"When a debtor files for bankruptcy, it is often because numerous creditors are asserting competing interests in whatever assets the debtor may have. A debtor may have pledged its inventory and manufacturing equipment as collateral for an operating loan from the bank. The same manufacturing equipment may be encumbered by a purchase money security interest from the equipment vendor. The landlord may also have taken a blanket lien on the debtor’s assets as security for the lease. When the debtor files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the bank, the equipment vendor and the landlord will each claim an interest in the debtor’s property. At the same time, general unsecured creditors will seek to have their claims satisfied out of the same pool of assets. "
