RoBo -
The bankruptcy case was converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation over a month ago. A trustee was appointed, and he retained counsel, also over a month ago. The trustee's only job is to liquidate assets in order to return money to the creditors. He has no interest in or ability to run the business. It's dead.
For over a month, franchisees have gotten absolutely nothing from R&I other than the right to use their IP, which is of very dubious value. They have, however, continued to pay a 12% royalty.
Chessler has made no filings in the bankruptcy case for over 6 weeks. Yet, according to you, he's "Looking forward to getting this finalized." What ever "this" is, it sure is taking a long time to be "finalized."
As each day passes, the successful resurrection of the R&I business becomes less and less likely. It would take a large infusion of capital to resume any meaningful operations, and Chessler backed out of his sweetheart financing deal because, according to him, the value just wasn't there. Taking him at his word, there's no reason to expect him to invest the sort of capital that would (miraculously) bring the business back to life. Yet, you somehow believe that he's going to put a deal together that benefits you and your fellow franchisees, which is contrary to what he's done so far.
I'm confident that something will eventually happen with Chessler and the remaining R&I assets, and he's likely to end up with most of the value in his hands, but as time passes, it seems that more and more of that value is represented by the 12% royalty that you and other hapless franchisees are shelling out. The longer you pay the royalty, the better off he is.
It's beginning to look like you are waiting for Godot.
Are all the franchisees waiting for Godot with you? It sounds as though some of them are not, what with the bargain-basement prices they have been offering their kiosks at.