CAROL A. DOYLE, United States Bankruptcy Judge
HA-LO Industries, Inc., Lee Wayne Corporation, and Starbelly.com, Inc., debtors and debtors-in-possession herein (each a "Debtor" and, collectively, the "Debtors"), filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on July 30, 2001 (the "Petition Date") in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the "Delaware Bankruptcy Court"), bearing the following case numbers: (i) HA-LO Industries, Inc., Case No. 01-10000, (ii) Lee Wayne Corporation, Case No. 01-10001, and (iii) Starbelly.com, Inc., Case No. 01-10002. On March 19, 2002, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court transferred these cases to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (the "Illinois Bankruptcy Court" or this "Court"), wherein they were assigned the following case numbers: (i) HA-LO Industries, Inc., Case No. 02-B12059, (ii) Lee Wayne Corporation, Case No. 02-B13221, and (iii) Starbelly.com, Inc., Case No. 02-B13224. These cases are jointly administered under Case No. 02-B12059.
Prior to the date the above-captioned cases were transferred to the Illinois Bankruptcy Court, Debtors filed a Motion for an Order (A) Establishing Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date, (B) Approving Manner and Form of Notice, and (C) Approving Procedures by which Holders of Disputed Claims are Provided with Notice (the "Motion").
Upon consideration of the Motion, and it appearing that this Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157 and 1334; and it appearing that this proceeding is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157 (a); and it appearing that the relief requested in the Motion is in the best interests of the Debtors and their estates and creditors; and alter due deliberation and cause appearing therefor:
Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein have the same meanings as given to them in the Motion.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1. All creditors, individuals, partnerships, corporations, associations, estates, trusts, governmental units, entities and other persons that hold or assert any claim (as defined in Section 101(5) of the Bankruptcy Code) against any of the Debtors arising prior to of which may be deemed to have arisen prior to July 30, 2001 (the "Petition Date"), other than (hose claims specifically excepted in paragraphs 5 and 6 of this Order, shall file a completed and executed proof of claim form (conforming substantially to Official Bankruptcy Form No. 10) against the applicable Debtor, together with supporting documents, with Logan Company, Inc. (the "Claims Agent"), Attention: HA-LO Claims Department, 546 Valley Road, Upper Montclair, N.J. 07043, so that it is actually received on or before July 15, 2002 at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) (the "Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date").
2. Proofs of claim shall be delivered to the Claims Agent via regular first-class United States mail, certified mail, overnight courier or hand delivery, and proofs of claim will be deemed filed at the time they are actually received by the Claims Agent. Facsimile transmissions of proofs of claim will not be accepted.
3. Any claim against any and/or all of the Debtors which is required to be filed pursuant to the provisions of this Order and not filed on or before the Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date (or with respect to any claim arising from the rejection of any executory contract or unexpired lease, on or before the date specified in paragraph 6 hereof) shall be forever barred from assertion against each of the Debtors and the holder of each such claim shall be forever barred, estopped and enjoined from (i) asserting each of such claims (or filing proofs of claim with respect thereof) in any manner against any and/or all of the Debtors and all property of any and/or all of the Debtors (and the Debtors shall be forever discharged from all indebtedness or liability with respect to any and all of such claims); (ii) voting on any Chapter 11 plan(s) proposed in these cases or any subsequent chapter 7 cases; or (iii) receiving any further notices regarding such claims or with respect to these chapter 11 cases or any subsequent chapter 7 cases.
4. The Debtors' failure to designate any claim as "disputed, " "contingent, " or "unliquidated" in the Debtors' schedules of assets and liabilities or statements of financial affairs (collectively, the "Schedules") shall not constitute a waiver of any defense, counterclaim, or right to dispute such claim that the Debtors, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the "Committee"), or any other party-in-interest may have and the Debtors' scheduling of an amount for any claim shall not constitute a waiver of the Debtors', the Committee's, or any other person's right to in any way contest the amount, priority, classification or allowability of any such claim at any later date.
5. The following claims are exempt from the provisions of this Order and a proof of claim therefore need not be filed on or before the Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date:
(A) any claim as to which a proof of claim as to the applicable Debtor has been properly filed with the Claims Agent or the clerk of either the Bankruptcy Court or the Illinois Bankruptcy Court on or before
May 1, 2002;
(B) any claim which has been previously allowed by order of the Delaware Court or the Illinois Bankruptcy Court;
(C) any administrative expense claim allowable under section 507(a)(1) of the Code (
provided, however, that any person holding an expense claim must file a request for payment of such expense claim on or before any administrative claims bar to be established by this Court);
(D) any claim that is not listed as "disputed," "contingent," or "unliquidated" the Schedules and as to which the holder thereof agrees with the and amount set forth therein;
(B) any intercompany claim of any Debtor against another Debtor;
(F) Stockholders whose claims are based on their equity interest only stockholders must file a claim if they maintain that they have a other than for their equity interests alone); and (G) Claims for which specific deadlines have been fixed by a separate order of Delaware Bankruptcy Court or the Illinois Bankruptcy court.
