James B. Nicholson, Trustee vs. Harmon - Witness Brian Bisignani

David C. Farmer, Successor-Trustee vs. Harmon

(Formerly Woo vs. Harmon & Nicholson vs. Harmon)

CV05-00030 DAE KSC

U.S. District Court For the District of Hawaii

Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang

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DEFENDANT’S WITNESS

BRIAN W. BISIGNANI

Partner, Post & Schell, PC
(717) 612-6041
(717) 731-1985 Fax
bbisignani@postschell.com

Brian W. Bisignani heads the Firm's Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights Group. His practice encompasses the areas of business reorganizations and restructurings, bankruptcy law and litigation, creditors' rights law, and loan restructurings and documentation. From 1989-1993, Mr. Bisignani served as Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Department of Commerce, Commonwealth of PA. He was an associate at Duane Morris from 1993-1999, and became a partner at Duane Morris in 2000, where he remained until February 2007. Mr. Bisignani was named a Pennsylvania "Super Lawyer" in Creditors' Rights both in 2004 & 2005. He was named a PA "Super Lawyer" in 2006 in Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. He is a member of the American, Pennsylvania, Virginia State, and Dauphin County Bar Associations, the District of Columbia Bar, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Turnaround Management Association. A recognized expert in his practice discipline, he is a regular speaker at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Annual Bankruptcy Institute. Mr. Bisignani is a resident partner of the Firm's Harrisburg office.

Areas of Practice

Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights

Business Law & Litigation

Representative Cases

Bankruptcy Matters

· Dana Corporation, New York, New York - Unsecured Creditor

· FLYi, Inc., d/b/a Independence Air, Wilmington, Delaware - Employee Benefits Consultant

· U.S. Airways Group, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia - Pension Plan Actuary and Consultant

· Enron Corporation, New York, New York - Employee Benefits Consultant

· Encompass Services Corporation, Houston, Texas - Employee Benefits Administrator and Consultant

· RJC Industries, Inc., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - Secured Creditor and Adversary Proceeding Defendant

· Superior Telecommunications, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware - Pension Plan Actuary and Consultant

· CareerCom Corporation, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - Primary Secured Creditor

· Gemini Broadcasting Corporation, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - Chapter 11 Debtor

· North American Royalties, Inc., Chattanooga, Tennessee - Pension Plan Actuary and Consultant

· USFlow Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan - Unsecured Creditor

· Liberty Fibers Corporation, Chattanooga, Tennessee - Employee Benefits Consultant

· Galey & Lord, Inc., New York, New York - Unsecured Creditor

· Fultonville Metal Products, Inc., Tampa, Florida - Pension Plan Actuary and Consultant

· Lodgian, Inc., New York, New York - Unsecured Creditor

· Waste Systems International, Inc./Community Refuse Service, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware - Primary Unsecured Creditor

· Scient, Inc., New York, New York - Unsecured Creditor

· Slater Steel U.S., Inc., Wilmington, Delaware - Employee Benefits Consultant

· Collins & Aikman Corporation, Detroit, Michigan - Administrative Claimant

· Anchor Glass Container Corporation, Tampa, Florida - Employee Benefits Consultant

· Global Home Products LLC, Wilmington, Delaware - Unsecured Creditor

· Foamex International, LLP, Wilmington, Delaware - Employee Benefits Consultant

· Curtis Papers, Inc., Trenton, New Jersey - Unsecured Creditor

· Portrait Corporation of America, Inc., White Plains, New York - Administrative Claimant

· Bally Total Fitness, Inc., New York, New York - Employee Benefits Consultant

· Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware - Unsecured Creditor

· Hancock Fabrics, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware - Employee Benefits Consultant

· Bayonne Medical Center, Newark, New Jersey - Unsecured Creditor and Pension Plan Administrator

· American Home Mortgage Holdings, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware - Pension Plan Consultant

· HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware - Pension Plan Consultant

· Barnert Memorial Hospital, Inc., Trenton, New Jersey - Unsecured Creditor

· Aegis Mortgage Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware - Financial Advisor

Loan Restructuring and Work Outs

· Northstar Health Services, Inc. - Represented publicly traded health care and physical rehabilitation provider in comprehensive financial restructuring and subsequent sale of its business.

