are in matters unrelated to the Debtors and these chapter 11 cases.

        9.          Generally, it is Kirkland’s policy to disclose entities in the capacity that they first

appear in a conflicts search. For example, if an entity already has been disclosed in the Prior

Declarations in one capacity (e.g., a customer), and the entity appears in a subsequent conflicts

search in a different capacity (e.g., a vendor), Kirkland does not disclose the same entity again in

supplemental declarations unless the circumstances are such in the latter capacity that additional

disclosure is required.

        10.         As set forth in the Prior Declarations and herein, Kirkland in the past may have

represented, may currently represent, and may in the future will represent, entities that may be

parties in interest in these chapter 11 cases in connection with matters unrelated (except as

otherwise disclosed in the Prior Declarations and herein) to the Debtors and these chapter 11 cases.

None of the representations set forth on Schedule 2 or Schedule 3 are materially adverse to the



4
    As referenced in Schedule 2 and Schedule 3, the term “current” means an entity listed as a client in Kirkland’s
    conflicts search system to whom time was posted in the 12 months preceding the Petition Date. As referenced in
    Schedule 2 and Schedule 3, the term “former” means an entity listed as a client in Kirkland’s conflicts search
    system to whom time was posted between 12 and 36 months preceding the Petition Date. As referenced in
    Schedule 2 and Schedule 3, the term “closed” means an entity listed as a client in Kirkland’s conflicts search
    system to whom time was posted in the 36 months preceding the Petition Date, but for which the client
    representation has been closed. Whether an actual client relationship exists can only be determined by reference
    to the documents governing Kirkland’s representation rather than its potential listing in Kirkland’s conflicts
    search system. The list generated from Kirkland’s conflicts search system is over-inclusive. As a general matter,
    Kirkland discloses connections with “former” or “closed” clients for whom time was posted in the last 36 months,
    but does not disclose connections if time was billed more than 36 months before the Petition Date.



                                                         4
                Case 24-11217-BLS             Doc 929        Filed 01/14/25         Page 5 of 16




interests of the Debtors’ estates. Moreover, pursuant to section 327(c) of the Bankruptcy Code,

Kirkland is not disqualified from acting as the Debtors’ counsel merely because it represents

certain of the Debtors’ creditors, equity security holders, or other parties in interest in matters

unrelated to these chapter 11 cases.

          A.     Specific Disclosures.

          11.    Of the entities listed on Schedule 3, one counterparty that considered participation

in the Debtors’ sale and marketing process,5 represented more than one percent of Kirkland’s fee

receipts for the twelve-month period ending on November 30, 2024.6                             Kirkland has not

represented, and will not represent, this counterparty in connection with these chapter 11 cases

during the pendency of these chapter 11 cases. I do not believe that any current or former

representation of this party precludes it from meeting the disinterestedness standard under the

Bankruptcy Code.

                              Affirmative Statement of Disinterestedness

          12.    Based on the conflicts searches conducted to date and described in the Prior

Declarations and herein, to the best of my knowledge and insofar as I have been able to ascertain,

(a) Kirkland is a “disinterested person” within the meaning of section 101(14) of the Bankruptcy

Code, as required by section 327(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, and does not hold or represent an

interest adverse to the Debtors’ estates and (b) Kirkland has no connection to the Debtors, their
creditors, or other parties in interest, except as may be disclosed in the Prior Declarations and

herein.




5
    As noted in paragraph 39 of the Original Declaration, due to the inherently competitive nature of this process, it
    remains imperative that the identities of these potential counterparties remain confidential. The Debtors have
    disclosed to the U.S. Trustee the identities of the potential counterparties and Kirkland’s connections to such
    potential counterparties.

6
    Specific percentages will be disclosed to the U.S. Trustee upon request.



                                                         5
             Case 24-11217-BLS        Doc 929       Filed 01/14/25    Page 6 of 16




       Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true

and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Dated: January 14, 2025                     Respectfully submitted,

                                            /s/ Spencer A. Winters
                                            Spencer A. Winters
                                            as President of Spencer A. Winters, P.C.,
                                            as Partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and
                                            as Partner of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP




                                                6
           Case 24-11217-BLS        Doc 929    Filed 01/14/25   Page 7 of 16




                                    SCHEDULE 1
                                    List of Schedules

Schedule   Category
1(a)       Debtors and their Non-Debtor Affiliates
1(b)       Bankruptcy Professionals
1(c)       Claims Parties
1(d)       Material Contracts
1(e)       M&A Counterparties
           Case 24-11217-BLS      Doc 929    Filed 01/14/25   Page 8 of 16




                                 SCHEDULE 1(a)
                        Debtors and their Non-Debtor Affiliates

Vyaire Finance Sub LLC (US)
            Case 24-11217-BLS   Doc 929   Filed 01/14/25   Page 9 of 16