6. Any creditor with any claim against the Debtors' estates rising (i) from the rejection of an executory contract or unexpired lease, (ii) from the Debtors' recovery of avoidable transfers or (iii) out of the incurrence of certain taxes owing on account of actions taken after the expiration of the Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date may file all such proofs of claim on or before the later of (a) the Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date or (b) the first business day that is at least thirty (30) calendar days after (i) the mailing of notice of the entry of the order first approving the rejection of such contract or lease, (ii) the mailing of notice of the entry of an order or judgment avoiding a transfer, (iii) the date any relevant tax claim first arises, or (iv) such other date as may be set by order of this Court.
7. Any creditor whose claim is not listed on the Debtors' Schedales or whose claim is scheduled as "disputed," "contingent" or "unliquidated" and who desires to participate in these cases or share in any distribution under a chapter 11 plan for the Debtors must file a proof of claim at or prior to the Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date, except as otherwise provided herein. Any creditor who desires to rely on the Schedules will have the responsibility for determining that its claim is accurately listed therein.
8. Any proof of claim must clearly indicate the name of the applicable Debtor against whom the claim is asserted and the applicable bankruptcy case number for such Debtor, and if a claim is asserted against more than one of the Debtors, a separate proof of claim must be filed in each such Debtor's bankruptcy case. All proofs of claim must be submitted with such documentation as is sufficient to establish the right to the claim and the amount therefore.
9. Any holder of common stock or preferred stock or other interest in any of the Debtors is not affected by this Order with respect to its equity interest in any of the Debtors; provided, however, that holders of such interests in any of the Debtors who wish to assert a claim against any of the Debtors, including, but not limited to, claims based on (i) unpaid distributions or dividends declared prior to the Petition Date or (ii) any other obligation of or claims against the Debtors, must file a proof of claim in the manner set forth hereinabove on or prior to the Bar Date, unless another exception is expressly provided for above.
10. Notwithstanding anything in this Order to the contrary, if the Debtors amend the Schedules to reduce the undisputed, noncontingent, and liquidated amounts or to change the nature or classification of the claim against a Debtor reflected therein, then the affected claimant shall have until the later of (a) the Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date or (b) 30 days after the Debtors mail a notice that the Debtors have amended their Schedules reducing, deleting, or changing the status of a scheduled claim of such claimant, as the bar date for filing a proof of claim with respect to such amended scheduled claim or to amend any previously filed proof of claim with respect to such amended scheduled claim.
11. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing set forth herein will preclude any or all of the Debtors, the Committee or any other party-in-interest from objecting to any claim, whether scheduled or filed, on any grounds.
12. The Debtors shall, no later than five (5) business days after entry of this Order, mail a copy of the Notice of Last Date For Creditors To File Proofs Of Claim (the "Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date Notice"), substantially in the form attached as Exhibit A hereto, to (i) the United States Trustee for the Northern District of Illinois; (ii) all applicable state and federal taxing authorities; (iii) all applicable state and federal environmental protection agencies; (iv) all creditors listed on the Debtors' Schedules at the addresses stated therein; (v) all entities requesting notice pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 2002 in the Debtors' jointly administered cases; (vi) all persons or entities whose names and addresses are known to the Debtors who may have claims of any kind against any of the Debtors' estates rising prior to the Petition Date; and (vii) all known holders of preferred and/or common stock or other interests in the Debtors.
13. The Debtors shall on or before five (5) business days after the entry of this Order cause to be published as soon as possible the Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date Notice in The Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune. 14. The Debtors shall on or before five (5) business days after the entry of this Order publish as soon as possible the Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date Notice on their respective websites with a hyperlink to the Schedules.
The websites for the Debtors are as follows: http://www.halo.com; http://www.leewayne.com; and http://www.starbelly.com.
15. The Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date Notice is approved. Notice of this Order and of the Pre-Petition Claims Bar Date set forth herein shall be deemed good and sufficient notice and any requirement of additional notice is hereby waived and dispensed with pursuant to Bankruptcy Rules 2002 and 9007 and Section 102 of the Bankruptcy Code if the Debtors effectuate the notice as provided in paragraphs 12 through 14 hereinabove.
16. The provisions of this Order apply to all pre-petition claims of whatever character against the Debtors or their assets, whether secured or unsecured, priority or nonpriority, liquidated or unliquidated, fixed or contingent.
17. This Court shall retain jurisdiction with respect to all matters arising from or related to the implementation of this Order.