On July 28, 2020, an involuntary bankruptcy petition was filed against SonoCiné, Inc., an imaging ultrasound company.  A copy of the involuntary petition can be found here.  According to the petition, Global Link Medical Group, Inc. possesses a claim against the debtor for over $1.5 million.

Under Section 303 of the Bankruptcy Code, a debtor can potentially be “forced” into an involuntary bankruptcy.  11 U.S.C.§ 303(b)(1).  If a company has 12 or more creditors, an involuntary petition requires three or more creditors whose claims are not contingent as to liability or subject to a bona fide dispute as to either liability or amount to file the petition. If a company has less than 12 creditors, then only one creditor is required to file the petition.

If the involuntary debtor objects to the involuntary filing on a timely basis, for the company to be placed into bankruptcy, there must also be a showing that it is generally not paying its debts as they become due unless those debts are subject to a bona fide dispute as to liability or amount, or that a custodian has been appointed within the past 120 days to take possession or control of substantially all of its assets.

The involuntary bankruptcy petition was filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Case No. 20-11877.

Carl D. Neff is a partner with the law firm of Pierson Ferdinand LLP, and practices in Delaware. You can reach Carl at (302) 482-4244 or at carl.neff@pierferd.com.