Quote from Daal:
Only the bulls, OCC guarantees bears get paid
http://www.optiontradingpedia.com/what_happens_to_options_during_bankruptcy.htm
Quote from Cutten:
Bears were paid after they sold their calls or stock, and received a cash equivalent as proceeds of their sale. If the counterparty goes bust, who cares? You already got their money. Not to mention it would take the counterparty, their broker, and their broker's general clearing firm to all go bust before the OCC even has to pay out.