Large Cap
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October 04, 2024
SEC Says It's Investigating Bankrupt EV Maker Fisker
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that it's been looking into whether electric-car maker Fisker Inc. violated securities law before it filed for Chapter 11 protection, urging a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge not to approve Fisker's proposed liquidation plan.
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October 04, 2024
MLB's Storied History Runs Through The Bankruptcy Court
With the value of professional sports teams skyrocketing over the last decade, it's hard to imagine a Major League Baseball club having to file for bankruptcy. But it's happened at least five times since 1970 for a variety of reasons, and the teams that have taken advantage of the bankruptcy courts have charted much different paths post-insolvency.
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October 04, 2024
Prison Health Co., Creditors Float Ch. 11 Plan With $50M Trust
Tehum Care Services, a prison healthcare provider, and committees for its unsecured creditors and tort claimants have asked a Texas bankruptcy judge to let them solicit votes on a Chapter 11 plan that would allow creditors to either pursue wrongful death and personal injury claims in state court or become the beneficiaries of a $50 million settlement trust.
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October 04, 2024
Robertshaw Closes Ch. 11 Sale Hours Before 5th Circ. Stay
Appliance parts maker Robertshaw sold the business to a group of its lenders this week, less than two hours before the Fifth Circuit entered an order staying the deal, marking a setback for Invesco, another lender that had objected to a Texas bankruptcy court's approval of the Chapter 11 asset sale.
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October 04, 2024
Fried Frank Guides ArentFox Schiff HQ Move In DC
ArentFox Schiff LLP is relocating its Washington, D.C., headquarters to Carr Properties' Midtown Center, where it will take up 120,000 square feet and three full floors, per the landlord who was advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.
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October 04, 2024
Ex-Judge Jones Says Judicial Acts Bar Atty Romance Claims
Former bankruptcy judge David R. Jones said judicial immunity bars claims over his undisclosed romantic relationship with a former Jackson Walker LLP attorney because the purported harm to the onetime head of a now-shuttered barge company stemmed from official acts.
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October 04, 2024
Ex-Skadden Partner Leaves Retirement, Joins AY Strauss
Commercial real estate boutique A.Y. Strauss announced Thursday that it had hired a former Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP litigator who is returning to the legal field after retiring in 2020.
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October 03, 2024
Biden Admin's Latest Debt Relief Plan Blocked In Missouri
A Missouri federal judge Thursday blocked the Biden administration's latest student debt relief proposal, finding that the six Republican-led states leading the challenge will likely show the plan is unlawful, just a day after a Georgia federal judge knocked the Peach State out and punted the case to St. Louis.
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October 03, 2024
Wash. AG Wants Albertsons Sanctioned In Opioid Suit
Washington state's attorney general has accused Albertsons of using a state-court-ordered stay to shield itself from discovery in a consumer protection suit that accuses Rite Aid and grocery store pharmacies of exacerbating the opioid epidemic, seeking the appointment of a "discovery referee" in a new sanctions motion.
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October 03, 2024
Conn's Seeks OK For $360M Bid From Debt Collector
Retail chain Conn's has asked a Texas bankruptcy judge for permission to accept a $360 million baseline bid to purchase its assets, including the company's portfolio of consumer installment loans, from debt collector Jefferson Capital Systems LLC.
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October 03, 2024
Calif. Can't Delay Bank's $20.7M Tax Refund, FDIC Tells Court
A California tax collection agency shouldn't be allowed to delay a $20.7 million tax refund it owes the shuttered Signature Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. told a New York federal court, saying that as the bank's receiver, it's entitled to the money now.
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October 03, 2024
Steward Health Gets OK To Sell 3 Arizona Hospitals
A Texas bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved national hospital chain Steward Health's sale of three of its Arizona hospitals to regional hospital chain HonorHealth.
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October 02, 2024
Incora Creditor, Platinum Feud Over Injury In 2022 Uptier Deal
A bondholder to aircraft-parts supplier Incora on Wednesday urged a Texas bankruptcy judge to recognize its tortious interference claims against the company's private equity backer, Platinum Equity, arguing it suffered damages after being demoted in a 2022 financing deal.
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October 02, 2024
Judge Nixes Alta Mesa Trustee's Clawback Suit
A Texas bankruptcy judge has ended efforts by the litigation trustee for defunct oil and gas company Alta Mesa Resources Inc. to claw back money from its predecessor's shareholders, finding that they did not directly benefit from contracts that boosted the value of the company before it was later taken public in a reverse merger.
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October 02, 2024
Conn's Gets Nod For $2.9M Exec Bonus Package In Ch. 11
A Texas bankruptcy judge said Wednesday he would approve a proposed $2.9 million bonus package for eight executives at bankrupt retailer Conn's Inc. once a revised order was filed, despite an objection from the U.S. Trustee's Office as to the packages utility.
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October 02, 2024
Bally Sports Owner's Ch. 11 Plan Ditches MLB TV Deals
A new Chapter 11 plan filed by the owner of Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks would reject all but one of the company's broadcast deals with MLB teams, but would maintain contracts with professional basketball and hockey partners while swapping existing debt for reorganized equity.
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October 02, 2024
GNC Wins $45M In Awards Against Asian Franchisees
GNC Holdings LLC has said the International Centre for Dispute Resolution informed the health and wellness company of nearly $45 million it has won in arbitral awards against franchisees located in Singapore and the Philippines.
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October 01, 2024
Foley & Lardner Accused Of Malpractice In GWG Transactions
Foley & Lardner LLP did not heed the fiduciary duty it owed to GWG Holdings when it facilitated loans and other transactions unfair to the life insurance-backed bond seller and, instead, enriched a group of "corrupt" shareholders, according to a lengthy adversary lawsuit filed in Texas bankruptcy court.
