Salt Lake attorney Roger Segal accepted the post Friday of trustee tos the bankrupt Bonneville Pacific estate, amid rumors the company will continue to fight his appointment.
Segal has been a trustee in bankruptcy cases for 17 years. He now is in charge of liquidating assets in several bankrupt companies.But Bonneville Pacific is Segal's biggest and most controversial case.
"I'm hoping the appointment of a trustee will add the level of confidence and control we are all looking for in this case," assistant U.S. Trustee john Straley said. "If anyone can do it, Roger can."
Straley chose Segal after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John H. Allen ordered the appointment of a trustee Thursday.
Straley spen most of the day conferring with Bonneville Pacific lawyers and creditors Segal was their overwhelming choice for trustee, he said.
Bonneville Pacific adamantly opposed the appointment of a trustee during a hearing before Allen on Thursday. The trustee would need months just to understand Bonneville Pacific's complex business, the company's attorney said.
Segal acknowledged the case's complexity. "I'm already conferring with people and reading pleadings."
But Bonneville Pacific watchers say the company will ask Allen to reconsider his appointmentof a trustee. The company's current management team believes it is doing a good job of recovering and managing assests. A trustee isn't necessary, they say.