Charles P. Summerall IV Principal

Phone: (843) 720-4616  |  Fax: (843) 723-7398  |  Email: csummerall@buistmoore.com

Practice Areas
Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights
Business and Banking
Business Litigation

Charles P. Summerall, IV is a business litigator and certified specialist in bankruptcy and debtor-creditor law. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights law, Chambers USA for Commercial Litigation, and he holds Martindale-Hubbell’s highest (AV) rating for ethical standards and legal ability. He has handled a broad range of business litigation matters in state and federal courts, and he is a certified mediator. His broad bankruptcy experience includes representing secured creditors, unsecured creditors’ committees, debtors in Chapter 11 and 7, and Trustees in Chapters 11 and 7. He has also served as a Chapter 11 Trustee. He is Head of the Firm’s Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Practice Group.

Mr. Summerall is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a specialist in Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor law. He served on the initial Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor Law Specialization Advisory Board responsible for developing bankruptcy law as a certified specialty area in South Carolina, and he has been re-appointed for a second term (2009-2011). A frequent lecturer on bankruptcy, he has served on the Bankruptcy Court Local Rules Advisory Committee, a Judicial Screening Committee appointed by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association.

Representative Matters:

•	Successfully defended a large power company in an alleged trade secret misappropriation case in which the plaintiff asserted one billion dollars in damages
•	Counsel for plaintiff, with claims exceeding 34 million dollars, in a complex Ponzi scheme case involving numerous domestic and foreign defendants
•	Co-counsel in South Carolina for the unsecured creditors committee in a large Delaware bankruptcy, in which the committee obtained summary judgment in the federal district court equitably subordinating the purported secured lender’s claim exceeding 100 million dollars
•	Counsel to unsecured creditors’ committees in large Chapter 11 cases involving publicly-traded manufacturing companies
•	Counsel for the unsecured creditors committee in one of the largest South Carolina cases involving a sub-prime lender and related entities
•	Served as Chapter 11 Trustee for a debtor in the financial services industry
•	Served as client representative on unsecured creditors committees in Chapter 11 cases involving a steel mill and an international manufacturer of non-woven fabric
•	Counsel for homeowner associations in golf course bankruptcies and related litigation
•	Represented both plaintiffs and defendants in numerous lender liability matters
•	Represented numerous financial institutions, insurance companies and other secured creditors in bankruptcy cases, workouts, and out-of-court restructurings

Selected Reported Decisions:

•	In re Twins, Inc., 318 B.R. 90 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2004). Represented Chapter 11 Trustee in prevailing over creditor’s challenge to Trustee’s confirmed Plan. The District Court subsequently affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s enforcement of the Plan terms.
•	In re Twins, Inc., 295 B.R. 568 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2003). Represented Chapter 11 Trustee in dispute over timeliness of creditor’s claim filing.
•	Safety-Kleen, Inc., (Pinewood) v. Wyche, 274 F.3d 846 (4th Cir. 2001). Represented intervening party in successful appeal in which the Fourth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s denial of a hazardous waste landfill operator’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent closure of the landfill facility.
•	Bank of America, N.A. v. ORIX Credit Alliance, Inc. (In re K&P Logging, Inc.), 272 B.R. 867 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2001). Represented prevailing secured creditor in a lien priority dispute between a purchase-money lender and a creditor with a floating lien on the debtor’s equipment.
•	Summerall v. Richland County (In re Ryan Investment Co., Inc.), 517 S.E.2d 692 (S.C. 1999). Served as Chapter 11 Trustee in bringing an action to set aside a tax sale of the debtor corporation's property. The Bankruptcy Court invalidated the sale, finding that Richland County failed to strictly comply with applicable statutes. The buyer appealed to the District Court, claiming that postal regulations did not permit delivery restricted to addressee only mail to a corporation. After the District Court certified the question, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that, since Richland County failed to attempt to comply with the statute, the Court would not consider what other, alternate mailing would satisfy the statute requirements. The District Court subsequently affirmed the Bankruptcy Court's invalidation of the tax sale.
•	In re Atlantic LittleNeck Clam Farms, Inc., 211 B.R. 827 (Bankr. D.S.C. 1997). Successfully represented Debtor-In-Possession's parent company in obtaining determination that investment contract holders, who asserted claims exceeding $3 million, were not creditors of the estate.
•	In re Harborview Development 1986 Ltd. Partnership, 152 B.R. 897 (D.S.C 1993). Represented the first mortgage lender working with Chapter 11 Trustee in seeking to reject and terminate debtor's insider lease. In a nationally discussed decision, District Judge David C. Norton affirmed the bankruptcy court order rejecting and terminating the lease.
•	In re Seabrook Island Ocean Club, Inc., 118 B.R. 410 (Bankr. D.S.C. 1990). Represented Debtor-in-Possession resort owner as the prevailing party in one of the leading South Carolina cases on executory contracts.
•	Osborn v. Chicaro Development Corp., 363 S.E.2d 108 (S.C. Ct. App. 1987). Represented Osborn in action on a note. The court enforced the note, holding Chicaro could not deny the assignment of the note and lacked standing to assert that the assignment was illegal under Florida law.

Educational Background:

•	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1985 - J.D.
	Order of the Barristers Captain, National Moot Court Team
•	University of Virginia, 1982 - B.A., English

Honors:

•	The Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law
•	Chambers USA - Leaders in their Field, Commercial Litigation
•	Martindale-Hubbell, AV rating
•	Adjunct Professor for Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor Law, Charleston School of Law (2007)

Publications, Papers, Programs and Seminars:

•	“Advocacy Before the Bankruptcy Court”, South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association Seminar, December 2008
•	“Doin’ the Waive: Bankruptcy Trustees and the Debtor’s Attorney-Client Privilege”, South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association Seminar, August, 2002.
•	"Chapter 11 Trustees - When, Where, Why and How Much $$", South Carolina Bar CLE Division, April, 2001.
•	"The Road to War! Preparing for the Chapter 11 Case", South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association Seminar, February, 1999.
•	"Selected Post-Confirmation Issues in Chapter 11", South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association Convention and Seminar, August 1998.
•	"Bankruptcy: Hot Topics for the General Practitioner", Charleston County Bar Association, November, 1996.
•	"Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases: Learnin' to Jive with Section 365", Fifth Annual South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association Convention and Seminar, August, 1995
•	"Basic Collection Practice in South Carolina", South Carolina Bankers Association, January, 1994
•	"Ethics in the Bankruptcy Court: Selected Issues", South Carolina Bar Meeting, Corporate and Securities Section, January, 1994
•	"Ethics in the Bankruptcy Court: Selected Issues", Third Annual S.C. Bankruptcy Law Association Convention and Seminar, September, 1993
•	Commentator, "The Trustee's Strong Arm Power Under the Bankruptcy Code", Symposium on Bankruptcy Sponsored by the U.S.C. School of Law, March, 1992
•	"Valuation: The Law that Gives you Lemons or Lemonade", First Annual S.C. Bankruptcy Law Association Convention and Seminar, September, 1991
•	Numerous Other Seminar Presentations

Professional Organizations:

•	Member, Bankruptcy Law Specialization Advisory Board, 1992-1995; second term, 2009-2011
•	Member, Judicial Screening and Merit Selection Panel, 1993-1994
•	Member, Board of Directors, South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association, 1991-1993; elected for second term, 2000-2002
•	Member, Bankruptcy Local Rules Advisory Committee, 1991-1993

Bar Admissions:

•	Certified Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor Specialist, 1993
•	Certified Circuit Court Mediator
•	South Carolina, 1985

Personal Information:

•	Married, two children