Posts Tagged ‘ bankruptcy ’

After Alcohol Wipe Screw-Ups, Triad Decides to Play with Makeup

October 18th, 2012. By AbiK

Ok, could be makeup. Could be some anti-aging wonder. Could be your run-of-the-mill hand soap. Who knows? The initial reports regarding Triad Group’s foray into cosmetics have been a bit lacking in detail as to what exactly will be coming of the manufacturing lines at Triad’s Hartland, WI production plant.

Triad, if you recall, was at the heart of the alcohol prep pad, alcohol swab and alcohol swabstick, aka alcohol wipe recall of last year—the one connected to the death of 2-year old Harrison Kothari in Texas who contracted acute bacterial meningitis caused by Bacillus cereus bacteria. The Kotharis have settled with Triad—as have a dozen others who filed contamination lawsuits (details of the settlements have not been disclosed).

Fast-forward a year. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Triad, which filed for bankruptcy protection on the heels of its $5 million insurance policy being drained on the lawsuits just mentioned, has indicated it would like to re-establish itself as a cosmetics company.

Every cat has nine lives, right?

The Journal Sentinel quoted Triad’s COO, Eric Haertle, as saying at the company’s first meeting with creditors in bankruptcy court, “We are in the infancy stage of these opportunities. We have talked to industry vendors. I am encouraged and optimistic about the support we are receiving if we can put a plan together and resume operations.”

What’s interesting here is not so much that Triad even wants to emerge like a phoenix from the ashes—hey, it’s a business wanting to cut its losses and get on with things—no, the interesting thing is their costume change; they’ll now wear the i.d. of “cosmetics company” rather than that of “medical device” company—and that has benefit for a company whose odds of reincarnation under their former classification are next to nothing.

See, in order for Triad to go back to being a medical device company and manufacturing as it had before, it faces some intense scrutiny by the FDA. According to the Journal Sentinel, both the FDA and Triad would need to agree to the FDA’s consent decree which would impose a $15,000 per day fine—per violation—should Triad fail to comply with FDA policies. Additionally, the decree would subject Triad to FDA inspections without prior notice–and those inspections could cover everything from equipment to raw materials to finished products to packaging. The decree also calls for the company to post a $4 million bond.

No small undertaking to set up shop again.

But, there’s an escape hatch: re-establishing itself as a cosmetics company means less rigorous regulation and oversight by the FDA. And given that the consent decree to operate as a medical device company again could cost Triad millions—with no guarantee they’ll even pass with flying colors—well, the land of lipstick bullets, lotions and potions suddenly has tremendous appeal.

On second thought, maybe there is a clue as to what cosmetics will be coming off Triad’s production line—those Triad alcohol swabsticks look a lot like those cotton swabs used to smudge eyeliner (for that smoky eye look) or to clean up little makeup mistakes…hmm…just wondering…

Tags: Alcohol Prep Pad, Alcohol Swab, bankruptcy, Cosmetics, FDA, Lawsuit, Recall, Settlement, Triad
Posted in Defective Products, Drugs/Medical, lawsuits, Settlement | No Comments »

Attorney Mark Scurti lends a Pro Bono Hand to those facing Bankruptcy

January 17th, 2012. By BrendaC

Attorney Mark Scurti has donated countless hours of his time to help people through tight spots with creditors over the last decade. Since 2001, Scurti has handled more than 50 bankruptcy cases pro bono and has eight more on the docket for 2012. “I didn’t realize it had been that many,” says Scurti. “You do what you need to do especially in times when people really need help.”

Not only has he personally handled pro bono cases, he’s also helped hundreds of other people avoid costly legal expenses by teaching them how to represent themselves in bankruptcy court.

Scurti, who is a bankruptcy lawyer with the firm of Hodes, Pessin & Katz, was recently chosen as the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) volunteer of the year. The award is in recognition of the volunteer attorney who has done the most to further assistance to pro bono clients through the MVLS. Modest to the core Scurti says, “I was very honored and humbled by that award but I am just one of many lawyers who do pro bono work. The Maryland Bar Association and MVLS are both very passionate about seeing that people are represented and making sure that the system works.”

As many as 1,500 people a month in Maryland appear in bankruptcy or debtor court—many cannot afford a lawyer and there aren’t enough pro bono lawyers to go around. Up to 16 per cent of those people opt to represent themselves pro se—that is, advocate for themselves. “Finding volunteer lawyers to take all intake cases can be difficult,” says Scurti.

Scurti set up some “pro se” clinics where lawyers give filers a quick primer on what they need to know about going to bankruptcy court. “I harangued some fellow attorneys of mine to come in and provide 15 to 20 minute consultations,” says Scurti. “They can talk to an attorney after and get some guidance—is this something I should really do by myself—or do I need to get an attorney to do?”

And how do they do? “Well, they do pretty well,” says Scurti.”

“Obviously the forms are overwhelming to them but many times it is just a matter of unlocking some of the mysteries of what these forms are, where they go, and a lot of the folks can do it successfully,” he adds. “But there is a lot of support for them, too.”

Bankruptcy and debt problems are Scurti’s areas of expertise. For lawyers whose practices don’t typically handle those kinds of issues, but who would like to help the thousands of Americans struggling with debt problems, Scurti and the MVLS recently set up a workshop to get attorneys up to speed on bankruptcy court. “We actually got about 55 new attorneys who came in for the workshop on how to prepare a simple chapter 7 bankruptcy application,” he says. “We were able to place about 30 cases with pro bono attorneys and we got rid of a lot of cases that were back-logged in the system.”

Scurti and the MVLS even produced a video several years ago for pro se filers. It can be found on the US Bankruptcy court website.

Attorney Mark Scurti is a member of the Hodes, Pessin & Katz Corporate and Business Services Group. He primarily practices bankruptcy law. He also practices same-sex/LGBT law. He received his law degree from the University Of Baltimore School Of Law and holds a B.A. in Marketing/Business and an M.B.A. from Loyola College in Maryland.

Tags: Attorney Mark Scurti, bankruptcy, Hodes Pessin & Katz, Mark F. Scurti, Maryland Attorney, Maryland Volunteer Lawyer Service, Pro Bono, pro se
Posted in Emerging Issues, Lawyers Giving Back | 2 Comments »