Michael Vick gets deadline for bankruptcy plan

NORFOLK

A federal bankruptcy judge has given Michael Vick until the end of the summer to resolve his bankruptcy case and again warned Vick's lawyers that the revised plan must be viable.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Santoro, who in the spring rejected Vick's original reorganization plan, stressed at a hearing Tuesday that the last plan "left something to be desired."

Vick refused to comment publicly before and after the hearing. The media circus that had been following him since his release from prison dwindled to just one national reporter and the local media.

Vick owes roughly $25 million, including around $7 million to the Atlanta Falcons, where he was the team's star quarterback. The Newport News native remains on house arrest at his Hampton home while he completes a 23-month sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting operation.

Paul Campsen, one of Vick's bankruptcy lawyers, told Santoro that a revised plan would be filed by July 2. Santoro then set an Aug. 27 date for a hearing on whether to approve the plan.

"Judge, we're committed to getting this plan done," Campsen said in court.

Santoro rejected the earlier plan in part because it was based on Vick's potential return to the NFL and a lucrative salary, something that still remains out of reach. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he won't consider lifting Vick's suspension until his legal matters have been resolved. Vick comes off house arrest on July 20 and is likely to apply for reinstatement after that.

Another sticking point in the last plan was that Vick did not have enough money to pay his professionals, including his lawyers and accountants, in order to emerge from bankruptcy.

Campsen told the judge that the professionals have agreed to waive around $3 million in fees if Vick does not obtain lucrative employment, presumably meaning a position on an NFL team. Vick is currently earning $10 an hour at a construction job.

"The lawyers and the professionals are taking a risk that he makes money," Campsen said. "If he doesn't make money, the professionals don't get paid."

If the revised plan fails, Santoro said he will be forced to appoint a trustee to liquidate Vick's holdings.

After the bankruptcy hearing on the fourth floor of the U.S. District Courthouse, Vick went down to the second floor to check in with his probation officer. He was escorted by Lawrence H. Woodward Jr., an attorney who represented Vick through the criminal proceeding.

"Mike met with his probation officer. He's in compliance. He's doing everything he's supposed to do," Woodward said. "He's happy to be home."

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com