For many years the Acme Company carried on business as a manufacturer of consumer products. In 1988, it embarked on an ambitious program of expansion that involved the·acquisition of a new plant and equipment. Financing was by way of real property mortgages, chattel mortgages, and conditional sales agreements, with very few internally-generated funds being used for the expansIon.
The general decline in demand for its product line as a result of the energy crisis 'and poor economic climate placed the company in serious financial difficulty by 1989. As a result of a failure to pay a trade account to one creditor, bankruptcy proceedings were instituted.
The trustee disposed of the assets of the company and drew up a list of the creditors entitled to share in the proceeds. His preliminary calculations were as follows:
Calculate the distribution of the funds to the various creditors and calculate the cents per dollar amount that the unsecured trade creditors would receive.