Maria Ellena Chavez-Ruark, a partner in the bankruptcy practice at Tydings & Rosenberg, has deep experience in complex debtor-creditor disputes. She regularly represents:
- Debtors;
- Official committees of unsecured creditors;
- Secured and unsecured creditors;
- Lessors;
- Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 trustees in bankruptcy cases; and
- Purchasers of assets.
She has experience negotiating DIP financing agreements, cash collateral agreements, asset purchase agreements, assumption and assignment of contracts, rejection of contracts, and other complex matters in Chapter 11 proceedings throughout the United States.
Representative Matters
- Ms. Chavez-Ruark currently represents the official committee of unsecured creditors in three Chapter 11 cases involving real estate developer debtors: Gemcraft Homes, Caruso Homes, and Captain’s Cove.
- She represents the receiver for 44 related Ohio- and Maryland-based healthcare entities under the parent company Trans Healthcare Inc.
- She served as primary outside bankruptcy counsel to an international travel and lodging organization and, in this capacity, handled numerous Chapter 11 cases in which the client had a franchise agreement with the debtor.
- She represented a major national energy supplier as a creditor in several Chapter 11 cases and represented one of its subsidiaries in its own Chapter 11 proceeding.
- Ms. Chavez-Ruark represented a large food conglomerate as an unsecured creditor in many corporate bankruptcies involving debtors to which the client was a supplier.
In addition, Ms. Chavez-Ruark represents banks and other financial institutions in complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts.
Prior to private practice, Ms. Chavez-Ruark completed a two-year clerkship with the Honorable James F. Schneider of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland and a one-year clerkship with the Honorable Susan M. Marzetta of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
Leadership
Ms. Chavez-Ruark is a member of the Board of Directors and past chair of the Baltimore Chapter of the Bankruptcy Bar Association of Maryland. She also serves as co-chair of the organization's Pro Bono Committee, and she was instrumental in establishing help-desks in both Maryland districts (Baltimore and Greenbelt) where pro se debtors in federal bankruptcy court can receive free legal counsel.
Since 2010, Ms. Chavez-Ruark has been recognized by Maryland Super Lawyers as one of the top attorneys in Maryland for her bankruptcy/creditors' rights practice.
In 2010, Ms. Chavez-Ruark was named one of Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland's "pro bono stars" for her exemplary service and commitment to providing pro bono legal representation to Maryland's needy and underrepresented. In 2009 and 2011, she was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by The Daily Record. This annual award recognizes leadership roles and other outstanding achievements of professional women who reside and work in Maryland and who are making an impact on our state.
In 2006, Ms. Chavez-Ruark won the Educator of the Year Award from Maryland Volunteer Lawyer Service (MVLS). MVLS is the state’s largest provider of pro bono civil legal assistance and annually recognizes volunteers who have devoted themselves in an outstanding and meritorious way to pro bono activities on behalf of the organization.
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