                                SCHEDULE 1(b)
                            Bankruptcy Professionals

Bielli & Klauder LLC
Klauder, David M.
            Case 24-11217-BLS      Doc 929    Filed 01/14/25    Page 10 of 16




                                   SCHEDULE 1(c)
                                      Claims Parties

3MD Relocation Services LLC                     Hisco Inc.
ACE American Insurance Co.                      Hughes Marino Inc.
Airgas USA LLC                                  iData Research Inc.
ArtiQ NV                                        IES Communications LLC
Ayming USA Inc.                                 Inari Medical Inc.
Barta-Schoenewald Inc.                          Industrial Hearing & Pulmonary
Battle Creek, City of (MI)                          Management
Bay Corp.                                       Ingmar Medical
Becton Dickinson & Co.                          Insight Direct USA Inc.
Bi-Search International Inc.                    Integrity Solutions LLC
Brenner-Fiedler & Associates                    Intelligent SCM LLC
CA Seydel Sohne Gmbh                            Interstate Packaging
Calligo (UK) Ltd.                               iPrime Legal AG
CDW Direct LLC                                  Jabil Inc.
Central-Midori (International) Pte Ltd.         John Henry Foster
CEVA Freight LLC                                Kaeser Compressors Inc.
CIM Med Inc.                                    Keystone Partners LLC
Cirtec Medical Group                            Landauer Inc.
Clarivate plc                                   Lee Co., The
CommonSpirit Health                             Leister Technologies LLC
Concur Technologies Inc.                        Lewis Gale Hospital Pulaski
Cornerstone OnDemand Inc.                       LinkedIn Corp.
Crown Equipment Corp.                           McKinley Equipment Corp.
Datasite LLC                                    McMaster-Carr Supply Co.
Dawar Technologies Inc.                         MedPro Systems LLC
Dell-Mettawa LLC                                Memorial Satila Health
DeRoyal Industries Inc.                         Messner Reeves LLP
Dittmar & Indrenius Attorneys Ltd.              MetroGroup Inc.
E&S Precision Sheetmetal Manufacturing          Micro-Matics Inc.
    Inc.                                        Mississippi, State of, Franchise Tax Board
EBSCO Industries Inc.                           Moody's Investors Service Inc.
Enhanced Filter Co.                             OpenMarkets Inc.
Environment Associates Inc.                     Opentext Corp.
EPM Pros Inc.                                   Oracle America Inc.
Ergoline GmbH                                   Orange, City of (CA), Treasurer - Tax
Esker Inc.                                          Collector
Estes Express Lines                             Pavese AG Prazisionsmechanik
Euduce Group Inc., The                          Pax Industries Inc.
Fischer USA Inc.                                Paymetric Inc.
Full Vision Inc.                                Pelonis Technologies Inc.
Global Healthcare Exchange LLC                  Plastech Corp.
Hakama AG                                       Polyomed Oy Ltd.
            Case 24-11217-BLS       Doc 929   Filed 01/14/25   Page 11 of 16




PPR AG
Precision Associates Inc.
PRN Medical Solutions
ProSymmetry LLC
PSN Labs
QMedic WLL
Quad DBC Holdings LLC
Quail Electronics Inc.
Reed Smith LLP
Regional Medical Center of San Jose
RS Americas Inc.
Salesforce Inc.
Signify Research Ltd. Simon Harris
SiliconExpert Technologies Inc.
Spectrum Plastics Group Inc.
Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC
Sterling Infosystems Inc.
Suntech Medical
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.
TCI Precision Metals
TEKsystems
Teledyne Marine
TestEquity LLC
Therm-O-Namel Inc.
TouchPoint Meidcal Inc.
Trademark Plastics Inc.
TransPerfect Translations
Trench Rossi e Watanabe Advogados
Tricon Transportation Inc.
TTI Inc.
Twenty Poms LLC
Uline Inc.
United Language Group Inc.
United Parcel Service Inc.
United States Plastic Corp.
United States, Government of the,
    Department of Homeland Security, US
    Customs & Border Protection
Vacumetrics
Vestis Services LLC
Vincent Medical Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Washington, State of, Department of Labor
    & Industries
Wells Fargo Leasing Inc.
West Valley Medical Center Inc.
Zensar Technologies Inc.
          Case 24-11217-BLS     Doc 929    Filed 01/14/25   Page 12 of 16




                               SCHEDULE 1(d)
                                Material Contracts

IMT Information Management Technology AG
Iron Mountain Information Management LLC
Politecnico Di Milano
Showpad Inc.
Silmates Private Ltd.
            Case 24-11217-BLS   Doc 929   Filed 01/14/25   Page 13 of 16




                                SCHEDULE 1(e)
                                M&A Counterparties

[Confidential]
           Case 24-11217-BLS     Doc 929   Filed 01/14/25    Page 14 of 16




