SAN FRANCISCO — Two banks are short $6 million, a San Francisco landlord is looking at $30 million less than a court said it was owed, and the finger pointing has begun.
Defunct Heller Ehrman filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday, putting a stay on at least five suits filed against the firm since it announced on Sept. 26 that it would dissolve. According to a memo sent from the firm’s dissolution committee to former Heller employees, the decision to file for bankruptcy protection was driven by its San Francisco landlord, 333 Bush Associates, which sought and received a writ of attachment on Dec. 19, making it a secured creditor to the tune of $48 million. A lack of cooperation from the firm’s banks, Bank of America and Citibank, was also blamed.
