Large Cap
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April 15, 2025
Husch Blackwell Adds Chamberlain Hrdlicka Bankruptcy Ace
Husch Blackwell LLP has fortified its insolvency and commercial bankruptcy practice with a partner in Austin, Texas, who came aboard from Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry.
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April 14, 2025
Judge Says Barretts Needs Independence To Resolve Ch. 11
A Texas bankruptcy judge on Monday said he would have to consider ways to increase Barretts Minerals Inc.'s perceived independence from its parent company if he agrees to allow the talc miner to stay in Chapter 11.
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April 14, 2025
Crypto Firm DCG Can't Dodge NY AG Suit Over Genesis Woes
Crypto venture capital firm Digital Currency Group must face the bulk of the New York attorney general's claims it defrauded investors by hiding the dire financial condition of its bankrupt lending subsidiary Genesis Global, a New York state judge has ruled.
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April 14, 2025
Debt Deals On The Rise, Purdue Can Begin Claims Processing
A Texas district court, not a bankruptcy court, will oversee the U.S. trustee's efforts to claw back millions in legal fees paid to Jackson Walker over an undisclosed relationship between an attorney and bankruptcy judge; out-of-court debt deals eclipsed Chapter 11s by a 4-to-1 ratio last year; and drug manufacturer Purdue Pharma can begin processing claims ahead of a Chapter 11 confirmation hearing. This is the week in bankruptcy.
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April 14, 2025
UK Co. Says Ex-Sikorsky Atty Gave 'Inconsistent' Testimony
A British company locked in a $64 million contract feud with Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky Aircraft accused its former in-house counsel of giving testimony "blatantly inconsistent" with other evidence at a Connecticut trial, requesting the alleged transgressions be discussed after a Texas bankruptcy judge slammed the lawyer for providing "false statements" in a separate matter.
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April 14, 2025
Nashville Objects To Wellpath's Ch. 11 Plan Over Releases
The government of Nashville, Tennessee, has asked a Texas bankruptcy judge to reject confirmation of prison healthcare company Wellpath's Chapter 11 plan, arguing it improperly includes releases and exculpations for parties who are not part of the bankruptcy case.
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April 11, 2025
Outdated Brand Could Hinder Hooters' Ch. 11 Recovery
Hooters has built its brand on buxom women wearing orange micro shorts while serving hot wings and frosty mugs of beer, but experts said the racy concept that made it a household name is outdated and could stymie the company's recovery as it seeks to emerge from Chapter 11.
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April 11, 2025
Under The Radar: Bankruptcy News You May Have Missed
The Texas Attorney General asked for a consumer privacy ombudsman in 23andMe's Ch. 11 case; The Chapter 11 trustee handling Chinese exile Miles Guo's estate balked at an appeal against a decision advancing dozens of clawback proceedings; and a Delaware bankruptcy judge dismissed the Chapter 7 case of electronics recycler Camston Wrather at the request of the estate trustee.
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April 11, 2025
Forever 21 Can't Tap Cash Collateral In Ch. 11, Creditors Say
The unsecured creditors committee in fast-fashion chain Forever 21's Chapter 11 has challenged the debtor's motion to use cash collateral, telling the Delaware bankruptcy court that the funding bid is part of a plan that would prejudice the group and leave the creditors with insufficient recoveries.
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April 11, 2025
US Trustee Calls Mitel Networks Ch. 11 Plan Unconfirmable
Software group Mitel Networks' prepackaged Chapter 11 plan trimming $1.1 billion of debt has nonconsensual third party releases and can't be confirmed, the Office of the U.S. Trustee told a Texas bankruptcy judge.
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April 11, 2025
Alex Jones' Sandy Hook Atty Lands 7-Day Suspension Credit
Alex Jones' former lead Connecticut attorney will be suspended for only one additional week because of a prior sit-out in 2023, a state court judge has clarified, saying she hadn't considered that Norm Pattis was previously benched while he appealed his discipline for his role in transferring Sandy Hook families' confidential records to another Jones attorney.
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April 11, 2025
Ex-Girardi CFO Gets 10 Years For 'Devastating' Fraud
A California federal judge sentenced Girardi Keese's former chief financial officer to just over 10 years in prison Friday for aiding firm leader Tom Girardi's $15 million client theft scheme while also embezzling $6 million for himself, saying the two interrelated schemes "had devastating and far-reaching effects."
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April 10, 2025
Judge Isgur To Mediate Sorrento Ch. 11 Dispute
One of the most prominent bankruptcy judges in the United States is mediating a dispute between the liquidating trustee for biopharmaceutical company Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. and a unit of B. Riley Financial as the parties try to reach a settlement to avoid litigation.
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April 10, 2025
Prospect Medical Hospitals Get One More Reprieve In Ch. 11
Hospital operator Prospect Medical has scored $6 million in financing to temporarily stave off the closure of three Pennsylvania hospitals, the debtor's counsel told a Texas bankruptcy judge Thursday.
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April 10, 2025
Amyris Ch. 11 Trust Sues Ex-CEO Over $200M Skin Care Deal
A creditor trust created under Amyris' Chapter 11 plan has sued the biotechnology company's former CEO in Delaware bankruptcy court, accusing him of abandoning his fiduciary duties by entering into a product licensing deal that locked in low prices for its cosmetics ingredients and contributed to the firm's insolvency.
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April 10, 2025
Byju's Alpha Sues Co-Founder Over $533M In Missing Funds
The bankrupt U.S. subsidiary of Indian tech giant Byju's has filed a suit alleging the company's founder had a direct hand in the disappearance of $533 million in company assets prior to its Chapter 11 filing.
