Hill, Farrer & Burrill LLP

Attorney

Daniel J. McCarthy

Partner

Hill, Farrer & Burrill LLP
One California Plaza
300 So. Grand Avenue, 37th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071-3147

  • (213) 621-0802 - Direct
  • (213) 620-0460 - General
  • (213) 624-4840 - Fax

Bankruptcy partner DANIEL J. McCARTHY received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.  He has practiced at Hill Farrer since joining the firm out of law school in 1981.

For more than 30 years, Mr. McCarthy has specialized in litigation in Bankruptcy Court and bankruptcy-related litigation in other state and federal courts, including fraudulent transfer actions, receiverships, attachments, and the collection of large judgments.  His litigation and trial experience is extensive.  His bankruptcy experience includes the representation of creditors in preference, fraudulent transfer, debt discharge and claims objection litigation; landlords in relief from automatic stay and lease assumption and rejection; unsecured creditor committees; secured creditors in relief from automatic stay, cash collateral and plan confirmation disputes; and debtors in all aspects of reorganizing and liquidating bankruptcies.

Mr. McCarthy is named to the 2024 Southern California Super Lawyers list.

Areas of Practice:

  • Bankruptcy
  • Chapter 11 Reorganization
  • Creditor & Debtor Rights
  • Litigation
  • Appellate
  • Real Property
  • Finance & Real Estate
  • Sales & Foreclosure

Recent Publications:

  • California Debt Collection and Enforcement of Judgments, Goldsmith, McCarthy, Milde & Vaage, Matthew Bender Practice Guide
  • McCarthy, The Shackles of an Individual Chapter 11 Debtor’s Servitude—Where’s the Key?, Vol. 30 California Bankruptcy Journal, No. 2 (2009)
  • Avoiding the Bankruptcy Code’s Ratable Distribution Scheme, Los Angeles Lawyer, June 2004

Reported Cases:

Tokai Bank v. Old Town Historic Building Limited Partnership (In re Old Town Historic Building, Ltd.), 79 B.R. 8 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1987); Imperial Bank v. Pillsbury (In re Howes), 89 B.R. 77 (9th Cir. BAP 1988); In re Laguna Hills Financial Associates, 93 B.R. 224 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1988); Teamsters Industrial Security Fund v. World Sales, Inc. (In re World Sales, Inc.), 183 B.R. 872 (9th Cir. BAP 1995); Biggs v. Smith Barney, Inc. (In re David), 193 B.R. 935 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1996); Levander v. Prober (In re Levander), 180 F.3d 1114 (9th Cir. 1999); Krasnoff v. Marshack (In re General Carriers Corp.), 258 B.R. 181 (9th Cir. BAP 2001); Jerry’s Famous Deli, Inc. v. Papanicolaou, 383 F.3d 998 (9th Cir. 2004); In re Continental Coin Corporation, 380 B.R. 1 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2007);  In re Marciano, 446 B.R. 407 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2010), aff’d, 459 B.R. 27 (9th Cir. BAP 2011), aff’d, 708 F.3d 1123 (9th Cir. 2013).

Other:

Southern California Super Lawyers, Business Bankruptcy (2014, 2007 & 2014-2016, 2024)

Martindale-Hubbell’s “AV” highest possible rating for Legal Ability and Ethical Standards since 1999

Acquisition International Award for “Best New USA Lawyer, Debtors’ and Creditors’ Rights” (2014)

Corporate International Magazine Global Award for “Bankruptcy Litigation Law Firm of the Year in California” (2014 – 2016)

Global Law Experts, Bankruptcy Law Expert in California (2015)

Member, Board of Directors, Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, CA

Quiet Title Action

In a 29-day trial in the Los Angeles Superior Court in late 2014, successfully defended a purchaser’s acquisition of an 8-unit condominium building at a foreclosure sale in an action brought by junior lienholders to cancel the sale and the trustee’s deed to the purchaser. The purchaser’s related claim for damages was subsequently settled.

Bankruptcy Objection to Discharge Case

At trial before the Bankruptcy Court in 2013, successfully defended individual client against a creditor’s objection to discharge under Bankruptcy Code § 727, resulting in a favorable settlement of remaining dischargeability claim based upon fraud under Bankruptcy Code § 523(a).

Bankruptcy Improper Handling of Estate Assets

In a December 2007 opinion published by the Bankruptcy Court, which was affirmed by the District Court on appeal in 2009, obtained permission to sue a Chapter 11 trustee on behalf of a bankruptcy estate for the alleged improper handling of estate assets, which resulted in alleged losses that reduced the potential payout to creditors. In 2015, the matter was settled by a $500,000 payment by the trustee’s insurance carrier.

Bankruptcy Court Fraudulent Transfer Cases

Took over the defense of a defendant group in a $40 million fraudulent transfer case in which the defendants were the subject of an onerous preliminary injunction issued by the Bankruptcy Court that was accompanied by very prejudicial findings against the defendants.  The case turned upon a complex accounting of monetary transfers.  In a complete turnaround, within a year, brought and obtained a summary judgment motion through which the clients completely prevailed in the case on all claims and the preliminary injunction was vacated. At trial before the Bankruptcy Court in 2013, successfully defended $10 million fraudulent transfer litigation brought by Chapter 11 trustee, which was affirmed on appeal.

Debtor in Possession

Represented well-known celebrity client as a debtor-in-possession in his individual Chapter 11 case.  When that case and the companion case of his company were converted to Chapter 7,  acted as special litigation counsel in 2007 and 2008 to the court-appointed Chapter 7 trustees in connection with a claim based upon a $104,000,000 default judgment against the debtors. Result was Court-approved settlement of that claim that was very favorable to the Chapter 7 estates.

Real Estate Fraud Against Seller

Represented plaintiff in a 210-day jury trial of a real estate fraud action against the seller of the property.  That trial is believed to be one of the longest civil case trials in the history of the California court system.  The case was affirmed on appeal, after which a multi-million dollar settlement was promptly paid by the seller.

Real Property Fraudulent Transfers

In 2010, obtained a stipulated judgment and a related settlement secured by real property from a defendant and his family members, who had allegedly engaged in fraudulent transfers of the family’s four real properties to avoid payment of a $600,000 debt owed to the client.