                                 SCHEDULE 2

                                    Name of Entity and/or Affiliate of
      Name of Entity Searched                                                Status
                                      Entity, that is a K&E Client
ACE American Insurance Co.         Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd.              Current




CDW Direct LLC                     CDW Corporation                           Current
                                   CDW LLC                                   Current
Concur Technologies Inc.           SAP National Security Services Inc.       Former
Cornerstone OnDemand Inc.          Behdad Eghbali                            Current
                                   Clearlake Capital Group LP                Closed
                                   Clearlake Capital Partners II, L.P.       Current
                                   Clearlake Capital Partners V LP           Current
                                   Clearlake Capital Partners VII LP         Current
                                   Clearlake Opportunities Partners (P)      Current
                                       LP
                                   Clearlake Opportunities Partners II LP    Current
                                   Jose E. Feliciano                         Current
Datasite LLC                       Datasite                                  Current
Esker Inc.                         Esker SA                                  Current
Opentext Corp.                     Micro Focus                               Closed
Oracle America Inc.                Oracle Corporation                        Current
PRN Medical Solutions              ConvaTec Group PLC                        Closed
Spectrum Plastics Group Inc.       DowDuPont Inc.                            Current
                                   E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company,         Current
                                       Inc.
                                   Laird Technologies, Inc.                  Closed
Sterling Infosystems Inc.          Greg Mondre                               Current
                                   Mary Hannaford Conrad                     Current
                                   Silver Lake Partners L.P.                 Current
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.     Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.            Current
TTI Inc.                           Berkshire Hathaway Inc.                   Current
                                   BHE Renewables LLC                        Current
                                   BNSF Railway                              Closed
                                   Brilliant National Services, Inc.         Current
             Case 24-11217-BLS      Doc 929   Filed 01/14/25   Page 15 of 16




                                       Name of Entity and/or Affiliate of
      Name of Entity Searched                                                  Status
                                          Entity, that is a K&E Client
                                      HomeServices of America, Inc.            Current
                                      PPW Holdings LLC                         Current
Uline Inc.                            Brian Uihlein                            Closed
                                      Richard E. Uihlein                       Current
                                      Stephen Ellis Uihlein                    Current
United States, Government of the,     Konstantina Diamantopoulos               Former
   Department of Homeland
   Security, US Customs & Border
   Protection
Wells Fargo Leasing Inc.              Norwest Equity Partners                  Current
                                      Wells Fargo Asset Management             Current
                                         (International) Limited
                                      Wells Fargo Asset Management             Current
                                         Luxembourg S.A.
                                      Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.                   Current
                                      Wells Fargo Securities LLC               Current
           Case 24-11217-BLS        Doc 929   Filed 01/14/25    Page 16 of 16




                                    SCHEDULE 3

                                       Name of Entity and/or Affiliate of
     Name of Entity Searched                                                    Status
                                          Entity, that is a K&E Client
AlbaCore Capital LLP                  Igneo Infrastructure Partners             Current
AlbaCore Investment Opportunities
   LP
AlbaCore Liquid Income Designated
   Activity Co.
AlbaCore Partners II Investment
   Holdings D Designated Activity
   Co.
AlbaCore Partners III Investment
   Holdings Fin III Designated
   Activity Co.
AssuredPartners Inc.                  AssetMark Financial Holdings Inc.         Current
                                      GTCR Everest Borrower LLC                 Current
                                      GTCR Everest Holdings LLC                 Current
Atalaya Capital Management LP         Atalaya Capital Management LP             Current
BNP Paribas                           BNP Paribas S.A.                          Current
Canada Life Assurance Co., The        Empower Annuity Insurance Co.             Current
Empower Funds Inc.                    Empower Life & Annuity Insurance          Current
                                         Co. of New York
Empower Short Duration Bond Fund
Great-West Capital Management LLC
Dell Marketing LP                     Dell (Chengdu) Co. Ltd.                   Current
                                      Dell Products LP                          Current
Ernst & Young LLP                     Ernst & Young                             Current
Ernst & Young US LLP
JPMorgan Chase Bank NA                Morgan Stanley                           Current
LRN Corp.                             LRN Corporation                          Current
Phillips-Medisize Costa Mesa LLC      Koch Real Estate Investments LLC         Current
[Confidential]                        [Confidential]                        [Confidential]
[Confidential]                        [Confidential]                        [Confidential]
[Confidential]                        [Confidential]                        [Confidential]
[Confidential]                        [Confidential]                        [Confidential]
[Confidential]                        [Confidential]                        [Confidential]
[Confidential]                        [Confidential]                        [Confidential]


File and source

File
gov.uscourts.deb.193283.929.0.pdf
Size
303,187 bytes
SHA-256
6f8ff30be80058213258237a45f3c1bd9a065405d4bdca3563bd97c5ec4d24f2
Our copy
gov.uscourts.deb.193283.929.0.pdf
Original
PACER (login required)
Back to top