On December 2, 2013, the Debtor filed its 3rd
Amended Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization (“Plan”) and Disclosure Statement
setting forth its final proposed treatment of creditors in the Bankruptcy Case
and financial information in support thereof.
The Plan remains generally contingent upon the private sale of certain
of the Debtor’s assets to an unidentified buyer, together with assets of the
Debtor’s affiliated entities, Great Plains Exploration, LLC (“GPE”) and John D.
Oil & Gas Company (“JDO”), by March of 2013. The Debtor proposes to pay RBS $10.8m from
the sale proceeds in full settlement of their claim. The Plan then proposes to pay the unsecured
creditors of Oz Gas, LTD 100% of the value of their claim within thirty (30)
days of the closing of the sale.
However, the Plan submitted for GPE proposes to pay unsecured creditors
only 50%, while the Plan submitted for JDO proposes to pay creditors 90%. The Plan also provides for the appointment of
a Plan Administrator who shall expose the assets of the Debtors’ to a public
sale if the settlement payment to RBS is not timely made.
In response to the filing of the Debtor’s Plan, the Court entered an Order on December 5, 2013, scheduling a status conference in the Erie Bankruptcy Courtroom for December 12, 2013, at 10:00am. The Court’s primary area of concern as described in its Order is the continued inclusion of proposed third-party releases within its Plan, mainly for the benefit of the Debtor’s principal, Richard M. Osborne. Counsel for the Debtor has been directed to provide an explanation and justification for all such releases at the upcoming status conference. Copies of the Plan and Disclosure Statement are available upon request to ozgascommittee@quinnfirm.com.