· Pinnacle Mortgage Investment Corporation - Represented primary secured creditor of mortgage brokerage and mortgage origination firm in receivership and foreclosure proceedings.

· Brookwood Farms - Represented dairy and dairy products company in comprehensive financial restructuring and subsequent sale of its business and real estate.

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March 30, 2008

Aloha Airlines shutting down;
Monday last day of operations

Advertiser Staff

Aloha Airlines announced today that it will be shutting its inter-island and trans-Pacific passenger flight operations. Aloha's last day of operations will be Monday.

On that day Aloha will operate its schedule with the exception of flights from Hawaii to the West Coast and flights from Orange County to Reno and Sacramento and Oakland to Las Vegas.

Effective immediately, Aloha will stop selling tickets for travel beyond tomorrow.

The shutdown will affect about 1,800 employees.

"This is an incredibly dark day for Hawaii," said David Benmiller [sic], Aloha's president and chief executive officer.

"Despite the groundswell of support from the community and our elected officials, we simply ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure continued financing for our passenger business. We had no choice but to take this action."

www.honoluluadvertiser.com

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NEW DISCOVERY - 04/06/08 - DAVID FARMER AND JUDGE ROBERT FARIS’ UNDISCLOSED CONFLICT OF INTEREST WITH AON CONSULTING IN THE ALOHA AIRLINES BANKRUPTCY CASE:

Docket No 181 - 4/4/2008 - Notice of Appearance by Brian W. Bisignani and Request for Notice. Filed by Brian W. Bisignani on behalf of Aon Consulting (LL)

http://www.postschell.com/attorney.cfm?attorney_id=301

http://chapter11.epiqsystems.com/clientdefault.aspx

http://chapter11.epiqsystems.com/docket/docketlist.aspx

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NEW DISCOVERY (03-29-08):

March 29, 2008

Lawmakers consider
bailing out Aloha Air

Loan guarantees, tax exemption
will be voted on next week

By Rick Daysog, Advertiser Staff Writer

A state government bailout of Aloha Airlines is gaining momentum as key lawmakers and hundreds of employees voiced their support yesterday.

At a state Capitol rally yesterday, House Speaker Calvin Say and Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Rosalyn Baker pledged to support the airline, which filed for bankruptcy last week for the second time in about three years.

"We would not be doing our jobs if we didn't make an effort to assist a company that has as much reach and impact in the community," said Baker, D-5th (W. Maui, S. Maui).

At least one leading airline industry analyst said the state could be wasting its money.

"Putting more money into this company is like giving a transfusion without trying to stop the bleeding," said Bob McAdoo, senior research analyst with Nashville, Tenn.-based Avondale Partners LLC.

On Monday, the state Senate will vote on a House measure that will exempt local carriers from paying the general excise tax on the millions of dollars in jet fuel that they use every year. The Senate Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday on a bill that would provide loan guarantees for Aloha.

Aloha, the state's No. 2 carrier, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last week after losing more than $120 million in the past two years. Aloha, which is down to about $3.8 million in cash, blamed its bankruptcy on soaring fuel prices and "predatory pricing" by its interisland competitor go!

Lowell Kalapa, executive director of the nonprofit Tax Foundation of Hawaii Inc., said there's precedent for providing financial assistance to the airline industry.

In 1993, the state issued about $14 million worth of loan guarantees to Hawaiian Airlines, which was experiencing financial troubles at the time.

Four years later, the state provided Continental Airlines $2 million in tax incentives, more than $25 million in revenue bonds and a $1.2 million general excise tax break to build a $24 million, state-of-the-art jumbo-jet maintenance hangar at Honolulu International Airport.

Kalapa said he opposed the 1993 loan guarantees for Hawaiian because he thought that government shouldn't guarantee the debt of a private company. But since the state has already granted Hawaiian a loan guarantee, it would only be fair to give its competitor a similar loan guarantee, Kalapa said.

