Ron Oliner

Partner

  • Ron Oliner
  • Phone: +1 415 957 3104

    Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    Spear Tower
    One Market Plaza, Suite 2200
    San Francisco, CA 94105-1127
    USA

Ron Oliner is co-chair of the Bankruptcy and Fiduciary Representations division of Duane Morris' Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. He represents financial institutions, including loan servicers, mortgage lenders and asset based lenders, as well as bankruptcy trustees, creditors' committees, and rents and equity receivers.

Mr. Oliner has served as a chapter 11 trustee in the Northern District of California Bankruptcy Court, and is a court-appointed mediator and examiner. He has testified in jury trials as a qualified expert witness on bankruptcy and commercial remedies, and is versed in all creditors' remedies in both state and federal courts. He has also defended appeals in bankruptcy appellate courts, district courts, and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In recent years, Mr. Oliner served as counsel to creditors' committees in Health Plan of the Redwoods, one of the largest chapter 11s ever filed in Santa Rosa; Swift Instruments, Inc. in San Jose; SonicBLUE, Inc. in San Jose and Cedar Funding, Inc. in San Jose. He has represented trustees in several very large cases, including Cyberhome Entertainment, Inc. and 3DFX Interactive, Inc. in the Northern District of California. Mr. Oliner has significant experience with chapter 9, having represented the Vallejo Police Officers Association in the City of Vallejo chapter 9 bankruptcy case, pending in Sacramento, as well as the San Bernardino Police Officers Association in the City of San Bernardino's chapter 9 case, pending in Riverside.

In addition to his bankruptcy practice, Mr. Oliner has extensive experience in receivership, foreclosure and workouts. He has represented lenders in over one hundred receivership cases in state courts throughout California and in other jurisdictions. Mr. Oliner also represents court-appointed receivers in numerous cases in Northern California. He has tried cases, bench and jury, in California, Nevada, Texas and other states.

Mr. Oliner has written and spoken on a variety of topics in the bankruptcy and receivership fields. He has been designated as a Northern California Super Lawyer in the bankruptcy field; is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the specialty of bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law; and has been repeatedly recognized as one of the most active bankruptcy lawyers in the country by The Deal. He is AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®.

Mr. Oliner was the 2009 president of the California Receivers Forum. He was elected chair of the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the San Francisco Bar Association in 2005; served on the Northern District of California's Bench-Bar Liaison in 2003-2005; and served as president of the California Receivers Forum, Bay Area Chapter, in 2001-2002.

Mr. Oliner is a 1990 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law with a certificate in business law. While in law school, he served as Articles Editor for the Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation.

Representative Matters

  • Served as court-appointed counsel to the Receiver in a large multi-party auto dealership case in the San Francisco Bay Area, overseeing the sale of three auto dealerships and over $26 million in cars, foreclosing on other assets, and bringing litigation on behalf of the receivership estate.

  • Representing an insurer in an asbestos bankruptcy case in Washington bankruptcy court, obtaining a complete victory at the district court appellate level in a case of first impression involving the use of a section 363 sale and a 105 injunction relating to insurance settlements.

  • Represented a police officers association as creditors in connection with the city of Vallejo's Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings.

  • Represented a police officers association as creditors in connection with the city of San Bernardino's Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings.

  • Represented a special servicer in proceedings in Orange County Superior Court arising from Maguire Properties' default on $120 million loan.

  • Successfully obtained temporary restraining order on behalf of real estate investors against co-investors for breach of management agreement and investment company agreement and negotiated settlement the client found favorable on the eve of trial.

  • Represented Torchlight Investors, a special servicer acting on behalf of the noteholder for the Shockoe-Cary Building, located in Richmond, Virginia, in a successful foreclosure auction bid.

  • Represented Chapter 11 trustee in bankruptcy case of San Jose-based graphics chip designer and manufacturer.

  • Represented pipeline construction company and secured creditor in chapter 9 case of City of Stockton, California.

  • Represented creditors’ committee in chapter 11 case of publicly traded Silicon Valley audio/video hardware manufacturer.

  • Represented Chapter 11 liquidating trustee in fraudulent conveyance and other claims arising from failed Bitcoin mining manufacturing company.

  • Represented creditors’ committee in chapter 11 case of Nevada casino.

  • Counsel to chapter 7 trustee in bankruptcy case of home electronics manufacturer.

  • Counsel to Chapter 11 trustee in bankruptcy case of Napa winery. Sold winery in a section 363 sale.

  • Represented creditors’ committee in chapter 11 case of precision optics company.

  • Counsel to chapter 7 trustee in bankruptcy case of publicly traded biopharmaceutical company.

  • Represented chapter 7 trustee in bankruptcy case of medical diagnostic and monitoring device developer.

  • Obtained a dismissal from a federal bankruptcy judge on behalf of a secured creditor in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of PEM Thistle Landing TIC 23 LLC.

  • Obtained settlement on behalf of a senior lender in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of office building owner Stockdale Tower 1 LLC.

  • Represented the court-appointed trustee in the liquidation of an automobile loan servicer in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.

