Mid Cap
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September 13, 2024
SEC Fines Zymergen $30M Over Misleading Pre-IPO Claims
Now-shuttered biotechnology company Zymergen Inc. has agreed to pay a $30 million fine to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it misled investors in its initial public offering when it used "unsupported hype" about the market potential for its technology for foldable touch screens.
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September 13, 2024
Trio Of BigLaw Mergers Expected To Drive More Deal Talks
After months of a relatively steady pace of law firm mergers and acquisitions, the trio of proposed BigLaw tie-ups announced in recent days will likely spur more firms toward entertaining similar deal talks, experts say. Here, Law360 offers a snapshot of the proposed deals.
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September 13, 2024
Philly's Defunct University Of The Arts Files For Ch. 7
Philadelphia's University of the Arts, which abruptly closed in June, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation Friday in Delaware bankruptcy court, roughly two weeks after nearby Temple University said it would not move forward with a potential merger.
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September 13, 2024
Property Developer Claims To Be Target Of Legal 'Vendetta'
The director of a defunct property developer has hit back against a claim that accuses him of breaching his duties to the company, as he argued that the "vexatious" case was brought as part of a "vendetta" by his former co-directors.
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September 13, 2024
Mayer Brown Bankruptcy Ace Jumps To Pashman Stein In NJ
Pashman Stein Walder Hayden PC has bolstered its bankruptcy practice in New Jersey with the addition of a partner from Mayer Brown LLP along with two associates, expanding the firm's roster in a state known for attracting large and complex bankruptcy cases.
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September 13, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen a football agent sue Chelsea FC after being cleared of allegations he threatened the club’s former director, an ongoing patent dispute between Amgen and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and a private school in Edinburgh suing Riverstone Insurance over compensation claims tied to historical abuse allegations made by former pupils. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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September 12, 2024
Feds Eye Nixing Girardi's Ill. Case After Calif. Theft Conviction
The federal government might drop its criminal charges in Illinois against disbarred attorney Tom Girardi following his recent conviction in California on similar charges of stealing millions from clients, a prosecutor indicated Thursday during a status hearing in the Prairie State matter.
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September 12, 2024
EU Probes Bankrupt German Racetrack Sale After Court Loss
The European Commission relaunched an investigation Thursday into whether Germany supplied illegal state aid in the sale of the Nürburgring motorsports complex after the European Union's top court struck down the competition authority's 2014 decision to clear the aid.
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September 12, 2024
Boutique Litigation Firm Esbrook Adds Office In Delaware
Boutique litigation firm Esbrook PC is opening the doors on a new Delaware office with a former Rosner Law Group attorney at the helm, a move that Esbrook says will help it better assist clients embroiled in disputes over books and records, corporate control issues and more.
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September 12, 2024
Digital Media Solutions Hits Ch. 11 With Plans To Sell
Digital advertising firm Digital Media Solutions filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court with eyes toward a sale process that would have its prepetition lenders acting as lead bidders for a proposed auction.
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September 12, 2024
Navient Agrees To Pay $120M To End CFPB Student Loan Case
Navient Corp. would be barred from servicing federal student loans and required to pay $120 million to settle allegations related to its student lending practices under a proposed settlement the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday.
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September 11, 2024
Litigation Spending To Rise As Cases Grow More Aggressive
A substantial number of large companies are expecting to increase their litigation spending by double digits next year in the face of more complex and hard-fought cases — and they are more open to bringing in new legal talent to navigate the matters, according to a report released Thursday.
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September 11, 2024
Hertz Noteholders Entitled To $270M Interest, 3rd Circ. Rules
Unsecured noteholders from Hertz's bankruptcy are entitled to roughly $270 million in interest as a so-called make-whole payment, a Third Circuit panel decided in a split ruling overturning a bankruptcy court opinion that said it was disallowed under the Chapter 11 code.
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September 11, 2024
TD Bank To Pay $28M Over Consumer Reporting Failings
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hit TD Bank with a $20 million fine on Wednesday for its failures over inaccurate consumer credit reports and ordered it to pay nearly $8 million to customers, four years after the regulator imposed a $122 million fine against the bank over illegal overdraft fees.
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September 11, 2024
BurgerFi Flips Into Ch. 11, Burned By Rising Costs
BurgerFi International Inc., the fast casual chain that also has Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings restaurants under its umbrella, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware on Wednesday, listing up to $500 million in debt and being deluged by increasing operational costs.
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September 10, 2024
Blink Fitness Lands $105M Bid From PureGym
Bankrupt gym chain Blink Fitness landed a stalking horse bid from a unit of U.K.-based global gym operator PureGym Ltd. that sets a $105 million floor price for a Chapter 11 auction set to be held later this month, the companies said Tuesday.
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September 10, 2024
Ex-McElroy Deutsch CFO's Ch. 11 Case Nixed As 'Bad Faith'
McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP convinced a New Jersey bankruptcy judge to throw out the Chapter 11 filing of its former chief financial officer, who is behind bars for stealing over $1 million from the firm, with the judge finding Tuesday that the petition was brought in "bad faith" to stall related state litigation.
