In re: TRULAND GROUP, INC., et al., Debtors.SATINA MATTHEWS, SUMMER JAMES, Plaintiffs, v. TRULAND GROUP, INC., et al., Defendants., 520 B.R. 197

Summary

ISSUE: Whether the plaintiffs' claims under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, 29 U.S.C.S. §§ 2101-2109, after the debtor's mass layoff, rose to the level of administrative claims under 11 U.S.C.S. § 503(b)(1)(A)(ii), and whether such claims were appropriate for class treatment. HOLDINGS: [1]-Plaintiffs' claims, if allowed, would be entitled to administrative priority under § 503(b)(1)(A)(ii) because use of the word "and" between subsections (i) and (ii) in § 503(b)(1)(A) did not require plaintiffs to satisfy both subsections in order to gain administrative expense treatment and, should damages under the WARN Act be awarded, that would satisfy the "judicial proceeding" requirement of § 503(b)(1)(A)(ii); [2]-Class certification would be superior in these cases to the ordinary Bankruptcy Rules relating to proofs of claim, subject to certification of a class.