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April 10, 2025
Judge Romance Fee Disputes Moved From Bankruptcy Court
A Texas federal district court agreed to preside over a suit brought by the U.S. Trustee's Office to make Jackson Walker LLP forfeit fees from more than 30 cases overseen by a former bankruptcy judge who was romantically involved with a one time-partner from the firm.
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April 10, 2025
Carlton Fields Beats DQ Bid In Fla. $500M Miss America Suit
A Florida federal judge denied a bid to disqualify Carlton Fields in a $500 million lawsuit over the ownership of the company that runs the Miss America pageant, saying such a remedy is extraordinary, and that the allegations are "scattered and speculative."
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April 10, 2025
No Plan To Trim Do Kwon Case After Crypto Memo, Feds Say
A U.S. Department of Justice memo outlining the Trump administration's cryptocurrency policy and enforcement priorities has not prompted prosecutors to alter their $40 billion criminal fraud case against Terraform founder Do Kwon, a government lawyer told a Manhattan federal judge Thursday.
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April 10, 2025
Gunster Adds Byrd Campbell Litigation Atty In Orlando
Florida business law firm Gunster has added a new shareholder with expertise in complex commercial litigation, bankruptcy law and creditors' rights matters to its Orlando office from Byrd Campbell PA.
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April 10, 2025
Purdue Cleared To Start Ch. 11 Claims Processing Early
A New York bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved Purdue Pharma's request to appoint claims administrators and begin processing the tens of thousands of claims against the drugmaker, reasoning that doing so ahead of plan confirmation would enable the debtor to make faster distributions to creditors.
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April 09, 2025
Wellpath Can Sell Struggling Hospitals For $1 In Ch. 11
A Texas bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved prison healthcare business Wellpath's request to sell two behavioral care-focused hospitals for $1, finding that the debtor had made the case that the facilities were money losers that the debtor needed to get off its books.
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April 09, 2025
Celsius' Suit Against Blockchain Analysts Heads To Fed. Court
A New York federal district court has granted a request from blockchain analysis company Chainalysis to preside over an adversary lawsuit brought against it by the litigation administrator for defunct cryptocurrency platform Celsius Network LLC, after the parties indicated they agreed to transfer the case out of bankruptcy court.
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April 09, 2025
Ch. 11 Filings Surge In March, While Small Biz Filings Flat
A new report shows that Subchapter V filings have leveled off after the debt limit for the streamlined restructuring method was reduced in June, as experts warned that the lower threshold could push businesses to either more expensive Chapter 11 filings or out of business.
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April 09, 2025
Puerto Rico Utility Shorted Bondholders By $2.9B, Docs Say
Bondholders of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority requested permission from a Puerto Rico bankruptcy judge to file a financial report revealing that the bankrupt utility failed to transfer $2.9 billion over six years into a trust account designated for debt repayment.
Expert Analysis
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Discount Window Reform Needed To Curb Modern Bank Runs
We learned during the spring 2023 failures that bank runs can happen extraordinarily fast in light of modern technology, especially when banks have a greater concentration of large deposits, demonstrating that the antiquated but effective discount window needs to be overhauled before the next crisis, says Cris Cicala at Stinson.
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2 Options For Sackler Family After High Court Purdue Ruling
After the U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked Purdue Pharma's plan to shield the family that owns the company from bankruptcy lawsuits, the Sacklers face the choice to either continue litigation, or return to the bargaining table for a settlement that doesn't eliminate creditor claims, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.
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Revisiting Scalia's 'What's It To You?' After Kaiser Ruling
While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser allows insurers to be considered "parties in interest" in Chapter 11 cases, they still need to show they would face an injury in fact, answering the late Justice Antonin Scalia's "what's it to you?" question, say Brent Weisenberg and Jeff Prol at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2
The second quarter of 2024 brought two notable bills that will affect Florida's banking and finance community across many issues, including virtual currency abandonment, cancellation of financial services on the basis of political opinions, and the exemption amount of motor vehicles, say Joshua Prever and Andrew Balthazor at Holland & Knight.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Purdue Ch. 11 Ruling Reinforces Importance Of D&O Coverage
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, holding that a Chapter 11 reorganization cannot discharge claims against a nondebtor without affected claimants' consent, will open new litigation pathways surrounding corporate insolvency and increase the importance of robust directors and officers insurance, says Evan Bolla at Harris St. Laurent.
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Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Parsing Justices' Toss Of Purdue's Controversial Ch. 11 Plan
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent nixing of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 proposal prevents the Sackler family from settling thousands of civil opioid lawsuits without the consent of all of the plaintiffs, and holds profound implications for bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at MoloLamken.
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No Matter The Purdue Ruling, Mass Tort Reform Is Needed
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon issue its opinion in the bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma LP, and regardless of the outcome, it’s clear legal and policy reforms are needed to address the next mass tort, says William Organek at Baruch College.
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How Associates Can Build A Professional Image
As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.
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Yellow Corp. Lease Assumption Shows Landlord Protections
Yellow Corp.’s recent filing of a motion to assume unexpired leases is a helpful reminder to practitioners to maintain a long-term approach about what is most beneficial for an estate and to not let a debtor's short-term cash position dictate business decisions, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.
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Insurers Have A Ch. 11 Voice Following High Court Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum — which reaffirmed a broad definition of "party in interest" — will give insurers, particularly in mass tort Chapter 11 bankruptcies, more opportunity to protect their interests and identify problems with reorganization plans, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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Considerations For Cooperation Contracts In Loan Trades
Significant challenges to settling trades can arise when lenders of syndicated bank loans enter into defense-oriented cooperation agreements, which are growing in popularity, but working through these issues on the front end of a trade can save hours down the road, says Robert Waldner at Crowell & Moring.