  • Represented a state-court receiver in a complex partnership dispute involving forensic accounting and liquidation of real property assets.

  • Represented the largest creditor in the chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Sierra Snowboards.

  • Represented a special servicer in a $30 million loan default and receivership action in the San Diego Superior Court.

Admissions

  • California
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Education

  • University of Oregon School of Law, J.D., 1990
    - Articles Editor, Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation
    - Certificate of Completion in Business Law

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2006-present

  • Buchalter Nemer, PC
    - Partner, 1993-2006

Professional Activities

  • San Francisco Bar Association
    - 2005 Chair, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section
    - 2004 Vice Chair, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section

  • Northern District Bankruptcy Court Bench-Bar Liaison
    - 2018-2019 Board Member
    - 2004 Cash Collateral Guidelines Subcommittee

  • California Receivers Forum
    - 2001, 2002 President, Bay Area Chapter
    - 2009 President, Statewide Organization
  • Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum
  • American Bankruptcy Institute

Honors and Awards

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2005-2024

  • 2017 Award of Appreciation from the San Francisco Bar Association and the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum as Co-Presenter of the "Recent Developments in Business Bankruptcy" Event series

  • Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Recognized Practitioner 2014-2019

  • Listed in Northern California Super Lawyers

  • AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®

Board Memberships

  • California Receivers Forum, Statewide Chapter
    - Officer and Board Member
  • Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum
    - Board Member

  • Northern District Bankruptcy Court Bench-Bar Liaison
    - Board Member

  • University of Oregon School of Law
    - Dean's Advisory Council

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Where's The Recession and What's New For Receivers," California Receivers Forum Bay Area Chapter Webinar, October 20, 2022
  • Speaker, "CMBS & Special Servicing Updates," Information Management Network Bank Special Assets and Credit Officer's Forum, July 19, 2022
  • Speaker, "Receivers In Bankruptcy: Strangers In A Strange Land," California Receivers Forum Loyola IX Symposium, April 29, 2022
  • Panelist, "Receivers in Bankruptcy: Strangers in a Strange Land," Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, Webinar, October 27, 2020
  • Panelist, "Recent Developments in Business Bankruptcy," Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, San Jose, November 9, 2016
  • Panelist, "A Tale of Two Cities," National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, Chicago, October 9, 2014
  • Speaker, "Hang Nine: The Next Wave of Municipal Bankruptcies and Why You Should Care," California Bankruptcy Forum, Santa Barbara, May 16, 2014
  • Speaker, "Keeping the Receiver in Place During Bankruptcy," California Receivers' Forum, San Francisco, April 24, 2014
  • Speaker, "Pensions and Retiree Healthcare In the Bankruptcy Cross Hairs," Saint Mary's College, Moraga, California, January 30, 2014
  • Panelist, "Chapter 9: The Big Debates in This Brave New World," ABA State and Local Government Law 2013 Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, August 10, 2013
  • Speaker, "Municipal Restructuring," Turnaround Management Association, San Francisco, June 13, 2013
  • Speaker, "Recent Legal Developments Affecting Workouts and OREO Sales: Rethinking Strategies in Light of New Case Law," TEAM-A Program, June 4, 2013
  • Moderator, "Receivership Updates," Trigild Spring Lender Conference, Dallas, Texas, April 24, 2013
  • Speaker, "PORAC Leadership Training Seminar," Las Vegas, Nevada, April 13, 2013
  • Speaker, "Ask the Experts," California Receivers Forum, Loyola Symposium, January 19, 2013
  • Panelist, "Recent Developments in Business Bankruptcy," Bar Association of San Francisco, November 7, 2012
  • Panelist, "Recent Developments in Business Bankruptcy," Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, San Jose, California, October 30, 2012
  • Speaker, "Receivership & Bankruptcy Updates," Trigild Fall Lender Conference, San Diego, October 18, 2012
  • Speaker, "Business Bankruptcy: Strategies, Alternatives and Limitations," California Bankruptcy Forum, May 18, 2012
  • Speaker, "Talking Chapter 9- Municipal Bankruptcy Cases," San Francisco, February 14, 2012
  • Speaker, "Recent Developments in Business Bankruptcy," Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum Program, San Jose, California, November 22, 2010
  • Panelist, "Receiverships Meet Bankruptcy," California Bankruptcy Forum's 22nd Annual Insolvency Conference, Monterey, California, May 22, 2010
  • Speaker, "Interaction of Real Property Law and Bankruptcy in Litigation," 82nd Annual Meeting of the State Bar of California, San Diego, September 12, 2009
  • Panelist, "Recent Developments in Business Bankruptcy," San Francisco, 2007, 2008, 2009
  • Speaker, "Bankruptcy 101," Private Client Seminar, September 2008
  • Panelist, "Recent Developments in Business Bankruptcy," San Francisco, November 7, 2007
  • Speaker, "BAPCPA Meets Chapter 11: Extreme Makeover?" Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum event, San Francisco, January 23, 2007
  • Mr. Oliner frequently lectures on bankruptcy- and receivership-related topics.