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September 10, 2024
Will Tom Girardi's Age Impact His Sentence?
Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi's age and mental decline did not help him avoid conviction last month on charges that he stole millions in client funds, but it's an open question how much these factors will affect his sentencing, set for December.
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September 10, 2024
Fulcrum BioEnergy Files For Ch. 11 In Delaware
Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc., a company that endeavors to make sustainable aviation fuel, filed for Chapter 11 protection late Monday in Delaware, listing up to $500 million in debt.
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September 09, 2024
Cybersecurity Co. Founders To Pay $1.6M In SEC Fraud Suit
The co-founders of a now-bankrupt cybersecurity firm have agreed to pay nearly $1.6 million to end the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's claims that they used doctored financial records to convince investors to fund their company to the tune of $100 million.
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September 09, 2024
Red Lobster Plan Confirmed, Big Lots Leads New Ch. 11s
A string of new Chapter 11 bankruptcies were recently launched in Delaware, including a case from national discount home goods retailer Big Lots, which plans to pursue a going-concern sale. Meanwhile, seafood dining chain Red Lobster is on track to hand over the reins to a new group of owners, led by a secured lender, after the debtor secured confirmation of its Chapter 11 plan.
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September 09, 2024
Conn. Diocese Proposes $30M Plan For Abuse Claimants
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, has proposed a Chapter 11 reorganization plan, claiming it would provide better and quicker compensation to sex abuse claimants than the plan proposed by the unsecured creditors committee.
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September 09, 2024
Eletson Pushes To Void Ch. 11 Claims By 'Drone' Creditors
Eletson Holdings on Monday asked a New York bankruptcy judge to dismiss Chapter 11 claims by creditors it alleges are "drones" for a third party tangled in a corporate dispute with the oil and gas shipping company.
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September 10, 2024
Most Young Lawyers Say Debt Alters Their Career Plans
A recent student debt study by the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division has found that student debt affects young attorneys in many ways — including changing their career plans.
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September 09, 2024
Apartment Cooperative Hits Chapter 11 Amid Takeover Fight
The management of Success Village Apartments Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the District of Connecticut, citing between $1 million and $10 million in debt, amid court battles with local communities and utility companies that sought to force the 900-unit housing cooperative into receivership.
Expert Analysis
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Conn. Bankruptcy Ruling Furthers Limitation Extension Split
A recent Connecticut bankruptcy court decision further solidifies a split of authority on whether Bankruptcy Rule 9006(b) may be used to extend the limitations period, meaning practitioners seeking to extend should serve the motion on all applicable parties and, where possible, rely on the doctrine of equitable tolling, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.
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A 5th Circ. Lesson On Preserving Indemnification Rights
The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Raymond James & Associates v. Jalbert offers an important lesson for creditors and parties to indemnification agreements: If a debtor has indemnified a creditor, the creditor should consider participating in the bankruptcy case to avoid being deemed to have forfeited its indemnification rights, say Dania Slim and Alana Lyman at Pillsbury.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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Del. Ruling Shows Tension Between 363 Sale And Labor Law
The Delaware federal court's ruling in the Braeburn Alloy Steel case highlights the often overlooked collision between an unstayed order authorizing an asset sale free and clear of successor liability under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code and federal labor law imposing successor liability on the buyer, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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Del. Insurance Co. Liquidation Reveals Recovery Strategies
Arrowood's recent liquidation in the Delaware Chancery Court offers a positive development for policyholders and claimants, providing access to guaranty association protections amid the company's demise, say Timothy Law and Ann Kramer at Reed Smith.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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Navigating Asset Tracing Challenges In Bankruptcy
A Virginia court’s recent ruling in Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc.'s bankruptcy highlights the heightened demand for asset tracing and the strategic use of the lowest intermediate balance rule in recovering funds from commingled accounts, says Daniel Lowenthal at Patterson Belknap.
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Lender Agreements And Unitranche Facilities: A Fresh Look
Unitranche facilities — which offer blended interest rates in a single loan document — are gaining prevalence, and lenders and borrowers should understand their advantages, as well as concerns over the enforceability of a unitranche-style agreement among lenders in bankruptcy, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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What Banks Should Know About FDIC Assessment Rule
Max Bonici at Venable answers questions banking organizations may have about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent approval of a rule implementing a special assessment on banks to recoup costs associated with protecting uninsured depositors after the bank failures earlier this year, and highlights other considerations for uninsured deposits.
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Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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Bankruptcy Must Be On The Table As A Student Loan Solution
Amid the ongoing discourse on student loan forgiveness, borrowers must have a deeper understanding of U.S. Departments of Justice and Education guidance regarding how the government will agree to discharge loans in bankruptcy, or miss a life-changing opportunity currently available to regain control over their financial condition, say Jonathan Carson and Eric Kurtzman at Stretto.
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.