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October 01, 2024
FTX CEO Avoids Depo Before Ch. 11 Confirmation Hearing
FTX CEO John J. Ray III does not have to sit for a deposition requested by Virgin Islands-based LayerZero Labs Ltd. to answer questions about why it was not included in a Chapter 11 settlement with the debtor, a Delaware bankruptcy judge said Tuesday, as FTX pursues confirmation of its bankruptcy plan.
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October 01, 2024
Bitcoin DIP Loans Spark Intrigue For Bankruptcy Lawyers
The Chapter 11 case of bitcoin miner Rhodium included a rarely seen option to take out a debtor-in-possession loan denominated in digital currency, a development that has left lawyers divided over whether the novel approach could provide much-needed flexibility or an unacceptable level of risk for future bankrupt borrowers.
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October 01, 2024
Judge Sends SVB Ch. 11 Appeal To 2nd Circ. In FDIC Row
A New York federal judge ruled that the former parent of Silicon Valley Bank can appeal directly to the Second Circuit, bypassing a district court as SVB challenges a bankruptcy judge's ruling that federal regulators have standing to object to its Chapter 11 plan.
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October 01, 2024
Tupperware's Crash Unseals Lenders' Foreclosure Dreams
Iconic food storage product maker Tupperware Brands Corp. filed for Chapter 11 in mid-September with critically low liquidity, and now new lenders are eager to get the assets at a significant discount after their prepetition foreclosure attempt failed.
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October 01, 2024
Steward Can't Be Forced To Reassign Contract In Ch. 11
While a government contractor was within its rights to end a subcontracting agreement with embattled hospital group Steward Health, the Bankruptcy Code's provisions for assignment of contracts mean the debtor can't be compelled to reassign the agreement while in Chapter 11, a Texas bankruptcy judge said Tuesday.
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October 01, 2024
McElroy Deutsch Must Face 'Malicious' Claim From Fired Exec
A former business development director from McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP has been given the go-ahead from a New Jersey state judge to bring a malicious-prosecution claim against the firm in litigation over her and her husband's alleged multimillion-dollar embezzlement from the firm.
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October 01, 2024
Judge Backs Ban On Protests Targeting Guo Ch. 11 Trustee
A Connecticut federal judge has affirmed a ban on certain protests aimed at the Chapter 11 trustee overseeing the bankruptcy estate of Chinese dissident Miles Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, after the trustee faced death threats because of his investigation and a failed $250 million settlement.
FTX Seeks To Push Ch. 11 Plan Over Final Hurdles
Nearly two years after it collapsed financially, FTX is hoping to secure confirmation of its Chapter 11 plan in Delaware bankruptcy court Monday. The debtor says that under its proposal, the company will repay former customers in full, with interest, for the billions of dollars they lost, but the insolvent cryptocurrency business faces a slew of objections from the U.S. Trustee's Office and others.
Meet The Attys Aiding FTX At Its Ch. 11 Confirmation Hearing
Beleaguered crypto exchange FTX Trading Ltd. will seek a Delaware bankruptcy judge's approval Monday for the debtor's Chapter 11 plan after a bankruptcy process that has seen its counsel questioned, the legitimacy of its plan challenged and a bevy of disputes settled. At the hearing it will rely on the expertise of a legal team uniting lawyers from Landis Rath & Cobb LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
Meet The Attys Handling Burlington Diocese Ch. 11 In Vermont
A team of Fredrikson & Byron PA attorneys and an experienced bankruptcy lawyer based in Vermont are guiding the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, through its Chapter 11 case in the state, as the church seeks to deal with sexual abuse claims.
Expert Analysis
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Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys
Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.
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AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys
The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics
Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.
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Expect More Restaurant Ch. 11s As COVID Debt Comes Due
The wave of restaurant bankruptcies is likely to continue in the coming months as companies face the looming repayment of COVID-19 pandemic-era government loans, an uncertain economy and increased interest rates, says Isaac Marcushamer at DGIM Law.
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Mitigating Risk In Net Asset Value Facility Bankruptcies
In times of economic turbulence, parties to bankruptcy proceedings that involve net asset value facilities can mitigate risk by understanding the purpose of the automatic stay, complications it can create for NAV facility lenders and options for relief, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Tax Traps In Acquisitions Of Financially Distressed Targets
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Parties to the acquisition of an insolvent or bankrupt company face myriad tax considerations, including limitations on using the distressed company's tax benefits, cancellation of indebtedness income, tax lien issues and potential tax reorganizations.
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7 Steps To Take Before Responding To Claim Objections
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
When counsel is notified of an objection to the proof of claim in a bankruptcy case, they should contact the client and begin discussing the cost and benefit of responding.
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Tips For Handling Single Asset Real Estate Bankruptcy Cases
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Bankruptcy counsel should consider several strategies when representing either a debtor or lender in single asset real estate debtor Chapter 11 cases, which generally arise when a debtor is forced to file for relief to stop an impending foreclosure sale.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles
Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.
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Ch. 11 Ruling Shows Early Attempt To Tackle Purdue Fallout
A Delaware bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Parlement Technologies’ Chapter 11 case, which denied a bid by Parler’s former owner to extend its bankruptcy stay to nondebtors, illustrates early efforts to grapple with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Purdue Pharma for a recurring bankruptcy issue, say Daniel Lowenthal and Jonah Wacholder at Patterson Belknap.
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9 Liability Management Tips As Debt Maturity Cliff Looms
As the debt maturity cliff swiftly approaches in this challenging environment, attorneys at Winston & Strawn highlight the top considerations for boards of directors and finance professionals to think about when structuring and executing liability management transactions, including reviewing capital structure, evaluating debt covenants, and more.