"If they can bail out Hawaiian, the only fair thing to do is to bail these guys out, too," Kalapa said.

Kalapa added that the state provides tax credits and other incentives to high-tech and film industries, so it can provide similar breaks for the airline industry, which plays a more vital role in the state's economy.

Problems will linger

Airline industry analyst McAdoo believes that Hawai'i taxpayers may wind up paying for Aloha's loan guarantees should the company wind up closing its doors.

McAdoo said loan guarantees have been used in the airline industry when a company has a temporary problem and has a business plan that will "stop the bleeding."

He noted that the federal loan guarantee program enacted shortly after the Sept. 11 tragedy included a rigorous evaluation process and required the airlines to provide the government with protections against default.

In Aloha's case, the fare war and high fuel prices aren't problems that are going to go away in the short term but are part of the carrier's everyday business environment....

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NEW DISCOVERY (03-21-08):

March 21, 2008

Aloha Airlines in talks to sell
all or parts of company

Rick Daysog, Advertiser Staff Writer

Aloha Airlines today said it is in discussions with several parties to sell the entire airline or parts of it.

Aloha, the state's second-largest carrier, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday with assets and liabilities both in excess of $100 million. Aloha also blamed unfair competition by low-cost carrier go!.

In a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this morning, Aloha said it was down to $3.5 million in cash and that its expenses over the next 10 days would eat away about $2.3 million of that.

Aloha said its main investor, Yucaipa Co., had plowed more than $110 million in the airlines since it emerged from bankruptcy in February 2006. Yucaipa said it is unwilling to provide further financing.

During the hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King granted Aloha permission to pay some of its daily operating costs, such as utility bills and wages. King will hold further hearings this afternoon on Aloha's agreement with lenders to secure more financing.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.

The Honolulu Advertiser

Brian Bisignani is expected to testify regarding his business, professional, political and personal relationships with Aon Consultants, Jeffrey Case, Daniel Case, Steve Case, Stephanie Case, The Nature Conservancy, Judge Barry Kurren, Faye Kurren, David Farmer, Aloha Airlines, Colbert Matsumoto, Jeff Watanabe, Earl Anzai, Lyn Anzai, Linda Lingle, Bob Awana, Judge Michael Seabright, John McCain, George Wackenhut, Richard Helms, Barack Obama, Henry Paulson, Goldman Sachs, James Nicholson, Carol Muranaka, Howard Luke, GECC, Steven Guttman, Mary Lou Woo, Governor Linda Lingle, Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona, Hawaiian Airlines, Joshua Gotbaum, Diane Plotts, Walter Dods, First Hawaiian Bank, Cobert Kalama, Judge Robert Faris, Judge Lloyd King, James Wriston, Peter Savio, Lawrence Johnson, Donna Tanoue, Bank of Hawaii, Harold Johnston, Grant Johnston, David Banmiller, Michael Tanoue, Stanford Carr, Wally Chin, Greg Dunn, Rocco Sansone, Marsh & McLennan, Inc., Mercer Consulting, Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, Mark McConaghy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Joshua Bolten, Paul Steven Singerman, Samuel E. Poole II, WCI Communities, Al Hoffman, Jr , William McCorriston, Jeffrey Portnoy, Shinzo Abe, Duke Bainum, Lazard Freres, Joanne Mucha, Richard Ing, Louise Ing, Paul Alston, James Cribley, James MacArthur, Guido Giacometti, Susan Tius, Robert Bruce Graham, Mark Hemmeter, Robert Klein, Melody MacKenzie, Joseph Verner Reed, Jr., Sanford Murata, Steven Katzman, Rosemary Fazio, Robert Richards, Robert S. Toyofuku, Watanabe Ing & Komeiji, Ruth Ann Becker, Diane Plotts, Chris Hemmeter, Mark Hemmeter, Jon Miho, Trinity Investments, LLC, Margery Bronster, Corbett Kalama, Michelle Burns, Michael Boyd, Boyd Group; Midpac Lumber Co, Mark Hastert, Diane Hastert, Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Colin Powell, Michael Powell, Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin, Henry Paulson, George W. Bush, Enron, and other entities to be named upon discovery.