EpiCentre trustee remains unfazed as case heats up

Elaine Rudisill is OK with not being popular.

And as court-appointed trustee for the EpiCentre – and one of the most
powerful figures in the ongoing legal battle involving the shopping and
entertainment complex – there are lots of reasons people might not
like her.

For one, Rudisill has full control over the EpiCentre, and her powers include the ability to sue, if necessary. That kind of authority can make lawyers very nervous, and, to be sure, those involved in the EpiCentre case are watching Rudisill like a hawk.

In October, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge George Hodges appointed
Rudisill to manage the EpiCentre
at the request of Blue Air 2010, the complex’s lender. Blue Air has
accused the project’s developers,
including Afshin Ghazi, of diverting money from the 302,000-square-foot project before filing for bankruptcy protection in 2010.

This month, Hodges expanded
Rudisill’s authority over the EpiCentre, saying she had full control over the development. Attorneys for the
developer, indicating that they find
Rudisill’s broad powers worrisome, have asked her to communicate her plans. And as the bankruptcy case continues to heat up, plenty of people will be waiting to see what she does.

But all the scrutiny doesn’t faze Rudisill. At least that’s what she says. It makes sense, though: In her 34-year career, during which she’s handled a wide variety of bankruptcy cases, it would help to be unaffected by all of the peering eyes and just focus on the task at hand.

“It comes with the territory,” said Rudisill, managing director at financial advisory firm The Finley Group. “You just have to do what the bankruptcy requires and try your best to be fair and even-handed with all the
parties involved.”

A native of Greensboro, Rudisill, 55, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1977. Her first job out of college was in New Jersey for pharmaceutical company IGI, where she worked as a controller – essentially a manager responsible for the firm’s accounting activities.

Following that, she went to work as chief
financial officer for Novavax, a biotech
company in Maryland. In 1997, she moved to Charlotte’s Plaza Midwood neighborhood and went to work as CFO for American Aircarriers Support, an aircrafts parts company.

Just three years after she started, the company filed for bankruptcy, and Rudisill oversaw the case. The international company, which was headquartered in Fort Mill, S.C., had multiple locations, and the bankruptcy was a complex case. For help, Rudisill hired Charlotte-based Finley Group as a consultant.

Rudisill said it took a year to
dismantle and liquidating the company. When it was done, Finley offered her a job in 2001.

“They jokingly said that, since now I had a master’s degree in bankruptcy, ‘Why don’t you come work for us?’”

But Rudisill was burned out and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next. She decided to go for it when the company offered her the opportunity to work as interim CFO to manage a bankruptcy case the company was handling for a Boston firm.

“So I spent my first year with The Finley Group going back and forth to Boston,” she said.

Thanks to the Great Recession, she said, she’s working with a growing of developers and builders.

“Fortunately we’ve been able to keep many of those out of bankruptcy.”

Now, she’s focused on the EpiCentre, and it’s a project like none other she’s worked on.

“I’ve handled lots of bankruptcy cases before,” she said, “but never one like this that involves such a big mixed-use project.

“Right now my role is making sure the EpiCentre is doing business as usual or better than usual, if possible.”

Regions Bank, the complex’s original lender, started foreclosure proceedings in July 2010 after the loan came due. Regions then sold the $93.9 million construction note to Blue Air in November of last year, at which time Ghazi transferred assets owned by the EpiCentre to Blue Air.

Before Rudisill was appointed trustee, Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle was hired to oversee property management at the
EpiCentre.

“They’re responsible for day-to-day management, dealing with tenants, leases and maintenance issues,” she said. “I’m essentially the CEO over those operations.”

The trustee job is likely to dominate her schedule for the foreseeable future. When she was first appointed to the EpiCentre, she was juggling other projects. Those have since been taken off her plate so she can focus on the EpiCentre full time, she said.

“It’s not unusual to work 50-hour weeks and on weekends,” she said. “You just do what it takes.”

But what exactly it will take to
resolve the EpiCentre case remains uncertain, she said.

“I have no concept how long this case will take,” she said.

The first order of business is to get the court’s confirmation of Blue Air’s financial plan for the EpiCentre. She hopes that will be finished by January. “Once that’s done, they (Blue Air) can focus more on daily operations. And they have deeper pockets than what we’ve had before. I will be left with other trustee duties, such as looking over transactions, and
figuring out what’s left for creditors that didn’t get paid,” she said.

Rudisill said she wants to see the EpiCentre succeed.

“I think it’s great for Uptown, and Charlotte needs it.”

When it’s all said and done, the mammoth EpiCentre case will likely make her skin thicker.

“I realize I’m not going to be a
popular person with some people for most days of the week,” she said.
“But that’s OK. I have a job to do.
It’s just business.”

BOYKIN can be reached at [email protected].